Carey Burns

Twice a year (sometimes more) I get a week of flute noise from morning until afternoon. This year, I cannot bear to listen to it and the fweet fweet fweeting sends shivers down my spine as I cringe at the incessant fluting. But today, I won. I shut the doors. *cue the maniacal laughter* In brighter news, I finished my submission for the "Hell Hath No Fury" anthology May December Publications is putting out. I'm letting it sit before I give it one final read through and then I'll send it along. Wish me luck... I haven't heard anything from the reader of my novel and I'm worrying, because that's what I do. It is going to be a long, long summer.

Well, I didn't finish my zombie tale by the weekend, but I'm nearly done with it. It took a VERY hard turn and the main character did some pretty horrible things that I didn't think she'd do, but hey, she's a zombie so what did I really expect? Still, it gave me the creeps.

Howdy friends. If you've ever visited the Library of the Living Dead, please consider voting it as the best zombie site around. Sure, there are others, but none like our beloved Library. Please? Pretty please? http://zombie.top-site-list.com/vote51.html

I really need to write something but there's too many reasons why I don't. So, in an attempt to hold myself accountable, I need to finish my short story "Being Neighborly" so that I can revise it over the weekend and then send it out to a publisher soon. There. It's out in the universe so now I have to do it. *slaps self upside the head* I survived a near fatal spider incident this morning and that too has given me a crazy story idea. I just hope it doesn't creep into my dreams...

I'm pleased to report that my story "Picking Up the Pieces" will be in the upcoming anthology No More Heroes put out by the Library of Science Fiction and Fantasy Press . This book is special on so many levels, but I think the most cool points come from the fact that the characters in the NMH's universe are based on members of the Library of the Living Dead Forum. I can't wait to read this book!

I've got a huge stack of books and keep buying more. As soon as I finish them I'll be posting reviews on Amazon. Good times!! Faith and the Undead by Benjamin Rogers (and I'm in the fan club too!) Dead the Ugly Beginning by T.W. Brown Bigfoot War by Eric S. Brown The Blooming by Tonia Brown (there's an awful lot of authors out there that have the same last name...what's the deal with that?) Empire by Dave Dunwoody I still have to finish World War Z by Max Brooks (I love this book, by the way, and it has taken me longer to finish it than I care to admit...there's just so much to do that it gets pushed to the side) Hopefully soon I'll have my contributor's copy of Through the Eyes of the Undead to add to the pile. And then there's about 10 other books about forensic anthropology, osteology, and history that are collecting dust.

I hate to jinx it, but I took the first 2 steroid pills this morning and I kinda sorta almost feel a difference in regards to the pain. It still hurts, don't get me wrong, but not as intensely. I'm actually able to hold a pen and write for a little while. Maybe there is hope. I haven't written anything for such a long time, I feel almost like I want to explode to get all the words and ideas and monsters out of my head. With any luck, by the end of the week I can get a short story finished. Cross your fingers...

I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of people that have already placed orders for my "Glimmer of Hope" bracelets. Six bracelets so far are confirmed orders and another girl may be ordering a bunch more for her family--her mother-in-law died from ovarian cancer recently. I'm so glad that I can do something so simple that I love and have a positive impact on the world while I'm doing it. Here is what the bracelets look like. This one is for our Race for the Cure team and I have this in teal for Ovarian Cancer. They are $15 and $10 go straight to the charity. The remaining $5 helps to pay for the beads and supplies to make them.

Yesterday was the MRI day and then I had physical therapy too so today I'm feeling pretty sore. There was no sleep last night because of the pain so I'm fighting off the sleep monster today. *yawns* I should have my results today and ya'll know how horrible I am at waiting for things...the day can't end soon enough for me. I had two stories slated to be in an anthology but it is being killed so they're homeless for the moment. I'm not too broken up about it and there's hope that they might rear their ugly heads on a podcast. *crosses fingers that it happens* Five days until they close the "No More Heroes" anthology and 20 until they close "Groanology" so I'm waiting for that too....oh how I hate the waiting!

Well, I get to have an MRI on my neck to see which nerve is pinched and what is pinching it. I'll be glad to know what's the cause of all of my pain and with some luck, maybe it can be fixed without surgery. *crosses fingers* In surreal news, a friend of mine bought Letters From the Dead and is mailing it to me so I can autograph it. It amazes me that anyone would want my autograph, but I'm flattered beyond belief. And finally in sparkly news, I just got my first two orders for my "Glimmer of Hope" bracelets for our Race for the Cure team and for Ovarian Cancer. They are $15 and $10 of it go straight to the charity. I'll post pictures of the bracelets soon.

Saturday morning I learned that Through the Eyes of the Undead (featuring my FAVORITE story I think I've ever written, "Knock Once for Yes") is available for purchase at Amazon and Createspace. This most excellent news bolstered me through a pain filled, sleepless weekend. I should be getting my contributor copy and royalty check pretty soon. Exciting!