Carey Burns

I'm writing with tired, dried-up eyes caused by the Arctic Breeze that whips through my office all day...every day.  One of these days, I'll learn NOT to wear contacts to work.  I've been squirting eye drops in to no avail and here's hoping I can remove them tonight without causing permanent damage to my eyes.  Although, I do have two eye patches, so I'm prepared. With my impending July Challenge , I'm anxious and excited to avoid social media for an entire month.  I'm sure I'll miss birthdays and adorable cat photos and the endearing rant or two, but for the most part, I think it'll be freeing and less negative.  To help stay away, I've even decided to write solely on paper or on my mini because the battery drains way too fast if I have an internet browser open.  Sneaky girl. Before I go, let me mention a review I left on Amazon for Michael S. Gardner's Ruination: A Short Story .  This story is so very good and so VERY gory (beware if yo...

Well, June is nearly over and I'm sitting here wondering what to share on Ye Olde Blog.  Let's see...  I had quite a few rejections come through and most (again) say things like "well-written" and "strong voice" but my work just don't fit what they're looking for.  Someday!  *shakes fist at the sky*  Someday they'll want me! So now, I have to get back to work sending out stories to new markets and writing fresh material and working on those big novel-sized projects that keep collecting dust.  And that takes time.  Which brings me to my next topic:  My July Challenge.  What is it?  Well, it is just me on a mission to write a lot without distractions like Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and online shopping and well, even the blog.  If I post anything, I think I will allow myself to post word counts and maybe paragraphs from works in progress.  Maybe.  Those could be "gateway posts" leading to hours of my life wasted watch...

If you've been following my blog *pauses to listen to the crickets* you know I'm big about doing new things and being 'brave.' In keeping with this quest of mine, I agreed to read my poetry in front of someone other than my cats and my husband.  And it was fun!  The initial quivers I had over reading my work to strangers with my...unique voice just melted away after the first poem.  I think it might have been the intimate atmosphere that really helped.  If you're a writer and/or poet, I would recommend finding small poetry readings in your area as a testing/proving ground for yourself. Also in line with 'new things,' I mowed our grass last night.  No big deal, but I haven't mowed a yard in over twenty years.  I think I surprised the heck out of the hubby by stepping up and offering to do it and I did a very mediocre job of it, at best.  But, I tried.  Will I mow again?  Hmm...the hives I'm enjoying today make me say no, but you never know...

The end of the semester nears, which means I will be working four 10-hour days soon (we close on Fridays for about 8 weeks).  The lovely 2 hours of writing/revision time I get each day will be gone and I'll be forced to either hole up during my lunch break or stay up later each night.  Decisions, decisions...  But at least I'll have Fridays to myself to write.  (cue the dirty dishes to wash, the laundry to fold, the floor to vacuum, the toilet to scrub...) Last week I screwed up enough courage to send out a totally fresh piece of flash fiction to a market and while I wait, I'm trying to work on another longer piece.  I say trying because the antihistamines are kicking the life out of me.  Yes, that lovely sun allergy has returned along with the pleasant weather.  After finishing the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure yesterday, hives broke out on my hands and face and scalp, etc and I got all swolley.  (yes, I know swolley isn't a word, ...

The sting of a rejection hurts.  I almost wish they left physical scars so we writers could compare past injuries.   I can see two crusty old writers belly up to a bar, exposing flesh.  "See that one?  Yep, got that when I subbed to Tor."  "That one?  pffft.  That's a scratch compared to this one I got from subbing to Cemetery Dance." Anywho, I got a big old sting last night and I pouted and whined and sulked more than I have over anything in a very long time.  I even coined a phrase:  fanken crappenstance.  (it felt right at the time, but now the meaning is elusive)  When I woke up this morning, I was ready to set all of my flash drives on fire and just walk away.  Honestly, I was.  But writing is a drug.  It is a lover.  It's a damn part of me and even if I did walk away I wouldn't get too far before scrounging for a pen and something to write on. We writers are a cursed group.  We're ga...

So, the last few weeks I have been working pretty much non-stop on my first collection of short stories,.  (pssst...it is called Hair Baby and Other Weird Tales  and I'm shooting for publication in June)  The table of contents is sorted out, the interior looks good, and there's just one last story that needs completion before I hand it to the beta readers.  From the moment I decided to self-publish a collection, I knew what I wanted the cover to look like and spent countless hours messing with a photo of my cat, Zoey.  She's a great gal, that Zoey, but her image isn't very dark nor disturbing.  I mean, look at that smile! So I tried making her white spots black and added red to her eyes, which just eneded badly, especially with that grin of hers.  Luckily, this weekend we were in Le Claire, Iowa and stumbled upon a shop with a dark, brooding black tomcat.  My hubby took a picture of that cat, and ba-dah-bing...it is now the cov...

I had my first author event at The Book Mouse over the weekend and had so much fun!  They have a chinchilla named Ernie and a big cat named Sunny that Jill, my illustrator, and I pestered all afternoon.  The staff was awesome and I sold a few books, so the day was a success!  I can't thank them enough for having us. This event was just the kick in the rump I've needed to get back into my bigger writing projects.  I think it will be fabulous to return to The Book Mouse with my very own collection of short stories, just in time for Halloween.  Perhaps Ernie won't hide from me next time?