Right now, a load of laundry is spinning happily in the drier, and my lovely wife is enjoying her newest addiction. (Every couple of minutes, she yells, "Store! Gimme a damn store!") I packed up my carry-on bag, stuffing it with my laptop, eight manuscripts, and four stories to read on the plane. I just called my parents and got a ride to the airport. All that's left is to pack my suitcase. I am so ready for this workshop.

In writing news, I got a nice rejection from McSweeney's, so "Don't Blink" goes next to Miz Ellen at SciFiction. And a form letter from Cicada for "Watersnake, Firesnake," which sucks, since they pay a quarter per word. If anyone knows of paying YA magazines who like the fantastic, please let me know in the comments; I'm starting to run out of markets for this one.

But to balance it off, I got an interview (with Zoran Živković) accepted today at Strange Horizons. It should be running sometime in September or October. Yay! I had to sneak in through the non-fiction door, but I'll have a publication at Strange Horizons! Woo!

So my goals for the rest of the summer are:

• Revise "A Lull in the Conversation" and start sending it to academic journals
• Interview Daniel Wallace
• Finish writing "In Jurong," "Stuck," "BlueGreen Quietus" and "Wombat Fishbone" so that I can submit them for critique in Wilton Barnhardt's fiction workshop in the Fall
• Get my thesis in good shape

The biggest hurdle will be the fiction writing, especially since the first three stories will be included in my thesis.

All righty then, time to check the laundry and start packing. I'm going to Oregon tomorrow! West Coast, here I come!

Now Reading:
Shriek: An Afterword by Jeff VanderMeer

Stories Out to Publishers:
6

Books Read This Year:
35

Zines/Graphic Novels/Fiction Mags Read This Year:
22