I'm starting to think about which six stories and poems from Lone Star Stories I will nominate for the Pushcart Prize. (The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror #18 nominations are easy because there are no numerical limits). Any readers of my 'zine who want to share their opinions are welcome to e-mail me. Of course, I'll have two more issues out before the end of the year, so there's no rush.


On the writing end of things, I have three short stories in progress: one for the shared world group, one collaborative story with Josh Rountree, and a new piece that started writing itself last night. The last piece is my subconscious way of neglecting the other two stories, but at least it is a productive form of neglect.

A story of mine at Flesh and Blood has been in their hands for thirty days now, which is far longer than their normal response time. I'd love to think that it's under serious consideration, but more likely than not, it was simply lost. I'll query them in a couple of months.

Another tale has sat with Lenox Avenue for ten days, which is a long time for them (and that says a lot about their speedy response times). I'm crossing my fingers on that one.

Back to writing one of my three stories. . ..