Forget to bring any CDs to work today, so I am learning the slightly-tinny pleasures of streaming online "radio" stations. Actually, despite the tinnyness, I'm liking the one I'm listening to. I'm listening to the metal show on radio.brotherpete.com. There is almost no talking and no advertising, which is the best you can hope, and all of the music has been good so far.

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Our poor car had to go in for its MOT yesterday (for the uninitiated, this is the annual test of roadworthiness). It didn't need as much work as I'd feared, but did need more than I'd hoped. I also had an oil and filter change done, which I could have done myself. Perhaps I should have. On the way home the engine started billowing smoke. I couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from. I'm hoping the mechanic just spilled oil somewhere and it's burning off. If not, back to the garage again. I'll find out this weekend, I guess. Cars are a hassle. Don't get one.

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Steph and I are having a bad rejection week. In three days, we've had 7 rejections between us. Bearing in mind that I only had 7 stories out and Steph probably had about 10 out, that's a nasty percentage. Two of mine were form rejections from Realms of Fantasy, which bugged me because Realms has bought quite a bit of my stuff. Turns out the form rejects were a mistake and I've been told I can send the stories back in, which I guess I'll do. But Realms has such a ponderous process that it means at least another 4 or 5 months before the stories get to the editor. Bah. Still, at least they were mistakes rather than real rejections and they've got a second chance, so I can't really complain.

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Progress continues on my increasingly-long kids novel, The Sleepers. I'm not sure of the exact length because I've got a lot of stuff to type still, but it must be approaching 40k and it's nowhere near to ending. I may be turning into Robert Jordan (although with less busty blonde women in my stories).