End of Month Roundup

[temporus]

This month saw some firsts for me.  First Father's day, the Little Man's first tooth.  My first re-write request, and my first sale.  That's a lot of firsts.

On the writing front:

Spent most of the month revising stories.  Revised a sequel (or prequel, not really sure) to the story I sold.  I think it might need another pass though, waiting for some feedback before I make any decisions on sending it out.  I also spent some time revising a story that I had a rewrite request.  The editor emphasized the point--do not rush the rewrite.  So I am not.  A novel mugged me for my milk-money, causing me to take a moment and write out the first chapter.  I sketched a bit more, and there's still some more of it rattling around in my head threatening to come back.  Never mind that I still have another novel I put on hold, and really should be finishing a draft on before taking on the next big project.   I also made a start a few days ago on another short story, but it's not a complete idea just yet.  Hopefully by next month I'll have something.

One rejection.  One submission.  One re-write request.  (Kind of a grey area in my head, so that went in the yellow folder, instead of the red one for rejections.)  One acceptance.  Currently no outstanding stories, which means I have to get some stuff ready and out the door pronto.

Three books read:

Hereafter and After, by Richard Parks: This is a limited edition, signed and numbered book.  Parks again takes the elements of convention and turns them on end.  Starting the story with death, he shows a character who has more significance in the afterlife than he had while alive.   Parks takes the familiar--angels, devils, the norse mythos--and puts them in a new context, and there's something both thought provoking and satisfying about the way he does it.  I enjoy watching the author plumb the depths of the very nature of deity, death, and the hereafter, a theme that's not uncommon in his two collections of short stories either.  A great read.
The book itself is quite nice.  I bought the PPC Semi-hardcover edition, and at first was confused, thinking that they'd accidentally sent me a hardcover.  No, I had the right edition.  Kudos to PS Publishing for putting out quality product to match the work within.

Proven Guilty, by Jim Butcher:  This romp must have been fun to write.  I imagine Butcher's own fame, and appearance on the convention circuit himself inspired this particular tale set in and around the horror convention: SplatterCon!!!  I felt like the pacing and focus of this novel kept up where Dead Beat left off.  The writing smoother, and the twists and turns more focused.  It was nice to see what it was like on the other side of the Warden's cloak, and to see Harry struggling to deal with the fact that he was now that guy, and what it would mean to be one.  This is explored further in the next novel as well.  But we continue to see Harry grow.  He wins not just because he's a whole wrecking ball of magical talent, but also because he knows how to work his connections.  That's a new layer for him.


White Night, by Jim Butcher:  The latest of Harry Dresden books.  I'm now all caught up.  While the writing is strong, and the story flows well, it's not quite as good as the previous two.  It's like a triple, or a double instead of a home run.  Still good, but not quite the same wallop.  This one really shows Harry what it's like to be a Warden, on the side where people start to think of him, the way he always viewed them.  And I think a part of him was irked at having to defend it, but defend it he did.  Of course, what made the book was Carlos.  The west coast Warden.  I mean, it's really all about the Carlos, Dresden was merely there to be his assistant in getting things done. Carlos makes it look easy. :)  We see even more wheeling and dealing here, and that's a satisfactory thing, because by now he needs to be using help.  Perhaps that's what is making the series continue to be enjoyable.  In some others, it feels like the hero never bothers to gather allies, even as the scale of the villains increases, they just take it all on alone.  Harry seems to finally be learning to know when to call in the cavalry, and why you do sometimes need to make deals.