Damn

One of my favorite writers died yesterday. I first discovered David Eddings back in the 80's and have been a big fan ever since reading his Belgariad series in high school. While I wasn't fond of how he wrapped up his last series, The Dreamers, I still felt the story and characterizations were awesome. He wrote with his wife, who died in 2007. I knew then that given that fact coupled with his age, meant it was unlikely he'd produce anything else. While he probably was done writing, it's still sad to hear of his passing and know there will be no more. His books brought so much enjoyment that I feel like an old friend has died.

On the personal front, today brought a rejection from the Hideous Evermore antho. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't supremely bummed out over this one. In fact, I've gone through a bit of depressed mood as of late, which has contributed to my lack of an online presence. A few rejections over the last two months - most notably ones like HE that I was really, really hoping to crack, had left me contemplating giving up the whole writing thing for a while. Rejected stories sat on my hard drive, as I didn't bother subbing them again. Thus, I decided to lose myself in a few good books and forget about it all.

Today the fog lifted. Sure the HE rejection SUCKED BIGTIME, but that's how the game goes. I subbed that particular story again (The Horror of Pine Hollow) as well as Planting Season, which had sat around since Necrotic Tissue said no thanks to it. Then the rewritten Deadliest Cachalot went out once again. After that I polished a flash piece called Thin Ice that had sat finished for several weeks and sent it on its merry way. So it seems my personal cure for rejection blues is to read a few books, get inspired again and jump back into the game.

Now maybe I can get back to that long neglected Vermin story.