The Other Half and I were planning on seeing the new
Harry Potter movie today, but last night we noticed a nail in her car's left rear tire, so we got up early to take the car into Sears, where we bought the tires originally. We have the coverage plan that fixes road damage flats for free, so we knew we didn't have to spend any money. We got there early - 9:20 for a 10:00 opening. We were the first ones there.
About five minutes later some guys pulls up and parks his car right in front of the roll up door leading into the garage. A minute or so later, a second car pulls up behind him.
The Other Half and I get out of our vehicle (parked in the lot) and walk up by the door. Technically we were first, but I wasn't about to make a big deal about two people in front of us. While we waited, more cars got into the impromptu line formed by that first guy. My mistake was not moving our car into that line because when the doors opened and our turn came to talk to someone, we were told that if we weren't in line, we couldn't be helped. Well, then HOW ABOUT A FUCKING SIGN EXPLAINING THAT?!!! So we got there first, but had to wait for about 8 other cars before we got checked in. Wow, was my wife
fuming.
The end result was lunch in the food court at the mall and not getting the car done until it was too late to catch a matinee (I refuse to pay full price). So I get to wait another week for my Harry Potter fix. Instead we came home and watched
Confessions of a Shopaholic. I know, not quite the same thing.
On the writing front, this has been a rather depressing seven days. No acceptances since July 2, but eight rejections so far this month - and six of them just in the last week, including a fifth "no thanks" today for
Deadliest Cachalot. I haven't been
too down about things, not having been in the greatest mood to begin with, but I did get to experience the "one editor hates it/one editor loves it" phenomenon for myself.
Last Sunday my story
The Valley of Splintered Oaks was rejected from the
Rural Horror anthology. No biggie, I thought. I'll just sub another story. I sat down and started writing the piece I eventually called
An Inheritance of Shadows. That was coming along great until I learned the antho was closing to submissions today (Sunday the 26th). I knew I would never get the story done it time, so set it aside to work on other things around the house. Then Thursday came and I got a rejection from
Necrotic Tissue for
The Gallery of Final Repose, a story I had originally subbed
here, but withdrew. The
NT rejection kind of stung, making me question my ability to craft a good story. Their comments included such things as "run of the mill"and "story that did nothing new with the genre." Ouch.
Since
The Gallery of Final Repose is set in a small town, I realized only minor tweaking would be required to have it fit the
Rural Horror guidelines. What the hell, right? It's worth a shot. So Friday and Saturday I tweaked then subbed. Tonight I got the news the piece was accepted. It's funny how one
yes from an editor can take the sting out of all those other
no's.
First we have the 52 Stitches collection from Strange Publications, gathering all the stories from the project's initial year, including two of my stories, Nuts and The Confession. Available from Amazon.
Next up is the new anthology from Pill Hill Press, The Middle of Nowhere: Horror in rural America. Available from both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. This one opens with my ghost tale, The Gallery of Final Repose.
And of course, we have The Devil's Food from The Monsters Next Door. My offering, The Faceless Ones shares this awesome book with notable names like David Dunwoody, Natalie L. Sin and Aaron Polson. Available from Amazon.
Even though I don't have a story in it (I did make the shortlist though!), the new Dead Bait anthology from Severed Press is now out. The aforementioned David Dunwoody and Aaron Polson have tales in this book, so you know right there it's packed with quality stuff. Available from Amazon.
Let's not forget the book I mentioned earlier, K.C. Shaw's Jack of all Trades. You can get it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble or from the publisher. I advise the latter.
While you're buying books, be sure to get a copy of Cate Gardner's awesome chapbook, The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon, available from Bucket 'O' Guts Press.