In a perverse display of self-fulfilling prophecy, thus far during this lovely, quiet, stress-free first week post-legislative session 2011, I have written exactly two new words. Two.
Okay, okay, that’s net, not gross, as in I was doing an editing pass on a couple chapters and so that figure includes tweaking, cutting, rewriting, and polishing. But it’s still a far cry from “productive” and makes me want to slap myself in the face and yell, “Just get off your ass and write, you slacker!” Which would probably disconcert my co-editors.
Or I could give a gun to my muse a la this utterly apropos comic from Jim C. Hines. Just what my crack-whore-trollop of a muse needs: a firearm.
In other news, the long-awaited End of an Aeon anthology with my “Black Swan, White Swan” in it is back on track, slated to come out in July. I really like this story—inspired by one of my favorite ballets, Swan Lake—and I was worried that it seemed to be caught in some sort of publishing limbo hell. I sold it to Aeon in early 2008, then the magazine closed down but planned to release the last of its inventory as this anthology, which has subsequently been plagued by computer issues and other slowdowns. (Of note, this is not, by far, the longest lead time I’ve experienced, which is why I wasn’t actively stewing or fretting about it.) So I was greatly relieved to hear from Patrick Swenson, publisher of Fairwood Press, letting me know to expect page proofs soon and with a concrete release date. He also mentioned that it will be released as both a trade paperback and an ebook (in multiple formats). Hurray!
Shiny cover:
Nice cover! And your muse and my muse are apparently off on vacation together, considering my own lack of productivity recently. Yeesh.
By the by, I’ll be at Gaylaxicon/Outlantacon next month, working the Dreamspinner Press table. Saw you on the guest list! 🙂
Our muses are probably both in some seedy bar downtown, tossing back appletinis and exchanging ways-to-madden-your-writer tips and torture techniques.
You mean I’ll actually get to see you outside of Dragon*Con? Sign of the apocalypse or what?
You’ll get back to regular production levels. This is just the normal reaction to a sudden release of pressure. Your muse thinks you’re on vacation–or maybe she’s playing hooky.