Monthly Archives: January 2007

I’ve been experimenting with the new compact fluorescent light bulbs. Maybe you’ve seen them in the store. Wal-Mart is really pushing them. They replace a normal incandescent bulb and use about ¼ the power. They also run far cooler than … Continue reading →

I was going to sleep in this morning. I woke up about 30 minutes before the alarm and reset the alarm for 30 minutes later than usual. 5:30. But I couldn’t get the opening scene of a new short story … Continue reading →

Sometimes we complain about response times from certain markets. We send out our stories and wait three months, six months…longer. Some novel markets have response times better measured in years than months. Then there’s the other side of the coin. … Continue reading →

I spent yesterday revising the new short story. A long session on-screen, then I printed out the draft and went at it in hardcopy. As I’ve alluded to previously, I think, these two types of editing are quite different for … Continue reading →

I’ve lived in this community for over seventeen years. I decided it was time I should have a library card. I’ve used the library a lot over the years, but I’ve always gone, done my research and come home again. … Continue reading →

Congratulations to Joe R. Lansdale, who was just announced Grand Master of the World Horror Convention. Hisownself lives up the road a piece from here. I first encountered him at a local writer’s guild meeting many years ago, back before … Continue reading →

So, eyes glued to the TV last night, watching…Law & Order reruns. After NCIS, that is. I just couldn’t bring myself to watch. There was absolutely nothing I wanted to hear during that speech except “I quit” (riffing on an … Continue reading →

I spent the morning in county court observing proceedings as research for a short story. My main objective this morning was voir dire, the jury selection process. Since I’m not eligible to serve on a jury in the U.S., I … Continue reading →

This will be the last post with a “brrrr” theme. I promise. We’re getting lots of rain these days, but the temperature is rising into the forties. By contrast with a few days ago, it feels positively tropical. I received … Continue reading →

The freezing rain came last night. Not in the huge fractions of inches we were originally supposed to receive, but enough to cause some school closures and a few multi-vehicle accidents. Overpasses have been closed. It was 36° when I … Continue reading →