192 and 193

I just finished writing a ten-minute play, Cheeseburger with Wings, for this year's ICFA and I thought it would be story 192. Then I realized the last one I wrote, The Three Spaces of Eve, back in March of 2016, was never added to The One-Thousand. Maybe I figured because it wasn't for money, it didn't count. But I wrote other freebies early on and they counted. So, I'm counting both of them now. And rather than fuck up the numbers I've assigned to things in between, I'm calling Eve 192, and Cheeseburger 193. And that's all I'll hear about that.

This Year And The Next

I went into 2018 with the knowledge that I wanted a more chaotic life than I had, because I finally realized that I thrive in a less controlled situation. I declared 2018 “the year of biting off more than I can chew,” and made a ridiculous list of goals. It’s not a surprise to me that I didn’t nail them all, but I did achieve some cool things and felt more alive than I had in a long time. Here are some good things about 2018:

* While working two jobs, I went back to school and picked up 27 college credits toward my AA. I made the dean’s list over the summer.

* I finished three short stories that I’m quite proud of.

* I sold one story, “Stars so Sharp They Break the Skin,” to Apex which was published in May in Apex 108. You can read it here: https://www.apex-magazine.com/stars-so-sharp-they-break-the-skin/

* I read my story, "The Wardrobe," at ICFA, which went over well. I met, and received praise from, Geoff Ryman, and that made my year (as you can see).

* I was promoted to a full-time gig at the library, which is so much better than all the retail jobs I’ve had over the last thirty years, it doesn’t feel like I’m really working (except for all those hours I’m not doing other things).

* That comes with good health insurance, which my kids and I didn’t have for about three and a half years. I had my first check-up recently, got back on some meds I needed, and I’ll be getting more issues checked out soon. I’ve also lost eight pounds in the last couple of months and plan on losing more in the coming months. I’ve made exercise a regular part of life.

* My daughter got her BS in Forensic Science and got her first full-time job mere days ago.

In 2019 I’m focusing on writing. I’ll be shedding some of my less productive activities and I hope to finish twelve stories this year, as well as complete the first draft of a novel I’ve been fooling with for far too long. That’s on top of the usual stuff for my patrons, which includes short fiction and podcasts. I’m excited about whatever it is I’m about to create.

I look forward to bigger and better things in the coming year, some of which I can’t yet imagine. I hope all of you have a fantastic new year, too!

ABC

The last of the ICFA plays and this one has some action. Written by Kit Reed, directed by Carrie J. Cole, Performed by Max Gladstone, Jennifer Gunnels, and Marco Palmieri.

Glitch

Another ICFA play, this one by James Patrick Kelly. I think it was directed by Kelli Shermeyer, although the video says it was Carrie J. Cole. The players are Frances Auld, Alayne Peterson, and Max Gladstone.

Offering

Another fun ICFA play, "Offering" by Jeannie Beckwith, directed by Carrie J. Cole, and performed by John Kessel and Andy Duncan.

The Tomb of Ligeia Mare

Here's another one of those plays from ICFA, written by Andy Duncan, directed by Keli Shermeyer, and performed by James Patrick Kelly, Stephanie Neely, and Frances Auld.

The Three Spaces of Eve

For a few days a couple of weeks ago, instead of working on a Mango, I wrote this play, "The Three Spaces of Eve." It was performed at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (a.k.a. ICFA) last week Friday. It's definitely the type of thing you folks would like, though a little knowledge of the history of science fiction will go a long way toward appreciating the jokes.

Thanks to the players, Jennifer Gunnels as Eve, Brett Cox as Roy, and Alayne Peterson as Annie. Thanks to Carrie J. Cole for directing, Marco Palmieri for announcing, and Bill Clemente and one guy whose name I don't know (sorry, guy) for making the video!

UPDATE: That one guy's name is Sean Dixon. And you can see the other four very fun plays at Bill Clemente's blog here: http://aroundperu.blogspot.com/2016/03/icfa-37-flash-play-festival-march-18.html

Poster Syndrome

Sorry I haven't been here in a couple of months. I moved across town and it was hairy working that around my day job. I did take a week off, but then all sorts of awesome people I usually don't see were in town and available, so they took precedence.

I went to ICFA a couple of weeks ago, hung out with old friends, made new ones, spent too much money on books, had the most magnificent steak of my life, soaked in Ellen Klages' tales of Clarion down under, and got brain freeze with Ian McDonald. It was awesome.

Because of these things and my short story writing frenzy the first two months of this year, I am, as usual, way the hell behind on Mangoes. My boss, who's a fan of the show, says I was even farther behind last year. I still have to record all four April shows (yes, there will be an April 30th show this year), and of the thirty-one shows I need for MuchoMangoMayo, I've only finished writing the first one yesterday! I hope to have the second done today.

I inadvertently shot off story 148 of The One-Thousand the other day. It was a twitter story and I submitted it before even realizing I'd taken another step toward my goal.

The Boy made supper for me today. Ravioli and garlic bread. A nice surprise for my exhausted ass. And for the rest of me as well.

Another Cerberus story is nearing completion! I always have to check the spelling on that. Being a comic book geek, I always want to write Cerebus. It's a fine line between a three-headed dog and a talking aardvark. Anyway, the current version of the story is deep and cloudy (that's good). My esteemed co-authors have begun to write some things that are just beyond my comprehension and I'm loving it.

I have other writer friends and acquaintances who talk about having imposter syndrome, which is crazy, because they're all great, published writers. I was explaining to one friend recently that I've always had the opposite problem. I'm convinced that I'm much better than I actually am, and why hasn't the world recognized my genius? Rather than living in fear of being caught, I live in disappointment for not being caught. How boring life would be if we were all satisfied. Embrace your issues. Hold them tightly. Love 'em up.