A Relative Triumph

After a few hours of tapping away at my trusty writing keyboard, I've finally finished a new story, my first for, hmmm, I'm not sure exactly, but it's definitely been many, many, many months, way before the first of my two operations and recuperation periods this year, since I last wrote 'The End'. My brain has just been a too lax and fuzzy, made flabby by lack of routine and addled by pain killers, to do more that stop and start and tinker. I've had ideas and been fired up, but haven't been able to sign off on anything. Hopefully, this means I'm back on track and can get stuck into a couple of half-finished pieces on my hard drive that I'd like to get off to certain anthologies next month. Did I just write next month? Someone needs to get a move on.

Anyway, this newborn tale is only a light-hearted littlie which probably won't rack up more than 2k words by the time I've polished it, but it's new and it's FINISHED and I will submit it next weekend.

Now I'm going to reward myself for that minor victory with a long walk. When I get back, I'll submit two stories and do a quick spot of absolutely necessary housework (aaaargh). I also need the fresh air to recover from this extremely kind piece about yours truly that Steve Cameron has posted over on his blog. It's left me feeling both hugely grateful and a tad like a roo dazzled by the headlights of an oncoming car. All I can say is that I'm also glad I went to that Sean Williams workshop so many years ago and met Steve. If not for his enthusiastic comments in the corridor after the mostly negative reactions (too complicated) of the other participants (back then, such things still cut me deeply), I might have doubted that that particular piece work had a future (it was part of my beloved space opera trilogy, which is still waiting for a good edit and restructuring). Also, lucky me, I got to read Steve's brick story, which then went on to become the much lauded So Sad, the Lighthouse Keeper.