Writing:

We mailed our submissions to the PARSEC Science Fiction and Fantasy
Short Story Contest last night. The theme for this years contest was “metallic feathers.” It’s the first contest either of us has submitted to. We should hear back by mid-June or so.

Two more submissions out the door last weekend and one rejection in. I don’t feel too bad about the rejections, though. The last few have been personal ones, including an invitation to submit again. Progress.

Sword and Sorceress 23 opens to submissions this Saturday and will accept submissions until May 16th. A little known fact about me is that, as a teenager, I wrote to MZB to ask for guidelines to her magazine. I’m sure I botched the request but she still sent me them along with some little flyers and a bookmark (which still sits on my desk). Andrea has been reading the Sword and Sorceress for as long as she can remember. We’re both working on stories to submit for this issue.

Last, there are two other upcoming contests I have my sights set on: the Heinlein Centennial Short Story Contest and Return to Luna, due June 1st and 15th respectively.

Taxes:

Taxes are almost done. I just need to fax the signatures over to the account for eFiling and it’s done. Finally a year that I don’t owe money! Of course, almost all of my refund is going to a second retainer to the divorce lawyer. Easy come, easy go.

Penguicon 6.0:

We’re heading to Detroit this weekend for my 6th Penguicon (and Andrea’s first). This will be my second year following the writing track rather than the tech stuff. I won’t be doing the writing workshop this time, so hopefully I’ll have a chance to meet some new people with writerly interests. I’m still working out how to do that, being the geeky wallflower I am, but I’m sure I’ll manage somehow.