Fed up of being fed up

It strikes me, looking at previous entries, I've been a miserable wretch as of late. So I'm going to focus on the better things around me. So no gripes about the rumbling bedroom extensions or the headaches plaguing me these past few days . . .

Helen & Mark were officially engaged last Saturday, which is gret news. Mark's a smart lad and they clearly think the world of each other. Then, wasting no time, they checked out a house near Mum & Dad's, put an offer in and got it accepted. So engaged and mortgaged to the hilt all in one whoopy swoop. I'm really chuffed for them. We all are.

I'm reading a great book at the mo' called 'Basket Case' by Carl Hiaasen. I've enjoyed it enough -- although I've yet to finish it -- to buy another on eBay and to look at the availability of yet more. The humour can be very coarse, certainly not suitable for youngsters, but the book is not without a certain charm for all that.

What else?

Oh yes. I've really enjoyed listening to stories downloaded from Escape Pod

http://www.escape.extraneous.org .

This is basically a SF magazine where the stories are in audio format. Download lt, stick it on your mp3 player and listen to it while you work. So far I've enjoyed most of the presentations. So much so I've even made a voluntary contribution. Yeah, I gave away cash. I surprise myself, sometimes.

I received an email from Robert N Stephenson this morning, the editor of the TIME AND ROBOTS anthology. It contained a pdf of the cover to the book. Nice artwork. Haven't received the promised advance yet, but that's probably too much like a gripe so I should delete it really. Speaking of which, Tim Leider at TEDDY BEAR CANNIBAL MASSACRE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0976654601/qid%3D1122550558/202-2203281-1339065

hasn't paid me yet! What is it with these editors, do they have their own time frames where 1 week of their time = 2 months of everybody else's?

A response, but not the one I wanted.

I wanted a response from SHADOWED REALMS and today I got it.

Dear Michael. Thanks for allowing us to read your story A Loop Becomes a Noose. We enjoyed the story and have held on to it hoping we could find a place for it. Unfortunately we only have limited space, and with the quality of submissions we receive, competition is fierce. Therefore, after careful consideration, we regretfully advise we will not be accepting your story for publication.

Your story is clearly of a capable standard--well written with strong sentence structure. I was particularly taken by your father/son dialogue, so well done I could almost hear the accent. In addition, the circular finish of your last paragraph was superb.

Well, although rejection always sucks, that wasn't too painful. I've had a scout around for other pro-paying markets and surprisingly they all define flash as less than 500. Alas 'Loop Becomes a Noose' is 600 and not trimmable.

The late show

After a dreadful night's sleep -- due to Heather having croup (inflammation of the trachea and larynx) and Jill suffering a fever (due to tonsilitis) -- I couldn't get out of bed this morning. Finally roused and packed myself off to work at 8.45, aided by a couple of asprins with my weetabix.

Jill saw a specialist at Longton Cottage Hospital this morning, and he says they'll remove her tonsils in 6 months, which is good news really. Our GP has maintained for ages that no way would a specialist agree to remove them as tonsils are there for a reason. But the specialist just glanced at 'em and said they would have to come out. Should have been done yonks ago if you ask me.

Heather's croup worries me. At four and a half she should be growing out of it, and it does make me wonder whether the croup is a precursor to some sort of asthmatic condition. Maybe I'm worrying about nothing, but that's a parent's prerogative.

I am still VERY tired.

But I've enough energy to have a bitch about unresponsive markets. So here goes: ANTHROLATIONS magazine have still not been in touch with me about 'Pig on a Motorcycle' after 8 months. I had an email from them in March saying they were about to get stuck into their slush pile. Since then they've ignored my emails requesting some sort of news. SHADOWED REALMS are ignoring my emails for some sort of update on my submission 'Loop Becomes a Noose'.. They assured me -- back in April -- that they'd give me a decision by mid-June at the latest. Likewise TWISTED CAT TALES and FLYTRAP, both of whom said they would give me their final decisions by mid-June. I'm told it's a good sign when editors hang on to your stories for ages, it means you are getting through to the final deliberations, but couldn't they just answer emails and let you know this?