The writer returns

I wrote last night. Tied up some nagging rewrite issues and finally came up with a version of "Prince Koindrindra Escapes" that, if I'm still not entirely happy with, at least has a consistent enough voice all the way through that I can trust an editor to point out any trouble spots that stand out. No piece of fiction is ever finished, only abandoned, and Koindrindra had reached the point of diminishing returns. It desperately needed to get out into the world, and by golly, Fantasy & Science Fiction can look forward to reading my timeless prose by the weekend.

With Koindrindra out of the way, I was startled to realize several other strong stories had dropped out of circulation, so I stayed up printing them out and subbing to new prospective markets. Sheila at Asimov's is getting the odd political/baseball meditation "Cathedral Field," Strange Horizons is getting "Heart of Gold," a particular favorite that's almost sold at every market I've subbed it to, and Aeon is getting a look-see at "Hern's Children," which may or may not serve as the foundation of a possible future contemporary fantasy novel. But what really counts as a good omen is the email I received this morning from Interzone assistant editor Jetse de Vries, regarding my submission of "Apostate Treasures, LTD.":

Good to see that yet another Interzone regular is trying out the new editorial team.

Hot damn! I'm a "regular." At Interzone. A "regular" at one of the most highly-regarded venues of top-quality speculative fiction in the world. Isn't it absurd how the most innocent of comments will be seized upon by fragile-egoed writers desperate for some form of validation? Guilty as charged. I'm a regular, and don't you forget it! ;-)

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Apostate is one of the strongest pieces I've ever written, a quiet, melancholy riff on certain theological elements. It, too, has garnered words of praise from editors who did not buy it, usually for reasons combining the fact that it's long (true) and an awkward fit for most genre markets (also true).

The important thing is that I'm suddenly riding a wave of productivity. Heck, at this rate, both the Europa story and "In the Second Year Following Apocalypse" should both rise out of their perpetual revision fuge and join Koindrindra out in the publishing wilds. And that, my friends, would be cool indeed.

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