Our wireless modem died on Friday. I ordered a new one first thing Saturday morning, overnight delivery. As of yesterday: nothing, so I called to inquire about our order. They had absolutely no record of it, so I had to refile the order so we remain wireless until tomorrow. It seems a little strange to get up at my usual 5 am to write and not be able to check e-mail. Not bad, just strange.
Watched Oprah’s interview with Cormac McCarthy last night. I expected more, but it was okay. Based on his terse writing style, I also expected more of a curmudgeon, but he was very pleasant, mostly relaxed, and genteel. It wasn’t exactly investigative journalism at its finest, but there were a few nice moments. Could have done without Oprah’s closing comments on his statement that he didn’t really care how many readers he had, though. Just seemed like the wrong note to end on.
I’m renovating another old story. This is a 6000-word science fiction mystery that was accepted back in 2002 for an anthology that also appears to have become fictional. I never did anything else with it once it became clear the book was a no-go. I’m actually pretty pleased with what I’ve read of it so far, about half of its original 25 pages. I trimmed maybe 250 words to date during my first editing pass. At such length, it may be tough to find a market for it, but I think it’s time it got out of the house again. Think Alien crossed with And Then There Were None.
There are rumors that the fan uprising may have raised Jericho from the grave. Here’s hoping. It’s nice when that happens—to see the vox populi have some impact. I’d be happy with a full or half season that arrived at some resolution—I’m not sure the story really has legs for the long haul.
The Gunslinger Born #5 comes out today.
By the way, Legends of the Mountain State: Ghostly Tales from the State of West Virginia is up for preorder at Shocklines. A few of the contributing authors will be at NECON this year, so we’re trying to think of something we can do to make this a value-added proposal for Shocklines orders, since Matt will also be at NECON. The book doesn’t come out until October, though.
