SS 22 - UPDATE

My SS22 submission has returned and joined the others in the bar, receiving pats on the back and generous refills.

SUBMISSION - SS22

I have submitted a story to Sword & Sorceress 22. Observing the importance of Rule The First - READ THE GUIDELINES, it was interesting to note they did not wish submissions in the more traditional double-spaced manuscript format. Their wish is my command, and hopefully, their check is my celebration dinner.

Two other stories still languish at the bar and I must steel myself to be more forceful in getting them out into circulation again. One is turning into quite the lush, having sat around on its gluteus maximus for over 3 months.

STORY ADDICT

One of my more expensive habits is the collecting of anime (Japanese animation) trading cards. I find the artwork fascinating and exciting. So much so, that I have started collecting cards of anime and console games where I have no idea what the story is.

I look at the character cards, study their expressions. Is this the hero? The Villian? Both? Is she the lover? Is he? I don't know, but I try to puzzle it out, because I am a story addict.

Scene cards show multiple relationships. #31 shows these two fighting each other, but #37 shows them fighting back-to-back. Is he betraying her? Is she setting him up for a fall? I don't know, but I try to puzzle it out, because I am a story addict.

These visual fragments float around my mind, struggling to form a pattern of meaning, and know I cannot come close to the truth. But I try to puzzle it out, because I am a story addict.

BRAG SHELF

Thanks to the convenience of online shopping and the easy transactional purchase process of WalMart.com, my five-shelf ladder bookcase arrived earlier this week. Having made the time to construct it this evening, I found the assembly relatively easy. And unlike other bookcases I have put together, this one was exceptionally easy to move once completed.

The first shelf houses one of the Wonderfalls reading monkey bookends.

The second shelf showcases three books: Bud the Bunny 1.0, The First Line, Vol. 9, Issue 1, Spring 2007, and Bud the Bunny 2.0, and two plush rabbits: Bud 2.0 and Bud 3.0 (Bud 1.0 keeps me company at my day job and reminds me of my true calling).

The third shelf is home to the other Wonderfalls reading monkey bookend.

The remaining fourth and fifth shelves are currently bare.

I need to submit more stories for publication.