Pirates

Still writing "Pirates of the Ozarks", up to 3,600 words

Ed Morris sent along first draft of a chapbook featuring four of our collaborations. Going to go over it. Looks like a lot of fun.

It goes on and one and on...

More rain. It rained all night and past mid-day. The county judge this morning (I write up the county commissioners' meeting for the newspaper) said he is writing the governor and asking for a disaster declaration for the county. The individual commissioners reported (they're in charges of public works in their parts of the county) that they have many damaged and washed out roads.

On the genre front, got an invite to submit to an annual anthology. The editor liked something he read in "The Silver Dollar Saucer" and got in touch with me. It deadlines next March. I'll see what I can write up.

Alien

The local community college Humanities Department is having another month-long film series. Back in April it had a science fiction theme, and I spoke when they showed "Fahrenheit 451". This month the theme is horror.

Since they were showing "Alien" on Oct. 22, I volunteered again to make some petinent comments. The attendance was much lower than expected, but we've been having this Texas monsoon weather and a lot of students probably didn't want to go out.

The series ends with a showing next Thursday of "Bubba Ho-tep" and Joe Lansdale is coming to town. This outta be good. The college is taking us both out for lunch Thursday, and I plan to write up a story for ther entertainmemt page of next Sunday's paper.

Pirates (cont.)

Still working on the story, only up to 2,800 words but I've been tightening up the story and straightening out some narrative kinks. Again, I'm kinda enjoying this one.

Pirates sail on

Returned to "Pirates of the Ozarks" this evening, up to 2,500 words, but it's all been in fleshing out and improving portions already written - actually didn't add anything to the end.

Back to the Pirates

Got back to "Pirates of the Ozarks" tonight, now past the 2,000 word mark. Lots of fun!

Around and about

The sun came out Friday - pretty much startled everybody. It has been rainy and overcast for ever a week now, and I'd forgotten what a sunny day looked like.

Good thing is the garage dried up on its own. After it was flooded Tuesday, I assumed I'd have to remove water from the floor, but it dried up on its own. The last time the garage flooded that wasn't the case, but I guess this time the humidity dropped and it evaporated. We'll wait and see if the dryboard mildews, but since it has been cleaned at least twice earlier, there must be some residual bleach on the walls.

Hope to get caught up on submissions and get back to writing, but I have to spend some time cleaning around the house, especially all the mud that got tracked in this week.

Thanks, but no thanks

Gee, mentioning SoonerCon... got an email today inviting me to be a guest in 2010. Already replied, in the negative. Sorry folks, I'm staying out of OKC for a while.

Got the contract in the mail today from David Riley for the publication of "A Djinn for General Houston" in Issue No. 5 of Science Fiction Trails next spring. Already signed a copy and stuck it in the mailbox. Glad to be back for a second year. "Professor Malakoff" got great reviews.

Oh, and by the way

On Monday - my day off - I drove 450 miles round trip to Henryetta, Oklahoma, where my old Ford Taurus station wagon has been sitting since the transmission melted down while I was going to SoonerCon.

I cleaned out my personal effects. An old boy at the garage said he'd give me $100 for the car, but we couldn't get the title transferred because it was a legal holiday. I left him the title anyway, and told him to mail me the money. There was no way I am going to make that trip again.

I pretty much figure I'll never see the money, but I need to move on.

It was a good little car. I was proud that - after sitting there for four months - I turned the key and it started right up.

Not had a chance to get back to "Pirates" - to much cleanup at home in the wake of the monsoons.

Afraid this would happen

A few years ago I read, in an article about the potential effects of global warming, that Texas would stand to become wetter because of the increased evaporation from the Gulf of Mexico. In my story "The Rocket Powered Cat" I mentioned that the near-future Dallas had a pseudo-tropical humid climate, with a new growth forest growing up between it and Fort Worth.

Although the change hasn't affected other parts of Texas, here in East Texas it's kicked in. We've had four days this year of between four and eight inches of rain in six hours. We had almost six inches Tuesday. The garage flooded out for the fourth time this year (it has never done that before). Our house is on a hill, but the thunderstorms are so heavy the water simply can't run off fast enough.

The community infrastructure is beginning to crumble. There were 60 road closures yesterday in the county. A number of bridges and culverts have washed out. It's becoming hard to keep phone and cable lines in service. Texas doesn't design things for a monsoon climate.

Chicken Soup for the Cold

Made and ate two cans of chicken soup today. It does seem to help with the cold and flu symptoms. No fiction writing today, spent some useful time doing chores around the house.

Getting started

Got a start on "Pirates of the Ozarks" on Wednesday, have 1,300 words so far. Been trying to ward off the flu. somewhat unsuccessfully. I got caught in a cold rain Friday and last night was so weak I slept 13 hours. But I may have turned the corner.

Another acceptance

I was happy last year to send "Professor Malakoff's Amazing Ethereal Telegraph" to David Riley for Issue No. 4 of Science Fiction Trails. He liked the story and it was published this spring.

I sent him another story for Issue No. 5, "A Djinn for General Houston". He says he likes that one, too, and it will be in Issue No, 5 next spring.

Satisfaction

I've had a story title bouncing around my head for a few years, "Pirates of the Ozarks", but I've never been happy with any outlines I've come up with. Today, pretty much in a flash, the solution came to me. The title instead will be "Concluding Report of the Successful Suppression of the Pirates of the Ozarks".

Ir rained all last night, and the place is soaked again. So much for the Sunbelt.

Anniversaries

By some reckonings, today is the 25th anniversary of the publication of "Neuromancer". Never read the book.

By more reliable accounts, tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the debut of "The Twilight Zone". Now there's an anthology with a sense of wonder.