Good trend

I don't know if they have done anything different on
how the folks at Locus mail their magazines, but if
they have, it's appreciated.
I subscribed to Locus at the start of the year. I got
the January issue in an envelope - someone obviously
mailed it singly - but after that, in February, March
and April - I got the magazine 5-6 months after
publication.
In other words, I'd get it a week or two AFTER the next
month's publication. I got the April issue around May
12 (Locus goes out on the first of each month).
I don't necessarily blame Locus - the U.S. postal
service is a notorious bunch of lazy morons - but the
usefulness of the magazine was certainly diminished. I
mean, I often read notices and stories about activities
and projects AFTER they had happened or the deadline
had passed.
Then last month, in May, I got the May issue just a few
days after I got the April issue, about May 15. I was
surprised. Well, the June issue came this past week,
also. It seems the delivery time has been cut in half.
This time, I actually got some practical use from the
issue. There was a note that Jeff Vandermeer is editing
a steam punk anthology for Tachyon Publications. I
emailed Jeff and asked him if he'd like to take a look
at "A Rocket for the Republic". He said he would,
adding that it was filling fast. I doubt, if I got the
magazine a month from now, he would have still been
open.
It would be nice if this pattern continues. I could
actually use the magazine to help with my writing.
I'm still kinda floating after the great reviews
"Avatar" got. It was a nice ego boo. I've also gotten
stories back from both Sheila Williams and Stanley
Schmidt this week that they said were enjoyable and
they liked - although neither rose to the level of a
sale. Both of them also made suggestions about
something that could be fixed in the story - very
practical suggestions that were helpful.
On another positive note, I've got what I feel are some
of the best story outlines I've ever concocted waiting
to be written up. I may actually getting better at this
with time.
Here's a few story titles, in case you ever read them
in the future:

Written and being tweaked
Go, Dragons, Go!
America, U.S.A.
Asleep with Ghosts

Partially Written
Sooner or Later

Outlines complete
Holley with an "E"
She's Come Together
Sympathy for Salieri
Return to Me.
The Man Who Sold His Soul to His Country
High in the Man's Castle
Resilience

Still need some work
Valle del Lisis
The Queen of the Lesser Gods
The Last Hitler
Mime Kampf

By the way

In case you didn't get it, the title of my last post refers to the end of the school year and high school graduations. We had seven K-12 school graduations to cover in two weeks, four K-8 schools, and a number of other programs.

In preparation to writing up some of the stories I've outlined, I went down to the local barber shop this afternooj and asked my old boy barber, Joe Bob Swododa, for a cranial smackdown to stimulate the creative process. Here's a video of the experience.

Pomp and Circumstance

Sorry if anyone has been looking for me here for the past two weeks, but the end of May is a very busy time for me professionally. Being a community newspaper editor, I have a lot of things to cover at the end of the school year. My newspaper comes out twice a week, and this is the only time of tbe year I develop a news backlog, i.e. I actually have more news than I can print each issue.

Obviously, I haven't sat down for a few weeks to write any fiction, but on the other hand, I've been jotting down a lot of notes. As things slow down. I may have a half dozen or so stories hitting the slush piles. I have that many stories in various stages of repair, ranging from complete stories that need rewrites, to drafts written out but not typed (to ease my carpal tunnel syndrome, I will occasionally will write a story out longhand - it helps because I am right-handed, but it's my left wrist that has the worst pains) to stories that need a beginning or end (which I may have come up with during the past few weeks).

I have about a half dozen stories in the slush pile for the next issue of Sentinel S-F, which will be published July 15. I will be making a decision on July 1. The last issue was very well received. Jay Lake was happy for the story I published. If you have a story, you're welcome to submit it at plantonelli@valornet.com

I'm making plans for Conestoga in Tulsa in July, Archon (NASFIC) in August and FenCon in September. I still have to pick a story for the FenCon book. I need to go update my submission log.

I will NOT be going to ArmadillonCon this year. After Archon I should be taking a week's vacation and making a trip to the East Coast, and I will be coming back that weekend.

After the publication of "Insight" and "It's Wonderful, Life" in Twisted Tongue in May, the only thing I have pending is "My Ugly Little Self", which is also going t be published by Twisted Tongue, in September.

Twisted Tongue, and IROSF

The U.K. magazine Twisted Tongue has come out with its May issue. This is a first for me, because it has TWO of my stories, a short called "Insight" and a flash called "It's Wonderful, Life".

http://www.twistedtongue.co.uk/

The latest issue of the Internet Review of Science Fiction went up on Wednesday. It features an interview called "The Ones to Watch" about five aspiring writers. The idea is to come back and track their progress once a year. I am one of the five.

http://www.irosf.com/

Third Issue of Sentinel S-F

The third issue of Sentinel S-F went live on Tuesday. The pro slot goes to Jay Lake, with his fun fantasy "Fire-Heart and Rose-Lips". As usual, I reserve the semi-pro slot for myself with "The League of Dead Nations". David L. Gray gets the newbie slot with "Collateral Damage".

Of course, Jay Lake needs no introduction. Dave is probably best known around regional conventions for doing his "Buzz Blaster" radio plays. He read an earlier version of "Collateral Damage" at Fencon last fall in Dallas, and then he submitted the story to me at ConDFW in February. I'm very pleased with both stories.

A.R. Yngve, a Sentinel S-F fan, was kind enough to take our existing logo and tweak it for a much better appearance. I'm very grateful.

Nice comment

I was ego-googling for fun (certainly not profit) and found one of my stories was mentioned on a Ray Bradbury-themed blog by a fellow named Robert Blevins. The subject was Bradbury stories where the protagonist is a writer.

http://raybradburyboard.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=8881014801&f=6891083901&m=2751062603&r=9401039013#9401039013

"I like 'S.S.P.A.M' by Lou Antonelli. It's the story of a discouraged writer who exchanges email messages with a little girl from the future."

I guess he must have read it at Bewildering Stories back in 2003. It was also republished in the BSW anthology.

I posted and thanked him for the vote of confidence and added - not to nit-pick - that the title is actually "S.P.P.A.M."

Another nice piece of news

I got an email from Tim Miller, chairman of Fencon, the Dallas con that is being held in November. They've asked me to submit a story for their program book. This is a first for me. I'm honored, especially since Connie Willis is the GOH.