All the…Cool Things…

I blame the title on my utterly random music collection spitting out Blink-182 at me while I was pondering the blank page. This is probably the most harmless of its influences, so instead of “blame,” perhaps I’ll just “give credit…” 😉

So I’ve been quiet for a while and what this means for you is that you get to hear all kinds of stuff that has been happening in the world of me. Some is awesome, some is terrifying yet awesome, and some has me so excited, I swear I might just pee my pants.

Not really, but you know what I mean, I’m sure.

At least, I hope you do.

Anywhooo…..last weekend was ConCarolinas and, of course, I had a fabulous time. I spent much of my weekend in panels, but it was well worth the cost of admission. The more I write, the more I learn, the more value I find in listening to writers who have been where I am right now. I’ll gush more later, but I ended up with pages of notes, an armful of autographed books and the first half dozen handwritten pages of a WIP. Suffice to say, I was a happy girl.

This was not my first author encounter of the year, however, and it won’t be the last. The wildly popular Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, trekked on over to Concord, NC and I had the good fortune of getting to see her and get yet another autographed book. (If you have a chance to catch her on her book tour, or any other appearance, I highly recommend it. Even if only to hear her swear in public as she reads Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. If you can’t catch up with her on a reading, go buy the audiobook. Seriously. It’s worth every penny.) More to come on this, along with a companion review next week!

Even though I have a deep and utter loathing of snow and all winter weather shenanigans, I am very excited to say that I will be going to see Stephen King in Lowell, MA this December. The Master, the Man I’ve been reading since I was a teenager is doing a rare reading and QA session at the school I’m attending electronically, and I’m braving potentially shitty snow to see him in person. I’m thinking this is a once in a lifetime event and I will be there, come hell or high water. Err…snow.

I’ve also fallen into a super cool opportunity. Normally, I’m not much of a risk taker. I do take calculated risks, but since I’m not much of a gambler, I’m not going all in unless I know I’ve got an unbeatable hand. I’m also (usually) in control of my baser instincts that would have me leaping off cliff edges. Well, a few days ago, after falling into an internet research hole, I found a call for slush pile readers for a new horror magazine, Nightmare, edited by John Joseph Adams. I blame the application email I sent on the post-homework, post-work delirium of the wee hours. Well, that and the assumption that I’d never be accepted. Um. Right. About that… So, I have a new job title… “Slush Pile Reader for Nightmare Magazine.” I’m thrilled and I can’t wait to dig in. I won’t be posting much about it, however. I wouldn’t want someone talking about the work I submitted to a magazine, so I wouldn’t do that to someone else. Unless maybe it’s a post-publication moment to brag about “I recommended that one…”

Well, I think that’s enough for y’all to chew on for now. I will be back on Sunday with Something Like a Review for another Seth Grahame-Smith book, How to Survive a Horror Movie. Check back in on Sunday morning and, until then, may your weekend come just at the right time.