I am working hard at finding an agent to negotiate the current contract offers I have. There are some agents who are interested and my task now becomes selecting not only the best one, but the best one for me.

The contract I received is one that will need negotiation on a number of points, but I hope it is negotiation that bears fruit. I like the quality of product this publisher puts out and their committment to the River City Series.

The competing interest is an ePress, which has been very impressive in their quality of communication, enthusiasm and editorial insight.

These next few days and weeks are going to be full of important decisions for me.

Please note that this short story has been accepted for the current issue of A Cruel World.

As always, I hesitate to say “accepted” or “published”, because I happen to know and be close personal friends with the editor of ACW. I also serve as an associate editor for the Ezine (which has a new look, by the way–check it out!).

However, I never ask Conway to publish a story. He always asks me, and when he asks, it is for a specific story that he has read and usually had some editorial input into. He is at least as critical as other submissions that come in. So when he asks, I say yes. I guess the other advantage to being close friends and editing each other’s work is that he doesn’t bullshit me on quality...

Anyway, it’s here, if you want to take a look.

As always, comments are appreciated.

I wrote another 5000 words today, thanks to my wife’s patience. I’m now at about 22,000 words and reached a point after the team’s first game of the season. I have one more scene in that chapter to write and then that chapter is finished.

I’m enjoying writing this, as the scenes spill out fairly easily. I’ll have to work on a couple of things in the revision process, but as far as a first draft goes, this is rolling along well.

A friend of mine, also a hockey player, is acting as a reader for me, and his feedback is good, too, so that is encouraging.

I finished revising this short story, originally called just “Walter,” yesterday. I got some input from Conway and another writer named Scott. I’m much happier with this revised version, and I sent it out to a magazine.

The next short story I need to work on (I think) is the one I began, but stalled on, called “Helping Out” (working title).

I also have a couple of ideas for a Stefan Kopriva story, but one might actually be the basis for the next novel starring him, while the other might only be a short story.

Another story in the works is a little bit of a crossover with the hockey novel I am writing, in that one of the teams in that novel is a Police/Fire team. I have an idea for a short story involving that Police/Fire team.

The September/October issue of Crime Scene Scotland is up.

Crime Scene.

My story “Saving Grace” is one of the only two pieces of fiction featured this month. The editor wrote some kind words about me, too.

In addition to my story, there is some great reading in this e-zine and in previous issues. Click on the link and spend some time there. You won’t regret it.

love what you’ve done with the place!!! Are you programming this with pure script, or using a wizard, or what? Looks real nice. Please note: I registered with my new email.

I managed to write some more on my hockey novel today (still no title for it...but it’ll come) to the tune of about 4200 words.

I introduced most of the players on the main character’s team in this chapter. It was a lot of fun to paint these different characters and write the locker room banter as they all get dressed for the first game of the season.

Well, thanks to some input from a writer friend and some Usenet postings, I was able to repair the link on my site and made a couple of changes (first of many, I’m sure) to make it better.

I can now report that what is there is 100% up and running.

Again, any feedback is welcome.

The agent responded quickly to my email...and she declined to represent me.

C'est la vie.

The only thing worse than not getting an answer...is getting an answer.

On the plus side, the Senior Mystery editor with the e-press seems very enthusiastic, knowledgeable and personable.

The web page is up!

I am still having problem with one link, the one to my “Published Poetry” section. I want to get it fixed, but if I was forced to choose one link that had to malfunction to get the rest up, that would probably be my choice.

Here’s a touch of irony for ya.

I also received an email yesterday. It was an acceptance letter from an e-press for Under A Raging Moon.

[grin]

The truth of it is, they seemed like a solid establishment, so it is something I will consider. They do hard-publish some of their titles, it appears.

Oh, and still no reply from the agent in question.

I received a package in the mail yesterday containing contract offers from a small press publisher.

I haven’t had a chance to look them over yet, and it may end up being a few days, but let me just say that simply receiving a contractual offer is a very satisfying event. Not worth celebrating (yet), but satisfying.

I’ve been alluding to nibbles and interest in the River City books since April, so it’s nice to finally have an offer to look at.

September 11th should be a national holiday.

Every year, it comes and goes with some reverence, but not to the level that is deserves. I know that we did not choose the day. It was chosen by the murderous cowards who flew the planes. Or, more aptly, by their handlers.

Some would say that they were not cowards. Perhaps they went bravely to their death. I don’t know for certain. But I do know that they purposefully chose civilian targets and as a preemptive strike, that is a craven move.

“Oh, but what about Hiroshima and Nagasaki?” croons the left. “Those were civilians.”

Yes, they were. And I don’t feel good about that event. But we were at war, and had been for four years. All the cards were on the table. I won’t re-argue the debate about the A-bomb here, but no matter how the argument goes, one fact is unmistakable. American lives were saved.

The attack on our nation on 9/11/01 was a cowardly sneak attack directed at non-comabatants when no state of war existed. That, by definition, is terrorism.

I usually get through this day without shedding a tear. That is, unless I think about that field in Pennsylvania. Then all bets are off. Those men were brave. Those men rose from their seats and fought, knowing that death was certain either way. They chose to make their deaths meaningful and to save someone else in the process.

Those men are heroes.

Their deaths should be revered.

And September 11th should be a national holiday.

Well, my new BLOG is here and I am working on the new website. I’m a noob at web-publishing, so I’m doing the best I can.

This is where I’ll discuss my short stories and novels, as well as my efforts (and hopefully some successes) to get them published.

Hopefully the site will be up and running soon.

Welcome aboard for the next “chapter.”