Story up at Title Goes Here

Wow, it's been a few days weeks since I blogged, huh? The Press is just so busy right now, I meet myself coming and going. The last couple of weeks have been a vicious cycle of not being able to get things done. I had the perfect work day planned a couple of Sundays ago--my daughter and grandson were visiting her in-laws, Mike & Sean were at camp--so the house was empty. Time to edit! But then a storm knocked out our power, leaving me, quite literally, in the dark and unable to work. So I got a little stressed. Sure, I set my own deadlines and I can always move them, but I don't like to. So the day after I was still stressed and ended up getting an ocular migraine. If you've never had one, let me explain--they start with blurry vision that makes me queasy if I try to focus my eyes, then I lose the vision in one eye. Then the pounding headache starts. Obviously, it rendered me unable to work, or read, or even watch TV. So I took some meds and huddled in a dark bedroom, stressing over not working, until it let up.

Funny thing--guess what causes ocular migraines? Stress. Lol. Well, according to WebMD, it's stress, fatigue, and caffeine. But I wouldn't need the caffeine if I wasn't so fatigued. And I wouldn't be so fatigued if I slept better. And I'd be more rested if I didn't have trouble sleeping because I'm stressed. Sounds like one huge circle of non-awesomeness, doesn't it? I need to find more Zen.


Then, of course, there was home improvement hell and 4th of July.


Don't get me wrong--I love, absolutely love my work. Love almost everything about it. But I've set some pretty high standards for us and that adds pressure. And, of course, I'm my own biggest critic. But I also believe that nothing worthwhile comes easy. It takes hard work and perseverance, and perseverance is my middle name. (Sorry, Mom. I know you picked 'Michelle,' but I've never liked that name and "Perseverance" really has a ring to it.)

So we have some really great things coming from Angelic Knight Press this year, possibly including a Gothic novella I authored. Two fantastic Anthologies in the line-up and more of both Bryan Hall's Southern Hauntings Saga and Cindy Keen Reynder's Wysteria Hedge Haven Clan Series. Plus much more. I'll be going to KillerCon in Vegas in September.

And, I've banded together with a few other rogues in a quest to reach "Pro" status with the HWA. We're all writing and submitting to pro markets, sharing our rejections and acceptances. It's nice to have a support group, and one filled with people I'd really like to see succeed. I'll let you know the status of the quest throughout the year.

And, it's not a "pro" market, meaning it didn't pay me 5 cents a word or more, actually they didn't pay me anything, but I had a story accepted earlier this year to Title Goes Here, an online magazine. You can click here to read my story, "The Wind". Warning: it is a tad gruesome. Let me know what you think.

♥Stacey