The ongoing saga of David D. Levine's writing and other adventures.
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I'm a geek, fan, and writer who lives in Portland, Oregon.
For more information about me, please see my
web page. If you have questions, comments, or just want to chat, you can send me e-mail. Or you can post a comment on my LiveJournal. |
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Count me among those who are more than happy to see the back of 2008. Although most of the year was very good for me, the last month or so has been a real train wreck. Illness and weather conspired to deprive us of both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I'm only now beginning to recover from Post-Travel Stress Disorder brought on by our unplanned week in DC on the way home from Germany. We've also had some hassles with health insurance, and the ongoing financial meltdown has taken a psychological toll. I haven't written a word of fiction since October.
However, when I went to prepare David's Index, my annual numerical summary of my writing year (which I started doing in 2003 and has since become a meme), I discovered that I'd had a really good writing year up until then. I finished and submitted my second novel, The Dark Behind the Stars. My first short story collection, Space Magic, was published by Wheatland Press. I gave a reading at Powell's, which was a huge success. And "Titanium Mike Saves the Day" was nominated for a Nebula Award. (It didn't win, but it will appear in the anthology Nebula Awards Showcase 2009.) I attended the Oregon Coast Novel Weekend, Taos Toolbox, and Launch Pad writers' workshops, and I was the Short Story Guest of Honor at RadCon.
This year I wrote more stories and sold more stories than in any year since 2003. It was also a better-than-average year for publications, with "Firewall" in Transhuman, "Falling Off the Unicorn" in Space Magic, "Sun Magic, Earth Magic" in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and "Joy is the Serious Business of Heaven" in Realms of Fantasy, plus "Charlie the Purple Giraffe Was Acting Strangely" (reprint) in The Mammoth Book of Extreme Fantasy, appearances in two podcasts, and translations of "Titanium Mike" into French and Czech. Six stories are on deck to appear in 2009.
We remodeled the bathroom. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but the result is gorgeous. We also worked with a professional organizer several times this year, and the house is now much less cluttered. There's more work to be done, to be sure, but it's been a great stress reliever and gives a huge sense of accomplishment.
We traveled a lot. I mean a lot. I spent at least one night in: Kennewick (where we were stranded for five days by an ice storm); Washington DC (square dance); Pasco (SF convention); Seattle (SF convention), then Victoria BC, then Seattle again (square dance); Lincoln City (writing workshop); Eugene (wedding); Palm Springs (square dance); Austin (Nebula Awards); Milwaukee and Madison (SF convention); Taos (writing workshop); Cleveland (square dance); Laramie (writing workshop), then Denver (SF convention); Montreal (SF convention); San Francisco (square dance and a reading); Seattle (SF convention); Calgary (SF convention); and finally our vacation in Germany and Austria: Nuremberg, Regensburg, Passau, Linz, Melz, Vienna, Munich, and Washington DC (where we were stranded for six days by an ice storm). It was fun, but I don't think we'll be doing as much travel in 2009, and I certainly hope for better weather.
(We did have a good time in Germany and Austria, honest, though the disasterous trip home does tend to color my memories of the experience. Trip report coming soon.)
My resolution for 2008 was to write a thousand words a day, every day. That lasted about two months, but it did get my novel finished in time for the April workshop.
My resolution for 2009 is inspired by the fact that we did not get to celebrate several major holidays at all in 2008: In 2009, I will celebrate the major holidays. By "celebrate" I mean put up decorations and share a festive meal with friends. By "major holidays" I mean the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving (Vancouver fly-in counts), Winter Solstice, and something in the vicinity of the Spring and Fall Equinoxes (hey, any excuse for a party).
I also intend to write every day, exercise three times a week, watch what I eat, and keep the house clean and decluttered, but those are just goals, not Resolutions.
Happy new year, everyone, and best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous 2009.
Posted 12/31/2008 16:57 [e-mail me] [post comment] [permalink]
Novel words written: 40,521
Short fiction words written: 33,972
Notes, outline, and synopsis words written: 8,163
Blog words written: 40,048
Total words written: 122,704
Novel words edited out: 8,955
Net words written: 113,749New stories written: 6 (5 fiction, 1 non-fiction)
Existing stories revised: 1Short fiction submissions sent: 28
Responses received: 25
Rejections: 10
Acceptances: 8 (6 pro, 1 non-fiction, 1 semi-pro)
Other responses: 2 (rewrite requests)
Other sales: 3 (1 reprint, 2 audio)
Non-responses: 2
Awaiting response: 4Short stories published: 9 (3 pro, 1 non-fiction, 1 reprint, 2 translations, 1 audio, 1 previously-unpublished story as part of collection)
Novels completed: 1
Novel submissions: 4
Rejections: 3
Acceptances: 0
Awaiting response: 2Nebula nominations: 1
Nebulas won: 0Collections published: 1
Happy New Year!
Posted 12/30/2008 22:32 [e-mail me] [post comment] [permalink]
Since my last post...
(Sorry to use bullet points in a blog post, but I was a technical writer for 15 years and sometimes I revert to type.)
- The December Internet Review of Science Fiction was posted, including Greg Beatty's long and thoughtful review of Space Magic. "[T]his collection makes it clear that David D. Levine is a writer to watch."
- The December Locus arrived, including Gardner Dozois's review of Transhuman: "There are probably no award-winners in [this anthology], but there is a respectable amount of good solid core SF. Best story here is by David D. Levine, but there are also good stories by Mark L. Van Name, Paul Chafe, Sarah A. Hoyt, Wen Spencer, and others." I'll take it.
- Locus also included the annual Forthcoming Books section, which told me that both Gamer Fantastic and Witch Way to the Mall will be published in July 2009. I'd been wondering when those were coming out. Also, Transhuman is going to be reissued as a mass-market paperback in April 2009.
- There was also a photo of me and Lou Anders at World Fantasy Con on page 5. In color, no less!
- I received my contributor's copies of the February 2009 issue of Realms of Fantasy, including my story "Joy is the Serious Business of Heaven." I love, love, love the illustration they gave it.
- The audio version of "Sun Magic, Earth Magic" (ably read by BCS editor Scott H. Andrews) was posted at Beneath Ceaseless Skies. It's also available from iTunes.
- A five-minute video of me blabbering incoherently, recorded by Bill Johnson of Willamette Writers at OryCon, was posted on YouTube. I thought it would be an interview, but once the camera was rolling I was informed that, no, I should just talk about whatever I wanted. I had nothing prepared. *cringe* Other writers fared better.
- I learned that Aeon Magazine, the next issue of which was going to contain my story "The True Story of Merganther's Run," is suspending publication. I think this is the first time I've "killed" a market. However, the story is supposed to appear in an anthology, The End of an Aeon, some time in 2009.
In addition to all that, there have been several Real Life issues which are annoying and mildly worrying. We have options, though, and there's nothing to get too concerned about, I hope. I have a list of seven "items I am waiting for", three of which have notations such as "aargh!" next to them.
We leave for Germany today. Um, did I mention that? Our itinerary:
I'll post from the road if I can.
- December 5-6: fly Portland to Frankfurt
- December 6: Nuremberg
- December 7-14: Cruising the Danube on the Viking Spirit (stopping at Nuremberg, Regensburg, Passau, Linz, Melz, and Vienna)
- December 14-16: Vienna
- December 16-20: Munich
- December 20: fly Munich Portland
Posted 12/05/2008 08:16 [e-mail me] [post comment] [permalink]
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