Another Anthology Workshop in the books (haha!)
Last week I once again attended the Anthology Workshop, which is now in Las Vegas. I had the great privilege of once again being an editor as well. Two years ago I edited a volume of portal fantasy called Fiction River: Doorways to Enchantment (due out this summer), and this time I was buying for Fiction River: Secrets.
I had an amazing time, and bought some spectacular stories. The quality was so high that I more than once begged for a second anthology to fit everything in. Some of the stories I couldn’t take were purchased for Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, which made me very happy, and one will be included in the annual editors’ choice issue, which is all of the stories the editors thought should have been purchased. That’s always a fun debate (again in front of all the writers), arguing for the stories we felt were slighted.
Because of a personal crisis (more on that soon), I had to fly out late, arriving in time for the Sunday session having missed Thursday through Saturday. So my trip flew by, and I didn’t get to hang out with nearly enough of the wonderful authors and great friends there. I’m stunned that a couple of the authors from whom I bought stories were fairly new writers. Apparently they’d taken a number of workshops via WMG Publishing, and that was obvious from the skill they showed.
Fiction River: Secretsis going to be a kick-ass volume.
I was back home as of very late Wednesday, and life is good. Now that I’m done reading all those stories for the workshop (I got waaaay behind), I’m immersing myself in all the books I’d set aside. I’ve written one short story, and now I need to tweak the end of one and write another before I dive into a nonfiction book that now has a hard deadline (eep!). I get to cuddle with Ken and all the cats.
There are some downsides, sure. The fridge stopped working before I left for the workshop, and although it’s working now, it still needs a part that had to be ordered, and so it won’t be completely fixed until Wednesday. So we haven’t put much back in it, in case it gives up the ghost again before then. Then this morning, our lodger woke us up at 5:30 a.m. to let us know the water heater was flooding the basement. He took the day off (did some work at home) so he could help us sweep water towards the drain, mop, and repack boxes that had gotten sodden on the bottom. Ah, the life of a homeowner!
I have more news, but that can wait for another day!
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