Maggie’s Blog

Okay, so I’m not one to freak out about the whole “swine flu” thing (<–that, my dear readers, is a LIE. I am notorious for freaking out about health stuff. There’s a reason I find zombie virus stories so freaky.), but actually I’ve been pretty chill so far. For one thing, I think a lot of people are freaking out a little unnecessarily. Then again, I’d rather the government take the precautions, even if it ends up being a little excessive. 

BUT! This post doesn’t really have anything to do with my opinion of the political management of “swine flu”. It does have to do with the fact that there are two suspected cases of the swine flu on the same floor as my sister going to school in California. FUN. She doesn’t have any symptoms herself, and it sounds like they sterilized whatever they could–I guess there are even plans to vacate the school for a while–so it sounds like things are under control.

But still… YIKES.

On a less weird note: Going to a polaroid exhibition tonight. Will talk more about that once I’ve seen it. Also, in Writing Stuff: Did some good planning and wrote the beginning of another scene for the “UNTITLED NOVEL PROJECT” just for fun. I enjoyed it.

So, not sure how far this has spread yet, but we got the sad news today: Apex Magazine is going on indefinite hiatus. I had heard rumblings that this might occur, but I hadn’t realized it was quite so imminent. This means all the stories we currently have in our queue are being released back to their authors, and we will be closed for short fiction submissions.

THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO APEX BOOK COMPANY. Apex Book Company is still open to book submissions, as far as I’m aware, and will continue to be so. Most of us submissions editors are turning our attentions from slushing to various other positions in the APEX EMPIRE. 

While it is a sad announcement for us, and likely for many of the prospective authors who had stories submitted to us, this is good news for Apex Book Company, which is where we get most of our revenue anyway. Some of you may be aware that when I started out with Apex, I was also one of the Marketing Fairies, which I ceased to be–to large degree–due to the sheer volume of submissions which required my attention. Now, I will be reverting back to Marketing Fairy, and am looking forward to the challenges that presents while Apex Magazine is on hiatus. 

We don’t expect Apex Magazine to stay closed permanently, so keep an eye on Apex’s website for updates about our submission status.

Don’t know how much I can talk about stuff yet, so I’ll have to save my other, more informative post for later, once it’s finally officially announced. 

The Day Score:

+ There is such a thing as a free lunch! Go NCA! ^_^

+ THE HOUSE IS STILL CLEAN. (I know. I’m scared, too.)

- Sad news from above, which I’m not sure I can actually mention yet.

+ Having more time to work on marketing stuff for Apex.

+ Writing went well today. See below.

= (+4) v. (-1) = Not Bad. ^_^

Writing Stuff:

It was a good day for writing, and I blame the spicy yakisoba for that. Mmmm. Delicious. Finished (for all intents and purposes until I re-read it later) the first section of Chapter 17 for “Thief Dilemma”. The second section has been done for a while, so now I get to move on to the third section! YAY! ^_^

Also went through a scene of “UNTITLED NOVEL PROJECT” which I’ve been slowly tinkering with, getting a feel for character’s POV and voice, and am still–shockingly–amused by it. ^_^

I was going to begin this entry with a lengthy, nose-to-dirt grovel session for being so bad at updating lately, but then I decided not to. Truth of the matter is, things have been going well, but I’ve been super busy with rather everyday, mundane things you probably wouldn’t care much to hear about. So until I have more time, I’m just going to do a quick running pros/cons list, plus the writing stuff at the bottom, par usual, in order to keep me accountable to what I do and do not get done. ^_^

This weekend:

+ + Cleaned the house. Much needed. I would post the video I took of it “before” and then do another for “after”, but it was seriously awful, and no one deserves to see that enshrined on the Internet for all eternity.

+ Hung out with Kaku! YAY! We’ve all been so busy, it seems like time to hang out just slips through the cracks. But not this weekend! Walked around Mt. Tabor in Portland (+), had a shoe-throwing contest which was sorely weighted (one of us has extreme shoe-throwing skills) (+), ate Little Caesar’s pizza (+), watched “Steamboy” (-), and played some Halo (+, always). 

+/- Minus, because I wrote 1000 words of Chapter 17 for “Thief Dilemma” only to realize I couldn’t use any of them. Plus, because it made me realize what I *actually* needed to do for this chapter, and because I got a fresh, usable 1000 done today at lunch.

+ Did minor grocery shopping. We’re trying to maintain damage-control for our arbitrary April budget. 

+ Changed bank account over to Oregon, at last. 

- Didn’t get any painting in.

+ Hung two of my paintings (see “House of Mirth” and “We Are–All of Us–Robots”) on the walls, and they look good there!

- Didn’t finish backlog of Apex submissions.

+ Did get through a huge batch. Hoping to close the gap over this week, and dive into more recent submissions. Finally reorganized my day planning to make more time.

+ Write Nite is awesome, and I get a lot of work done!

= (+8) vs. (-2) = +6. A Good, Productive Weekend ^_^

Writing Stuff: (more…)

And no, it’s not Oz, and I didn’t take this video. But every time I see it I laugh. 

Now that’s what I call perseverance. <3