Reading, Etc.

Salutations, all. This has been an interesting month! I got to read a draft my father-in-law’s first novel, which takes place in Guatemala in the 1970’s. He’s got good timing, given the war crimes trials going on now. I can’t wait to see that published!

Now I’m reading The Outpost, a non-fiction report on an incident that takes place during my Operation Resolve characters’ mission in Afghanistan. It’s an insightful, and alarming, story of a poorly-positioned combat outpost and the soldiers who fought to defend it. The audiobook narrator has some pronunciation issues, but the information seems solid.

A few minutes ago I finished revising a short story that’s been driving me crazier than usual. I drafted it in November, poked and prodded it for most of January, rewrote it in February, and then gave up on it for a while. It’s the first frame story I’ve ever written (in which the present time at the beginning and end frames a long flashback in the middle). Hopefully the critters can help me tighten it down a bit more before publication.

Speaking of firsts, I received my first short story rejection this month. I’m officially in the short story market! In June I hope to get at least one more short story out for sale. No time for narration, although a couple of stories I read might still turn up in the Tales to Terrify rotation. Carry on!