I'm in the middle of rewriting the last story I wrote at Clarion - "The Four Hundred Thousand". I've stopped using such words and phrases as "revise" or "touch up", as they were nothing more than a pathetic attempt to fool myself into believing that the story didn't need that much work. But in order to fix the things that need fixing, I'm having to rewrite pretty much every single sentence. Yes, it'll be far better when finished. But, frankly, it's a pain in the ass. I know some writers love the revision process. Gah, I say. Bleh! And also: Arg!

My plan is to finish this up and have it out the door by the end of the month. Next up will be writing two stories for two anthologies - one antho is being edited by someone who very graciously invited me to submit after being sent a letter by a fellow writer (much thanks to Steve Berman), and the other antho's editor is the same person who already has something of mine in submission for a collection of dark erotic fantasy stories. I need the stories completed and out the door by October 31 - it seems like a long time for just two stories, but I think I've already established that I'm slow with the stories. Also, I'll be spending much of October researching Victorian culture. Yes, the exciting and fast-paced world of steampunk is just around the corner - the plan is to rewrite an old novella in November and start outlining my next novel in December (both will be set in the same world). I'll also be researching insects, the culture of mining company towns, and reading a lot of Lovecraft. I don't know if this'll all come together the way I plan, but it'll be interesting finding out, to say the least.