Hobart and others

I really haven't written nearly enough lately, which is largely why there have been so few updates here. One thing that I really must write soon is a baseball story. I love baseball. Pitchers and catchers have reported! It's Spring Training! And Hobart is accepting submissions for their annual baseball issue. I love writing about baseball, but I don't think I'm very good at it. Only rarely have I written a story about baseball that I liked at all. I was fortunate enough to have a piece published there last year, Joe Lee's Fastball. And Aaron Burch, the Editor, is a terrific guy. So I very much want to write something to submit to them this year. I have something I wrote several years ago about the 1975 Boston Red Sox that I could send along, but I need to get out of my rut and write something new.

So that's my goal for the next few days: write a good baseball story and submit it to them.

Oh, on the plus side writing-wise, I did get a final piece placed for FRiGG's Spring issue, the one that was rated in the top three at Zoetrope, in fact. I'm really fond of the other two pieces Ellen Parker took as well. And part of what I love about FRiGG is that they like material that a lot of publications don't--both of the other pieces are told from the POV of a man in an unhappy marriage and are pretty understated, I think. One of them might have found a home elsewhere, but "Already Dead" probably wouldn't have seen the light anyplace else. Or maybe I'm wrong and it's highly marketable.

Also, I heard from Brian Fugett, the Editor of Zygote in My Coffee. His computer was taken down hard by viruses (viri?), so his schedule's been pushed back. Look for the issue with "Candles" to appear this coming Monday. (And I have to say he's been great about his communications regarding this. Very much appreciated.)

Oh, and I heard back from Debi Orton at Flashquake about "Christ the King and the Department of Licensing." They passed. All yes votes except one maybe and one no. Ah, well. I still love that piece. Just a matter of finding the right home for it.

Oh, and finally... I had to withdraw "Spike. Resonance." from Outsider Ink since it was taken by FRiGG. Sean Meriweather, the Editor there was also great when I wrote to withdraw it. In addition to congratulating me, he told me he really liked the piece and hoped I'd submit something similar in the future. Yay! Pretty much matches up with all the great things I've heard about him.