Okay, here we are Post-Stokers and Tornoto, and right back to the grindstone. Alas, no Stoker for me in the short fiction category (I think I've got that Susan Lucci thing going - ha!), but congrats to the lovely Lisa Morton (cinriter  ), who did win. Also, the anthology, Mondo Zombie, which contained my story, won a Stoker in the anthology category. What fun! I got to spend time with some great writers and even greater friends, including Joe Lansdale, Tina Jens and Sephera Giron (sgiron  ), to only scratch the surface of the excellent bunch of people there. A couple of good meals (not as many as I would have liked, being the complete and utter foodaholic I am) and some chilly-willy weather, a fabulous Stoker banquet and a great dress all contributed. I must say that The Husband (westonochse  ) made excellent arm candy. :)

So it's back to the grindstone. I've got some excellent ideas for continuing the Super Secret Project, and I've even managed to up the word count a bit, though not so much as I'd like:

Today I plan on keeping household chores to a minimum -- change the sheets, scrub myself and my hair (just one, to heck with the rest of 'em), and that is about it.  I've got nearly the entire day free, although I have to be careful or it will whittle itself away, as they are wont to do, and my Dad will be here for dinner and a movie.  We told him 4:30 or 5, which means he'll be here at 4:00.  The Husband westonochse will be cooking some manner or another (he always changes the recipe) of his fabulous ribs.  We are going to try cauliflower as a potato substitute.  Yummy.  Frankly, there just isn't enough cauliflower in my life and I don't know why.

It seems that "Feeding the Dead Inside" from Mondo Zombie actually made it to the final Stoker ballot.  Considering all the excellent competition, I'm utterly flabbergasted, and I have to admit that's just being on the ballot makes me feel a lot better about my determination to get back to actual writing.  Congratulations to everyone.  There are lots of wonderful writers and works on this ballot, so the HWA'ers who aren't caught up with their reading have a lot to do before the final vote.  Here's something that's just too fun not to report: GAK, the artist, did a picture for "Feeding the Dead Inside" sometime ago, and he titled it "Mondo Von."  If you like, you can see it on the Shocklines site.

Speaking of fun, all you NECON CAMPERS TAKE NOTE!  We have an LJ Community right here on, well, LJ!    Please come and join us.  You don't have to have ever attended a Necon to be in on the fun.  We're new, we're fledgling, and we're lonely (not to be confused with a dating service, because everyone knows that What Happens At Necon Stays At Necon).  Come visit and/or join us at the Necon LiveJournal Community!

So here I go: It looks like Outsiders, the anthology in which I have a story called "Craving," has gotten a bunch of recommendations on the 2005 Preliminary Stoker ballot. That's kind of neat.