Scatterbrained on X-mas Eve
December 24, 1998
11:05 a.m.
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If Santa were a writer: ...And I heard him exclaim as he drove through the night ... on Shawna, on Scott, on Gardner and Gordon, on Kim, on Darrell, on Stanley and Warren ...    Nothing like going into the holiday seasons with a cold, eh? I started getting it a couple days ago, and it's steadily gotten worse. The good part is that it came pretty much after I got the bulk of my Christmas shopping done--which I did piecemeal this year (one big day with Brigid, and the rest during lunch hours from work). Enough of that, though. I'm running through an odd time for rejections (and acceptances for that matter). I haven't heard from an editor in almost two weeks, and have only received three rejections in the past month. Not that I'm complaining. But it is odd for me. At east five of my stories are what I would classify as "Way Late", and a couple more that "Really Should Have Been Answered" by now. But I look back on the last year, and I see that I've actually had three spans like this in 1998. I'm really not anal about this rejectomancy stuff, let it be known that my scientific database for this information consists of a two-page, full-year calendar that sits on my desk. I scribbble on it every time I send a story some place, and it gives me an idea of when the tale ought to be back. The effort it took to determine those spans consisted of a fifteen second scan of those two pages. Not sure what that means, but seeing that information makes me figure it has more to do with me and my mailing practices than it does anything with editors. Did anyone else notice that Gordon Van Gelder published a pair of new writers in the latest issue of F&SF? Okay, so this entry is a mish-mash of thoughts. Amazing, eh? Because that's how my brain is working right now--the after effects of pumping enough ibuprofen, pseudophed, Nyquil, and Alka-seltzer Plus into my bloodstream to keep me proped upright the past couple days. I have managed to get a rewrite of "Stealing the Sun" together, and think that it's nearly ready for the market--probably one more run through. Still haven't decided what I'll do when the holiday buzz dies down. The novel or the short story series? Such a difficult life I live. I got my copy of ASI magazine yesterday. It's a publication that the Hubbard folks put out to push their stuff. Somewhere in there is a photo of me kissing my award. What was I thinking? [grin] Actually, it's kind of a neat little picture with a caption underneath saying something like "Ron Collins is a happy man as he picks up his award." Which was true. I'm sorry this one couldn't have been more inspirational. That's what I sat down to write, something that would move people to the season, you know? What you see, however, is what came out. So this is what you get. Blame it on the cold. But I want to let everyone know that I appreciate your being here and reading it. I appreciate your e-mails throughout the year, and the encouragement you give me. The site pays me back in a million incredible ways that are so difficult to describe. But each of those ways is somehow related to the folks that spend a few minutes a day here. I would be poorer without you. Merry Christmas, everyone, from the very bottom of my heart. A new take on the electronic book  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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"according to a survey by Nielsen Media Research ... ... Prime-time viewing among adults 18-34, one of the demographics most prized by networks and advertisers, fell 6 percent on a season-to-date average compared with the same period last year. Asked for an explanation, one TV ad exec said, "These are people that eat, sleep, and drink computers and the Internet." Mercury News |
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