...with the site AnthologyBuilder today. As you might have guessed, I built an anthology. Yes, I am in it :D. But so are three hundred and thirty-nine pages' worth of other authors.  All sword and sorcery. I eagerly look forward to reading it.

Well, there won't be much posting, for one thing.

Mostly because there's not much to post about. I'm writing my fingers to nubbins, checking out the Germantown park system (it's very nice, thanks for asking), and catching up on my reading list--and as a library page, I have a long reading list.

If exciting things happen (for my definition of exciting, which can include short story sales, publications, amazing new fandom discoveries, a cool charity like Kiva that has come to my attention, or a fascinating LJ meme), I'll be sure to keep you posted. But, you know...

Oh, and you science fiction fans (and hell, even you fantasy fans) out there reading this, go check out A Canticle for Leibowitz. Now. I'm not giving you any links--you can't just Wiki-search the plot. You have to read the thing.

Yes, I know I stopped making lists over a year ago, but I found a couple while cleaning out my desk and thought I'd post them. The occupations here (written by me as a sophomore) range from unique to cliche to bizzarre and back again...

( How's this one for a summer job... )

Goldenseed got a very nice review from Erica Naone on her blog Words, Words, Words (which is an awesome name, if only because it reminds me of Hamlet in Reduced Shakespeare). Now I feel all warm and fuzzy.

I'm torn between cashing it and framing it. Cashing it, probably. I'm keeping the contract, after all, and anyway this is more money than I've ever made at one time in my life.

I'm young. I'm thrilled. Bear with me. This should be the last I say of S&S until November.

Blame Randomlaughter for this one :D

ABOUT
01. Name:
02. Birthday:
03. Where do you live:
04: What are you studying/What are you working as:
05. What makes you happy:
06. What are you listening to now/have listened to last:
07. An interesting fact about you:
08. Are you in love/have a crush at the moment:
09. Favorite place to be:
10. Favorite lyric:
11. Best time of the year:
12. Weirdest food you like:

RECOMMEND
1. A film:
2. A book:
3. A song:
4: A band:

PLUS
1. One thing you like about me:
2. Two things you like about yourself:
3. Put this in your lj so I can tell you what I think of you?

Reading back, I found this. And for whatever reason (maybe because I'm trying to regain the title of 'optimist' before I head off to college and meet new people), I feel the urge to refute it, almost a year later.

First, I CAN drive. I don't like doing it much (split-second decisions about where the ton and a half of metal and gasoline you're sitting in will be in a few moments aren't my thing, thank you very much for teaching me that, driver's ed) but I can do it. I've never had an accident or a ticket, I can navigate around the area and I am doing much better at avoiding distractions. I wouldn't want to take another driver's test, but I blame the DMV folk for that.

Second, I can critique just fine. Not always, granted, but the folk at Teenage Writers seem to have faith in me--at least eight of them have, since that's the number of votes I earned for 'instructor'. Others got more votes, but I don't mind losing the election, since I'm running a 'writing boot camp' anyway that seems to be going well (thanks to my fellow instructor, I'm sure, but I haven't screwed anything up yet).

Third, I can write. Throne of the Sun is, according to my best projections, about halfway finished. I would have gotten much more done if it weren't for the other novels (also going along well) and the short stories. Ah, the short stories. I've gotten more acceptances in the first months of this year than I did in all of 2008 and I've already blown my goal for this year ($100) out of the water fourfold. That, and I'm going into Sword and Sorceress 24. Which is very awesome, and I'll never get tired of bragging about it. You know, until someone tells me to shut up.

Fourth, Megan seems to think I've beat her since I made more money on a short story that she did. That's, granted, because my short story is a few hundred words longer, not necessarily a reflection of any worth or quality, but hell; it proves we're both just ridiculously jealous of each other. Twins, fun fun.

Lastly, I'm looking forward to college. Carroll is a cool place, not scary; I'm looking forward to the classes I've selected and I'm wild about my major. My only concern is how I'm going to pay for law school, and I've got four years to figure that out.
Deciding that I'd prefer a career in law to a career in marketing was a good choice, too. If my DECA scores are any indication, law suits me much, much better than selling stuff. Except stories, I sell stories pretty well. 

I don't know which the reader may find more annoying, self-pity or self-praise, but the praise leaves me feeling much better. Ah, optimisim--see, see, I am an optimist! I am I am I am!

*cough*

Extreme inflammation of the Senior.

Symptoms include:
Exhaustion
Impatience
ADD-type symptoms--patient is easily distracted, etc
Loss of savor for things once enjoyed, like Spanish class or learning
Inability to do a spot of work whatsoever


I have it.

I also have homework.

Woe is me.

As of next Monday, 14 days left! And 8 days until I become an adult. Until then, Mom still needs to cosign a bunch of stuff.

I sold 'Lord Shashensa' to Sword and Sorceress 24!

The contract is in my inbox!

My hands are shaking so badly I can barely type!

And I just realize that 'Lord Shashensa' means nothing to you good people...well, it's a sword and sorcery story. With a female protagonist. As you probably could have guess :D. 

AND I JUST SOLD IT TO S&S OHMYGOD...

Gee, what's happened between now and the last update?

Well, a lot more than the week Livejournal said passed, at any rate.

California Trip:
1. DECA- I won a medal for top...well, the school announcements the other day said top 10 in the nation, which is my best guest since everything was really confusing at the rewards ceremony/finalists announcment (the Germantown group arrived late), but anyway, I got a medal for being one of the top 10 competitors in the nation for the Business Law & Ethics Written Test. Throw confetti and ballons, I know you want to; but not too much, as Nicole and I didn't acutally make it to finals. But we made it to Anaheim for Nationals anyway, so I'm not crying. 

2. Newport Beach: Acutally the first thing we went to after arriving, besides our hotel (Anaheim Hilton, nice) and Captain Kidd's Buffet (BAD PLACE). The Pacific ocean is very cold. Oh, and I crawled out on a wavebreak or something made of stones that looked like they were a lot easier to climb on than they really were (and I did this barefoot, too), and made it the Farthest West I Have Ever Gone. There's a photo of it on Facebook. 

3. Universal Studios: I got a discounted ticket with DECA, so I can't complain. I learned a bit about moviemaking, and saw the set of Desperate Housewives (I admire the show, but I'm not really a fan, so I didn't get all the insane fangirling, but whatever). Unfortunatly, Universal Stuidos relies far too much on chasing its visitors with things, like Norman Bates. Or Jaws. Or putting the tram on bridges that "collapse" or in subway stations that, well, collapse. See, it would be funny from the right distance, but for me, being chased by things I know won't really hurt me is just tedious. Like that haunted cornfield maze last Holloween that just took too long. So I enjoyed it while I was there, but really, too much chasing. :p Some delicious cookies, and cute stuffed Shrek gingerbread men, though.

4. LA: Saw various sights of it, one of the best from the air as we landed. The flight, by the way, was amazing. I got a window seat, therefore a wonderful view of everything between Wisconsin and Los Angeles save the Great Plains, which were covered by a layer of much more aesthetic cloud. Yes, yell at me flatlanders, I don't like your states :D.

5. Disneyland: OMGIT'SDISNEYLAND. The best part of the trip. Acutally, the best part was California Adventure Land, which had a really awesome Imax-sort ride (that acuatually lifted you in the air) and the California Screamer, the one roller coaster that didn't move slower than highway traffic. But I'm too picky.

6. Hollywood: the Chinese Theater, though gorgeous, is in a very trashy neighborhood. And call me a heretic, but I'm not so idolatrous as to worship the hand-and-footprints of actors. Looking at photos of Robert Pattinson in the various celebrity-themed shops did allow me to vent about Twilight, though.
Oh, yes. I also got terrible sunburn on my arms, which happened to get severely painful after being scratched when some jerk brushed past me at Farmer's Market. Without apologizing, I might add. Apparantly it doesn't matter because he's David Spade, as I only discovered when the friends walking with me recognized that head of shaggy blond hair from the back. Whee, celebrity. Another group on the tour saw Adam Sandler, which, from what I can judge by the reactions of the celebrity-idolatrers, was much more awesome (it probably was--he let them get a picture, and I don't think any of THEM got scratched sunburn).

I'm probably forgetting something there, but overall it was a fun trip. I wouldn't do it again, but it was a fun trip.
Okay, Disneyland again.  But you know, I did see a great view of the desert/wastelands beyond LA on the flight over, and there was Swine Flu going around, and I am still in the middle of reading The Stand, so I spent half of it imagining how I could carry the necessary supplies of bottled water when I had to strike out east to return to the remains of my family and civilizations after superflu had wiped the rest of the world out...

I also managed to survive AP English Literature & AP US History.  English Lit was acutally fun; I enjoyed the readings (I generally enjoyed AP English readings on all the practice tests, too, with the exception of an excerpt from Cormac McCarthy...but what can one say?), and US History...okay, I freaked out over that one. But the acutal test did not kill me.

So...a lot happened.

Oh, yes. M-BRANE SF issue #4 is out, featuring Yours Truly (with "Mother," a sci-fi story about a very posessive AI, complete with an afterword likewise by Yours Truly). The .pdf download is only $2, and the editor is a very nice guy, and if Yours Truly isn't a good enough reason to buy the thing, Cat Rambo (editor of Fantasy magazine, brilliant woman) is also on the table of contents. You know you want it.

Hugs,
Sage

First, Friday I received my first paper rejection slip. This means...not much. It's about the same as any other rejection, only there was a handwritten 'Thank you, Ms Arkenberg!' on the bottom (which was rather nice) and I had to pay postage to receive it.

So that's not really what I'm excited about.

Went to Oddessy Con in Madison yesterday. Saw Sarah Monette, but my sister's the rabid Monette fan so I'm not all that excited, either. It was a fun Con, though--I got to hear librarians talk about archiving, listen to Patrick Rothfuss be funny (he wrote a hilarious humor column and brought some pieces to his reading, along with a cool, fable-esque short story), meet Lorelei the Stuffed Cow (belonged to guest of honor Emma Bull), and I learned that it is humanly possible to write a novel in two weeks. There were a whole bunch of mitigating circumstances, but still--two weeks.

Getting progressively more exciting (to my bizzarre definition of 'exciting) is my kinda-sorta rewrite request from Sword and Sorceress. The story concept was good, but the pacing was slow, and I had the option of rewriting the story or sending a new one if I chose. I went for the rewrite. Haven't heard back yet, but I'm just glad the idea was well-recieved. I have a whole bunch of other sword & sorcery stories with female characters in line if this one is rejected anyway, and a whole bunch of alternate markets for my now new and improved story. But still--Sword & Sorceress liked it! They really liked it!

Thoughtcrime Experiments is coming out tomorrow. TOMORROW. So I'll still be in the state to spam my friends inboxes with links and everything.  VERY EXCITING.

And, most exciting of all, I'm not going to be in the state for six days--I'm going to the DECA National Convention (or is it International? I've heard it called both) in sunny Anaheim, California. Longest time I've ever been away from the family, and the first time I'll see the Pacific (also the first time I'll be on a plane since 9/11--I went shopping for security-sized shampoo bottles and contact solution last weekend).  And, you know, DISNEYLAND. And some DECA stuff, which will probably be fun, or at least educational.

VERY VERY EXCITING.

Yes, those capslocks were necessary.

So far, I've saved 300 square feet of rainforest by playing Snake. Save the Planet is my ideal Facebook app: mindless fun for a good cause.

Oh, I've also funded 20,000 words of new books for children in some mostly-illiterate part of the world. That's a novelette, or maybe a very short novella. Longer than any completed story I've ever written (stories over 20,000 that suck so badly that they can't be counted as completed nonwithstanding).

/plugging

I'm trying to build up good karma for my submissions to Sword and Sorceress 24.

Where do these things start?

Rules:
A) People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blog and replace any question that they dislike with a new, original question.
B) Tag eight people. Don't refuse to do that. Don't tag who tagged you.

1. Make a list of 5 things you can see without getting up:
Calculator, to-do list, bookshelf (select series: Hardy  Boys, American Girls, Dan Simmons' Hyperion novels), penholder with eagle decoration, picture of the Holy Family

2. How do you style your hair?
I don't. It's shoulder-length, no bangs, and just hangs there.

3. What are you wearing now?
Black, daiphonous skirt, red blouse with curtain neck and gold crescent decoration. I just got home from Mass, so I'm still dressed up, but I'm lazy enough that I will probably keep this on all day.

4. What's your occupation?
Library page. I shelve books, clean DVDS, rewind VCRs that people weren't kind about. I also write short stories, but I don't make enough off that to call it an 'occupation' yet (on the bright side, I don't make enough to be taxed, either).

5. Do you nap a lot?
No.

6. Who was the last person you hugged?
My mom hugged me, I think, during the sign of peace. Other than that...nobody, I think, for a long time.

7. What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction?
The novels of Sinclair Lewis, though I'm just coming off a rather in-depth fascination with the Samurai 7 stageplay (why is nobody surprised?).  Oh, and I've logged into Facebook's Save the Planet app every day for the past two weeks, so I might have something going there.

8. What was the last thing you ate today?
Dried fruit strip. Yummy, like a fruit roll-up for adult.

9. Are you a morning or night person?
Good question. I seem to becoming increasingly a morning person, oddly enough.


10. What websites do you always visit when you go online?
Yahoo! Mail, and now Facebook. Also, Duotrope.com very often.

11. What was the last thing you bought?
A book on the Aztecs from the Chicago Field Museaum yeterday.

12. What are you listening to right now?
The humm of the wash mashine. Otherwise, total silence. Peculiar.

13. What do you think about before you go to bed at night?
Where I'm sending THAT story next. Or THAT one. Or THAT...

14. What is your favorite food?
Rice. In a variety of forms, including rice crackers and brown rice with cheese.

15. Do you collect anything?
Pictures online. Rejection slips. Pens, although I'm not sure it counts as a collection when you acutally use them.

16. If you could play any musical instrument, which one would you play?
Drums, 'cause they're fun.

17. Where are you?
Germantown, Wisconsin, USA, Western Hemisphere, Earth...

18. What's something you'd like to say to someone right now?
Cat Rambo, what would it take for you to accept one of my stories for Fantasy Magazine?

19. Say something about the person who tagged you:
Glad to see you're active on LJ again!

Man, now I need to find 8 people to tag? 
Lccorp2, randomlaughter, drkparadise, landing_wolf, nimueailinen, writtenfp, supercommaman, saikaorii

Yes, I just raided my friends list :D.

Well, not really, but similarity is strong enough that even my sister noticed it. Actually, she noticed it first, browsing as she was for the star of Prince Caspian (and, more importantly for her, the upcoming Picture of Dorian Gray), and then she was considerate enough to send me a picture:


Wish I knew what was going on there. How does one even GET hair like that, outside of anime? Volumizing shampoo and a high wind?