Oh, yes. 9:00 a.m. on a Wednesday, and I'm sitting at home with honey-colored sunlight pouring into the office. My first day off to spend on writing-stuff (though presently I'm ripping CDs into iTunes, because life without the rock music is scarcely life at all). Good times.

Briefly, my goals for the day:

Primary goal: Finish a draft of my Komodo dragon story.

Secondary goal: Write a poem or two, since I owe them to an editor.

Tertiary goal: Read some or all of the poetry books I'm planning to review for A Certain Magazine (I'm doing a small-press poetry round-up review).

Quadrertiary goal (yeah, I'm just making up words now.): Wash some dishes.

Pentitiary goal: Lay in the hammock out back, perhaps while drinking beer.

Sexiary goal: Work on Flytrap layout.

I don't expect to actually achieve all those things -- I'd be happy to get the first two done. And the fifth one. But, hell, I've got all day. Maybe I will get it all done.

Nick has another inspired rant, this time about bottom-of-the-barrel POD publishers, and the way their festering product will choke and overwhelm and suffocate us all. I like Nick's fiction, but by god, I love his essays. Sometimes I wish we could do Flytrap more often, just so I could read more of his "Life Among the Obliterati" column.

Then I think about how much time and money it takes to do a single issue of Flytrap (since Tropism Press is one of those legitimate micropresses that Nick mentions, which do it for love, and expect to lose money), and I think, nah, twice a year is plenty.

Which reminds me, the Mamatas-edited The Urban Bizarre got a good review at Bookslut. Read the review, buy a copy. The reviewer correctly notes that "Blue Chuck Does Thrilltown" is enjoyable if inconsequential. But it's got a main character who rides a diesel scooter and works in a giant rumpled raincoat, so you should read it.

Got my first royalty statement for Little Gods and, ahem, I'm not going to be quitting my day job just yet. Actually, the book is doing well for what it is, and Sean says it sold well in December (which'll be on the next statement in a few months), so, la. And the paperback is out, so if you've been waiting for the cheaper version, now's your chance. Or just come to my reading at Borderlands in a couple of weeks, buy a copy there, and get it signed!

Okay, enough of this for now. Time to write some fiction.