As John Klima mentions, I'm one of the authors he's invited to contribute to his new anthology Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories. I've admired John's work on Electric Velocipede, and he sold the anthology to Juliet Ulman at Bantam (my editor for Rangergirl, and one of my absolute favorite people in the business), so it's a project I'm thrilled to get a shot at. Of course, this isn't a preordained sale -- I still have to write a story that John will love. My word is "Autochthonous." I chose it because it's a word I encountered, and looked up the meaning for, last Tuesday morning... and that same evening, John sent me the invitation, and the list of possible words, which included "Autochthonous." Who am I to sneer at synchronicity? The word means "native," basically, or "originating where it is found," and it also has that lovely "chthon" stuck in there, which gets me thinking of chthonic beings of the underworld... anyway, lots of rich associations I can mine, I think.

I'll start working on that story soon, too, because the giant m-fing magical axe story is finished! I wrote over 5,000 words yesterday, and have a very solid first draft. It's called "Restless in My Hand" (reference to a line from Tolkien, which isn't my usual thing, but it seemed appropriate). Heather read it last night and the ending made her cry, which I take as a good sign. I'll re-read it next week and revise it as necessary, but it shouldn't need any structural work, just some tightening, some detail-enhancing, etc. I'm pleased with it. It came out to about 6,300 words, which is short for me!

Heather and I decided to have some fun yesterday -- fun has been in short supply lately -- so we went to California Pizza Kitchen, and then to see V for Vendetta, which I mostly enjoyed very much. We spent a little time ambling around before the movie, and the sun was out, and everything was fairly pleasant. We had a good time.

I'm reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch's debut. I'm enjoying it a lot, but then, I'm a sucker for the likeable con artist thing, as unlike real life as it may be. (I'm a big fan of Hustle, too.) If I do wind up writing the Marla Mason novels as a series, the fourth book will likely concern Marla's brother, who works the long con; though he's a pretty nasty piece of work, more like someone from The Grifters than The Sting...

I also got a heap of Night Shade Books review copies in the mail yesterday, including Elizabeth Bear's story collection, which I'm looking forward to. I like literary riches.