New River pictures! (Plus the view from our balcony.)

My story "From Around Here" from John Klima's anthology Logorrhea is being reprinted in the next edition of The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror! This is my second appearance in the series, which I've been reading for, oh, more than half my life. Always nice to be there. This makes three year's best appearances for the year, with three different stories (one SF, one fantasy, one horror). I think that's my best year yet!

I got my tax info from my accountant last week. Oy. I owe a lot of money. It's the outside edge of the most I thought it would be. We made enough last year to be bumped into the next tax bracket. Great, but also not so great. My savings have just vanished in a puff of oily black smoke, reduced literally to single digits. Oh well. It was nice having a savings account while it lasted... I made a lot last year, but threw almost all of it at credit cards (and reduced my debt by two-thirds, which was nice). What didn't go to credit cards went to funding Heather's maternity leave and buying us a new (used) car. Alas, paying down debts isn't tax deductible. I wish I was as rich in fact as I look on paper.

This means I should really get scrounging on making more money this year, especially with River's medical expenses providing a sudden shock to our local economy. My current contract will be completed in a couple of months when I turn in the fourth Marla book, so I've been talking to my agent about future plans. There's a lot of work ahead of me, generating proposals and such, but it's mostly exciting work. I may start reviewing books again, because at this point, a $50 book review actually has a noticeable impact on my quality of life. This writing life is feast or famine, y'all...