Nautilus
April 23
Last night at Au Coquelet I wrote a 600 word story entitled "The Heart, a Chambered Nautilus". I came home, typed it, revised it a bit, and then began playing with Quark. A couple of hours later I printed out a single-page pamphlet on ivory-colored paper, 8 1/2" x 11", folded horizontally. It came out far more beautifully than I had expected, with a shell on the cover, a faint watermark of nautilus shells under the text, and a heart made of two shells nestled together on the back. Also on the back, these words: "Produced in a limited edition of one copy by Tropism Press, Oakland, California, on the occasion of Tim Pratt & Heather Shaw's first anniversary".
The pamphlet was my gift to Heather, for our upcoming anniversary, which I gave to her last night, because I was so pleased with the way it turned out, and couldn't bear the thought of waiting all week to give it to her. "The Heart" is a surreal love story, but mostly it's about people rescuing one another. Both the quality of the story and of the layout exceeded my expectations; I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. If you'd like to see the cover, the image is here. Not available for sale, alas; it is an edition of one. But we may include this story in another chapbook at some point.
I had a wonderful day. Work went well, and I got so many books! Came home with Everything's Eventual by King, The Darker Side edited by John Pelan, Otherwise by John Crowley (because it's time I read some of his work), and the Orb reprint of Carroll's The Bones of the Moon. I was also loaned many books which I may review; Jim Van Pelt's collection Strangers & Beggars, Craig Nova's Wetware, and Carol Ann Sima's The Mermaid Who Came Between Them. I have lots of reading ahead of me, but I'm excited by all of it, so, la!
Tonight Heather and I went to Trader Joe's and shopped; now we have yummy things in the house, like pear juice and mushroom pizza and good soup and lots of fish. I've been reading tonight, and writing; I did 1400 words on Rangergirl, sort of infodumpy but fun.
I'm feeling a bit disorganized, but basically good. I should make a list of things I need to do (proofreading the Rhysling antho, getting the oil changed in my car, reading slush, getting a new air filter in my car, sending out stories, getting new windshield wipers for my car, cleaning my room, checking my tire pressure); that will reduce some of my anxiety, I think, to see the list, and be able to prioritize, and know that it's manageable.
I love you all; I love my life; I love the world. I wish you all happy dreams and even better wakings.
Words written since February 1, 2002: 56,350
Words written since last entry: 2000
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