Sit Rep

Last week, I got a rejection by Analog on my "Automatic Pen" story. Unlike the other one, which was a preprinted form, I got a word processed letter with a single two line sentence saying the story wasn't suitable for Analog and it was signed by Stanley Schmidt himself. A sheet with the standard Analog submission rules and the first page of my story were also included. And the envelope was taped, though it was a self-sealing one. I wonder why so much care was put into sealing a rejection?

Anywho, I mailed on Saturday "Automatic Pen" to Asimov's, which also has "Ra-Gho-Zu." Sheila Williams can get to contrast a Mark Twain-type 21st century tall tale with a space drama. I hope she likes one or the other.

On the screenwriting front, I finished my newest draft of "Ra-Gho-Zu: Heaven's Sword," where my protagonist gets to play on a larger stage. I plan on subbing it and a Rome-Alexander alternate history epic to a major screenplay contest soon, called the Nicholls Screenwriting Competition. It's something of a mega WOTF for screenwriters. Extremely prestigious. The submission deadline is May 1, 2009, but I'll fire off these two within the week. I'm just doing some editing and final quick reading.

Hailing freqs closed.