Hello again, everybody!

Well, after a month of what turned out to be a more relaxed pace of work than I’d thought/hoped for (not all of it due to Outside World impacts, for this round), it’s time to switch writing project horses again. Only added about a chapter or so to my current effort, the Alternate History novel draft A House United, but it’s one I’d wrestled with for a while, and patched up some other gaps that were driving me nuts (while creating one or two more, as is fairly standard with first drafts, lol), taking me past the one-third mark at least according to plan, so the “downer” effect isn’t too strong.

Having the next work(s) already lined up for August/September is helping a fair bit, too. First up at bat will be my AH short story “Hill Country Commune”, which focuses on a rather different rebellion by German Unionists against Confederate rule in Civil War-era Texas. I’ve gone at this draft in fits and starts, thanks to needed research and new ideas constantly making me pause or double back; if the Muse is kind, there won’t be too much of either happening this time around, and I’ll have it publish-ready before or by the end of Sept. For any “stalled” points, and/or if the finish line’s reached early enough, tinkering on one or two other short drafts from what was originally my planned “AH Civil War Anthology” project is on deck. Should that run a bit dry, I’ll shift to outline/new work on what I’ve decided to call “Bleeding Cuba”, an entirely new short AH idea (prompted by fruitful discussion with fellow AH lovers/writers at Sea Lion Press) set in an alternate 1850s USA, amidst a greatly altered sectional crisis…in which a certain antislavery figure, “El Viejo Brown”, plays a potentially even bigger role than in our world. Quite a full two months, to put it mildly.

There’s other big news for this month, which could perhaps mean far better for the next: My short story “Les Mariannes” has been nominated for this year’s (Short Form) Sidewise Award for Alternate History! The official press release is attached below, along with the story’s KDP link. As with my SLP work “Toe-to-Toe”, last year, I was not expecting this honor, but am ecstatic nonetheless, and can’t wait to see who will receive the award itself on August 15!

Well, sleep is calling (the bane and bliss of all writers, after long hours at the keyboard or pen & notebook), so I must close here. See you all in August (hopefully with grander news yet)!