Notes From Coode Street

Gack I’m tired.  I spent about seven hours doing taxes today, and I figure I’m a bit over half way through. 2006/2007 is pretty much together. I need to plug in the deductions, source a little bit of info, and talk to the accountant.  2007/2008 is also coming together. The ground work is done, but there’s still some detective work to do.  I’m determined, though, to end this whole ‘doing the taxes’ problem once and for all.  By the end of the month I expect to get last year’s taxes done, and have this year’s done to the point where I can submit them the moment I get my group certificate.  I should be able to get on the plane for Denver and know that I don’t have to worry about taxes till mid-2009, and those should be well organised.

Of course, once the taxes are done, I move on to trying to prepare for applying for my own job.  Have to write a resume for the first time in 15 years, and prepare for my first job interview about as long.  Round the same time, I’ve got to finish a couple books, both of which are coming together very nicely.  That takes me through to late June (skipping a couple birthdays), and then the relatives arrive from New York.  By mid-July (truly), the year will be all down hill.  These aren’t simpler times, but I can see them from here.

Critic Farah Mendlesohn has been writing about children’s literature, and children’s literature specifically, over at her blog The Inter-Galactic Playground, for some time now.  It’s always a fascinating site to check out, and is building up towards what should be a very interesting book of Farah’s.  She’s just posted a critique of my book The Starry Rift which really delighted me.  It’s not a review - it contains spoilers and so on - but it is very interesting indeed.  Reading it made me eager to get my teeth into another book I want to do, which I’ve been messing with for a while.  Of course, given how overloaded I am today, that might have to wait for 2011.

Well, a reasonably productive day.  Story contracts out to everyone who is owed one, covering two separate projects.  Preliminary manuscript for Godlike Machines sent off to the Book Club (more to be added, but they wanted to see what I have now). Steps taken to gather tax information, so that hopefully I can get my return done this weekend.  I also got an invoice together and sent for one project, and ready to go for another.  Yesterday I got myself in something of a knot over the various things on the to do list. Today has been a reasonably successful attempt to unknot myself, plot the path forward, and get things done.  I’m reasonably hopeful that, even allowing for what seems like a rather intimidating timeline, I should be able to get everything odne, and to the required standard.

It’s helped that summer is now definitely gone, and autumn’s fading with it. It’s been a cool, rainy day and there are a lot more days like that to come between now and August.  That means comfort and relaxation, which means I’m best placed to achieve a lot.  If everything’s done by the end of July, the trip to the US in early August should be an actual break.  Then home, and I should have about two months off.  I’ll potter around the house, exercise, and do a lot of year’s best reading.  That should mean I’ll be well placed to deliver that book before heading off to Canada for World Fantasy.  Busy, busy.

Since the new resolution here is to focus on good, or at least interesting news, some good news from the Asimovs forums. Apparently Jack Skillingstead has just sold a short story collection to Golden Gryphon.  I love the books that Golden Gryphon produce, and I was delighted to hear they would be doing Skillingstead’s book. I’ve read a number of his stories that I’ve really loved, and we’ve corresponded of late, and he seems like a terrific person. There’s no scheduling info, but I’d guess this would be a 2009 book. Can’t wait to see it!

I’m mostly posting information about The Starry Rift over at TheStarryRift.com, but I thought I’d mention that Charles Tan, Bibliophile Stalker, just have the book a very nice review. He also said some great things about Ellen Datlow’s The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy which I wholeheartedly endorse.