It’s Sunday morning here in Perth. We awoke at 6.30am – traditionally, I know, a fine time to be rising on a Sunday – to discover the power was out (I almost refrain from typing again) and so were briefly forced to depend upon one another’s company.  Happily the power was up again after only a short time, so we could turn again to our electronic distractions.

Saturday was an annoying day. We’re going through assorted variations on rebelliousness and difficulties with young ladies of a certain age, so what could have been a simple, enjoyable day became much more stressful than it needed to be. Such, is a parenthood.

I podcasted with Gary early, before heading out for lunch at an old haunt of Marianne’s and mine, That Food Co in Bayswater.  The weather was warm and humid, making it less than ideal, and the cafe was warmer and stickier. We had a frankly ordinary meal, before heading out to the Margaret River Chocolate Co. This should have proven more successful than it did. After that we picked up some groceries and a movie for Family Movie Night.

I had intended to spend time reading, if I could. Instead I bounced around, not really reading anything. This seems to be the mode I’m in right now. I did spend a little time skyping with my sister in Melbourne, which was good. We then had dinner, watched a fairly awful Eddie Murphy comedy, and the day came to a close.

Today is Sophie’s school fair. It should be fun. I need to do some work before heading out around noon, but if the power stays on that should be fine.

…there’s this, possibly the strangest, most brilliant mashup I’ve yet seen:

I was looking for something to post this morning and wanted something that wouldn’t sound too melancholy, so I thought I’d look through the backpages of this blog and see what I’d been saying and/or doing on (or as close as possible to) November 19 in previous years. This is what I found:

• In 2009, I posted my first and only blog post at Tor.com;
• In 2008, I delivered The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Vol. 3 to Night Shade;
• In 2007, I was working on the Locus recommended reading list and my mother was in hospital with heart trouble. I also was expressing my doubts about the 1st release of the Kindle. Hm. I might have been wrong about that (looks at own Kindle);
• In 2006, I was asking why the heck Microsoft called it the Zune, and expressed optimism about new books from Greg Egan and William Gibson;
• In 2005, I was reading reviews of the now sadly defunct Best Short Novels series, working on the 2006 volume, and pondering Bruce Holland Rogers email subscription service for his short stories; and
• In 2004, I was bothered about how anthologies should or shouldn’t be structured and being dismayed at the then new Australian government’s social policies.

Two things struck me re-reading those blog posts: I always seemed busy and I rarely seemed happy. I wonder if that’s telling.

Well, thanks to some hard work, fast footwork and the tireless efforts of my wife and sometime co-editor Marianne Jablon, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 5 has been delivered to Night Shade Books about nineteen days early, and just thirteen days after I was asked if I could be sure to get it in on time. Done!

There is, of course, a lot still to be done. There’s copyedits to get through, a cover, and we’re still nailing down permissions (we have emailed agreements, but I won’t really rest easy till we have the signed permissions themselves), so respite but no rest for a few weeks.

I will, once all of the permissions are nailed down, post the table of contents for the book here. I’m really quite happy with it.

So this is what happened: on Thursday November 4 I flew home from World Fantasy sure that I was due for a nice relaxed return to Perth; on Friday I received a phone call from Jason Williams, a good friend of mine and one of my publishers, who made it clear that the revised deadline for my best of the year anthology, December 12, really was not going to work out.

Jason pointed out that prior to 2009 the deadline had been November 5, with me typically delivering in late October so I could go to World Fantasy without work hanging over my head. The date had changed to December 5 in 2009, and was drifting a little again for 2010. Jason made it clear that I had to make the December 5 deadline, and if I could get the book in earlier then that would make things much easier.

I stopped, I looked and I panicked. I’d read a lot, I had lists and notes and stuff, but I didn’t have a table of contents, and I didn’t have much else either. I had, in short, quietly let myself become complacent because I had, oh, six weeks to get things done in.  I revised my target delivery date. It seemed to me if I could get the book done by Monday November 15 I’d only be ten days past the old deadline, and would beat the new one by more than four weeks.

To meet this I would need to finalise the table of contents, get writers to agree to their stories being reprinted, get permissions sorted, write an introduction and story notes, and prepare the manuscript for the publisher.

I panicked.

I calmed down.

As I write it is nearly 4pm on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 10. I have selected the final table of contents (well, I’m quibbling over one story), notified all of the authors and received emailed confirmations from all but two of them, arranged for contracts for 23 of the 29 stories to go out, and assembled 22 of the 29 story manuscripts. I have also engaged Marianne to standardise / cleanup the story files and assemble the story notes that I already have written for previous books.

From here, to meet my own self-imposed deadline, I need to write a 1,500 wd introduction on Saturday (while also podcasting with Gary and having family movie night with the kids), and write/review 29 story notes on Sunday. If, by 5pm Sunday I have that done then all I have to do is suck the whole lot into Scrivener,  work out the running order (I’m thinking on that now), add the introductory materials and recommended reading, and then spit out a manuscript. Once that’s done, a quick spell check and it heads out the door to the publisher.

Can I make it? I think I can. If I don’t, I can take the following weekend to get things finalised, but I’m hoping the Nov 15/Nov 16 will be it. Wish me luck.