Brrr... Part II

I was supposed to run Tuesday and Wednesday. But when I looked out the window, the sidewalks were frozen over.

Dad said, "Ice and sneakers don't go together too well. So don't even think about it." Dad's still trying to protect me, like I'm ten years old. I guess what they say is true -- you'll always be that little girl to your Daddy.

I decided not to brave the weather. I had the idea of sneaking off to the gym to run inside, but if sneakers and ice don't go together too well, tires and ice aren't that much better. Especially in Texas, where nobody knows how to drive in winter weather. A little bit of ice will shut down the whole city. And it did. Thankfully, the storm wasn't nearly as bad as the weather channel initially predicted. As soon as the sun popped out yesterday, the ice thawed.

So I'm waiting for it to warm up today. It's supposed to get up into the 50s -- perfect. I'm tired of this cold mess. Is it March yet?

So yeah, I didn't run. And no, I didn't write either. I spent the afternoons hanging out with my folks -- watching the news, eating pot roast, drinking hot cocoa, and laughing at their Siberian Husky, who was scared of the ice. (So much for animal instincts).

There are a couple of deadlines creeping up on me for short story submissions. So I'd best get back to my notebook for ideas. Right after I run. And study. And update my facebook page. And... well, I'll get to it this weekend.

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Addendum:

I've decided that I'm in love with GU Enegery Gel, specifically the flavors Orange Burst and Tri Berry. Yum. They taste good and prevent me from feeling like I need to throw up before I even finish the first two miles. I feel like I'm getting a treat every time I have one. Kinda cuts the craving for ice cream, chocolate, and cherry pie. ;)
And it was absolutely gorgeous outside today. I ran along the Trinity River. I took my notebook with me and sat on a bench for half an hour after my run to brainstorm for those short stories.
Guess I can kill two birds with one stone after all.

BRRRRRRR...

It's 30 degrees outside (or feels like 21 with the wind). For Texas, that's pretty darn cold.

Now, I signed up for a 10K run on February 28 this year. Yup, one of the many Cowtown Marathon events. That's 6.2 miles. For some, that might not sound like a lot. But for the rest of us, that's quite a trek. I can do it -- slowly. I'm trying to build up my strength and speed so little children, people on wheelchairs, walkers, and people with babies don't pass me on the trail. ;)

So yes. I ran in the frigid cold. The arctic blast. In a temperature that made my butt, quads, and calves go numb so there was no pain. And I ran the fastest I've run in ages.

Five miles in 49 minutes.

My mantra: Get it over with. Get back to the house. Get in the warm. Get it over with. Faster. Faster. Faster. Brrrrrr....

Today's To-Do Item: Contribute a short story

Technically, I'm on break. That is to say: I'm not working much on lesbian fiction right this second. Don't worry. I haven't written the genre off. It's just tough sometimes -- getting motivated to keep plugging away at it because the niche is so small and audiences even smaller. Especially in these rough economic times.
It's sad to know that books have become luxury items. Cutting corners has become so necessary that books just don't make the cut anymore.
Still, I'm a writer. I write. It's what I do.
So, instead of despairing over the whole mess, I've decided to compile a list of upcoming anthologies and entry deadlines. I'll write for whichever call for submissions I can write for. The worst thing that'll happen is that I might waste a few hours goofing around on the Internet.
(Like I don't do that every day anyway).
So the first item for this year is a piece for Seal Press. The topic: "Girl Talk: 25 Letters to Our Female Friends."
No, this one won't be erotica. Lol. It'll be a bit more serious. As my mother might say: "There you go again, writing that noir stuff of yours. You're so funny. Why don't you stick to humor?"
Yeah, yeah. Sometimes, especially after a glass of red wine, I'm not much in the mood to crack myself up. There's something about the wine that brings out a need to reflect inward.
Anyway, here's crossing my fingers that by the end of the year ya'll can find me in a few new books! Wish me luck.

Time for a new blog...

MySpace is so dirty.

I swear, it's nothing short of a hook-up forum.

I haven't visited my MySpace site in forever and had to delete nearly 80 percent of the "friends" listed there because they were... well... being inappropriate. I discovered that after weeding out all the people who asked for a friend request simply because the word "lesbian" is listed on my site there were only twenty or so people left.

Enough of that. I'll be deleting it within the next week or so.

I'll chat about writing here every once in a while. I might rant about my characters trying to take over the story. I may post pictures from future conventions or book sighnings. Sometimes, like today, I'll add a little something simply because I'm excited.

2009 is going to be a good year. One of my short stories was published in Ultimate Lesbian Erotica Stories 2009 by Alyson Books. It's on the shelves in Borders Bookstores and Barnes & Noble. That's a pretty big deal.

And, like a dork, I took a picture of the anthology on the shelf. ;)

Thanks for reading my stuff!

Kimberly