Category: Apex Magazine

Containing Apex related *squeeing* or marketing ploys/editing related news.

Apex Magazine, Journal, Writing

Things to do: make time to breathe

Maggie Slater

So it’s been another hectic day! I’ve been trying to get the house at least slightly ready for starting work* so that I don’t have to come home to a cluttered, messy apartment (which shouldn’t even be that hard to keep orderly! >.< GRRRR). Haven’t made a lot of headway, though I feel like I’ve been working super hard. Ah well. Did get grocery shopping done, which was desperately needed, did Apex stuff, and wrote. Wow, is that it? I feel like I’ve been running around with my head cut off. Blah.

*Though I apparently *do* basically have the job, apparently one of the co-founders wants me to do one more interview with him tomorrow, since he hadn’t been informed that I was interviewing for possibly longer-term. So if that all goes well tomorrow, which I’m hoping it will, then I may be starting sometime next week. But we’ll see how this goes. *le sigh*

Writing Stuff

Another 1000 words done on the “novel”! lol. Novel. That sounds so lame to me. But whatever, that’s what it is, isn’t it? Section three or 500 words of it goes down tomorrow morning.

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
2,750 / 80,000
(3.4%)
Apex Magazine, Journal, Writing

Whirlwind

Maggie Slater

It’s been a very busy day. Apex stuff dominated, which is good, though I’ve still got a lot left to do. That’s why I keep a nifty to-do list! ^_^ But made progress in a lot of key areas, which was lovely. Lots of emailing done today.

In other news, I GOT THE JOB!!! XD!! Andy doesn’t even know this yet. Just a few minutes ago, I had written that I hadn’t heard anything, but while typing, I got the call! Now it’s just finalizing the pay-rate and figuring out when I start! YAY!!! *****SUPER HAPPY WIGGLING DANCE OF EMPLOYED ME!!!!*******

Oh my word, what a relief. XD!!!!

Writing Stuff

Got the novel started! YAY! Plugged in my time this morning before anything else (looks like the only time that will work, realistically), and managed to surpass my 500 requirement by 1,000! YAY! So it’s been a day of successes after all! ^_^

So far, the section seems to be going where I want it to. I’m trying not to be overly critical with it. Tomorrow, I’ll move on with section two, in which Marha actually shows up in person (rather than simply being talked about).

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
1,583 / 80,000
(2.0%)
Apex Magazine, Journal, Writing

Possibilities

Maggie Slater

So I had my first phone interview through Campus Point with a possible employer! Hooray! The interviewer liked me enough to have the CP representative schedule me for a video-conference interview at their Portland offices this Friday. Here’s hoping things go well!

Other than that, I’ve taken on some more marketing duties with Apex Publications which should be both challenging and a lot of fun, all the same. ^_^ Now, I’ll be assisting in the marketing of the next four upcoming releases from Apex Book Company, two of which are largely prepped for release, and two of which I’ll be running from scratch like CATACOMBS AND PHOTOGRAPHS. I’m really excited about this prospect, and I’m ready for the challenge.

Writing Stuff Continue reading “Possibilities” →

Apex Magazine, Journal, Writing

Zoning…

Maggie Slater

Figured I’d write today’s entry a little earlier than usual, since I’m not anticipating a whole lot happening in the next few hours. The big news: Andy got through his first day of cadaver work. Woo! He’s handling it a lot better than I would, I think. Still, he didn’t sleep very well last night, so we’re going to try to do the pre-sleep yoga stuff I’ve got one one DVD to try and sooth the mind before bed.

Other than that, it’s been a rather cold, damp day. Got some Apex posting stuff done on MySpace, as well as recieved notice that Absinthe’s Gloomy Sunday review is up for CATACOMBS AND PHOTOGRAPHS! Check it out here.

Put together the little tide-me-over vacuum, too, but haven’t used it yet. Planning to vacuum and mop down the floors today. With all this rain, tracking in mud is far too easy.

Also a little bummed that for some reason Netflix only just got our three DVDs we sent in. Feels like we put those in the mail ages ago, but oh well. Maybe we’ll have something to watch tomorrow.

Writing Stuff

Oh, boy, is this depressing or what? I’ve been admiring the word-counters on various author pages of late, thinking (in my procrastination-type way) “Hey, wouldn’t that be cool to put on the blog?!” Unfortunately, I then realize that I don’t even have any manuscripts I’d word count. O_< Ouch. I mean, the one I’m working on doesn’t have a word estimate just yet, since I’m just goofing around with it, and the novel is stalled, though I’m hoping to pick it up soon, so… what is there to count?

Man, it’s a depressing thought.

On the plus side, I managed to exceed–yet again–my required word count for the day. Maybe I could put a counter on for how much I want to get done and how much I do? Hmm… maybe. But it’s probably better if I don’t. Not even sure I could get it to work.

LET’S TRY IT!

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
840 / 500
(168.0%)
Apex Magazine, Journal, Writing

ANTM & PR: Reality TV is all consuming.

Maggie Slater

And yet, despite today’s entry title, I actually got most of my To Do list completed! Wooo for being productive! ^_^ I did my Apex stuff (submissions, interview requests, promo research), and then I moved on to the day’s regular tasks. These included the ever-fun bill paying, general tidying of our apartment (which can get pretty cluttered, pretty fast), dishes, and some laundry.

When Andy got back (Andy was at school from 7.30 to 12.40, but that’s all he had for today, so yay! ^_^), he ate lunch with me, and then he went back to the school to get the scalpel blades he needed, along with depositing the loan check and my birthday checks in the bank (yay for money!). While he was out doing that stuff, I finished the dishes/laundry I was in the middle of, and also got my day’s writing done (see below). Then we both ran to Walmart to get him a change of clothes (apparently, cadavar dissection makes anything you wear smell awful, and no amount of washing will get the smell out–in FACT, they tell you not to wash your dissection clothes because the smell will get in your washing machine, and then ALL your clothes will smell bad. EWWW!), and a couple other necessities we needed (like a cheap replacement mini-vacuum, because our little one that I’ve had for the last two years at college is falling apart). Picked up some BK for dinner and then came home.

And some good news! Andy sold his Acme cab. It’s a little sad to see it go, because it’s a great cab, but it seems like it’s going to a really good home. I know someday Andy would like to get another, larger version.

Now, I’m updating the blaag (duh, obviously), and watching the latest episode of Project Runway up on YouTube. I love these creative competition shows. They make me want to write collections of stories. ^_^

Ooo! See what Micha​el Laimo and Keala​n Patri​ck Burke have to say about​ CATAC​OMBS AND PHOTO​GRAPH​S on Brandy’s MySpace here!

Writing Stuff

Surpassed my 500 word requirement today by another 500! Hooray for exceeding expectations! Still working on the same story as the last few entries–still don’t know what I’ll even tentatively call it. Titles are fun, but I wish I were better at creating them.

The story itself is moving along, but it’s going to be long, which isn’t surprising. Whenever I’m not guarding myself against it, I tend to write novelette-length stories, rather than shorter ones. But since I’m not worrying about its marketability for right now, I’m not going to stress about it. I’m having fun exploring the world and the conflict, and we’ll just see where it goes from there.

Apex Magazine, Food, Journal, Pictures, Writing

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, and other random tidbits.

Maggie Slater

So most of you know that yesterday was my twenty-third birthday! Hooray! I’m older now! Many of you may not know that it was also Andy’s first day of Chiropractic school. I drove him in yesterday morning and dropped him off for his orientation (10-4), and then I went grocery shopping for the things I needed to make dinner and my birthday cake. ^_^ For dinner, I wanted to have Vietnamese spring rolls from a recipe my mother has often used. It’s a delicious dish, and I was more than a little pleasantly surprised to find that Walmart actually had everything for it. Crazy! In fact, it’s the only place so far where I’ve found both the rice paper and the bean noodles. Dirt cake is a lot easier to make, so I wasn’t as surprised about finding those ingredients. ^_^

Drove home from there and promptly got cooking. It was strange, but not having Andy around the apartment puts me in a really productive, I need to do things, kind of mood. I can’t just sit around by myself. That’d be boring and not a little pathetic. So I cooked. Got the dirt cake all ready (I was very impressed at my insane cookie-blending skills, considering I have no food processor and had to use only my rolling pin), because it needed to chill for a while. Also cooked up the bean noodles and then the chicken for the spring rolls. Actually, I was really productive and didn’t even sit down to play video games once all day yesterday! Now THAT’S nuts.

Got a bunch of calls from family, which was fun. It’s always nice to hear from you guys. ^_^ I had finished getting everything ready, and had just sat myself down with a pack of Twizzlers to play Zelda when Andy comes home, done with his orientation day 1. Yay! I really missed not seeing him all day. It’s going to be pretty intense over the weeks, since (I believe, from what we know–look for a correction if this ends up being wrong) he’ll be in classes M-F from 7:30am-4 or 5 pm. O.O!! Loooooooong days, but at least he’s studying stuff that will all be useful when he becomes a chiropractor.

After hearing about his orientation, we had dinner, and though he says it was fine, I overcooked the chicken a little. :-\ Ah well, it was still pretty tasty (it was the texture of the chicken that was off a little). Then we had dirt cake, and thankfully that’s almost impossible to mess up. ^_^ It was extra yummy.

Then we, meaning I, opened presents. Andy got me the new Enya CD (which I’ve been drooling over, see below), and a nice bottle of Disaronno, which we haven’t had in far too long. We both had a little of the Di in our tea cups (the white, handless, asian-inspired ones) with icecubes, and it was just marvelous. I also got a fair bit of tinder from other relatives, which I’m very much looking forward to spending without feeling guilty! (It certainly helps that Andy should be getting his financial aide check today which covers living expenses like rent–makes me much less likely to just put the checks in the bank and use them for groceries, which is just not that much fun.) I had pretty much already decided (since I can’t really afford the sofa I want) that I would put some of the money toward a nice bookshelf from Ikea, because I’m ready to put away all the books/DVDs/etc. that have been laying all over the living room floor since we moved in, and because I would feel guilty buying more books only to pile them on the floor in a corner. Then I figured with some of the other $$, I’d buy me and Andy the two print posters we’ve been dying for:

I can get fairly cheap frames for them, and getting those up on the walls will make this place feel a little more lived in. That takes up most of the money, but leaves me with enough for a few books, including *drum roll please* the enormous textbook on Jupiter that I’ve been eyeing for the last few months. It’s a book I really couldn’t buy if I didn’t have gift money, because it’s so expensive, but it looks absolutely fabulous, and actually will help me with writing. YAY! As for the other few books, I haven’t quite decided what I’ll get just yet. I’ve got a couple of ideas, now it’s just narrowing the list down.

To top off my birthday, we watched Desperate Housewives into the evening until we were both so tired (and stiff from sitting on the floor) that we went to bed. Sounds like a great birthday to me! ^_^

Oh! And my interview with poetess Brandy Schwan is up on the Apex Magazine website! She’s a very interesting lady, and a very fine poet. Check it out! There’s also a lot of good short fiction up, so feel free to read those too! ^_^

Writing Stuff: Continue reading “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, and other random tidbits.” →

Apex Magazine, Journal, Movie Review, Writing

A Series of Ordinary Events

Maggie Slater

So the week has been pretty quiet, hence no new posts. Kaku got back from Europe last weekend, so we’ve all been hanging out, haloing it, and catching up on Dexter. I must say, Dexter is a bizarrely fun show. It’s got just enough creep, from the main character himself!, to keep me highly entertained. At any rate, I’ve been having a blast with it. The sister is annoying, but that’s probably my only complaint at this point. It’s highly addictive.

We’ve also been cruising through Desperate Housewives Season 2, which I *love*! I must say, the plotting, characters–it’s all like heroin to me. Rarely does a TV show make me so crazy to watch more. Which is why Netflix is wonderful! No commercials, no waiting at season finales (if you’ve ordered the next season in advance)–it’s lovely. We’re also making our way through Home Improvement Season 2, which is just light and fun. ^_^

On Saturday, for pizza night, we watched I Am Legend. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. Sure the ending struck me as a little weak, and I definitely think some of the issues (such as the humanity status of the monsters) could have been more developed, but overall it was a pleasurable watch. Perfect? No. Fun? Yes, actually, which somewhat surprised me. I’d like to read the novella and see how the original story went. All in all, though, I’m glad we watched it. Solid three stars, maybe even three and a half.

Watched the debates, but I’m so sick of politics by this point, I won’t even comment. It didn’t change my vote so far, let’s just say that. After the debates, we got our political frustrations out with a game of political halo, which resulted in a wild battle between Hillary, McCain, and Barak. It was *crazy*! Then we watched Futurama. ^_^

Did some cleaning this week so far. Yesterday, we cleaned up the kitchen which had gotten pretty messy and then tidied up the dining room. Swiffer’d the floors (yay!) which was much needed. Today, I washed the towels and washcloths in the bathtub; now it’s just a matter of them drying.

Other than that, the weekend was quiet–Apex was at a con, so radio contact was limited. Took the time to catch up on my Zelda playing (2x through Windwaker, which is hands-down the best Zelda). Finished the interview with the amazing Brandy Schwan today, which was the first productive thing I’ve done this weekend! Hooray! Thank you for helping me out Brandy! ^_^

So that’s about it for here. Oh! Got our driver’s licenses in the mail at last, so now we can get rid of our temporary ones. ^_^ Yesterday, with our “New Moon” money, we were at the local Walmart getting a few things (the Swiffer included), and we decided to pick up some Full Sail (local Portland beer–very nice). But we didn’t have our licenses! I happened to have a laminated, certified copy of my birth certificate with me at the time, so that worked, but it was funny. Just nuts! It’s nice to have the ID back.

Feeling a cold coming on. Scratchy throat off and on/nose clogged in the back/all that good stuff. Still have most of my energy, but I suspect that when Andy goes back to school on Thursday, the cold’s going to hit home. Bah. I hope it holds off until after my birthday (also Thursday). :-\

Writing Stuff:

Got the rejection back on “Mechanical Difficulties.” I’m not really that surprised, but ah well. At least the story is old enough that it doesn’t quite feel like a punch in the stomach anymore. I just don’t have anywhere else to send this story. *le sigh*

Edited “Mimicry” to make the third draft. Should be going out to my next cold reader soon (heads up Tim!).

Sketched a map for the current new “short” fiction project, which is probably shaping up to be a novelette in length. Man, I need to work on creating shorter stories. I just love novelette-length fiction so much! XD! Ah well, to be worked on, I suppose.

Apex Magazine, Journal, Writing

Easy Day

Maggie Slater

Been a pretty easy day today. Did some Apex work, checked the job listings, and finally went grocery shopping. Yeah- eating is good. Also signed up for Netflix yesterday (hooray!), so hopefully we’ll be getting our first batch tomorrow.

Writing Stuff

I finished editing draft 2 of “Mimicry” yesterday, and Andy gave it his first read. Then I shipped it off to my mother for the next bout of intense editing.

I also got some plotting work done on the infamous Marha story. The first part is tentatively called “Sins of the Father” which pretty much sums up the section. Trying to hammer out the action, solidify the negative forces, and rehash the old storyline to work with the new plot. I haven’t even started looking too much at the second part (tentatively, “Like Mother, Like Daughter”), or the third part (as yet, even tentatively untitled).

For those who are familiar with this ongoing blackhole of doom story, the Ring stuff will now be in part two, not in part one. It fits better in the second part, actually, and part one is busy enough without it.

Apex Magazine, Food, Journal, Pictures, Writing

Productivity

Maggie Slater

It’s been a pretty quiet day today. Other than finishing up some Apex stuff, and finally getting around to eating some of that birthday cake, Andy and I decided to make tonight our weekly pizza/movie day because we’ll probably be out later tomorrow evening (and Saturday is our usual day to do said pizza/movie set up).

HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE PIZZA I JUST MADE:

So while I’ve been prepping the pizza (Jamison family recipe, of course), I also managed to do a lot of:

Writing Stuff

I finally got cracking on “Mimicry”! It’s been a long and exhausting week in writing terms, but at long last my Critters gauntlet is over. Now I can get back to building up my self esteem so I can actually write something without my inner editor yelling “It’s CRAP!” the whole time.

Figured editing was a good place to start, since my idea well has been a little dry for the time being. It’s probably simply because I haven’t been reading as much, because of the move, and because we don’t have a couch or anywhere suitable for reading besides the bed, which is fine for the most part, but still not where I tend to read. I am in the process of remedying this lack of literary fuel. Afterall, it is one of the Five Golden Rules of Writing (Read, Write, Edit, Submit, Repeat).

Anyway, started on editing. I’ve been retyping the whole story into a new document for this draft, because it helps me to evaluate the flow of the text and helps me to make even fairly large edits without feeling like I’m trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. So far, I’ve got about 6,000+ words edited into draft 2, and about the same amount to go. It’s huge, I know, especially for a short story, but I figure I’ll shoot it off to the WotF contest first, and then see what my options are from there. Until then, I’m just worrying about making it the best story I can.

Gotta say, though, I’m really loving this project. It’s been a while since I felt really proud of a piece of writing, but this one is definitely making its way into my heart. This probably means it will never be published, but ah well. At least I’ll have a fun, unpublished story to look at every now and then when I pull it out of my files. If nothing less, I’m having a blast working on it.^_^

Apex Magazine, Journal, Pictures, Portland/Oregon

Happy Birthday Andy! ^_^

Maggie Slater

So yesterday was Andy’s birthday, and my interview day, so it was insanely busy. Probably the busiest day we’ve had since we moved out here.

First half of the day was devoted up updating some new images for the Apex T-shirts, researching DA contest set-up, while simultaneously getting cake stuff from Safeway and baking said cake. I also ironed my interview clothes and Andy’s khaki pants so we could both look nice for dinner out. Printed off a copy of my resume, got directions, got ID stuff together. Oh, and forgot to eat lunch. Lol.

Second half of the day, starting at 2:00, we headed downtown for the interview. We got there about forty-five minutes early, so we hung out until 2:30 before I headed in. The interview itself went really well. It was a group interview for the placement agency (not for a specific job), but it was very comfortable, and I’m glad I didn’t underdress. The CampusPoint staff seems really friendly and helpful, so I’m looking forward to working with them.

After the interview, I met up with Andy (who had been wandering around downtown Portland during the interview), and we strolled around trying to locate the three Indian food places that he’d picked out as possible birthday dinner spots. It was still pretty early, and a lot of the places didn’t serve dinner until 5:30, so we hit up Pinocchio’s happy hour for some drinks and appetizers. I love going there; it always makes me feel so rich and chic. Probably helped that we were both in formal-wear (I was in a femme powersuit lol), so we actually fit in with the business crowd there.

After that, we strolled (a little dizzily because we’re lightweights) over to India House at the corner of Morrison and 11th. That place is fantastic! The vegetable pakoras and the chicken tikka masala were unbelieveable. So delicious! We both ate a ton.

Full, happy, and no longer dizzy, we headed back to our car and went home. Watched two episodes of The Office in the hopes of making room for the cake (which I frosted when we got back), but we were still way too full to eat it. So that’s a task for today! ^_^

It was a lovely night out on the town, and since my parents had footed most of the bill, it was money-stress free! I am definitely starting to see why people love Portland so much. The downtown is just beautiful, with so many trees and parks, etc., and walking around is just fun.

This weekend we’re heading out to the coast to check out some of the small towns around those parts and to watch the sun set over the Pacific, which Andy has never seen before. Should be fun! ^_^ Maybe I can even get a little sun, because I’m so insanely pale right now. And when I notice that I’m pale… you know it’s REALLY pale. Blinding, probably. ^_^

Pictures!