Word count: 66081 | Since last entry: 151 | This month: 1312 I’ve completely fallen off track on the novel. For one thing, I went to Minicon and — despite the usual best intentions to write on the plane — I did no writing at all during the weekend. The only time I turned on my computer was for my reading, at which only one person showed up. But she enjoyed it. For another thing, I’ve been sick since returning from the convention. I’ve also got a deadline at work on Wednesday, which kept me late yesterday and will probably keep me late tomorrow. The 151 words noted above are revisions on a story called “The Last McDonald’s” that I first wrote a couple of years ago, had critiqued, but never got around to revising until just now. The prompt in this case was an invitation to submit to a major market that is in an unusual situation (that’s all I can say, sorry). Having revised the story to my satisfaction, I sent a query to the editor; I hope the story will go in the e-mail tomorrow. But the most interesting reason I haven’t written a thing on the novel in the past week is this: I’M ON THE HUGO BALLOT! TWICE!! My story “Tale of the Golden Eagle” was nominated for the Hugo for Best Short Story, and I’m up for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (my second and final year of eligibility). So I spent most of yesterday evening updating my web page with the news and responding to the many emails of congratulation that poured in. On the same day I learned of my Hugo nominations, I also received word that my Zeppelin story sold to All-Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories. So, though I’m blowing my nose every five minutes and I don’t have any novel progress to report, it’s been a darn good week.