A month and a half after VP, and my submission piece is about ready to go. I got a lot of good feedback and advice on this one, and (after giving it a month to sink in so the text would be fresh to me) I have finally gone through it all, listened again to the feedback session, decided what I agreed with, and produced a version that makes me happy. Crandall’s a little bit crabbier, Dr. Raghavan’s just a little more awesome, and those inclined to villainy are a little less stupid about it.

Unfortunately, “happy” was 8,500 words. I’ve cut it down a bit, but it needs to be a bit lighter: under 8,000 for most of the markets I want to submit to.

I have to admit, I’m feeling a little overprotective of this one. This is my good luck charm, the only story I’ve written to be accepted for anything (namely, Viable Paradise). At the same time, it’s probably the most polished piece I’ve written: if anything I’ve written is going to get published, this is it. I’ve already started thinking about it as the first two chapters of a longer novel (I never did say what case Crandall was traveling on, and it is in the way of these things for certain characters in the first chapters to get mixed up in later events…) but I decided that getting the story published on its own doesn’t stand in the way of that. (Darn, there goes that excuse)

If anyone wants a read, let me know. But it’s going to be out the door by December 1st, come hell or high water.