Here's a poem I wrote a while back (year or so). Sort of Dickensonesque, though no flies buzz nor sepulchres groan within.

The Darkest Coat of Dreams

I wrap myself in cloaks of darkness,
Weaving black on black of night on night
While sparkling stars betray my insight,
Then stretch my fingers into blindness.

I sungaze to wipe the soul with light,
Then shut eyes and wish the world away--
To seal the windows and flee the day
Is to keep a promise made each night.

I sleep deep and dream and roll and cry
At all the vivid images, bright
That flash and burn in embedded flight
From hours and years lost to sunlit sky.

In dreams I weave frail dark strands around
Of fancied loves and unfulfilled fate.
Yet waking, I fear and know too late,
To all tainted mourning here I’m bound

Well, here it is, the middle of August! I've been working on MTNI the last week and a half, and have it almost "in the can" now. Tomorrow I'll head to the printer to go over the proofs, and if all is well, give the issue my "imprimatur." I've almost got my "Thief of Lies" story ready to submit, but to whom? The horror market doesn't appear to be in good shape. Gone are the halcyon days of the 80s and 90s when any horror smack would sell! Too bad I wasn't writing the stuff then! But I wouldn't have been ready.... I'm a much more accomplished, wordly and mature writer now. Anyway, there's always the "hard science fiction" route, the crime drama/mystery, the historical romance, etc. I have ideas for them all.

Here are a few ideas I've been thinking about lately:

1) A time-displacement story, based on the latest temporal and end-of-time theories. What's beyond the END? There's this multiple brane theory, string theory, and the theory proposed by that New Zealander that time is not, as is commonly conceived, a series of discreet moments.

2) A story based on regular expressions! Uh... how? Dunno yet. But people always say "write what you know, and I do know regexps!

3) A follow-up to my "Probability" story, in which Carlisle and friend travel through multiple parallel universes via Carlisle's "Probability Engine."

4) A new story for WTIW, in which a cigar-store Indian is really an alien Robot come to rescue the lost tribes from genocidal homesteaders.

Now, it's August! Today I went to lunch at the Thai Café in Clairemont Mesa and had lunch with former colleagues. Doug was there, along with Thomas, Donna, Brigitte, Veronique, Heike and Annie. Marina came and said "Hi." It was fun to see everyone; I hope we can continue to stay in touch.