Necon bound, Wound up 54%

For the past couple of months I've been plagued with the adult writer's version of the old "back to school" dreams we all have. You know, the kind where you are back at high school/college/elementary school wearing only your underwear (or in my wife's case, not wearing any socks... that's just so cute <g>), and everyone has done the assignment over the summer but you, though it doesn't matter because you can't find your classroom? Everyone has them, I suppose. But Thursday begins my 8th consecutive year attending the amazing writers conference Necon (www.campnecon.com), where a limit of 200 attendees, all, for the most part, writers of some sort, or artists, get together, attend panels, eat hot dogs, play mini golf (and fall under the crushing weight of my talent when they do), play softball, drink (to varying degrees) and, most importantly, talk about the craft/business/insanity of writing - horror in particular - for 4 days. So, beginning in late spring, I begin to have dreams where I arrive and everyone has a schedule and are doing the Necon jig, and I'm wandering around, trying to find out where I'm supposed to be, and for some reason my shoes are always untied (any psychoanalysts out there who can tell me what that means?). As I get closer, I'm able to interact with my fellow scribes a little more, but everyone hates me, or thinks I'm an idiot and ignores me. It’s the old back to school, why aren't I popular like Sally Everyone (or Sam Everyone in my case), self conscious drivel. Still, when the day comes when I, Stephen Dorato, Lauran (L.L.) Soares and Laura Cooney pull into the campus in my haggard mini-van, I'm Mr. Sunshine and Everybody's Friend. But, I suppose part of my pre-Necon dread stems from the fact that every year I hope to arrive and see one of my books in the goodie bags (we get goodie bags), to become one of the many Necon Regular Breaks Through people. Some day. Looking forward to it, though. Hopefully everyone will be nice to me.

Things are pretty stagnant on the book-selling front. My European agent Cristine is at least answering my emails. Aside from that, I've set up a Publisher's Marketplace page (http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/DanKeohane/) to tout my wares as well, see if there's any interest I can garner. It was through here a couple of years back that I got in contact with my agent and even a Russian publisher, so who knows....

Wound, the latest of my Working Titles, has passed the halfway mark today at lunch, for the second draft, 54% to be precise. Coming along nicely. Still enjoying what I wrote, which is a good thing. Probably won't stick to this title, since half the people will think it's "wownd" and the other half "woond". Though both work (the "wownd" works because one of the thingies in the story is a clock, and "woond" works because of the underlying theme to the whole book). Still... It looks cool.

Dan