Mulled whine...

December's been an awkward month for writing. I haven't had anywhere near as much time to write as I'd hoped, and when I have actually managed to sit down at the computer with something close enough to enthusiasm to be confident of producing something, I've then found myself incapable of deciding exactly what it is I should be aiming my efforts towards.

Still, I've worked on a couple of new stories, one of which is pretty much finished and an edit or two away from being sent somewhere. I thought I'd missed the Sentinel deadline but looking at the website just now I see they've extended it and I've got until the 7th January (my birthday!) to enter. It's a sign! Hopefully a more accurate one than the previous 'sign'...

I was very pleased to find I've come joint third in the second Catherine Howard competition. My story 'Evergreen', was - surprisingly, I thought, given the time of year - the only Christmas-themed story entered. Having chalked up second place in her previous competition with 'Featherweight', and getting a second win at TxtLit recently, I suppose I am officially becoming one of those annoying people who keeps cropping up on the shortlist of the same competitions. It's a trend I'm happy to allow to develop, I must say.