I haven't been very active in here lately. I've been putting in 12 hour-plus days at work, and too exhausted for much else.

However, I am pleased to report that I just finished wrapping up the final draft of a short story for a contest submission and will mail it, eleventh-hour, tomorrow.

I owe a lot to my blogfriend, who reviewed a draft of the story last week and who told me about the contest to begin with.

I don't have high hopes of the story being accepted. The object of the contest is to write a sunny love story -- and my story is only obliquely filled with hope. It has the kind of ending that could be seen as optimistic only by comparison to the darkness of the rest of the tale.

But I did it; I completed it and I will be submitting something. For the first time ever.

In my cover letter, I asked for a rejection letter at least. Let's hope I deserve that -- and one suitable for framing...!