The Universe is not cruel; it simply does not care

A friend died, far too soon, over the weekend.
Another friend has come forward with news of cancer -- treatable, being treated, but still a terrible scare.
This morning, news that a third friend lost a much-wished-for pregnancy, due to complications.


There is no malice in the universe, no matter how it sometimes seems. Things happen, bad -- and good. Only the joy is sometimes fleeting, muted, hidden by the more important glare of tragedy.

Look around. Look up, down, to the side, behind. Find the fleeting moment of joy (FMoJ). Celebrate it. Never let the feeling that it 'is not appropriate' or 'it's not worth really mentioning' dilute the wonder. That's the only crime.

/end sermon

at last it can be spoken out loud...

Got official confirmation that I've sold my short story "Rodeo" to 44 Clowns: 11 Stories of the 4 Clowns of the Apocalypse, edited by Jay Lake and Mike Brotherton.

I suspect the final title of my story's going to change, though.


"Yes" is always so much nicer to announce than no, or almost-but-not-quite. Especially on Mondays.