It’s been a good news,…

It's been a good news, bad news, day:

GOOD: One of the panels I submitted for AWP has been accepted, which is very exciting. They get a ton of submissions, and I've never submitted before, so wasn't at all sure that they'd take any of mine. It'll be this: "From Bombs to Bindis: Trends and Tensions in S. Asian Diaspora Writing. Publishers often expect S. Asian books to focus on either sex (as in the classic arranged marriage novel) or violence (generally ethnic, communalist, or terrorist tensions). Many of us find ourselves writing on these two topics, but not always in the way publishers expect. Six authors discuss the extent to which their own work does or doesn't fit into trendy tropes, and consider the implications of writing about sex and violence in the current market, and in our politically-charged world." Still re-confirming the panelists who can attend, but it should be a good line-up, and much fun. That'll be in Denver, next April 7-10.

BAD: Our closing on the condo seemed to be progressing on schedule -- until around lunchtime, when it hit a snag. When they set up the condo, the builders somehow ended up using three different reference systems for the units, which has caused no end of grief and annoyance over the past four years. I.e., our mailing address was Unit #3N, but the number on our door was #6, and the gas company knew us as Unit F. This wasn't an issue with our mortgage broker when we bought the place, but apparently the automated system our buyers' bank uses rejected their attempt to buy our place as a possible fraud issue. So last we heard, the lawyers and realtors and mortgage folks were trying to sort this out, and were fairly confident that all would be well, but as of right now, we don't know whether our buyers actually got their keys and were able to move in today. I admit, I feel a little sorry for them. Also sorry for us, though, because I am so very sick of uncertainty.

GOOD: I sold a story! "Talking to Elephants", which is part of the YA fantasy novel I've been working on, off and on, to Abyss & Apex. I think this is my third genre sale ever (after "Fleeing Gods" to Circlet Press eons ago and "Jump Space" to Thoughtcrime Experiments recently), and is very pleasing. It pays $75, I think, which is enough for...hmm...part of a sofa. Every little bit helps. :-) This is making me want to go back and work on that novel some more.

BAD (?): We heard back from the 714 Elmwood folks, and it is definitely a no-go for the moment. Their realtor was apparently badly mistaken on what they wanted to do. If we still want the house in a few weeks, they're still up for talking to us, but at this point... I don't know. Various people, including our lawyer, have said that perhaps this is God's way of telling us this wasn't the right house for us. We wish God would have been clearer, if so.

GOOD: We looked at six houses today, and at least two are solid possibilities. My current favorite (although this may change at a moment's notice), is actually also on Elmwood. It doesn't have nearly as much lovely detailing as the previous place, but it has good bones -- both woodwork and the like that can be refinished (or replaced) to heighten the period details, but more importantly, it has six actual bedrooms already, which is what we'd ideally like and had mostly resigned ourselves to not being able to afford. (Master bedroom, Kavi's room, little boy's room, my study, Kevin's study, and a real guest room.) Plus enclosed porch, big mudroom, wood-burning fireplace, three-and-a-half baths (!), dining room big enough for a round dining table, I think, which is something I'd like. Massive amounts of parking with a 2.5-car garage and 2 additional side spaces. I'd want to stain all the window/door-frame woodwork a darker color, and at some point replace all the odd glass block with actual stained glass (which was probably what was in the house originally), but the price is notably lower than the other Elmwood house, so there'd be some money for that kind of refinishing work, I think. Assuming there weren't any nasty surprises on inspection, etc.

An up-and-down sort of day, but we've been well cared for by Daniel and Anne, and though we're utterly exhausted, we have a good dinner in us now, and a comfortable bed to retire to early. Tomorrow, we'll take it easy (I might even do some writing, especially if I can coax Lori down to Oak Park), and hope that the condo sale finishes up smoothly; Saturday, we'll hopefully look at a few more houses, and who knows -- we might even be ready to make an offer on something by Saturday afternoon. It could happen. We'll see.