700th Story Written

Yesterday I finished writing my 700th story. 'Shelling the Toad' was an idea that gestated in my head for a decade and a half before I sat down to actually write it. Finally it has been encapsulated in prose and I am delighted, etc. I seem to be delighted a lot these days.

This morning I added it to a new collection that I have just put together for a renowned editor in the USA. The title of the collection is Bone Idle in the Charnel House and at the moment it contains 24 stories and has a total length of 100,000 words.

But even if it's accepted I think the contents may be adjusted before publication as I tried to sneak some logico-philosophical absurdist stories in among the more gothicky material, for this is essentially a 'weird fantasy' volume along the lines of Clark Ashton Smith, Thomas Ligotti, Géza Csáth, etc.

Apart from the good things that have been happening with my writing, the other reason I am happy is because I have got back into exercise at long last. Running, hiking, cycling, even swimming. And I am climbing again. Climbing is certainly the finest sport ever devised!