And So We Come to the End

This is the last post I’ll be making here at The Bluestocking Blog.

But never fear. This doesn’t signify an end to my writing or blogging for that matter. I’m just switching over to a new domain:

laurencteffeau.com

When I first started this blog, I had no publication credits and no real clue to what I was doing. All I knew is that I wanted to write and blogging seemed like a good way to plant my flag, so to speak.

But my ever-present insecurity demanded that I do so under an alias. I started posting, was pleasantly surprised as I made connections with other writers, and slowly built a platform for myself.

Now, however, that identity is starting to chafe. I’m not a beginning writer anymore. I still have things to learn, mind you, but I’ve progressed to a point where I feel comfortable with what I do and the skill level I’ve achieved. I’ve made two pro sales in the last two months and had accrued a respectable number of credits before that. It’s time to fully own my identity as a writer, and I feel I can best do that with my new site.

But first, a look back.

The Bluestocking Blog Stats:

1,452 days active (just over four years!)
214 posts
over 69,000 hits
over 7,000 unique visitors
10 short story credits
4 novels written

Top posts:

Nefarious Narrative Distance
Resource Roundup Part 1 – Finding the Right Word 
Resource Roundup Part 4 – Opening Your Story
Resource Roundup Part 2 – Conjuring Up Titles
Coffee Shop Etiquette 

Not bad for an alias.

So please follow me to my new site at laurencteffeau.com or stay connected with me on twitter. And, as always, happy writing!

Photo courtesy of Olivander of Flickr

Sale to Crossed Genres Magazine

Just a quick note to say I’ve sold my short story “Forge and Fledge” for inclusion in the “Runaway” issue of Crossed Genres Magazine.

I’m very excited to work with CG again after participating in their Fat Girl in a Strange Land anthology a while back.

If you are interested in speculative fiction that bucks the norm, be sure to check them out. In fact, they are in the midst of a subscription drive—the best way to see my story when it’s published!

That’s it for me this week. Happy writing!

Fits and Starts

Between the holidays and some personal issues that I won’t go into here, these past few months have been rather…stressful for me. Of course, my writing routine has suffered, along with the blog. A self-perpetuating cycle of guilt and exhaustion that I’m just now getting out of...in fits and starts.

If you’ve had similar trouble, I recommend reading (Not) Writing My Way Through Stress from the Inkpunks blog for strategies to stay productive when the world conspires against you.

 Image courtesy of stopherjones of Flickr

 

Anyway. It’s not all been doom and gloom. I’ve had a few pieces of good news.

First, my story “Daughters of Demeter” which originally appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer will be reprinted in Potnia: A Devotional Anthology in Honor of Demeter published by Bibliotheca Alexandrina this spring. It’s always exciting to see my digital projects find their way in print.

Second, I’ve made my first SFWA-qualifying sale. I’m happy to announce my story “Against the Wind” will be appearing in an anthology of stories set in S.M. Stirling’s Emberverse, a series of post-apocalyptic books set in an alternate history where technology fails and humans struggle to survive in a changed world. I’ll be sure to share more details as this project progresses.

So as with anything, there’s good with bad. Either way, I’m writing again, and for now, that’s enough.