I've got about half a dozen stories in progress, most in various stages of revision. Trouble is, I can't seem to commit to any of them.

There's the one I wanted to submit to the New England Crimebake contest, but lost so much time during the 3-day power outage last week that I don't think it will be done in time (April 30). There's the one I want to submit to Mr. Bagley's anthology. A few others that I dusted off from when I wrote them years ago, and the two zombie short stories that…

Sometimes I think I don't really want to be published at all. I read the horror stories about publishing and publicity, reviews and remainders, and I wonder why I'm doing this at all. What is so important to me about seeing my fiction published? Why am I sitting here praying just to be shortlisted for the contest I entered my novel in?

It's not because I think people who look at me as a loser will realize I'm not. A friend wisely pointed out once that people who think you're a loser…