From Tim Manning:

Black Ink Horror #2 will be ready for an August release. And, in case you haven’t heard, not only does our second issue have more fiction and art (11 stories and 22 full-page illos), but it will also have poetry. As a special offer, the first 50 pre-purchased copies will be remarked by interior artist Tom Moran. A remark is a small, original, signed sketch drawn inside the book. Don’t miss out…reserve your copy now.

You can pre-order your copy here.

Here’s the cover and table of contents to Issue #2 of Black Ink Horror:

“Freedom” — Michael Knost
“Relative Misery” — Douglas E. Wright
“What You Wish For” — John Irvine
“Something Crawling” — N.S. Mounts
“Alecto and the Ghul” — Louise Bohmer
“Generosity” — Chris Reed
“Twins Without Moments” — Laura Sanger Kelly
“Wood” — Ian Rogers
“To Feed the Monster Within” — James M. Harris
“Minotaur” — C.C. Parker
“God Doesn’t Follow You Into the Bathroom” — Mark Allan Gunnels

With poetry by: Joel Arnold, Mo Irvine, Emily Cooper, Kristine Ong Muslim, and Paul T. Sninchak

Also, John Benson, the editor of Not One of Us, sent me the final edits on “Relaxed Best,” and they look great. I forgot how much I love this story, and John’s suggestions have only made it better.

Most of the time when an editor suggests changes, I say, Sure, I’m okay with that. This was one of the very few times where I thought, Holy crow, why didn’t I think of that?! The sign of a truly great editor.

Kat and I attended our last wedding this past weekend. We made the big drive down to Windsor, which is about six hours away. Good times.

We actually stopped in London on the first night. Kat picked up the bride and headed onward to Windsor, while I stayed with the groom. He spent about six hours in the basement writing his speech, while I was watching Apocalypto and 300. Then I played some Nintendo Wii, which I had never tried before. All in all I was able to amuse myself quite nicely.

The wedding went off without a hitch, and everyone had a really great time. Kat was able to connect with some of the university peeps she hadn’t seen for awhile, and I hung around with my sister who was there to do the makeup for the bridal party. I didn’t bring my camera so I don’t have any pictures to post. We plan to get a copy of the pics taken by others, so I’ll be sure to post some once we get them.

Now we have another week of work before our actual vacation next week at a small cottage about an hour and a half north of Peterborough. We’re very much looking forward to the time off, since we both really need it, and by the time we get back it’ll be only a month before we move!

Crazy. Absolutely cuh-razy.

• Currently reading: Snow Angels, by Stewart O'Nan

Tim Manning, editor of Black Ink Horror, has posted a preview of Issue #2, including the illustration that Matthew Ian David produced for my story “Wood.”

The issue is due out in mid-August.

Update: I did a search on the artist, and it turns out he actually produced two pieces for my story. The second one is even better than the first!

It’s official: we own a house.

The home inspector gave it the all-clear, and we just finished up with the final documents. We also took a bunch of pics, but we’re going to wait until we get our stuff moved in before showing you what the interior looks like. It just isn’t right with all the other people’s stuff in the pictures.

But I do have a few shots that Kat took while I was talking with the home inspector on the roof.

I actually look like I know what I’m talking about, eh?

The place is huge and gorgeous. It’s much better than anything we could have ever got in Toronto, where the best we could have hoped for is paying twice as much (at least) for some little condo that would have been about a quarter of the size. I know that’s something other people want, but Kat and I wanted a house, and this place is the one.

Our closing is for mid-September, which means we’ll have plenty of time to get settled and prep for our Halloween party, which will now be a house-warming party, as well.

Kat and I have the home inspection scheduled for tonight. This is the final phase of our house-buying adventure which started, strangely enough, just this past Tuesday. Crazy.

Assuming everything goes well, and the house doesn’t have a foundation ready to fall in on itself, or an Indian burial ground under the basement, we’ll be officially homeowners before the day is over. Very exciting stuff.

Oh, and I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this morning. I have no intentions of ruining the plot for anyone, so all I will say is that I enjoyed it very much, and I think everyone else will, too. I’ll wait a few weeks before I actually talk about the story itself.

Until then, I’m off to shower and get something to eat.

• Currently reading: China Lake, by Meg Gardiner

So Kat and I bought a house tonight. It’s what we do between weddings, apparently.

The whole deal is contingent on financing, home inspection, and all the other fun stuff that comes after the buyer has approved of your offer. But for all intents and purposes, it’s ours.

The house is really, really nice and we’re both very excited. I don’t want to tell too much about it, because we still have to jump the aforementioned hurdles, and because pictures will be a much better way of showing you how great it looks – and you can be sure I’ll be taking plenty once we close escrow.

Anyway, the wheels really start turning in the morning once the banks open. Our agent has plans to meet with the building inspector, and Kat will be calling her cousin at the bank (so nice to have family doing our financing), and I’ll just be sitting on my butt pondering where to put my desk in my new big-ass office.

• Currently reading: "Elisha Comes to Red Horse," by Lous L'Amour

I’m happy to report that Wedding #2 is in the can! Only one more to go, but it’s a doozy. It’s in Windsor and I’m not going to know very many people there. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem because I have Kathryn to keep me amused, but she’s the maid of honour for this one, so I don’t expect to see much of her at all. It’s sure to be interesting, at any rate. Then we’ve got a week at the cottage… ahh, bliss.

Anyway, Wedding #2 was for Kathryn’s older sister Jennifer and her beau Stephen. Everything went off without a hitch… except for the weather, which was pretty much rain for the entire day. But it did clear up for about fifteen minutes after the ceremony so that I could get the happy couple outside for some pictures.

Jen and Stephen asked me to be their official wedding photographer, despite my warnings that I’m a nature photographer and that I’m used to dealing with subjects like trees and clouds. But the pictures turned out quite well, I think, and everyone seemed to enjoy them. I’ll post some in a day or two once I’ve fully recovered.

Next: Wedding #3 (aka The Last One!)

• Currently reading: "Return," by Richard Matheson