It’s official

If my previous post didn’t quite capture the level of my adoration of Mr VDM, then this one just might… I’ve just had my one-on-one with himself and, basically, the man is a genius. Plus, he’s an encouraging genius, which is even better. PLUS, he’s an encouraging genius that gives presents–book, CD, Weird Tales–which is even betterer.
Jeff was the perfect tutor for me to finish my Clarion experience with: he not only gets my style, but identifies with it, and endorses it. He wasn’t afraid to point out the amount of work this type of writing requires, but didn’t discourage me from pursuing it–he merely said I need to perfect it, which is A-OK with me. He admitted that it may take me a bit longer to crack the markets out there because of the nature and subject matter of my writing, but also says that I can/should branch out and hit the literary mags in the US as well as the spec-fic, which is awesome. It may take longer, but will be all the more rewarding when things hit.
We spoke about novel-writing = more encouragement.
We spoke about markets = more encouragement.
We spoke about short story writing = more encouragement.
We spoke about the need for me to keep writing, writing, writing = realistic and encouraging.
Tonight, we (along with the lovely denizens of Room 336 666) are hosting dinner for Jeff. After today’s great crits and afternoon sessions, methinks the meal will be all the sweeter.