My tweets

• Tue, 21:50: You wouldn't think a 250-word story would give me this much trouble. You'd be wrong. #amwriting #actuallyitsmorelikestaringatthekeyboard
• Tue, 21:55: Oh, look, the "get more followers" spammers are out. Yes, I'm going to take advice on that from someone with ONE follower. #idiots
• Tue, 21:58: Had the question the spammer asked me made sense, I might've been fooled. Protip: If you ask me what I mean, make sure it's what I said.
• Tue, 22:19: *sigh* It don't ever go smooth. 287 words in the first draft. Why oh why do I never get to PAD these things for wordcount?
• Tue, 22:21: That being said, I did get all ten words in. I hope they survive the edits.
• Tue, 22:33: That was less painful than I thought it'd be. Down under 250; now to make the sentences left SING.
• Tue, 22:39: ...oh, God, I need a title, too. AUGH.
• Tue, 22:58: And this story actually illustrates the exact opposite of the bonus theme they were looking for. #whoopsie
• Tue, 23:00: Turns out "Doctor Faustus" is relevant to more than one story this week. Who knew? Yes, this means I have a title.
• Tue, 23:35: And story subbed. Once again, I am a terrible person, and okay with that. But prompt words like "spiritual" & "catastrophe," I mean really.
• Tue, 23:43: I'd sit @piersmorgan down & explain gently why what he said about @janetmock was offensive, but I'm too busy enjoying the schadenfreude.

So, this is a Thing: @AlphaOmegaCon20

And, you know, the idea sounds pretty cool. As a Christian, I like to think that I'm not the only one of us toiling away in the trenches here.

That being said.

I am unsure of my welcome at a thing like this, because while I'm a fairly fundy fundamentalist in my doctrine, barely anything I actually write qualifies as "family friendly." Yes, I write fantasy and science fiction, with a smattering of horror, so "realism" goes out the door just on the premise--but the characters populating those stories still have to be people that readers can relate to. These characters rarely share my beliefs, and they drink, swear, and kill people on a depressingly regular basis, because that's how real people act in the sort of situations I'm interested in writing about.

My fiction is not a platform for my religion, and I don't want to be pigeonholed like that anyway. Besides, I write short fiction. Where are the Christian markets for that? And do they pay anything? Because yes, getting paid is important. I don't sub to "for the love" markets and I'm not going to start just because they're Christian.

So, I'll probably be forever at the fringes of this thing, no matter which side I'm looking from. "Gritty Christian" might be a thing, and I've now penned four stories starring recognizably Biblical angels and demons (sort of, I guess), but the subject matter of two of those stories is frankly disturbing and I'm pretty sure that my sainted mother-in-law (who is a lovely lady I love dearly) would be appalled by them.

But, hey, the Bible isn't exactly filled with sweetness and light either. And maybe I'm wrong and I'd be welcomed with open arms. I'll definitely keep an eye on them and see who populates the guest list. Maybe I'll even go, if finances permit and it doesn't conflict with the local ComicCon...