Finishing Projects

I often (always?) have too many different creative projects going at once. Yesterday I took down the "story board" I had made for a collection of short stories I've been working on for several years. I'm calling the book Land of Opportunity because all of the stories are set in Arkansas and I always liked the old state motto. Taking down the physical representation of the book's stories and organization marked a turning point--it feels finished, and this weekend I sent out five stories for consideration at various journals. Three have already been published online: “Why I Live At the Albert Pike Hotel,” at http://asouthernjournal.com/Ezine/Archives/2007/2007v18horne.htm; “Other People’s Dogs,” at http://www.marckbeggs.com/ALF/2007/horne.htm; and “Sixteen Going On,” in Foliate Oak (that archived story is no longer available online). I still have the Arkansas license plate pinned to the board, along with the most astute advice I ever found in a fortune cookie: "Now is a good time for a bit of solitude."