Hammered by hump day!

Wednesday’s lack of sleep made this week less productive than it should have been, but it was still a good week.
•First off, the Monster Earth anthology editors said they loved Peace With Honor That’s a real blast—it’s the first story I’ve sold in about 18 months (regular readers may recall me bemoaning that). And Raleigh Public Record just put a new story of mine online, on the city’s sidewalk plan. As for new stuff—
•To my surprise I got through the 20,000 words of Brain From Outer Space I wanted to right this month in just one day (which is to say three hours). Of course, that’s only because it’s mostly reshuffling elements from the previous draft into my new timeline, but it’s still pleasing. Next week I’ll go over them and make sure they all fit smoothly together (nobody ending up in two places at once, say) and then I’ll start work plotting the next draft.
•After reading The Perils of Peace (which I’ll review tomorrow), I got some fresh ideas for Not By Honor Bound, my post-Revolutionary War historical fantasy. When I beta-tested a rough draft, I got several complaints that we don’t get to see enough magic or understand how it works. That made sense, so I rewrote to make magic a much bigger presence from the start, though keeping the rules nice and simple,the way I like them. I’ve also made my two leads much more antagonistic, war veterans who’ve fallen out.
Unfortunately this had a lot of fallout: One character changed to a more competent wizard, the rules of wizard duels got rewritten so I’m not sure how to lead into the murder or the discussion of black magic that play a big role in the story (or as they say in this world “the custom of St. Secaire.”). However this feels a lot like my unconscious knows where the story goes even if I don’t, so I’m sure I’ll figure it out.
•I partially rewrote Never Call Up What You Cannot Put Down (another historical fantasy—WW II this time) but after getting two-thirds through (if not for Wednesday, I might have completed it) I became very conscious I prefer the earlier beginning, which mixes exposition with magic (hopefully well enough to get away with the exposition). I think I’ll go back to that but rework things to make it more tense.
•I did not get the extra work done in the evening I’d planned to. I succumbed and spent time with TYG instead. I am weak … but I don’t regret it.
•Today’s marketing work went slower than anticipated. I didn’t get half what I wanted done, but I applied for a four different writing gigs, so that’s not too bad.
•Demand Media articles:
•Real Estate Investment Deductions for Improvements
•Supporting Grown Children & Gift Taxes
•Could I Refinance With a Little Bit of Credit Card Debt?
•Can You Deduct Mortgage Interest If You Don’t Itemize Deductions?
•Tax Handling of a Non-Deductible IRA
•Taxable Vs. Roth IRA
•Does Being Married Help With Credit Approvals?
•Are Gifts to Education Funds Exempt From Gift Tax?
•Life Insurance, Trusts & Estate Planning
•Who Pays Taxes on a Trust Fund Withdrawal?
•Are IRA Withdrawals Subject to Social Security Tax?
•Can 1099 Employees Deduct Car Expenses on a Tax Return?
•How to Use Net Loss Carryover on a Federal Tax Return
•Tax on Child’s Social Security Payments
•Is a Surviving Spouse or Executor Responsible for Paying the Deceased’s Income Tax?
•Do You Need to Pay Capital Gains Tax on Inherited Property If Sold?