Neal Stephenson follow-up and a story sale

Photo of Neal Stephenson answering audience questions at Town Hall in Seattle, September 20, 2011

I met Jer after work and saw his new workspace. Then we walked over to the Elysian for dinner. I was disappointed they didn't have any pumpkin beers available yet, but soon. (Their pumpkin beer fest is Oct 8-9, and I have tickets for Saturday.)

Our table was on the narrow, fenced-in strip that just qualified as outside, and we watched the hundreds of Sounders fans stream past in their bright green shirts and scarves for the stadium. I listened to the conversations around us and pretended they were instruments in a serendipitous cosmic tune.

As you do.

Later we drove up to Town Hall and found convenient parking. There was no wait to get inside and I already had my tickets in hand, so we found seats and waited for Neal Stephenson.

The reading lasted about 45 minutes and then there were questions. The most interesting answer I'll take away is Stephenson's assertion -- in response to a question about the heft of his books -- that novels provide the best outlet for depth and scope of storytelling. A storyteller should take advantage of that opportunity.

We came home and I learned I sold a story. It'll be out October 1, and I'm very excited to be selected by this market. It also makes three acceptances in three months, if you're following along, and marks the first time I've sold a story on my first try. The other stories I've had accepted were rejected and revised before acceptance elsewhere.

All of this is to say: Tuesday was a good day.