Titus Welch

If I had a million dollars, I’d… For most of my life, I’ve finished that statement with “do nothing.” Late nights watching tv or movies, late mornings spent sleeping the day away, maybe even entire days in bed, whatever I wanted. It sounds so appealing. The closest I’ve ever been to being without responsibility in adulthood is on vacation. Specifically, a vacation I took last year that lasted nearly a week. I spent the week with my wife and extended family, we played games, spent time outside, laughed, joked, and were in a general state or merriment. Yet, I had this discontent welling inside that was unaffected by relaxation, laughter, food, drink, or good company. I felt this was as close to having my millions and consequently, being freed of the mundanities associated with the frets of attaining money and responsibility as I would ever be. It was terrible. All of creation week’s events, it would seem, have come to a culmination, or their purpose, when we see God craft the garden. ...

I have just applied the last coat of finish to my hand-built kitchen table. I have great plans for the table. I plan to have dinners with my family there. I plan to laugh with my family there. I plan to play games with my family there. I plan to watch my family grow there. Yes, I have great plans for that table. It took many hours of work, more hours than I intended, but it was worth the work if my plans were to be fulfilled. If I had no need of the table, no plans for it, it would not be. I would have never found the last few hours to sand and re-apply additional coats. I would have never found the time to distress the table to have the proper appearance of age. I would have never found the time to put two boards together, much less buy the lumber. But it did all happen, and that was because I had a plan, a purpose for that table. Five days of labor passed. Matter had first appeared no more than a week ago. It was the beginning, and someone had a plan. Someone had intent, and purpose...

Received my first rejection today! Fantasy & Science Fiction mailed back a rejectiong for my novella submission, Sand and Cinder . It's one of those things that you just know is going to happen, its part of the job. I can't fully expect that in my first year of writing that I would get published, I hoped that, and it may still happen, but I'm not surprised to receive my first rejection. Its just a matter of pushing forward. The rejection letter said, "This story couldn't hold my interest, I'm afraid." Of the few people who have read it, one has said it started slow, so there could easily be some truth to what they've said. There are plenty of stories I ahve read because someone has lauded its quality, and I didnt finish simply because I lost interest, so I'm not taking it to heart as not every good story will grab everyone's attention. So I've sent it out to Intergalactic Medicine Show. They ask for at least 3 months for a response. ...