A good year for anthologies

Looking back at the year almost past, I realize it was a standout because I had four stories published or reprinted in three different anthologies.

"The Silver Dollar Saucer" was reprinted in "Raygun Chronicles", "Great White Ship" and "Double Exposure were reprinted in "Rocket Dragons Ignite: Daily Science Fiction Year 2" and "Hearts Made of Stone" was published in the original anthology "Song Stories"

It's book bomb time!

It's book bomb time for the brilliant new Space Opera anthology "Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera For a New Age". It's release day was Tuesday, Dec. 3, so this is the first weekend you can log onto Amazon and buy your copy here:

If you haven't read about it already, here is the cover blurb:

"A school teacher who moonlights as an assassin, a corporate agent kidnapped and faced with a man she never wanted to see again, galactic knights and pilots defending the spaceways, a black bear who wants to be a priest, and a time traveler who discovers he was born a prince - these and more tales await you inside "Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera For a New Age", a collection of new tales in the Golden Age style.

"With larger than life heroes, rayguns, space ships, robots, pirates, romance and more, here come 25 new tales of great fiction from top names like Seanan McGuire, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, A.C. Crispin, Allen M. Steele, Mike Resnick, David Farland and more. Strap in, set your weapons, and get ready for a fun ride!"

My contribution is a reprint of a story that was originally published in Raygun Revival in 2009. Writing on the Amazing Stories blog, reviewer Keith West said:

"Lou Antonelli is a northerner who lives in Texas these days and mines the history and folklore of his adopted state for his fiction, fiction that’s unique and unlike anything being written by anyone else. In “The Silver Dollar Saucer” he takes a couple of two bit desperadoes on a flying saucer ride."

Other reviewers report:

"RAYGUN CHRONICLES breathes supercharged life into the space opera genre with exciting and inventive new tales by a superb line-up of writers. This is why science fiction will live forever!"--Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of "Patient Zero".

"RAYGUN CHRONICLES is an impressive anthology with an impressive list of contributors, a real showcase of the color and scope of what science fiction can be."--Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of the "Saga of Seven Suns".

"Wonder, adventure, romance, humor-space opera delivers all of these, and this anthology brings together some of the finest talent in the business. Strange new worlds await. So lower your shields, engage your thrusters, and prepare to jump to warp speed!" -- Dave Wolverton, New York Times bestselling author of "Star Wars: The Courtship of Prince Leia".

"These stories bring the reader back to the days when we dreamt of blasters and flying cars. Golden age space opera fun with a strong Western feel." -- Alex Shvartsman, Editor "Unidentified Funny Objects".

Purdy

Editor Bryan Thomas Schmidt has released the dust cover of the collection of space opera stories done in the pulp style, "Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera For a New Age", which is having its release party at the OryCon convention in Portland Nov. 8-10 and then general release in December. I'm proud to be a part with my short story reprint "The Silver Dollar Saucer".

Thoughts while shaving

My short story production this year has been diminished somewhat by the time I've spent working on my latest collection, "The Clock Struck None", which should be coming out in a while from Fantastic Books, as well as my current work on "Letters from Gardner". I haven't completed a story since April.

I've also spent some time working with the writers' group SASS, which I serve as secretary - which means I handle a lot of paperwork.

Still, I've had six stories published so far this year, and two are in line for upcoming publication: "Riders of the Red Shift" in Stupefying Stories, and "Bindlestiff's Daughter" in The Lorelei Signal. And of course, "The Silver Dollar Saucer" is being reprinted in the "Raygun Chronicles" anthology.

I'd say the highlight of the year was being a finalist for the Sidewise Award. That story, "Great White Ship", is the lead-off in "The Clock Struck None".

The nice thing about slowing down short story production is that I've had more time to mentally work out some plot outlines and issues on stories I plan to write.

Looking back

You ever go back to read a story that you wrote a number of years ago, and you wonder how you wrote anything so accomplished? The story still seems well-written and entertaining? It's like after the passage of time you garner a little objectivity and you appreciate your own skills more.

I had this experience this past weekend as I reread "The Silver Dollar Saucer" in galley proofs for inclusion in the "Raygun Chronicles" anthology. Funny how, looking back, this story had such a mundane start and then such difficulties getting published.

This is another case where I whipped up a story on an arbitrary maguffin - again, as in the case of the very first story I ever had published ("Silvern" in Revolution SF in 2003), a silver dollar. I distinctly remember pondering a feared case of writer's block while marking time taking photos of a girls softball game in Longview. I decided that I would reach in my pocket and write a story based on whatever random item I pulled out.

Because of the fact I was at a particular game when I did this, I know when I did this - March 2005.

Years ago, Amazon's first attempt at selling individual fiction was called Amazon Shorts, and I submitted "Saucer" to them - and it was accepted. In fact, I got a contract. Then I noticed the contract stipulated you must also have a book available for sale on Amazon.

Poor research on my part - I hadn't noticed that. My first collection, "Fantastic Texas", was still a few years away in 2009, and when pressed, I had to concede I didn't meet the requirements. The contract was withdrawn.

After that inauspicious start, it took 24 submissions and three and a half years for the story to find a home at "Raygun Revival". It was clear after a few rejections that it straddled too many genres and was hard to categorize. Was it a Weird Western? Space Opera? An alien abduction tale? Secret History? Probably all of those. 

It took time, but when the Overlords at Raygun Revival saw it, they snapped it up - bless their little dilithium-crystal powered hearts.

Over the years it's proven to be one of my most popular stories, and it was included in both "Fantastic Texas" and "Texas & Other Planets" - so it's publication in "Raygun Chronicles" will be its third reprint.

Ironically, I got more than double for this republication that I did for when the story was originally published.

Contract signed

Just signed and sent off contract to Every Day Publishing Ltd. for “The Silver Dollar Saucer" to be reprinted in the anthology "Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera for a New Age".

"Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera for a New Age" is the first-ever crowdfunded project for Every Day Publishing, an ambitious anthology of space opera stories from some of the finest voices in science fiction writing today; 23 contemporary stories capturing the classic golden age feel of space opera past.

Editor Bryan Thomas Schmidt secured commitments from some amazing authors: Mike Resnick, A.C. Crispin, Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Sarah A. Hoyt, Robin Wayne Bailey, Brenda Cooper, Allen Steele, Seanan McGuire, Peter J. Wacks, Keanan Brand, Milo James Fowler, Michael S. Roberts, Michael Merriam, T.M. Hunter, Robert Mancebo, Alice M. Roelke, Lou Antonelli, Paula R. Stiles, Jenny Schwartz, A.M. Stickel, Shaun Farrell, Jennifer Campbell-Hicks.

I'm proud to be a part of it. "The Silver Dollar Saucer" was originally published in Ray Gun Revival in 2009.

There will be three editions of "Raygun Chronicles" -a clothbound hardcover gift edition with glossy full-colo
r dust jacket for book lovers and collectors, a trade paperback edition with glossy full-color perfect bound cover for those who prefer something more economical and lighter in hand, and of course an e-book edition for e-readers and mobile devices.

More on "Raygun Chronicles"

I spent a little time this weekend proofing the galleys of "The Silver Dollar Saucer" that is being reprinted in the Raygun Chronicles anthology later this year. I'm especially happy to be included in this anthology. I always liked the story, and it's nice to be in a this anthology since I was blackballed from the anthology being published later this year in conjunction with LoneStarCon (that little cadre hates me because I admit to being a Christian).

The Raygun Chronicles publisher, Every Day Publishing, issued a news release last week, and I'll help give it a little boost by cutting and pasting it here,

---

Demand for Classic Space Opera Confirmed By Kickstarter Success

Raygun Chronicles anthology to be released at OryCon in November 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) - Apr. 4, 2013 - VANCOUVER, CANADA -
In the golden age of science fiction, readers embraced space opera for its heroes and villains as much as for its gadgets and adventure-driven plots. “Space opera is the subgenre which first nurtured my love of science fiction,” says Bryan Thomas Schmidt, the editor behind Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera for a New Age. “From Star Trek to Star Wars and beyond, it inspired a passion for storytelling and adventure that’s been with me ever since.”

As demonstrated by the support readers showed for the Raygun Chronicles Kickstarter campaign, not only in terms of funding but also in terms of social media support, it’s clear that science fiction fans are interested in seeing more golden-age-style pulp adventure fiction, and they’re willing to invest money up front to make it happen.

When Schmidt originally approached Every Day Publishing to propose the project, Camille Gooderham Campbell and Jordan Ellinger knew at once that it would open doors for them. “Crowdfunding gives us a chance to work with top authors and pay competitive rates which we couldn't otherwise afford,” says Gooderham Campbell. "It's also a practical demonstration that there is a market for this book, that readers want this anthology," adds Ellinger.

For a small press, partnering with an experienced, well-connected editor like Schmidt has proved crucial in connecting with talent that would otherwise be outside their sphere. Top authors writing new tales for the anthology are Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, Seanan McGuire, Allen Steele, Brenda Cooper, Robin Wayne Bailey and Sarah A. Hoyt, while coveted reprints from A.C. Crispin and Mike Resnick are already in and ready to go. Filling out the collection are many of the best reprints from Ray Gun Revival magazine’s six-year run. Award-winning illustrator Paul Pederson has already delivered spectacular full-colour cover art.

“Crowdfunding has risen in popularity with good reason,” Schmidt says. Raygun Chronicles represents his second crowdfunded anthology effort to date – the first, Beyond The Sun, will be released by Fairwood Press in October 2013. “It provides fans with a chance to support and preorder the projects that they’d most like to see come to fruition, and talent a chance to put out projects which might not have the box office appeal initially to big publishing but for which we have a passion we know is shared by a large audience.”

With 24 contemporary space opera stories sharing a classic pulp feel, Raygun Chronicles is scheduled for launch at OryCon, Oregon’s leading science fiction convention, which will take place on November 8-10, 2013. Schmidt, Cooper, and others plan to attend to sign books and meet fans, and Gooderham Campbell and Ellinger will be there from Every Day Publishing to host the launch party and give away prizes.

For more information from the editor —
please contact Bryan Thomas Schmidt at bryan@bryanthomasschmidt.net or visit his website at http://bryanthomasschmidt.net/.

For more information from Every Day Publishing —
please visit http://everydaypublishing.ca/raygunchronicles/ for full details about the Raygun Chronicles anthology and publisher contact information.