Yet more silence

I haven't posted at all this week in an attempt to give my carpal tunnel syndrome a break. This is the worst outbreak I've had so far this year. I'm using Dragon software to dictate this right now.

Things seem to be getting better, however, I hope to be hosting more regularly soon, and also writing.

Not that I don't have a few stories circulating at the time. I have about 16 out right now. One adjective that has been applied to me a few times over the years is "prolific".

Another good review

Andrew Andrews, the editor and publisher of True Reviews, has reviewed "The Clock Struck None".

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This collection by Lou Antonelli is marketed as a “collection of alternate and secret history short stories.”

I think these read well:

“The Great White Ship.” A tall tale of a huge and devastating East Texas thunderstorm and the arrival, at a small airport, of a huge white Airship (a dirigible) from an alternate time in America when the Hindenburg never blew up and World War II didn’t end with an atomic bomb.

“Meet Me at the Grassy Knoll.” A junket through time for a multimillionaire sends him to Dallas, Texas, in 1963 – and to examine the mystery of the two men in the grassy knoll. Why do some insist that separate shots were fired? What about the Lone Gunman Theory? And a lesson about how preventing a tragedy can sometimes CAUSE it.

“After Image.” It has been many long years since a major nuclear war transformed a great deal of the planet. One man is recruited to finally stage a scenario to break Texas free of the union – but at what cost in human lives in agony and sorrow?

“Double Exposure.” One of the 1970s-era Kodak photo developing booths appears to a man, Jake DeRidder, desperate to exit his failed life. But the photos he will pick up show him an alternate life that he could have had.

“The Relic.” What was simply a wheel to mount a garden hose is under scrutiny by archeologists thousands of years later, who speculate about its possible religious significance. They really don’t know what to make of a wheel mounted on a wall.

“Damascus Interrupted.” In this alternate history, Christianity is a small, struggling religion in modern times, overtaken by pagan rituals, adapted for the politically stranger world which has evolved from the Roman empire.

“Twilight on the Finger Lakes.” As a young boy, Rod Serling meets up with “Old Henry,” the (very) short story writer William Sydney Porter, who offers sage advice to the admiring young man. This is a book in which Rod lives to convey his own sage wisdom to Paulina, who speaks with the multiple-award-winning scriptwriter and then transfers her knowledge and respect for him down through the ages.

“Tell Gilgamesh I’m Sorry.” Omar Peshtigo is an old man. Really old. He knew, personally, Gilgamesh of Uruk, and in the epochs since, is living as a recluse in East Texas after the Crash. One boy risks it all to visit the legend, but has to come to grips with his own fate – which transforms (in the end) Omar’s history, perhaps for another hundred years. I wish Antonelli would write a novel with Omar alone – it would be fascinating, as this is one of the many rare memorable story characters ever brought to life.

“Black Hats and Blackberrys.” Time and the present can be altered forever by even one text message sent via smartphone – to the past, that is.

You can only postpone, for a time, inevitable history in “Mak Siccar.”

“The Amerikaan Way.” In this alternate timeline, U.S. and South Africa switch places – and circumstances – over Apartheid.

“Wet and Wild.” Speedboat races in the Florida Keys have a new twist in this tale.

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For a link to the web site, click here:

On collections

"The Clock Struck None" is my third collection in five years; "Fantastic Texas" was published in 2009 and "Texas and Other Planets"in 2010. "Clock" seems to be getting the best reviews of the three so far; the positive review in the Reference Library of Analog is very gratifying.

I picked up two tricks over the years from various writers that have contributed to all these collections. First, I learned from Jay Lake that — while learning of one's craft — it doesn't hurt to submit often and everywhere. There are some authors who only submit to pro publications or publications of a certain level. But I saw a long time ago that Jay Lake was willing to submit to any publication which — in the phrase used by a fellow author once on a panel — "has a pulse". Jay is certainly an accomplished author, and I have to say that I think the constant writing has helped me improve my craft; 82 stories published in 11 years is a testament to that.

I learned from Joe Lansdale that developing a large body of published short stories gives you the ability to assemble a collection whenever needed. Joe has had hundreds of stories published over the years and he can pull together a collection with any theme whenever asked.

Fantastic Texas was obviously a collection of Texas-themed stories. "The Clock Struck None" is all alternate or secret history. Eventually I suppose I will be able to assemble a collection of space opera or time travel stories, too.

Praise for "The Clock Struck None"

The Reference Library column by Don Sakers in the upcoming July-August double issue of Analog focuses on short fiction, specifically collections and anthologies, and he has high praise for "The Clock Struck None":

"It’s possible that you haven’t run into the stories of Lou Antonelli. Since 2003, he’s been publishing delightful short tales of alternate history all over the nooks and crannies of the SF world. Thanks to Fantastic Books, we now have 28 of these little gems in one place.

"Many of Antonelli’s stories have an unexpected twist ending. And many of them are what he calls “secret history” stories, which aren’t exactly alternate history—they’re set in our familiar history, but there’s always some element that contemporary observers missed. For example, take the time travelers in “Meet Me at the Grassy Knoll.”

"As for alternate history, well, one of the included stories, “Great White Ship,” was a finalist for the 2013 Sidewise Award, which is given for outstanding works in the field of alternate history. In “Pirates of the Ozarks” the New Madrid earthquake of 1812 turned the Great Plains into a new sea. “The Starship Theodora” posits a universe in which a Christianized Roman Empire conquered the stars."

Ouch and double ouch

I'm having my first flareup of carpal tunnel syndrome this year, and it's kept me from doing any writing this week. I hadn't used Dragon software for a few weeks, but I'm back to using it now; that's what I'm using for this post.

I suspect a busy pace at work is responsible for the stress on my hands. May is always the busiest month of the year at a community newspaper, as the school year winds down and there are a myriad of activities. I've been in this business a long time and so I know and expect this, but it's still hard to get it all done and not have your hands ache at the end of the day.

I've started taking Aleeve again, and if need be I can always wear a cold wrap. This too shall pass.

Yikes! I'm not dead!

Jeepers, one of the most common pieces of advice is that you need to post on a regular basis if your blog is to have any value for self-promotion, then I forget and don't post a jot and/or tittle for over a week.

I haven't written anything during this period, but after that burst of writing a half dozen stories after I bought Dragon voice recognition software, I don't think that is all that surprising. I still have 16 stories in various slushpiles, I've only gotten two back in two weeks.

Checking the log book

Hmm. I have 18 stories out on submission, and I haven't had any come back in almost two weeks. Hope that's a positive sign. I have a couple that are scheduled to be published soon.