Disappointments

A few months ago I made plans to offer a class through the continuing education department of the local community college, "The Art and Craft of Writing Speculative Fiction". Plans went well for a while, but about a month ago the department went silent and now communication has completely ceased. I guess the class was rejected and the director didn't want to face me. The only reason I know she's alive is that I saw her picture in the paper. Oh, well.

And over a year ago I sent my novel version of "The Witch of Waxahachie" to a New York publisher. I've queried a few times in the past couple of weeks, but, again, I can't even get a a reply. I suppose no reply is a rejection.

I think during the Recession some people are being stretched so thin at their jobs they can only keep up with bare essentials, and they don't even have time to tell you to go away.

Return of the "Dinosaur"

Ten years ago, before I had any inkling I would be interested in writing s-f, I caught an episode of the latest version of "The Outer Limits" on satellite TV. I had been flipping around channels when I saw this particular story was set on a moon base and had a teleporter and aliens and all that stuff, so I stopped and watched it.

The title, "Think Like a Dinosaur", meant nothing to me. The credits said it was based on a short story by someone named James Patrick Kelly, who for all I knew was a Boston City Council member.

I was fascinated, though. I had stopped paying attention to s-f years earlier, but this episode had stuff in it that reminded me what I liked - and disliked - about s-f. A little while later, I took out a collection of short stories by the same title by the same Kelly from the local library.

I quickly realized Kelly's story had been - ahem - rather altered in the adaptation, and in fact the Outer Limits version had pretty much rammed "Dinosaur" and "The Cold Equations" and a few other stories together all together.

These kind of crappy adaptations sometimes serve as "gateways" to real s-f. This episode, along with the movie adaptation of "Minority Report" a while later (which I had to watch because my wife likes Tom Cruise) helped pique my interest in the genre at the time, so that by Labor Day in 2002 I took a few hours and wrote my first story.

I lurched home from work this evening - feeling all of the 103 degrees, which is still six degrees less than it was a week ago - and realizing I had missed the national newscast, spun the dial on DirecTV. I saw that on the Chiller channel they were showing that episode of "Think Like a Dinosaur".

I watched it again.

Wow. Despite being a rank amateur, I've spent a a lot of time during the past decade catching up on the genre, and it was certainly an experience seeing it again. A very different experience.

I was a bit surprised to see that Enrico Colantoni - the guy who stars in "Flashpoint - played Michael Burr. I didn't remember that.

I DO know who James Patrick Kelly is, now, though.

Latest on "Music for Four Hands"

I got word from Yard Dog Press that "Music for Four Hands" has arrived from the printer, so copies should be on the way shortly. I've ordered 15 copies to take to ArmadilloCon.

I'm rather frustrated. I woke up this morning and realized a bunch of plot problems in a particular story I've been working on had resolved themselves in my mind while I slept. I was very pleased BUT I didn't make any notes and for some reason my memory wasn't engaged. I have completely forgotten what story it was. Crap! Until I remember the story I can't access the solutions.

Invite

The Friends of the Library in the next county over is planning an authors event Oct. 8 in conjunction with a civic festival. I got a call from the head librarian and was invited to attend, so I have added that to my calendar.

"Music for Four Hands" should be in the warehouse soon. With a little luck I will copies to peddle and sign at ArmadilloCon.

No writing this week, my mother-in-law was visiting. No rejections, though. I have nine stories in various slush piled.

ArmadilloCon sched

Well, the programming schedule has been emailed for ArmadilloCon. Here are my panels:

Sa1500SA The Rise of Steampunk Fiction
Sat 3:00 PM-4:00 PM San Antonio
L. Anders*, L. Antonelli, B. Hale, K. Kimbriel, T. Wagner

Sa1900T What is the Next Big Literary Movement in Texas SF/F?
Sat 7:00 PM-8:00 PM Trinity
L. Antonelli, J. Blaschke, R. Eudaly, K. Stauber, D. Webb*, L. Thomas

Sa2000SA Cyberpunk: How it Influenced Fiction, Technology, and the World
Sat 8:00 PM-9:00 PM San Antonio
L. Antonelli, Mi. Finn, R. Klaw, C. Nakashima-Brown*

Su1200SM Secret History
Sun Noon-1:00 PM San Marcos
L. Antonelli, S. Brust, M. Dimond*, A. Porter, H. Waldrop

Asterisks denote panel moderators.

Also, here is my reading and my signing:

Sa2200SM Reading
Sat 10:00 PM-10:30 PM San Marcos
Lou Antonelli

Su1400DR Signing
Sun 2:00 PM-3:00 PM Dealers' Room
L. Antonelli, R. Klaw, J. Rountree

Table at 'DilloCon

ArmadilloCon in Austin is coming up Aug. 26-28, and they have made an offer to authors that I decided to take advantage of. They will let you buy a half table in the dealer's room. I've decided to take them up on that. It will give me a place to hang my hat, and I plan to bring my Smith-Corona Classic 12 portable typewriter and show the younger generation the way it was done. I bet I can bang off a few stories in my free time.

I will not be selling copies of "Fantastic Texas" and "Texas & Other Planets" because Zane Melder will have them at Edge Books, but "Music for Four Hands" should be available from Yard Dog Press by then, so I think I will take the opportunity to sell it.

I will not be at the convention in time to participate in the dealers' room Friday, but I expect to be there all day Saturday and Sunday.

The week past

During this past week I spent some time "rehabbing" - for lack of a better word - some stories or partial stories. On the basis of some feedback from an editor who praised - but didn't accept - "Snow Globe", I rewrote the ending a bit. I sent the revised version off the Gordon Van Gelder at F&SF, and since he is one of the last editors who still wants hard copy submissions, I typed a cover letter on my Smith Corona Classic 12 portable typewriter. I thought that was funny - it may be one of the last submissions anyone ever sees in hard copy with a typewritten cover letter.

On the subject of the typewriter, I have been "rehabbing" it some, also, mainly cleaning the keys. It's typing cleaner than ever. You know old typewriters with old cloth ribbons would get dirt lodged in tight spots in letters, like "a" and "o" and "e". Whoever last owned it hadn't cleaned it recently; what's impressive is that, other than being slightly dirty, it's in fine condition.

I also sent back out another three short stories in various slush piles. Right now I have nine stories in various places. With the publication of "The Goddess of Bleecker Street" in Kalkion last week, I've had seven stories published this year, and that's cut down on my supply. There's a few stories that I intend to pull out and rework, now that they've "aged" a bit.

The other main genre-related work I didn't this week was fill out the survey for Fencon, which I will be attending in September in Dallas, and I also filled out paper work for GalaxyFest, which will be in Colorado Springs next February.