Prepare to be "Zombiefied"

I received word that the anthology "Zombiefied" being published by Sky Warrior Books should be out in a Kindle edition by Oct. 1st, so if you and/or your friends like short stories about the world of the undead, take note.

The editor of "Zombiefied" is Carol Hightshoe. Sky Warrior is run by Maggie Bonham. On their web site they describe themselves as "publishers of quality Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror in e-book formats by established authors."

My story "Good News for the Dead" was originally published in M-Brane SF No. 3 (April 2009). Scott Cupp, in his June 23rd, 2011, review of "Texas & Other Planets" - which includes "Good News for the Dead - on the Missions Unknown web site, said it was an "interesting zombie story (a rare thing in my opinion)."

This will be the first time I've had a story reprinted in a themed anthology. I assure you, "Good News for the Dead" is the only Christian zombie story you will ever read.

Latest sub, and latest start

I started a new story today, a fantasy called "The Man Who Couldn't Fly", about a man who finds himself in a alternate world where levitation is commonplace, and he is the object of sympathy and condescension because he can only travel on foot. Got the start down, just past 1,000 words.

I sent off a story to David and Mary Gray at 4 Star Stories a few days ago for their third quarterly issue, which should come out this month. The first reaction to "Re-Opening Night" has been very positive.

"The Stinky Men" shoves off

I've got the original typed manuscript of "The Stinky Men" ready to go out in tomorrow's mail to Gordon Van Gelder at F&SF. I doubt he'll buy it - Gordon is a tough sell - but he's the last of the major genre publishers who still only takes mailed submissions.

This is the story I typed while sitting at my table in the dealers' room at ArmadilloCon. I typed eight pages that Saturday, and then, after reading what I had Saturday night, returned on Sunday and backed up a page and picked up again to come up with a better ending. So pages 1-7 were typed Saturday and 8-11 on Sunday.

Although I doubt Gordon will buy the story, I want him to at least see it, if for nothing but for the novelty's sake, so he can say years from now some crackpot in East Texas was still sending him typed stories in 2011! In the meantime I had better start typing it up in a Microsoft Word file.

I'm actually sending him the original, but needless to say, I've made a few photocopies.

The story came in at 2,860 words - by my manual word count. This is the sixth short story I've finished this year, the 95th in the past ten years. Right now I have dozen stories in various slush piles.

Skin deep

On a personal note, I was relieved after a visit to a dermatologist last Thursday. A few weeks ago, after I trimmed back my beard to cope with the summer heat, I found a brownish blotch on my cheek I had never seen before that had appeared under the beard. I had never seen a spot like this before, and I had never seen one that just "appeared". Of course, I thought it might be skin cancer.

This was my first visit ever to a dermatologist. He said what I had was a seborrheic keratosis, a benign growth that comes with age. He examined me and said I had a couple on my back, I just didn't know they were there.

No treatment is necessary. I will just let my beard grow back over it. Although I had to spend a little money for the visit - most of the cost is covered by my insurance - it was worth it for the peace of mind.

I had to work today, but the office was closed for business and the news staff came in and knocked out the Monday paper with blazing speed. I got there by 6:30, and everyone else came by and we were done and the paper was rolling off the press by 10:30 a.m.

A lot of people I know in the genre writing field spent this past weekend at DragonCon in Atlanta. Early Sunday morning while cooking breakfast I was watching CNN News and they had a long report on the event - a number of interviews plus extensive footage of the parade. DragonCon attracted 45,000 people, which sounds small compared to ComicCon, but as one of the people interviewed pointed out, ComicCon is run by a company, while DragonCon is the largest fan-run convention in the world.

Looking forward to FenCon at the end of th month.

Rewrites

I spent some time this weekend doing a little rewriting to the end of "Passport to Pleasantville" before dropping it over the transom at Analog.

David and Mary Gray are planning their third issue of 4 Star Stories for later this month and I spent a lot more time fixing' up a old story of mine that I had dropped in the trunk. I sent it to them this evening, the story is called "Re-Opening Night".

I was tickled when John DeNardo with SF Signal, when he recalled his visits at ArmadilloCon, called me "The Hardest Working Man in Texas". I have inquired about renting some table time in the dealers' room at Fencon.

My next task is to clean up the original typewritten manuscript for "The Stinky Men" and send it off

Some last asides from ArmadilloCon

When I met Paulo Bacigalupi in the atrium of the hotel, I had been chatting with Rhonda Eudaly and Bill Ledbetter. The subject of the pronunciation of his name immediately came up, and Paulo - apparently after many years of experience - instantly began to explain it. I cut him off. "Hey, I know how to pronounce Ba-cha-ga-loop!* He gave a big smile.

I reminded him that in one part of Italy it's so common it's actually considered a generic name. "Yeah, I've heard it's like a joke name!" he said.

I said, "it's like Boudreaux in Cajun Country."

Being Italian-American, I suppose I never gauged how hard it is for other people to pronounce his name, but honest to god, that afternoon someone came up to me in the dealers' room and said, "Hey, Lou, I heard you know how to pronounce Paulo's name!"

As the panel on Secret History that met at mid-day Sunday was breaking up, I waved a mass market paperback copy of Steven Brust's "The Paths of the Dead" at him - and the audience. I said that while I don't read high fantasy, I bought the book Thursday in the Dollar General store on Jefferson St. in Mount Pleasant. I had stopped to pick up some groceries on the way home from work, and while standing in line, I caught sight of the paperback spin rack - and Steve's book was sitting there.

Well heck, I thought, that must be a sign - so I bought it. I told Steve "you know you are a best-selling author when you're on the spin rack in the Dollar General in Mount Pleasant, Texas! That means your books are sold EVERYWHERE"

I think he really got a kick out of that! I asked him to sign the book, too, and he did, with a big smile.

Well, unless I think of something else, I think that's it for my ArmadilloCon observations. As you can probably tell, I had a pretty good time.

* In most polysyllabic Italian names - such as both Bacigalupi and Antonelli - the emphasis is on the second syllable. Therefore Paulo's name is pronounced Ba CHA ga loop just like my name is pronounced An TON el li.

Baciagalupi is often spelled with an "a" in that second syllable. A variant pronunciation acts like that "a" is always there, and also uses the "i" at the end as a very weak vowel. That pronouncation would be Ba chee-a ga loop-a. Italians tend to really stifle vowels at the end of words - and in Italian every word ends in a vowel - which is why the typical imitation of an Italian accent has a weak "uh" sound at the end of every word, "I'ma gonna knocka you brainsa out!"

Can't miss this event!

The Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy (TBRC) is pleased to announce that the annual Texas Bigfoot Conference, for the third consecutive year, will be held in Tyler at the Caldwell Auditorium, 301 S. College Ave., October 1, 2011. This is the eleventh year for the conference, previously held in Jefferson.

The Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) scientific research organization, sponsors the event and the 7:30 PM evening banquet, held at the Discovery Science Place, 308 N. Broadway Ave. The banquet will spotlight the talents of singer/songwriter Lenny Green and a special presentation by Dr. Ian Redmond, a world-renowned tropical field biologist and conservationist.

Dr. Redmond spent years studying mountain gorillas with the famous researcher Dian Fossey and has been featured in 50 documentaries. He advised actress Sigourney Weaver for the Gorillas in the Mist movie, had a character based on him in the film, and is in high demand as a public speaker around the world.

Earlier this year Redmond was a featured scientist on the History cable channel documentary Bigfoot: The Definitive Guide, as was Jeff Meldrum, an anatomy and anthropology professor from Idaho State University. Dr. Meldrum, author of the book Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, will also be speaking at this year's conference.

General admission is $25, with various upgrade packages available. Discounts are available for students, educators and active military with proper ID.

The TBRC is comprised of volunteer investigators, scientists and naturalists, actively engaged in activities designed to test the hypothesis that a very rare form of unknown primate-commonly referred to as bigfoot or the sasquatch-resides in very remote areas where there is abundant rainfall, dense forestation, and low human population densities. Even Henry Gee-senior editor for Nature magazine-concedes the plausibility of the sasquatch's existence given the incredible rate at which large secretive mammalian species continue to be documented even into the twenty-first century (http://is.gd/g36zW).

The TBRC is funded by membership dues, fundraisers, and the annual Texas Bigfoot Conference, in addition to donations and grants. The TBRC desires to enhance the credibility of bigfoot/sasquatch research and facilitate a greater degree of acceptance by the scientific community and other segments of society of the likelihood of a biological basis behind the sasquatch mystery.

For more information on the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy go to www.texasbigfoot.com<http://www.texasbigfoot.com>.