Progress report

No new fiction writing done this week, I've had all my free time taken up with spring-related projects both at home and work. I still have ten stories sitting around in slush piles out there. I also have what I think is a particularly good set of story ideas hanging on the bulletin board.

It was good to see the publication of "The Centurion and the Rainman" at Buzzy Mag this week. I'm waiting to see when Daily Science Fiction schedules the two stories they have bought from me.

AggieCon post-mortem

With the debut of Buzzy Mag, I got sidetracked and didn't mention anything about my visit to AggieCon this weekend. I barely spent 24 hours in College Station - I arrived Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and was on the road back to Mount Pleasant by 3 p.m. I had to work a half-day Saturday, which is what led to the late start.

Both panels, the one Saturday night and the one Sunday morning, were enjoyable. I think both had maybe a half dozen people at each. The literary track at this con was pretty insipid, it was obvious the con was geared much more towards fandom. The students running it were nice as could be, but there were only three authors on each panel I was on, and both times Katy Stauber was the second panelist. Tom Knowles was the third on Saturday and Martha Wells on Sunday. The people who attended the panels seemed to enjoy them.

I visited both the ArmadilloCon and Fencon room parties Saturday night. They were also sparsely attended.

There was an authors table at the very back of the dealers' room. Most of the time I was there with only a couple of other people. The dealers' room really showed the focus of the con, I think there was maybe one vendor selling books, his own. I sold and signed a couple of books myself.

For the amount of time I spent, I'm happy. I'm also grateful they comped my room. But they should think about either beefing up the literary track, or dropping it. Word of mouth is not going to encourage authors in the future.

Comments on "The Centurion and the Rainman"

So far all the comments in for "The Centurion and the Rainman" at Buzzy Mag have been positive:

Phil Einhorn - 03/26/2012 at 4:06 pm: Will we be be seeing more of Doncard? It appears he just got this new job:) Honestly, I enjoyed the story and feel it is an introduction to life in Magtown. I liked it.

T. Glenn Bane - 03/27/2012 at 9:03 pm: I love hard boiled cop dramas. You have hit a neo-noir/pulp vibe that I enjoy. Good Stuff.

The character of Corp. Doncard is a tribute to former South African policeman Donald Card, who was a close friend of the late journalist Donald Woods (whose books were the basis of the movie "Cry Freedom!" about the life of Steve Biko) and who played a crucial role in subverting the apartheid regime during his later career in law enforcement. Here is a photo from 2004 of a meeting between Card and Nelson Mandela. Card himself was the subject of a biography, "Tangling the Lion's Tale", published in 2007.

Buzzy Mag makes impressive debut

The inaugural issue of the new ezine Buzzy Mag debuted today and it features my Urban Fantasy "The Centurion and the Rainman". This is my first publication of 2012.

I knew from the way this outfit treated me they are classy. They paid me a pro rate, and months ago, and had a real pro go through my story with a fine-toothed comb.

This roll-out issue has a half dozen strong stories, and they've given some newcomers and up-and-coming authors slots. In addition to myself, the authors featured are Ken Liu, Michaele Jordan, J.C. Hemphill, Louis Baum, Teresa Bane & T. Glenn Bane.

It's great to see a new venue for quality original speculative fiction emerge. Buzzy Multimedia had been in in the s-f promotions and podcast business for a while, and it's great they decided to enter the literary side of the racket.

"Encounter in Camelot"

The ezine 4 Star Stories run by David and Mary Gray is ready to start its second year, with the first issue slated to go live this weekend or thereabouts. I had a story in each quarterly issue last year, and I am going to have a story in this upcoming issue, a wacky little fantasy called "Encounter in Camelot". I will note when it is available.

It will be the first of seven stories of mine that are already slated to be published this year.

The word from Ireland

Got a story back from Albedo One in Ireland. They held onto it for a long time, which suggested they were giving it a serious look, and they did. "I quite like the piece and it was a near miss for us."

What's helpful is that they send back some comments, which will help with revisions. I don't mind when I get a rejection - even it they took a few months - when they offer some feedback. What's useless is when somebody holds onto a story for as year and half before reading it, then sends a form rejection.

Onward to AggieCon

I will spend some time at AggieCon 43 in College Station this weekend. Because of my work schedule, I will only be there about 24 hours; I have to work a half day Saturday. I will then drive to College Station. I have a panel Saturday night at 7 p.m., and then another Sunday at 11 a.m.

The convention is being held at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center; the student center, which has been rebuilt, is still not open.

I was a guest at AggieCon in 2006 and 2007, then dropped off their radar a few years. I've been invited the past two or three years, but couldn't attend because of its proximity on the calendar to ConDFW.

Here are my panels:

Changing Texas - Changing our beloved state into a shiny new world. Katy Stauber, Lou Antonelli, and James Knowles. Saturday at 7 p.m.

Getting Your big ideas on paper - How to start from the beginning. Your great ideas becoming a story. Katy Stauber, Lou Antonelli, and Martha Wells. Sunday at 11 a.m.

It's been five years since I was last in College Station, so I think I will enjoy it.