I'm honored to accept an invite to be a guest speaker at the DFW Writers Conference to be held May 4-5 at the Hurst Conference Center. The invite said they are eager to showcase Texas writers, and would really like to feature a short-fiction specialist this year, as well as someone who could speak with authority on science fiction. See you there!

Update on "Raygun Chronicles"

Well, after one week the Raygun Chronicles kickstarter campaign is 15 percent of the way towards its goal of $8,000. It's averaged $200 a day - not shabby.

I didn't have time to post anything last week because of the crush of a deadline at the newspaper of an annual special section. It was an extra 24 tabloid pages published in the weekend paper. Glad that is out of the way. Like everyone else, some times are busier on the job than others.

Raygun Chronicles

The kickstarter campaign is off and running for the anthology "Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera for a New Age", edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and published by Every Day Publishing.

"Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera For a New Age" combines the best stories from the six year run of Ray Gun Revival ezine with new stories from some of the top writers in science fiction today. 24 stories from writers including Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, A.C. Crispin, Mike Resnick, Seanan McGuire, Allen Steele, Brenda Cooper, Robin Wayne Bailey and Sarah A. Hoyt--all contemporary yet capturing the classic golden age feel of space opera in the past.

My story "The Silver Dollar Saucer", which was published in Ray Gun Revival in 2009, is being included.

The Clock Struck None

My project for this weekend was compiling my next collection and sending it off to the publisher. "The Clock Struck None" is a collection of alternate history, secret history, and time travel stories. The proposed table of contents has 25 stories, and they come in at almost 83,000 words. All of them are previously published, and none of them have been reprinted. The lead story, "Great White Ship", was published by Daily Science Fiction and is on the Tangent on-line recommended reading list for 2012.

Sein und Werden

Got word that the winter issue of the UK-based Sein und Werden is on the way. Editor Rachel Kendall said she has received it from guest editor Rhys Hughes. This will be both an ezine as well as a print magazine; apparently this will be the last print edition. Hughes said he delivered the magazine three weeks late. Kendall said it should be published by the end of February. Hughes bought my flash "Crab Apples" for this issue.

Plans for a new collection

Taking advantage of the fact I had 23 stories published in 2011 and 2012, I'm working on a TOC for another collection, a third in the series to follow "Fantastic Texas" and "Texas & Other Planets". In this case, I think I have enough material to use an alternate/secret history, time travel theme. Tentatively named "The Clock Struck None", I'm getting it together for a publisher I've pitched. I have assembled a preliminary list of 26 stories that have never been reprinted. The strongest may be the Daily S-F stories from last year, "Double Exposure and "The Great White Ship", but I also think "The Amerikaan Way" - originally published by Atomjack, and "Meet Me at the Grassy Knoll", published by 4 Star Stories, are strong entries.

Getting ready for GalaxyFest

Since I have committed to participate in GalaxyFest, and it's a relatively long trek to Colorado Springs, I feel I should make some hay from the excursion. A celebrity guest, Claudia Christian, is touting her book that was released last fall, "Hollywood Babylon", which details her battle with and recovery from alcoholism.

I'm going to double dip,as it were, and also get something useful for my newspaper. I contacted the publisher, Ben Bella Books in Dallas, and asked for a review copy and interview. I figure I can get a nice story for the Lifestyles section of a weekend paper to be published later in February.

They are sending a review copy, so I will have plenty of time to read it before the convention, and later in the month we will get back in touch - hopefully after I get my schedule of panels - and set up an interview time with Christian.

Also, like so many other conventions, GalaxyFest produces a souvenir book. In their case, proceed will help go to support the Colorado Literary Foundation. I emailed off a flash-length story over the weekend, "Ladybug, Ladybug", for inclusion.