An even dozen

With the realization that I do not have any pending publications, I went through the submissions pile tonight. I sent out three stories that were nowhere, and send out two that have probably been forgotten where they were sent. Unfortunately, one of the things you have to face as a writer is sometimes a story will not even get a rejection. This evening's work brings my total of stories in various slushpiles to an even 12.

How to avoid suckage

In addition to my classes at the DFW Writers Conference May 4-5 on writing science fiction (Saturday) and writing short stories (Sunday), I will be a member of a panel Sunday morning on "How Not To Suck" with author A. Lee Martinez and agent Louise Fury.

Ten Little Stories

For someone who is a casual writer, I'm surprised I still have ten stories out there is various slush piles, and I another four that could be sent somewhere. I write fast when I do write. Years ago, when I was getting the hang of speculative fiction writing, I think I may have had at times 18 to 20 stories out at the same time.

Looks like we have about a dozen dues-paying members signed up for the new writers group, SASS - Society for the Advancement of Speculative Storytelling. That means we go public soon and start taking applications from the general public (all but one of the current members was part of the 24-member bylaws study group that began to coalesce in spring 2012.)

"On the Spiritual Plain"

I finished my latest short story tonight, "On the Spiritual Plain" (that's not a typo). This is the story I started on my typewriter at GalaxyFest in Colorado Springs back on Feb. 9. I typed up 12 pages, essentially the whole story except for the ending, while at the con, and then went back to it three weeks later and finished up the first draft. Now I've polished it up and it's done, the 110th short story I have ever written. And I just dropped it in a slushpile.

Latest publication

For the spring, 4 Star Stories has come out with its Short Short Story issue, which features a half dozen flashes - one of which is "Wet and Wild".

I wrote "Wet and Wild" on my typewriter on Sunday on Fencon in Dallas in 2011. The day before I wrote "The Quantum Gunman", which Chris Garcia took away and published in his Drink Tank No. 300 that fall.

"Wet and Wild" is my 77th published story. With its publication, I don't have any scheduled original publications scheduled for the time being.

And as for the other anthology...

This signal-boosted from Bryan Thomas Schmidt...

You Guys Are Awesome! Every Kickstarter showrunner that I have spoken with plans for it. Cancelled pledges. It's so part and parcel of fundraising that you budget for it as a matter of course.

But not Raygun Chronicles. Every single pledge funded. We are at 100%. Which means we are over budget enough to add some extra content, so that's what I've been working on. Thank you so much, awesome backers!

The first piece is free. Mike Resnick was so impressed with the way funding came in at the last minute that he donated a second Catastrophe Baker story free. If you're familiar with his Catastrophe Baker stories from Ray Gun Revival and other venues, you know how funny and fun they are, so this brings us to 24 stories, instead of 23.

But that's not all. I'm working on another couple surprises as well which I hope to announce next week!

In addition, Paul is hard at work on the color artwork and we'll have that by June 1st.

Meanwhile, Camille and I are finalizing contract drafts for the writers and myself and I'll be rereading and editing stories this coming week. The headliners are hard at work but I have two of the originals in already as well.

And we're also prepping t-shirt and bookmark designs as well. So things are moving. Expect surveys by Tuesday in your inboxes.

Meanwhile, we're planning the launch party November 8-10 at OryCon. The official release date for the anthology is November 12, so this is an early bird thing. Books to backers will probably ship out just before this. But if you're a backer and can make Portland, myself, Camille, Jordan, and some of the writers will be there, and we'll have the list, so if you identify yourself, we'll have some extra swag just for you!

That's it for now, but thanks for your patience and awesomeness! I'll be in touch soon!

Song Stories anthology debuts

"Song Stories", an anthology of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror rooted in music debuts this month. The Amazon Kindle edition is already available, as of March 15. The print version should be available by the end of the month.

The plots have a strong correlation to the lyrics of the song. Gathered within these volumes are stories from across the globe, from across the genre spectrum, unified by the inspiration of song. A lyricist has the immense challenge of capturing an entire story in a handful of verses Some melodies convey a story without a single word. What stories might have arisen if the lyricists and composers chose to share their stories in a different medium? Sit back, relax, and spend some time with an old friend, or find a new one.

The Authors and their Inspirations:

Lou Antonelli: Hearts of Stone by The Fontane Sisters
Becky Beard : “Riddles Wisely Expounded” (Traditional English Ballad)
Anthony Box: “Paint it Black” by The Rolling Stones
Raymond Clarke: “Back Together” by Babybird
Chris Devito: “My Favorite Things” by John Coltrane
LT Dalin: “The Banana Boat Song” by Harry Belafonte, “You Spin Me Round” by Dead or Alive/Dope
Steven Gepp: “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs
Wayne Helge: “That Moon Song” by Gregory Alan Isakov
Jack Horne: “Don’t Give Up on Us” by David Soul
Stephen Jansen: “My Dying Machine” by Gary Numan
Erik T Johnson: “Hazey Jane II” by Nick Drake
Vic Kerry: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John
Adam Knight: “Hangar 18” by Megadeth
Robert Neilson: “The Bewlay Brothers” by David Bowie
Nicky Peacock: “Swansong for a Raven” by Cradle of Filth
Steve Voelker: “12 Ounce Epilogue” by Clutch

Unless I've forgotten something, this marks the first time one of my short stories has debuted in an original anthology.