...And away we go!

As Jackie Gleason used to say. I'm driving to San Antonio Thursday for WorldCon, and I'll be there until Monday morning. As I don't have a laptop, my posting will probably be spotty during the next few days.

Updated World Con schedule

Here is the latest version of what I've committed to attend or do:

FRIDAY

* Volunteer at SFWA table in dealers room 11:00 – 12:00

* Panel: Steampunk: Trend or Genre? - 13:00 - 14:00: Steampunk emerged from SF, quietly at first, and then gathering momentum and breadth. It now spans written fiction, graphic, costuming, and other areas. It's become large enough that it's recognized by the world at large. Is Steampunk its own genre? Can you define it? What works in a story? Is it a trend that spans genres? Or does it matter? Lou Antonelli (Moderator), Gail Carriger, Jess Nevins

* Panel: How to Build a Successful Book Launch Campaign - Friday 20:00 - 21:00: Gabrielle de Cuir (Moderator), Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Lou Antonelli, Gail Carriger, Gini Koch

SATURDAY

* SFWA Business Meeting Saturday 10:00 – 12:00

* Sidewise Award for Alternate History Saturday 12:00 - 13:00

* SF Signal meet-up in food court Saturday 13:00 -14:00

SUNDAY

* Stroll with the Stars Sunday - Alamo edition Sunday 09:00 - 10:00: The Sunday Stroll with the Stars will head towards the Alamo, a few short blocks away. It will be led by Alamo aficionado and LoneStarCon 3 Chair Randall Shepherd. Meet Randy in the lobby of the Marriott Rivercenter for his personal tour of this famous Texas garrison. Visiting the Alamo is free; note that you will not be able to take photos inside parts of the Alamo. Kay Kenyon, David Brin, Bobbie DuFault, Lezli Robyn, Janet Harriett, Carolina Gómez Lagerlöf,  Lou Antonelli, Charles Radley, Janet Freeman-Daily, Sheila Williams, Genese Davis.

* Panel: Fiction about Real Politics and How Writers Get It Wrong - Sunday 11:00 - 12:00: David Nickle (Moderator), Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Gregory A. Wilson, Lou Antonelli, Madeline Ashby

* Philosophy and Science Fiction Sunday 16:00 - 17:00: Science, from warp drives to lasers, is an important element in the genre but science fiction has also been a place to examine philosophical viewpoints. From the use of Star Trek to raise questions of racial equality to Asimov's laws of robotics and ethical questions about machines, philosophical issues are intrinsic to science fiction and fantasy. Our panelists look at some of the more interesting philosophical questions in the genre. C. J. Mills (Moderator), Mark L. Van Name, Madeline Ashby, Lou Antonelli, Steven Diamond

Now out in paperback

Issued this spring in its Kindle edition, the Song Stories anthology is now available as a paperback.

These Song Stories 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.

Volume 1 features Stories from: Lou Antonelli, Becky Beard, Anthony Box, Raymond Clarke, Chris Devito, LT Dalin, Steven Gepp, Wayne Helge, Jack Horne, Stephen Jensen, Erik T Johnson, Vic Kerry, Adam Knight, Robert Neilson, Nicky Peacock, Steve Voelker

My contribution is "Hearts Made of Stone", a story set in the Freedom Rider Era of the Civil Rights movement in East Texas. Oh, and she's golem.

More at WorldCon

I was asked - and agreed - to volunteer to help man the SFWA table in the dealers room. I also asked - and got permission - to bring my typewriter. It might be fun for younger people to see how it was done back in the day.

SF Signal is having a meet-up in the food court at the convention center from 12-2 Saturday. I will be at the Sidewise Award ceremony from 12-1, but I hope to join them immediately afterwards.

My WorldCon schedule

I received my final schedule for WorldCon. I'm very pleased. Here it is:

Steampunk: Trend or Genre? - Friday 13:00 - 14:00
Steampunk emerged from SF, quietly at first, and then gathering momentum and breadth. It now spans written fiction, graphic, costuming, and other areas. It's become large enough that it's recognized by the world at large. Is Steampunk its own genre? Can you define it? What works in a story? Is it a trend that spans genres? Or does it matter?
Lou Antonelli (Moderator), Gail Carriger, Jess Nevins

How to Build a Successful Book Launch Campaign - Friday 20:00 - 21:00
Gabrielle de Cuir (Moderator), Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Lou Antonelli, Gail Carriger, Gini Koch

Sidewise Award for Alternate History Saturday 12:00 - 13:00

Stroll with the Stars Sunday - Alamo edition Sunday 09:00 - 10:00
The Sunday Stroll with the Stars will head towards the Alamo, a few short blocks away. It will be led by Alamo aficionado and LoneStarCon 3 Chair Randall Shepherd. Meet Randy in the lobby of the Marriott Rivercenter for his personal tour of this famous Texas garrison. Visiting the Alamo is free; note that you will not be able to take photos inside parts of the Alamo.
Kay Kenyon, David Brin, Bobbie DuFault, Lezli Robyn, Janet Harriett, Carolina Gómez Lagerlöf,  Lou Antonelli, Charles Radley, Janet Freeman-Daily, Sheila Williams, Genese Davis.

Fiction about Real Politics and How Writers Get It Wrong - Sunday 11:00 - 12:00
David Nickle (Moderator), Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Gregory A. Wilson, Lou Antonelli, Madeline Ashby

Philosophy and Science Fiction Sunday 16:00 - 17:00
Science, from warp drives to lasers, is an important element in the genre but science fiction has also been a place to examine philosophical viewpoints. From the use of Star Trek to raise questions of racial equality to Asimov's laws of robotics and ethical questions about machines, philosophical issues are intrinsic to science fiction and fantasy. Our panelists look at some of the more interesting philosophical questions in the genre.
C. J. Mills (Moderator), Mark L. Van Name, Madeline Ashby, Lou Antonelli, Steven Diamond

Getting ready for WorldCon

I'm was out of copies of my own collection, but look what arrived on my doorstep yesterday. Now I'll have copies when I go to San Antonio in two weeks.

"Letters from Gardner"

I've been picking up speed with "Letters from Gardner", my project where I recap the notes I got from Gardner Dozois in 2003 and 2004 when I was trying to break into science fiction writing.

It's an interesting hybrid - partly history because the way it looks back at that time near the turn of the century in the world of science fiction magazines; and partly writer's manual, as I explain what I was doing, what I was learning, and what Gardner wrote.

I also explain how I applied what Gardner wrote; all except one of the 15 stories I sent him during the period were ultimately published.

The book is also a collection, as I reprint those stories. In most cases, I have dredged up the original versions (I had to buy an external floppy disk drive because my backup files from that time are on floppies) and then explain the changes that were made. In some cases, I am publishing new endings or beginnings.

I completed Chapter Four tonight, and I'm up to 24,000 words.

One of the reasons I'm doing this is that I'm the last author Gardner bought a story from before he retired from Asimov's.

Ten tales

This weekend I spent some time getting caught up on my submissions, and I sent out a half dozen stories that had come back in the past few weeks. It is a pretty diverse selection of markets - Bourbon Penn, Buzzy Mag,, Leading Edge, Strange Horizons, Lakeside Circus, and the Fantasy for Good anthology. I already had stories in the slush pile at Asimov's, Analog, Apex and Dark Discoveries.

I already have three stories with contracts signed and ready to print later this year, in Stupefying Stories, the Lorelei Signal, and the Fifth Dimension.

Having 14 short stories published in 2014 really depleted my stockpile, but it also made the upcoming collection "The Clock Struck None" possible.

I've had four stories published so far this year.

Pitching in to help

Daily Science Fiction is five days away from concluding its Kickstarter drive to raise money to pay authors. They already have $7,049 of their $7,500 goal, but if you haven't pledged yet, now is a good time to hop on the bandwagon.

They published two stories of mine last year, "Great White Ship" and "Double Exposure". "Great White Ship" is a finalist for the Sidewise Award for alternate history this year.

I was asked, and agreed, to help, by offering to critique a story submitted by someone who makes a $100 pledge.

Congrats to Buzzy Mag

I was pleased to see that the SFWA has approved Buzzy Mag as one of its qualifying pro markets for membership purposes. Although fewer and fewer writers belong to the SFWA because of the unpleasant way the stuffed shirts of political correctness have been attacking dissidents (Read: People who believe in God and/or America), it's still a benchmark for denoting publications who pay well (at least a nickel a word) and treat their authors professionally.

Over the years, I've had a couple of cases where I had an original story published in the first issue of a magazine, but my story "The Centurion and the Rainman" was the first story published by Buzzy Mag in March 2012. It is being reprinted in my upcoming collection coming out from Fantastic Books, "The Clock Struck None".

With this certification for Buzzy Mag, "Rainman" retroactively becomes my fifth professional-level sale under those SFWA guidelines, the previous stories being "A Rocket for the Republic" in Asimov's, "The Witch of Waxahachie" in Jim Baen's Universe, and "Great White Ship" and "Double Exposure", both in Daily Science Fiction. Although I've had almost 80 publications in ten years, I'll sell to any small market and my stuff is a bit old-fashioned and traditional for the leading magazines today

Daily Science Fiction was approved as a qualifying market in the fall of 2011, and as soon as it was, I presented my contract for "Great White Ship" to the SFWA, which at the time was my third pro level short story sale, which entitled me to upgrade my membership to Active (full). So I suppose that qualifies as a first, also.

E-book version

Just signed an addendum to the original contract with Yard Dog Press for "Music for Four Hands" - the chapbook collection with collaborator Ed Morris - to be released as an e-book.