"Fantastic Texas" reviewed at Tales of the Talisman

As I mentioned in a previous post, David B. Riley has reviewed "Fantastic Texas" in the current issue of "Tales of the Talisman" (it's the lead off review in Volume 6, Issue 1). Here is what David wrote:

"Fantastic Texas" is an eclectic collection of twelve of Lou Antonelli's short stories that are in some way connected to his beloved State of Texas. From ancient nuclear wars, to the secret of sexual attraction, with stops along the way for Bigfoot, ancient demons, and the truth behind alchemy, the stories in this book will take you on a truly fantastic journey through versions of Texas that were, could never be, and might have been.

"In 'A Rocket for the Republic' steam played a big part in the first rocket launch from Texas, which was about a century earlier than we thought. An unexpected experiment still running in the abandoned Superconducting Supercollider will introduce you to "The Witch of Waxahachie". And where would you go if global warming forced you out of Dallas? Maybe "Rome, If You Want To"?

"My personal favorite is "The Silver Dollar Saucer", one of Antonelli's growing list of weird western tales. It's amazing what a silver dollar can buy.

"My two quibbles about the book is that it's a bit on the thin side, running only about 150 pages and carrying a fairly stiff $13.95 cover price for such a thin trade paperback. Also I was unimpressed with the interior design and layout. It struck me as almost amateurish in appearance.

"Still, that is far outweighed by the chance to read some really first class stories in one place. Antonelli is a newspaper editor and an up-and-coming author of speculative fiction."

Three years ago...

at about this time, I was at the Holiday Inn in Collinsville, Illinois, recovering after a visit to the local emergency room.

I was a panelist at the NASFIC in 2007, which was held in conjunction with St. Louis' Tuckercon. I had a very bad time of time of it that weekend.

I changed jobs at the very end of July; my boss at the old job, to save money for the lousy company that owned the newspaper where I worked, had me work two jobs the last three weeks I was there. The sports editor has given her notice a week before I did. He made no move to fill the job, so I did both the job as managing editor and sports editor for those three weeks. At one point, someone called in sick for three days, and then I was doing three jobs.

This is the way dishonest businesses cheat their employees - give you duties that are impossible to accomplish in a 40-hour work week and forbid overtime, so you have to work off the clock to keep your job.

Every summer, I have to battle sinus congestion and inflammation. Working 70 hours a week for almost a month left me so debilitated that what should have been a simple allergy attack turned into a vicious inner ear infection.

I went to work at my new job for three days at the start of August - weak and stunned - and then took off for St. Louis. I didn't know what was developing, and unfortunately I took the Texas Eagle train from Texarkana to St. Louis overnight.

I didn't know I had an inner ear infection, and the rocking of the train aggravated it so bad that I threw up, and the next morning I essentially passed out in my seat. I only got off the train when the conductor went to check tickets for people WHO GOT ON at St. Louis and realized I should have gotten off. The train was ready to leave, but he stopped it and they helped me off the train.

The person from the convention who had come to pick me up had already left, but they came back and took me to the convention center across the Mississippi in Collinsville.

Once off the train I recovered a bit, and with the help of rest and Dramamine I made it until Sunday, but the inner ear infection festered and Sunday afternoon while trying to rest in the green room I realized I was too dizzy to walk and I called 911.

The local hospital treated me like crap when they learned I didn't have health insurance - since I had just left my old job - and they just thought I was a fat schlub with high blood pressure. They gave me some blood pressure medicine and shoved me out the door.

I told them I thought there was something wrong with my inner ears, but the nurse wouldn't even look.

Tuckercon put me up in Holiday Inn an extra night and then took me to the airport the next day. I was still so sick the van had to stop by the side of the highway so I could throw up on the way to the airport.

I flew into Dallas and then Texarkana, and first thing Tuesday saw my doctor, who quickly diagnosed the ear infection and prescribed the antibiotics I needed. I went back to work Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks to COBRA, most of my emergency room visit was later paid for. The hospital still wanted a couple of hundred dollars; I told them they needed to close down and go into a business they are better suited for, perhaps as a slaughterhouse.

Tuckercon was great; they sent the guy back to the train station to pick me up after I missedgetting off, and then I went to the hospital they had a member of the con committee stay with me the whole time and keep in constant contact with Patricia back home. They also comped me the room Sunday night.

Since then, in 2008 and 2009, I have had the same allergy attack at the same time of the year, but the conditions of 2007 were unique; and while I've had to deal with the ear congestion and coughing, I have coped rather well. I don't feel bad at all.

What a difference three years makes.

Just some thought as this year's NASFIC in Raleigh, North Carolina, winds up. I'm starting to think about the WorldCon in Reno next year.

Umm, I wonder how I handle altitude sickness???

Oh, I forgot to mention the hospital - it's actually in Maryville, Illinois, it's called Anderson Hospital. If, God forbid, you ever have to go there, don't. That was the worst hospital visit I ever had in my life. A bunch of callous butchers, I'm lucky they didn't throw me in the dumpster.

Not that I'm bitter...

Heady company

Duotrope, the resource web site for writers, apparently has a feature called Editor Interview. They ask editors of various venues their answers to some standard questions. Andromeda Spaceways In-Flight Magazine is the latest subject. One of their editors named Patty Jansen, was recently interviewed, and in response to the question, "If you publish fiction, who are your favorite fiction writers?", replied

"In the case of our jumbled and many-headed publishing cooperative, that's a hard question to answer. Every editor will have their favourites. We like and have published work by Jay Lake, Aliette de Bodard, Brian Stableford, Stephen Dedman, Sean Williams, Tom Holt and Jim Hines. Recent issues have seen stories by Rob Shearman, Anna Tambour, Jason Fischer and Felicity Pulman, as well as original nonfiction by Elizabeth Bear and Eric Frank Russell. We've also published fiction by a surprising number of US magazine editors - Lou Antonelli, Matthew Bey, Matt Kressel and others. And I might as well mention that we've just published a poem by Graeme Garden."

I guess having published Sentinel SF in 2007 qualifies me as an editor, too.

No progress today

No work on the fiction front today, I'm still a little weak from battling this cold/allergy attack, but on the positive side I'm feeling a lot better and the coughing has pretty much subsided. Unless there is an unforseen development (like a chest cold) this actually may be one of the mildest annual allergy attacks I have had. Iwas still sick enough last night I skept in a guest bedroom.

Came up with an idea for a fantasy steampunk tale, based on a mondegreen, called "The Rocket Pony Show".

Small victories

Since last Friday I have been battling my annual late summer allergy attack; by Monday my ears were so congested I couldn't talk to anyone on my cell phone or my cordless phone. It was this annual event three years ago that - raging out of control - led to my collapse and being rushed to the emergency room at NASFIC while I was in St. Louis.

Since then, I have learned to keep on top of the problem (in 2007, the problem was the ear congestion turned into an inner ear infection). I have been doing that again this year, with good results. Tonight my left ear popped.

Let's be thankful for small victories.

On another subject. I sent off my signed copy for the contract for the "28th Dimension" anthology in the mail, and I got David Riley's copy of his review of "Fantastic Texas" he wrote up for the current issue of Tales of the Talisman. Still have to read it.

Nice call

I think I mentioned at some point the original working title of "The Fontane Sisters are Dead" was "Golem Gal, Won't You Come Out Tonight" but that was quickly discarded at too hokey.

Another candidate title was "Hearts Made of Stone" but my instincts told me there would would also not be a good choice.

I learned today through John DeNardo's SFSignal that Norilina Books has posted the table of contents of the anthology "Warrior Wisewoman 3" edited by Roby James, and the second story in the book is called "Heart of Stone" by Joel Richards.

I knew "Hearts Made of Stone" would be too easily confused title.

Both earlier titles leave fossils in "Fontane Sisters". The story's protag, Joe DeNardo (now where did I get that surname?) calls the creature "Golem Gal" a couple of times in the story, and the song itself gets heavy airplay, not only for its appropriateness but because it fixes the time frame of the story (early 1955).

Patricia had warned me that if I belt out "Hearts Made of Stone" at home one more time she will assassinate me...

Review of "Fantastic Texas"

David Riley of Science Fiction Trails has reviewed "Fantastic Texas" in the current issue of "Tales of the Talisman". This is, I believe, the first review in a print venue. Because of that, I haven' read it yet. David reviewed "Fantastic" for Amazon, and gave it generally positive marks.