Goodreads reviews

Picked up two reviews for my collection at Goodreads on July 21st. One gave five stars, the other four. That's four reviews with an average of 4.25 stars.

Frusterated

Because of budget problems, I can't make Armadillocon this weekend. This is the fourth con I have missed out of the past seven I have agreed to participate in, and for the time being I am not making any more commitments to attend cons. There is too much instability and unreliability in my life, and I have found that if I make a commitment to attend a con something will go wrong by the time it comes around. I missed a con in December because of car trouble, another one in February because of a scheduling error on my part (I hadn't noticed the con had changed its date from the previous year and had moved to within a week of another con), and two more - including Armadillocon - because by the time the con comes I don't have the money to attend. I had made a commitment to attend FenCon in September, but I've cancelled. No reason to wait until whatever last-minute calamity will strike.

One problem is that I normally work Saturdays, and to get Saturday off I have to get someone to take my place at the paper. With staff cutbacks, there is almost nobody left to do that. When I went to SoonerCon in June, I left work at noon on Saturday and drove to Oklahoma City in five hours.

Also, my wife won't come with me to cons. She is not a genre fan, so for me to go to cons is like a hobby, not a family commitment. It's not easy to budget.

We'll see how things go in 2013, but for now I'm all played out.

"Martians & Earthlings"

The cover is also available for the upcoming special "Martians & Earthlings" issue of Science Fiction Trails. This magazine should be out by Sept. 1. This edition features my story "Barsoom Billy".

"Pirates of the Ozarks"

Science Fiction Trails No. 8 is now available from Amazon for your Kindle. It leads off with my alternate history story "Pirates of the Ozarks". 

Science Fiction Trails is an annual print science fiction magazine. This is where science fiction meets the Wild West. 

This issue features stories about alternate worlds, alchemy, steampunk and even a few dinosaurs. Other authors included include William R. D. Wood, Sam Kepfield, Raymond Broadbeard, Matthew Baugh, James Wymore, Henrik Ramsager & C. J. Killmer. These ain't your pappy's western stories.

Highly recommended

In or near Austin, Texas on Sunday, July 29th? Come to Armadillocon to hear KG Jewell, Michelle Muenzler, Jamie Lee Moyer, Cat Rambo, and Nicky Drayden read/speak/sign about/from/upon Daily Science Fiction from 2-3 p.m. in the Sabine Room. Contributors to this on-line magazine will discuss the site and the Year One anthology, and read snippets from their work. This will also be an unofficial pre-launch of the DSF anthology, which is just coming off the printers and is officially being launched at Worldcon in August. Insofar as DSF published two of my best stories this past spring, "Great White Ship" on May 11 and "Double Exposure" on June 11, I highly trust their taste in speculative fiction. You should, too, and if you're in or near Austin this weekend, here is your opportunity to get the first annual anthology hot off the press!

Hiatus from short fiction

After almost ten years, I've written 100 short stories, and had 67 of them published. That's not a bad track record. My attempts at writing at a longer length have not gone nearly as well. I've made two attempts at book-length work; neither worked out to my satisfaction.

My problem seems to be I can't outline anything that extensive without getting completely muddled. I now have a 12,000 word outline of a fantasy novel written by a close collaborator. I think I am going to take a break from short fiction for a few months and write this up.

My collaborator came up with an outline that has a scope and breadth that exceeds anything I ever came up with. I think it has great potential, and it is also for a high fantasy story. I first began writing short fiction for submission over the Labor Day weekend in 2002. It would be cool if I marked my tenth anniversary as a fiction writer by finally completing a well-plotted, entertaining book.

In the meantime I still have two stories slated for publication later this year, and a half dozen in various slush piles. I think I can take a break from the short fiction for a few months and work on this.

ArmadilloCon coming up

ArmadilloCon is not that far away - July 27-29 - but no sign of programming and panels yet. The hope the convention organizers aren't having any problems.