The hardest part ...

... is indeed rejection. I learned last night that "Love & Winter" is not one of the winning entries in The Writers of the Future Contest. I'd been trying, though, to prepare myself for that outcome during the last six weeks and am (very nearly) at peace with it. The Contest will continue to hold the story, in case the anthology has space for one or more non-winning finalists (who are still invited to the workshop in L.A., so this chapter is not entirely closed).

The sun is shining beautifully today, Halloween festivities are on for tonight, and I have countless other things for which to be thankful. And this story will see the light of day eventually, in the best possible place, for the ideal reader(s). All is well. Now, in the glorious turning of the seasons, I need to turn my attention to other works ...

The waiting is almost the hardest part ...

... second only to rejection. Be that as it may, however, I'm thrilled to announce that my tale "Love & Winter" is one of eight finalists for the current quarter of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. The eight stories will be forwarded to four authors/judges, who will select the top three ...

And wait till they see my swimsuit!

Wonderful news after a grueling day of court.

What can one do with a S&S degree ...?

In the fall of 2006, Howard Andrew Jones graciously invited me to assist him in completing an article--perhaps the article--on the history of sword-and-sorcery for a literary encyclopedia. We worked hard to complete the article by February of 2007, and I'm pleased to announce it will be published this October.

The article, "The Sword in the Mirror: A Century of Sword & Sorcery," will appear in the mammoth Greenwood Encyclopedia of New American Reading. I'd like to thank Howard for the experience, as at least 90% of the word count is his, and can now say that I'm officially a gentleman and a scholar, even if the latter is in as esoteric a field as S&S. (Esoteric ... but undoubtedly fun.)

"Creative Sentences" at Shared Worlds

This morning, I had a great time giving my presentation on speculative fiction legal systems at the inaugural session of the Shared Worlds creative writing/world-building camp at Wofford College. The students were intelligent and inquisitive, posing questions on everything from immigration to capital punishment to 'victimless' crimes, and I hope the exercises I planned will enable them to hone the governmental structures of their worlds.

The camp looks fantastic, and I'm sure it'll only get better from year to year. I look forward to being a part of it, and if you know any teenagers who might enjoy it, please do let them know about it.

As for me, I must sadly return from the camp to a terribly busy week of court ...

Back to school

It indeed appears that I'll give a presentation at the inaugural session of the Shared Worlds creative writing camp at Wofford College. The tentative title is "Creative Sentences: Designing Speculative Fiction Legal Systems" (which I hope is an example of res ipsa loquitor), and the tentative date is July 30th. I have no intention of lecturing for a full hour, so in the coming days, I'll devise a lesson plan that will likely involve the students drafting laws in their spec-fic settings, making accusations against each other, and finding defenses and loopholes. If all goes well, mayhem will ensue ...

Blade Runner

I finally watched Blade Runner (the final cut version), and ... wow. Dark and disturbing and, definitely, a masterpiece of sci-fi film-making (in details ranging from the not-quite-human behaviors of the replicants to the score). Then this dark jewel from Rutger Hauer at the climax:

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain ..."

Two thumbs up.

Food for thought

I came across these lines in the story "Gift from a Spring" by Delia Sherman (Realms of Fantasy, April 2008):

"Isn't that what art is?" I asked .... "Making things up?"

"No," she said. "That's what commerce is about--identifying a market and satisfying it. Art is about seeing the truth and revealing it, as beautifully and forcefully and honestly as you are able."

Amen.