A few thousand science fiction magazines

This is just plain wonderful---

*Thanks to Donna Barr

Orycon---See you there!

Sun Nov 19 3:00:pm Sun Nov 19 4:00:pm Libraries of the Future: From Science Fiction to Reality
Mt. Hood Libraries must constantly adapt to new technologies. How close are we likely to get to the science fictional concepts of future libraries?
Cory Doctorow Michael Ehart Laura Majerus Bill Sattler David W. Goldman

Sun Nov 19 2:00:pm Sun Nov 19 3:00:pm No, Really, That Makes Sense
Medford "Our distinguished panel of experts explains why certain widely-seen SF and fantasy elements that seem absurd actually have legitimate explanations.
Come hear why it makes sense for barbarian sword babes to wear chain-mail bikinis, why computers on starships never crash or lock up with indecipherable error messages, and why male scientists in SF are always really good looking guys who are irresistable to brilliant, beautiful women."
Rhiannon Louve Ellen Klages Michael Ehart Sonia Lyris Richard A. Lovett

Sun Nov 19 1:00:pm Sun Nov 19 1:30:pm Reading: Michael Ehart
Salem A reading by Michael Ehart
Michael Ehart

Sat Nov 18 5:00:pm Sat Nov 18 6:00:pm Computer Viruses Then and Now
Medford What has changed from the day of Melissa, Chernobyl and Michelangelo to the present and how do you keep your computers virus free.
Michael Pearce Ben Yalow Frank Hayes Michael Ehart Dave Slusher

Sat Nov 18 4:00:pm Sat Nov 18 4:30:pm Autographs by Michael Ehart
Autograph Table An Autograph session with Michael Ehart

Fri Nov 17 11:00:pm Sat Nov 18 1:00:am Midnight Horror Readings
Portland Short and scary! Fans read short stories or scenes guaranteed to provide a chill! - bring your favorite story.
Michael Ehart Cheryl Scott Anthony Pryor Dianna Rodgers

He's back!

Good news for those of you who have been bugging me for a new Joe Denfar story. Last night I finished "Six Zombies Doing the Mick Jagger Strut" and sent it off to STEW, the Seattle crit group that is kind enough to let me hang out with them. After a good going over, I'll be shopping it around. I'll be keeping you posted.

"Servant" stories and an update

Just got the (near) final word on the "Servant of the Manthycore" stories. In June of next year, The Sword Review will re-print the first two stories, "Voice of the Spoiler" and "The Servant of the Manthycore" and in July we will see "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here". August will bring "Nothing But Our Tears" and September "The Scarlet Colored Beast".
Things can still change; they may run the first two separately, which would push back the last three a month each.
The print date for the "Timeflash" anthology has been changed to January, 2007, so Christmas orders are out. Perfect for President's day, though! :)

Sold!

Just learned that the latest three "Servant of the Manthycore" stories are in the "accepted" column at The Sword Review. No information on release dates, yet, but they will most likely be in three sequential months, as they together consititute a major story arc with the character and her history.

The titles are: "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here", "Nothing But Our Tears", and "The Scarlet Colored Beast".

For those of you who enjoy the series there is even more good news. I have been persuaded to write a novella length story that takes place 50 years after the events in "The Scarlet Colored Beast" so the poor gal will not get any peace. I promise that her reaction to the new mis-fortunes will be the same as her reaction to anything else: chopping everyone in sight into sushi. :)

Kat

My friends Kat Richardson's new novel Greywalker is coming out October 3rd. If you like supernatural mysteries and an intriguing new take on ghosts, you will definitely want to pick this one up. If you are in the Seattle area on October 7, Kat will be doing a signing at Seattle Mystery Bookshop at noon, and another at the University Bookstore November 3 at 7PM.

V-Con Coming up!

Vancouver's Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Gaming Convention
October 6th, 7th and 8th, 2006

Executive Airport Plaza, Richmond

Here is my draft schedule:


Friday 6:00 PM Historical Fantasy: Where Does History End and Fantasy Begin?
Westminster North 1 hour
Saturday
12:30 PM Reading by Michael Ehart Boardroom B .5 hour
3:00 PM Future Of Short Fiction (and the Magazines) Boardroom A 1 hour
Sunday
10:00 AM Fantastic Women Executive Boardroom 1 hour


If you make it, come look me up!

Letting me down gently

I have gotten some great rejections lately---- rejections, great or not, are a writer's first experience, and until you are at the level of Steven King or Robert B. Parker you are just going to have them as a part of your everyday world.

But the last three or four in a row have had a much different tone than I am used to. The one I got today made me laugh out loud:

Hi. I really enjoyed your story. If only we'd gotten a dozen more this good. But we didn't. As a result, Lodestone has been put on hold. Sorry to have kept you waiting. I hoped to get some good submissions between now and when you submitted, but didn't.

Drew

True or not, this is almost at the level of the apochryphal rejection from a Japanese magazine where the editor declined because printing it would be so close to the ultimate expression on the topic that printing any other story after would be unnecesary.

I have been remiss

with my posting lately, so here is an update.
Got "Night of Shadows" back and "Pixies" as well but I haven't had time to turn them around yet. Also, I got the revision notes for the three "Servant" stories, so I should have them revised and out by the end of the week.
Last night, moments before deadline I submitted my shared-world story for the Dragon Tales anthology--- "The Beast of the Bridge". I was pretty happy with how it turned out. The protagonist is anything but heroic, a con man, a seducer and a theif. I like him a lot.
I'm starting to get pretty antsy, as I haven't had enough writing time lately. It sort of builds up, like too much time spent in the car, until finally like a too-full bladder it demands a pull-over at the next writers' rest area. I realize this is a very dopey metaphor, but it is one of those evenings :)

Virgin Galactic plans space flights by 2008

Must... win... lottery...

I'm ready to go! (Shaharazahd, my wife, may feel differently about this!)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13904981/

Virgin Group, owned by billionaire businessman and part-time daredevil Richard Branson, said on Monday it was on track to launch the sub-orbital flights for the year after next and had sold tickets to its first 150 passengers.

Thirteen AWOL

Looks like Thirteen Magazine, a fine European horror mag, has departed this vale of tears. For those of you who hadn't read "Dancing with the Elder Gods" yet, your opportunites just became quite limited.
Much to my surprise, this story published last October still seems to be drawing people to this site. It may behove me to submit it to another mag, perhaps an e-zine, so that it stays available. I'll look into that.

Catching Up

For those of you who are interested in the process, this is what I have out right now:

"Darkling I Listen, and for Many a Time" to Millenium Shift

"Night of Shadows, Night of Knives" to Horrors Beyond

"Do We Truly Know Why the Junkie Pixie Sings?" to Blood, Blade, and Thruster

"The Amityville Sensimilla Growers Guide to Bigger, Healthier Plants" to Until Somebody Loses an Eye

"Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" to Sword Review

"Nothing But Our Tears" to Sword Review

"A God by a River in Egypt" to Chaos Theory

"Stars by Law Forbidden" to Intergalactic Medicine Show

"The Scarlet-Colored Beast" to Sword Review


Accepted, and out soon:

"The Death of Number 23" in Dark Krypt, July/August issue

"The View from the Shotglass Floor" in Timeflash in August

So that makes 9 in submission and 2 pending.

I am working on 2 short stories--- yet another "Servant" story, and the long-promised new Joe Denfar tale. Plus I hope to get back to the novel soon!

Which Fantasy/SciFi Character Are You?

It seems that I am Yoda.

Who are you? Click the picture and take the Quiz.

Bronze Age Sword

LOLOL--- a friend of mine just emailed me this link. It seems that the sword wielded by the protagonist of my Servant of the Manthycore series has just come up on ebay :)
I'll ask my wife, but I know she will say that for 500 bucks we shouldn't have to settle for used :)

Beautiful Luristan Sword

Buy some books, already!

Nisi Shawl writes:

You like them, and it's in a good cause:***************************************************In June, the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle will donate 20% of their proceeds from the sale of certain books to the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund of the Carl Brandon Society. Books must be purchased in person or over the phone, during the month of June. Online purchases do not qualify.The donation will be made as part of Elliott Bay's "Books for a Change" program. Titles for June include "Dark Matter II," edited by Sheree Renee Thomas; "Fledgling" and "Kindred" by Octavia E. Butler; "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan; "Cinnamon Kiss," "The Wave," and "Fear Itself" by Walter Mosley; "Zorro" and "City of Beasts" by Isabelle Allende; and many, many more.For a complete list of the books that are part of the June donation program, please call the store at (206) 624-6600 or (toll free) 1-800-962-5311, or go to . Then, either place an order for any of these books over the phone, or buy any of them at the store to make your selection count towards our total.The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund will support writers of color attending the Clarion and Clarion West Writing Workshops, beginning in 2007. It is administered by the Carl Brandon Society, a nonprofit organization focusing on the presence and representation of people of color in the fantastic literary genres. For more information about the Carl Brandon Society and the scholarship fund, please visit our website at .

Servant done!

I just submitted the final story, at least for now, of the Servant of the Manthycore series. It is a bit longer than the others, at a little over 8300 words, making it a novelette. This brings the entire lot to around 23,000 words, and with the intro by Ann Scarborough and some interior art and maybe a couple of maps of the ancient near-east with story locations marked, it should make a decent little volume.

Look for the stories over the next few months in The Sword Review, and the collection in the fall!

The story still has no title, but...

Finally! A strong 2400 words on the final story of "The Servant of the Manthycore" series.

It is looking like it may end up as a novelette rather than a short story--- it just depends on how wordy the dialog gets. So I am thinking at most I am halfway at 3500 words.

But I feel much better about it!

Back from the Mountains of Madness

or something like that. This weekend was the test I was preparing for. I now have a little time to breathe, so I got the re-write to "Darkling I Listen; and for Many a Time" done and out. I still need to re-write "Night of Shadows, Night of Knives" for a quite patient magazine editor, and perhaps take another turn at "Do We Truly Know Why the Junkie Pixies Sing". There is a Joe Denfar story to complete, and of course the fifth Servant of the Manthycore story needs to get written in the next few weeks.
Oh, and I promised to contribute to the "Tales from the Dragon's Den" anthology.
Somewhere in there I need to get some work done on the novel.
Wish me luck!

"Servant" reviewed in Tangent

This review at Tangent Online from Paul Abbamondi:

"Servant of the Manthycore: A Tale of the Ancient Near-East" by Michael Ehart follows a female protagonist, the servant of the Manthycore, as she discovers a scene of murder and destruction by a desert oasis. Waiting there for her is Ananth, a goddess of death, ready to offer her a chance for freedom from the beast of sorcery she serves.
Reminiscent of the classic sword and sorcery tales by Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Ehart's yarn of servitude and choice is finely crafted. A vivid setting, a strong, intelligent heroine, a moody atmosphere, and a battle with the undead, make this the best entry of the issue. The ending is wickedly fun."

Pardon me while I widen the doorways so I can get my head through.

"The View from the Shotglass Floor"

Stumbled across this good news: "The View from the Shotglass Floor" will be in T. N. Thomas' TIMEFLASH Anthology, a collection of short time-travel stories. I haven't gotten the acceptance letter yet, but the story is on the website list of TOC. Looks like the publication date is the 1st of August.

Congratulations, Nebula Winners!

Though I was unable to attend this year, I hope y'all had a good time!

Winners here.

Turn around

Finally heard back on "Amityville"--- sadly, after all these months, not the answer I wanted. Such is the nature of the biz, though, and I had a perfect market to turn it around to.
Also turned around "God by a River". I was hoping to have the new Joe story done this week, but with the agressive schedule I am on it just didn't happen. I'll try to make time this week, but it might be a couple before it is done and out.
I only have six stories out, with three more that need re-writes before they make the rounds again. This month is looking to be far more busy than I anticipated, so my output is going to take a hit.

Progress update

For those of you who are interested in the process:

Sent out "The View from the Shotglass Floor" to the Timeshot Anthology.

Still waiting for for responses to "God by a River in Egypt" to Deep Magic, "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" and "Nothing but Our Tears" to The Sword Review, "The Amityville Sensemilla Growers Association" to the Vermin Anthology, and "The Stars by Law Forbidden" to Strange Horizons.

About 1/3 into the latest Joe Defar story, "Six Zombies Doing that Mick Jagger Strut" and a few lines into the 5th "Servant of the Manthycore" story.

My output took a big hit this week due to con fatigue and RL business. I am hoping by Friday to have the Joe story done and some substantial progress made to the "Servant story.

"Servant of the Manthycore"

My story "Servant of the Manthycore" is up at The Sword Review: http://www.theswordreview.com/item.php?sub_id=431

This is the story I did at my reading this weekend at NorWesCon, where it was very well received (I heard that elements ended up that evening as sub-plots in at least one session in the gaming room)--- it is accompanied by some stunning art-work by Rachel Marks.

Go check it out--- you know you want to :)

Norwescon Final Schedule

Here is where I will be, when not at parties and other folks' panels--- I also said I would be available for fill-ins, so if there is time I will update from there.

Reading: From his selected works ("Servant of the Manthycore") Thursday Cascade 3 9:30 PM
Michael Ehart

Autograph Session 1 Signings Saturday Evergreen 1 & 2 11:00 AM
Michael Ehart

Sharon Beatty Talmany's Daughter Saturday Baker 2:00 PM
David Silas
Kathy Watts
Janin Ellen Young
Michael Ehart

Victoria Dzenis Arden Saturday Baker 3:00 PM
David Silas
Michael Ehart
Janin Ellen Young
Ken Rand


Midnight Horror Readings
Boo! Did that scare ya? No? Well, come and listen to some folks who will.
Saturday Cascade3 12:00 AM
Chris Bruscas
Michael Ehart
Roberta Gregory
John Moore
T. Brian Wagner
Kathy Watts


Robert Boyd In the Course of Diplomacy Sunday Rainier 12:00 PM
Brenda Cooper
Michael Ehart
Brian Tillotson
Susan R. Mathews

A God by a River in Egypt

I finally had time and energy to participate in the "Friday Night Write" that the Dragon Tales folks do... well, every Friday night. The idea is that a topic is introduced, and all participants go away for an hour, and return with a story. Several of the entries were pretty darned good, including one by "Lesliweird" about a swamp goddess that completely cracked me up.
Mine turned out pretty well, too, so I polished it up and sent it out. All in all a productive and fun way to spend an hour :)

Conan the Barberarian

From an e-mail exchange with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough wherein I was compelled to write this travesty:

"Grimly the iron-thewed Cimmerian wielded his mighty blade. Once, twice, thrice he stroked, and all were swept away by the ferocity of his attack. The air was filled with the coppery smell of lime-scented shaving cream, and snowy droplets of water-mixed soap were flung to each side. "Crom!" he grunted as the disposable razor, so expertly guided, still managed to nick his nipple, and his chest encrimsoned with the flow of the mighty barbarian's life's blood."

Norwescon Readings

I'm doing two readings--- the first is Thursday night at 9:30--- with the kind permission of the folks at The Sword Review, I will be reading my latest "Servant of the Manthycore" story, and will have a print of the fantastic illustration by Rachel Marks for all to marvel at.
I'll also be doing the Midnight Horror Reading Saturday night. Rumor has it that Joe Denfar may make an appearance --- still just a possibility, but I'm working on it :)
I'll see you there!

"Servant of the Manthycore" stories to be collected

I just got an exciting email from a small press publisher asking if I was interested in collecting my "Servant" series into a book. This is very cool, as I was thinking that they would make a pretty spiffy collection. I'll have more news on this in the coming months--- as always I will keep you posted!

Stars by Law

Finally finished the hard sf story I have been struggling with for almost two weeks. Got it off to crits just in time.
Not terribly certain where I am going to send this one, hopefully the folks at STEW or Dragon Tales will have a suggestion.

Vermin Anthology

I normally don't talk about stuff that is out in submission, but for some reason I am really jazzed about the Vermin anthology by Carnifexpress. I submitted months ago, and Armand, the editor, just did an update. As he is reading at random, it is silly to read anything into this, but I still haven't received a rejection, so my rat ghost story is still in the running for one of two reasons; either he still hasn't read it--- he is down to 100 submissions unread out of 456 or something, or he has read it and it is one of the 16 second round stories being held so far.
I really like the story and I am pretty impressed with Carnifexpress's anthologies, so combined with my feeling that it is a great fit and the fact that I haven't received the e-mail of death yet has got me uncharacteristically wound up.
Those who know me will testify to my detachment during the submission process--- once the story goes out into the world, it pretty much is product with little emotional attachment involved. I do most of my artistic suffering during the creation phase.
I'll feel pretty silly if I go to my email after posting this to find the story rejected, but somehow I am not feeling that this is the case :)

Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund

Nisi Shawl sent me the link to this press release:

Warner Books, Seven Stories Press, Beacon Press, The Carl Brandon Society, Writers House, and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame announced today the creation of The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund in honor of the internationally acclaimed fiction writer, who passed away last month.

For more information go to:
http://sfwa.org/pressbook/2006/0327a-Butler-Scholarship.html

More Norwescon Scheduling

Here is my crit schedule, for the writer's workshop:

Thur 4 p.m. Mt. Baker
Victoria Dzenis, Arden

Sat 2 p.m. Mt. Baker
Sharon Beatty, Talmany's Daughter

Sun 12 p.m. Mt. Rainier
Robert Boyd, In the Course of Diplomacy

I'll also be at the Saturday afternoon social, to meet the workshop participants in a more relaxed setting, from 2 to 4 p.m. in Presidential Suite 1360.

Norwescon update

The programming grid is set. Looks like I will be doing a reading Thursday night, 9:30 to 10:00 in Cascade 3. I seem to be the opening act for Bruce Taylor, Mike Moscoe, and Jay Lake--- pretty exciting company to be keeping!
Updates as I get 'em!

"Voice of the Spoiler"

Here is your chance to catch a print version of the first "Servant of the Manthycore" story. Better Fiction has it available in their quarterly magazine, along with stories by Scott M. Sandridge and Honore de Balzac.
It looks like a nice product, can't wait to get mine!

http://www.lulu.com/content/252877

"Death of Number 23"

Here's the kind of email a writer loves to receive:

"Dear Mr. Ehart:Congratulations! I'm pleased to inform you that your submission, "The Death of Number 23" has been accepted for publication in the JUL/AUG 2006 issue of The Dark Krypt webzine."

I'll keep you posted!

"Nothing But Our Tears"

I got "Nothing But Our Tears" finished today, the 4th story in the "Servant of the Manthycore" series. One more and a coda, then on to other projects.
I really liked this one. It was hard though, because I told it from the POV of an observer who gets caught up in the dreadfulness of the Servant's life. There is even a bit of a love story.
Of course she ends up killing nearly everyone one in sight and feeding them to the beast, same as always, but hey, find your romance where you can, I always say :)

"Voice of the Spoiler"

Reprint alert: my story "Voice of the Spoiler" from the Servant of the Manythcor series is being reprinted in Better Fiction: Volume 2, Issue 1. Available March 15th. Cover art by Melinda Reynolds. Fiction by: J.P. Delova, Michael Ehart, Scott Sandridge, Honore de Balzac, S.E. Ward, Melinda Reynolds, and Karina Kantas. Articles by: Homer Hickam, Austin Caver and Jordan Stoner, J.P. Delova, "Maggie", Brad Templeton, and Roger J. Carlson. Edited by Wade Ogletree.

It will be pretty cool sharing a TOC with Scott Sandridge, who posts at the sf reader board. Honore de Balzac is no slouch, either :)

Weaving Spiders

Caught a breath from all the activity--- the food bank where my wife is the Executive Director lost our building on almost no notice, so this weekend I moved the equivalent of a medium sized convenience store and a small clothing boutique, including fixtures.
Writing was such a releif from hucking canned goods that I managed to finish "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" the third story in the Servant of the Manthycore series. A quick run against the crit group, and it will be ready to submit.

Online crit group

I can't believe I have been so remiss--- a couple of weeks ago I was accepted into an online crit group by Daphne Charette, a screen writer who has turned to sf/f, clearly an act of temporary insanity, but a welcome one. It is a good, lively group with only about a dozen memebers, which is just the right size for quick shakedowns of stuff on its way out, or for floating ideas that are not quite ready for prime time.

Norewescon coming up

I am starting to get excited about Norwescon. There are several people I am looking forward to seeing again, and they always have great programming. I have signed up for both a regular reading and the midnight horror reading, at which I am planning to preview a brand-new Joe Denfar story.
When I get the programming, I'll post it here, and maybe I'll even be able to post from the con, though that is always iffy. Since it is only 25 minutes away, we won't be getting a room, which actually menas that I will get enough sleep, or at least what can charitably be regarded as a facsimile of such :)

Fans from Turkey

I get a lot of traffic on this site from my friends in Turkey--- just thought I'd ask, would it please you if I were to set one of my "Servant of the Manthycore" stories there? The Hittites had a fascinating bronze age culture, and it would not be out of scene for her to wander over your way. Let me know in the comments!

"Servant" Sold

My second story about the immortal slave of a terrible beast, "Servant of the Manthycore" has just been sold to The Sword Review. Its parent story, "Voice of the Spoiler" appeared in the same publication. This time, though, you will be able to get it in print, as The Sword Review has gone to sim pub both as a webzine and as a print 'zine.
I'll let you know as soon as I learn the pub date--- they have gone to a pretty nifty automated contract, so I signed and returned it almost as soon as I got the acceptance email.
Who knows, it may be out soon enough for me to sign for you at Norwescon; if not then we can hope for the Nebs :)

Norwescon

I received and filled out the survey for Norwescon this weekend. It will be interesting to see to which panels I am assigned. There are several folks I want to see, and some of them would be a hoot to join a la panel. Shaharazahd will be joining me, so if any of you are going to be there, please look for me, okay? I'll be the middle-aged white guy with a goatee, can't miss me :)

The "Voice" that keeps on giving

More good news. My story "Voice of the Spoiler" which finished 6th on the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll for Best SF/Fantasy story of 2005--- have I mentioned that someplace before? :)--- will be re-printed in the March Issue of Better Fiction, which is available through LuLu I believe. So for those of you who have been dying to have something for me to sign the next time we meet at a convention, your wish has come true, without you having to buy a plane ticket to Europe to grab a back copy of "Thirteen" magazine. I know you all would, but now I can save you all that money and hassle :) I'm just that kind of guy. More details as I have them.

Great new writing book--- "Writing the Other"

For those of us who are middle-aged white guys, this book is essential--- heck it is a must read for anyone wanting to write characters outside of their ethnic group. Nisi Shawl is the driving force behind STEW, the crit group in which I play, and I can tell you, she really knows her stuff. Here is a blurb:

During the 1992 Clarion West Writers Workshop attended by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward, one of the students expressed the opinion that it is a mistake to write about people of ethnic backgrounds different from your own because you might get it wrong, horribly, offensively wrong, and so it is better not even to try. This opinion, commonplace among published as well as aspiring writers, struck Nisi as taking the easy way out and spurred her to write an essay addressing the problem of how to write about characters marked by racial and ethnic differences. In the course of writing the essay, however, she realized that similar problems arise when writers try to create characters whose gender, sexual preference, and age differ significantly from their own. Nisi and Cynthia collaborated to develop a workshop that addresses these problems with the aim of both increasing writers' skill and sensitivity in portraying difference in their fiction as well as allaying their anxieties about "getting it wrong." Writing the Other: A Practical Approach is the manual that grew out of their workshop. It discusses basic aspects of characterization and offers elementary techniques, practical exercises, and examples for helping writers create richer and more accurate characters with "differences."

Check it out here--- it is reasonably priced, too. http://www.aqueductpress.com/conversation-pieces.html##Vol8

And you can order it here: http://www.aqueductpress.com/

"Servant of the Manthycore"

I finally got the sequel to "The Voice of the Spoiler" written and sent off to the appropriate parties. "Voice" finished 6th in the Preditors and Editors Poll, so finishing the second story got bumped in priority.
I am fairly pleased. It said what I wanted it to say, and the narrative is linear instead of the circular structure that made some people frustrated with "Voice"--- still, a lot of folks mentioned that as part of what they liked, so we will see.
I have gotten several e-mails from readers who have urged me to write another Joe Denfar story, as well. I am fond of Joe, but he has a mind of his own. I have a couple of ideas cooking, but the novel needs more attention, and I now have two stories that editors have asked me to re-write and re-submit, so it may be a couple of months before the next close encounter of the Denfar kind.
Crit group is next week, and we are auditioning a new member, a writer who has some pretty good kung-fu, so I am stoked. I'll report on that as soon as I know more.

I seem to have stablilized at 4th place. If any of you haven't voted yet, and can get around to reading the story and voting for me I would appreciate it. My wives--- current and ex--- will appreciate it. My 16 starving children will appreciate it. My poor sainted mother, who more than anything hoped that her little boy would someday grow up to amount to something, anything, will look down from heaven and appreciate it. (Actually, my mother is still alive. She is a romance novelist. She voted for it, too.)

The poll ends at midnight the 14th, so there is still time to go through your high-school yearbooks and persuade everyone there to vote :)

OMG

For this brief shining moment, I am at number 1!!!

Thanks to those who voted for me!

Now, I retire to the lair to enjoy this before the better-known and more widely followed writers crush me like a bug :)

Wow!

I woke up this morning to find myself in 2nd place on the Critter's Readers poll!
Thanks to all who voted for me! And if you haven't...
click the link in the previous post.

Some kind soul (thank you Lisa) was kind enough to nominate my story "Voice of the Spoiler" for the 2005 Preditors & Editors TM Readers' Poll. Now, in a shameless display of pleading and pandering, I humbly request your votes.

http://www.critters.org/predpoll/shortstorysf.shtml

Man, I love this stuff!