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/