News & Announcements

Featured Author

May 1st, 2008

The fine folks at AnthologyBuilder.com have decided to name me one of their "featured authors" for the month of May! What this means, near as I can tell, is if you put together an anthology and include one of my stories you save yourself a dollar! Wow! I currently have only five stories at the site (though I may have to send more, what with being featured and all). Here's what's there now:

  1. "A Buffalito of Mars." An Amazing Conroy story set on Mars (duh) and including a small nod to the works of ERB. Originally published in Visual Journeys. Hadley Rille Books, 2007. Blurb: In the midst of a terraforming effort, the Amazing Conroy travels to Mars to bring his Buffalo Dogs to the aid of an archeological dig that has uncovered an ancient alien artifact.
  2. "The Game of Leaf and Smile." This is light horror or dark fantasy or something like that. It's got demons. People seem to really like. You will too. Originally published in AEON Magazine, 2005. Blurb: Kjest is a young demon, a Pain Lord whose only talent is winning tourneys and taking his opponents power as his own. A demonic lottery forces Zhole, eldest of the Lords of Disease, from the peace and quiet of his retirement to answer the upstart's challenge. On a Halloween night in a Philadelphia suburb, they will play a game with humans as tokens. Now Zhole, the demon responsible for the plagues that killed half of Europe, must elicit moments of delight and instants of joy from the game pieces, while Kjest strives to have them touch or be touched by leaves, again and again. The demon with the higher count wins not just the other's power, but the souls of the game pieces as well.
  3. Cat Futures." I believe every genre author is required to write at least one cat story. This one is mine. Originally in The Town Drunk, 2006. Blurb: Steven and Amy are a couple of college kids at the beginning of a relationship. They're very fond of each other, and Steven's even thinking things could become serious, but that thought gets put on hold when Amy reveals that her cat, Mr. Buttons, has expressed a desire to speak with him. And it's not just that Mr. Buttons can communicate, no, this a prognosticating cat as well, and he has something to tell Steven about his future.
  4. "Bidding the Walrus." I honestly didn't realize I was doing a riff on the Sorceror's Apprentice when I wrote this. One of my most popular tales. Originally published in Low Port (ed. by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller), Meisha Merlin, 2003. Blurb: Walrus Gideon, head of his own custom cybernetics company is barely getting by. He can undercut his competition on contract bids, but only a few at a time. After all, there's only so much work a two-man operation can take on. That's fine though, until a satisfied customer gives him a gift, an A.Y., or "Artificial You", that thinks it can do whatever Walrus can do, which not only includes bidding on jobs, but making copies of itself, who also then bid on jobs and make copies of themselves, and...
  5. "Retro-Virus." I like this story because it was one of my earliest sales and made weep and say astonishingly kind things about me. Speculon Webzine, 2001. Blurb: It's 2024, and Marcie, a corporate A.I. employed by the investment firm of Langston, Howard, & Associates, has been infected with a rogue computer virus. It's taken four days, but all her system diagnostics are finally coming back normal. And yet, deep in her digital heart, Marcie now remembers being a flesh and blood human being. Specifically, she remembers being Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, a nineteenth century mathematician once appointed by Napoleon to be governor of Lower Egypt. What's an A.I. to do?
What I like best about AnthologyBuilder is that it gives people the choice to put together whatever assortment they choose. What I like second best about it is that, like Fictionwise, it's a way of keeping my fiction around for new readers to discover. Go check it out. You'll be able to put together a great anthology, and if you include one of my stories you'll even save a buck!

Return to Luna

Mar 4th, 2008

The National Space Society (NSS) and Hadley Rille Books have announced the Return to Luna Short Story Contest.

They are seeking stories that deal with humanity's return to, and colonization of the Moon. Winning stories will be selected by a jury of respective authors and editors, including Tobias S. Buckell, Michael A. Burstein, Tom Dupree, Jude-Marie Green, Jay Lake, Geoffrey A. Landis, Christopher McKitterick, Eric T. Reynolds, Lawrence M. Schoen, Allen Steele, Ian Randal Strock. Stories will also be placed in the Return to Luna anthology, which should be published in late 2008. The authors will be eligible for royalties and will receive free membership to The National Space Society for one year.

The Grand Prize Winner will also have a review of his or her winning short story featured in NSS’s magazine AD ASTRA, and on the NSS and Hadley Rille Books websites.

Livejournal: Mostly English

Joy!

» Wed, 14 May 2008 12:33:12 GMT

The bookshelf is done. The paint has finally dried. And yesterday I unpacked the 50+ boxes and put the books up on the shelf. Nine feet high, and fourteen feet wide. Ahhhhhhh.
... (more)

There Can Be Only One!

» Wed, 14 May 2008 02:29:19 GMT


HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere are
9
people with my name
in the U.S.A.
How many have your name?



Oh sure, there are nine now. But as I find them, and eat their brains, their power will flow into me!... (more)

klingonguy.livejournal.com

Future Sightings

Buffalito World Outreach Project (BWOP)

This recent addition to the Buffalito World Outreach Project brings you Finnish (Suomea) :

Puhvelikoirat

Viimeinen asia mielessäni oli joutua pidätetyksi pari päivää ennen Maahan paluutani. Olin työskennellyt Hauvelissa, Gibrahlin avaruussataman ainoassa cocktailbaarissa, viimeiset kolme ja puoli viikkoa. Sopimukseni edellytti kahta show'ta...