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Over the past few years, I've sold a dozen or so short stories. These haven't been "mysteries" in the pure sense. They've been science fiction, or fantasy, or just plain silly fun. (I don't see what else you could call a story that appears in an anthology titled Alien Pregnant by Elvis!) But each, as I wrote it, did fit the definition of a MiP, since even the silliest stories often surprise the writer by taking unexpected turns.
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Short stories use a different set of writing muscles than novels. Characters have to be sketched quickly, instead of growing over chapters; plots are pared down to the essentials, without as many convolutions or side-trails. It's tight writing, a miniature as opposed to the full canvas of a novel. Short stories don't pay as well, but they keep a writer honest, in my opinion. I'll probably always do a few.
Here's a brief summary of the stories I've had published so far, along with excerpts for a few of them. | |
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"...But Comedy is Hard" My most recent short story is in the anthology Chicks 'n Chained Males, edited by Esther Friesner. (Baen Books, 1999) "Comedy" is the story of an Amazon and an actor, and I had a lot of fun writing it. This is the third Chicks book, but considering the popularity of the earlier volumes, it may not be the last.
Excerpt from "...But Comedy is Hard" | |
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"Kaleidoscope" This one is very special for me. It appeared in Realms of Fantasy Magazine in December of 1997. While I've written other stories I'm proud of, this was the first one my peers honored by recommending it for the preliminary Nebula ballot. The Nebula awards are voted each year by members of SFWA, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The first step on the road to a Nebula is the preliminary ballot, and while "Kaleidoscope" didn't make the final ballot, being on the prelim ballot is an honor in itself. The story's important to me in other ways as well. The first scene is available below.
Excerpt from "Kaleidoscope | |
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"The Bandido of Pozoseco" I live in southern Arizona, with the Mexican border less than an hour's drive away. Every summer the local papers have tragic stories of would-be immigrants paying with their lives for entering the US illegally, dying in the desert without water. That was the starting point for "Pozoseco," a made-up Spanish name that means Dry Well. Despite the grim subject matter, I wound up with a rather amusing character in the lead. This appeared in the anthology, Highwaymen: Robbers and Rogues, DAW Books, 1997, edited by Jennifer Roberson. The anthology developed from an online discussion of the poem, "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes. If you've never read this wonderful old warhorse of romantic poetry, click on the title.
Excerpt from "The Bandido of Pozoseco" | |
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"Wood Song" This appeared in the anthology Enchanted Forests, DAW Books, 1997, edited by my collaborator on Polar City Nightmare, Katharine Kerr. But the first draft began several years earlier, for an ill-fated proposed anthology of stories about Coney Island. True to that original premise, Coney Island does feature prominently in the story. But most of the focus is on ancient Greece.
Excerpt from "Wood Song" | |
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"The Tragedy of Gertrude, Queen of Denmark" This is a personal favorite, in part because it was responsible for the anthology it appeared in. In 1991, I happened to mention to Katharine Kerr (she does keep turning up) that I'd been playing around with an idea for an alternate Hamlet. Susan Shwartz and Tad Williams were both in the room as well, and they all pounced on the idea: an anthology of Alternate Shakespeare stories! By the end of the weekend, it had been agreed that Katharine would edit the anthology, and several people had committed to write stories. Weird Tales from Shakespeare finally came out from DAW in 1994. Weird Will, as everyone called the anthology, had some terrific stories in it. Mine, as it happens, was one of the last turned in, even though my idea had sparked the project. First I had to work up the nerve to play in Shakespeare's universe!
Excerpt from "Gertrude, Queen of Denmark" | |
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"The Defiant Disaster" Alternate history has always been a favorite theme of mine, both in reading and writing. Mike Resnick has edited a number of alternate history anthologies, including By Any Other Fame, which came out from DAW in 1994. This one, familiarly called Alternate Heroes, gave me a chance to play with one of my own heroes, Amelia Earhart. What if her plane hadn't been lost somewhere off Howland Island? What if she had talked FDR into forming a space agency at an earlier date? This is my version of what might have happened.
Excerpt from "The Defiant Disaster" | |
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My other stories have been: "The Voice of a God" in The Shimmering Door, HarperCollins1994
"Witch Doctor"
"Saving Sam's Used UFOs"
"Christmas Presence"
"GENIE, Inc."
"Running" This page will grow, as will the books page. The story samples may change. But I hope to always include at least one story among my Mysteries in Progress. |