Matthew Hughes's Blog: barbarians of the beyond, page 15
June 6, 2015
New sf collection coming
I'm putting together a collection of my non-Archonate (with one exception) science-fiction and fantasy stories. Most of them have appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction or Asimov's Science Fiction over the past eleven or twelve years, but some have only been published in bespoke anthologies.
Two such are:
"Grolion of Almery," my shot at a Cugel the Clever tale that ran in the Jack Vance tribute antho, Songs of the Dying Earth; and
"The Ugly Duckling," an attempt to create a "lost chapter" of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, that was published in Old Mars, the retro anthology that, like Songs, was co-edited by Gardner Dozois and George R.R. Martin.
There are 16 tales in all, adding up to some 94,000 words, including the only sf story I've ever written that I didn't sell. "Ant Lion" is a 500-word flash-fiction piece that I sent out a couple of times but got no sale. It would probably be easier to place if I expanded the concept into a full-length story, but I like it just the way it is.
The exception to the non-Archonate rule is the collected tales of Liw Osfeo, my faux-Sufi sage whose abstruse adventures were recorded in a book-within-a-book that was part of my first Archonate novel, Fools Errant.
I've asked the mucho-talented Bradley W. Schenck to do me a cover. Bradley, whose first sf novel (Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom) will be published by Tor, is like me a devotee of good old science fiction. He's also kind to the elderly, which is why he manages my web page and formats my books for me.
The collection will be titled Devil or Angel: Old Style Science Fiction and Fantasy. It should be available on Amazon and my webstore as an ebook and POD paperback at a friendly introductory price in the next few weeks.
Two such are:
"Grolion of Almery," my shot at a Cugel the Clever tale that ran in the Jack Vance tribute antho, Songs of the Dying Earth; and
"The Ugly Duckling," an attempt to create a "lost chapter" of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, that was published in Old Mars, the retro anthology that, like Songs, was co-edited by Gardner Dozois and George R.R. Martin.
There are 16 tales in all, adding up to some 94,000 words, including the only sf story I've ever written that I didn't sell. "Ant Lion" is a 500-word flash-fiction piece that I sent out a couple of times but got no sale. It would probably be easier to place if I expanded the concept into a full-length story, but I like it just the way it is.
The exception to the non-Archonate rule is the collected tales of Liw Osfeo, my faux-Sufi sage whose abstruse adventures were recorded in a book-within-a-book that was part of my first Archonate novel, Fools Errant.
I've asked the mucho-talented Bradley W. Schenck to do me a cover. Bradley, whose first sf novel (Slaves of the Switchboard of Doom) will be published by Tor, is like me a devotee of good old science fiction. He's also kind to the elderly, which is why he manages my web page and formats my books for me.
The collection will be titled Devil or Angel: Old Style Science Fiction and Fantasy. It should be available on Amazon and my webstore as an ebook and POD paperback at a friendly introductory price in the next few weeks.
June 5, 2015
New Raffalon/Cascor story in F&SF
"Curse of the Myrmelon," the latest Raffalon story, will appear in the July/August edition of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Actually, Raffalon the archetypical thief plays a supporting role in the story; the lead character is Cascor, the former provostman turned private security consultant who increasingly dabbles in sorcery.
Those who read editor Charlie Finlay's introductory note to the story will learn how it fits into my Archonate milieu. Those who can't wait for the magazine to appear can learn it now: I originally created Raffalon when George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois asked me for a Vancean story for their bestselling theme anthology, ROGUES. I conjured up Raffalon as a version of Cugel the Clever, except that Raffalon really is clever, which Cugel ain't.
But, as one perceptive reviewer has pointed out, he tends to have bad luck -- much like his author, I suppose. The exception is in the ROGUES story, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," where we find him at the end of an unsuccessful career. What happened in the story changed the thief's luck for the better and permanently.
When I started writing it, I borrowed the geography and the cannibalistic were-men, the Vandaayo, from The Discourses and Edifications of Liw Osfeo, a-book-within-a-book that was included in my first Archonate novel, Fools Errant . So that's the connection.
If you're a Raffalon fan and you haven't read "Seven Blessings," you might want to get a copy of ROGUES. It's out in paperback and Kindle, or you can find it in a library. The Rothfuss story is said to be one of his best, and he's joined by a lot of big-name authors -- including Joe R. Lansdale, whose Texas-set noir stories I've come to enjoy.
Those who read editor Charlie Finlay's introductory note to the story will learn how it fits into my Archonate milieu. Those who can't wait for the magazine to appear can learn it now: I originally created Raffalon when George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois asked me for a Vancean story for their bestselling theme anthology, ROGUES. I conjured up Raffalon as a version of Cugel the Clever, except that Raffalon really is clever, which Cugel ain't.
But, as one perceptive reviewer has pointed out, he tends to have bad luck -- much like his author, I suppose. The exception is in the ROGUES story, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," where we find him at the end of an unsuccessful career. What happened in the story changed the thief's luck for the better and permanently.
When I started writing it, I borrowed the geography and the cannibalistic were-men, the Vandaayo, from The Discourses and Edifications of Liw Osfeo, a-book-within-a-book that was included in my first Archonate novel, Fools Errant . So that's the connection.
If you're a Raffalon fan and you haven't read "Seven Blessings," you might want to get a copy of ROGUES. It's out in paperback and Kindle, or you can find it in a library. The Rothfuss story is said to be one of his best, and he's joined by a lot of big-name authors -- including Joe R. Lansdale, whose Texas-set noir stories I've come to enjoy.
May 29, 2015
Kaslo novel renamed A Wizard's Henchman
I’ve turned in the polished and somewhat repaired draft of the science fantasy novel I’ve been serializing in Lightspeed as The Kaslo Chronicles. I’ve renamed it A Wizard’s Henchman and called it the first book of a series, because Erm Kaslo is a promising character and the story took him to an interesting point of departure. So I’ll probably write a sequel down the line, if I live long enough (I've just turned sixty-six).
The book is also a point of departure for me in the long string of novels, novellas, and short stories I’ve been writing under the general heading of The Archonate. That string began a very, very long time ago – the Labor Day weekend of 1982 – when I sat down and wrote 27,000 words in 72 hours. It was an impulse thing, an entry in the annual novel-in-a-weekend contest put on by a small literary press in Vancouver, which I’d heard about only for the first time the day before I started writing.
Those 27,000 words, which amazingly had a beginning, a middle, and an end, with a proper arc of character development, came rolling out of me as if it had all been tucked away inside, just waiting for the fingers to strike the keyboard (an IBM Selectric in those days). Years later, when I got my first word processor, I expanded the draft and it eventually became Fools Errant, the first novel of the Archonate.
In those initial 72 hours, as I neared the end of the 27,000 words, I came up with the notion that the universe occasionally arbitrarily switches its fundamental operating principle from rational cause and effect to magic. The idea came from something I’d recently read about Isaac Newton, the great guiding light of the Enlightenment in England, who ended his days as the founder and head of The Royal Society (the first British scientific organization), but who began his career as an alchemist. I wondered what had happened to change his point of view so radically.
Years later, when I seriously got down to writing more Archonate tales, I was taken by the idea that this great interstellar civilization, The Ten Thousand Worlds, was about to crash into ruin and chaos. And almost nobody knew it – or would believe it if the few who knew what was about to happen tried to warn them. By then I was thinking about the people of Europe, just before the outbreak of the First World War, who didn’t know that four years of carnage was going to bring down Edwardian civilization for good and all.
I’ve written about a number of different characters – Henghis Hapthorn and Luff Imbry in particular, who get an inkling of what is about to happen and try to deal with it as their natures dictate. But I’ve received occasional letters from readers who, if they don’t quite accuse me of apocalyptus interruptus, lead me to I think I’m seeing the accusation between the lines.
So, with Erm Kaslo, confidential operative of The Ten Thousand Worlds, I’ve finally gone over the top and into the great change. I think it’s worked out well – at least in the polished draft, which fixed some glitches in the serial that resulted from the facts that (a) I don’t outline, and (b) if you’re writing a serial and sending in the episodes as they’re finished, you can’t go back and change something in chapter three to fit with what you’ve only just thought of midway through chapter seven.
My apologies to the astute readers who have noticed those little glitches. The version that comes out of PS Publishing will not only be one of their beautifully made limited edition volumes, but its plot won’t leak like an old bucket. It will be out sometime next year and I hope you will buy it, read it, and enjoy it.
The book is also a point of departure for me in the long string of novels, novellas, and short stories I’ve been writing under the general heading of The Archonate. That string began a very, very long time ago – the Labor Day weekend of 1982 – when I sat down and wrote 27,000 words in 72 hours. It was an impulse thing, an entry in the annual novel-in-a-weekend contest put on by a small literary press in Vancouver, which I’d heard about only for the first time the day before I started writing.
Those 27,000 words, which amazingly had a beginning, a middle, and an end, with a proper arc of character development, came rolling out of me as if it had all been tucked away inside, just waiting for the fingers to strike the keyboard (an IBM Selectric in those days). Years later, when I got my first word processor, I expanded the draft and it eventually became Fools Errant, the first novel of the Archonate.
In those initial 72 hours, as I neared the end of the 27,000 words, I came up with the notion that the universe occasionally arbitrarily switches its fundamental operating principle from rational cause and effect to magic. The idea came from something I’d recently read about Isaac Newton, the great guiding light of the Enlightenment in England, who ended his days as the founder and head of The Royal Society (the first British scientific organization), but who began his career as an alchemist. I wondered what had happened to change his point of view so radically.
Years later, when I seriously got down to writing more Archonate tales, I was taken by the idea that this great interstellar civilization, The Ten Thousand Worlds, was about to crash into ruin and chaos. And almost nobody knew it – or would believe it if the few who knew what was about to happen tried to warn them. By then I was thinking about the people of Europe, just before the outbreak of the First World War, who didn’t know that four years of carnage was going to bring down Edwardian civilization for good and all.
I’ve written about a number of different characters – Henghis Hapthorn and Luff Imbry in particular, who get an inkling of what is about to happen and try to deal with it as their natures dictate. But I’ve received occasional letters from readers who, if they don’t quite accuse me of apocalyptus interruptus, lead me to I think I’m seeing the accusation between the lines.
So, with Erm Kaslo, confidential operative of The Ten Thousand Worlds, I’ve finally gone over the top and into the great change. I think it’s worked out well – at least in the polished draft, which fixed some glitches in the serial that resulted from the facts that (a) I don’t outline, and (b) if you’re writing a serial and sending in the episodes as they’re finished, you can’t go back and change something in chapter three to fit with what you’ve only just thought of midway through chapter seven.
My apologies to the astute readers who have noticed those little glitches. The version that comes out of PS Publishing will not only be one of their beautifully made limited edition volumes, but its plot won’t leak like an old bucket. It will be out sometime next year and I hope you will buy it, read it, and enjoy it.
May 26, 2015
Final Kaslo episode a free read
"The Blood of a Dragon," the final episode of The Kaslo Chronicles, the science-fantasy novel I've been serializing in Lightspeed Magazine, is now available for a free read.
Coincidentally, I'm polishing up the full text of all eleven episodes to turn them into a novel that will be published by PS Publishing in limited editions, probably next year (I don't have a pub date yet).
All of the previous episodes of the serial are archived on the Lightspeed site. As well, they've been turned into podcasts by Skyboat Media, read by J. Paul Boehmer.
There's also an author spotlight interview with me that accompanies the episode. I've enjoyed those interviews because the questions have been well thought out and relevant to the story and the writing process.
Coincidentally, I'm polishing up the full text of all eleven episodes to turn them into a novel that will be published by PS Publishing in limited editions, probably next year (I don't have a pub date yet).
All of the previous episodes of the serial are archived on the Lightspeed site. As well, they've been turned into podcasts by Skyboat Media, read by J. Paul Boehmer.
There's also an author spotlight interview with me that accompanies the episode. I've enjoyed those interviews because the questions have been well thought out and relevant to the story and the writing process.
May 18, 2015
I've sold Kaslo Chronicles to PS
I've sold The Kaslo Chronicles, the science-fantasy novel serialized in
Lightspeed
, to PS Publishing. I should be out in limited editions next year.
If you can't wait that long, all the episodes of the novel (except for the last) can be found in Lightspeed's archives. The final episode will be available for a free read on May 26.
The PS editions will probably contain some new material. This was the first time I've ever serialized a novel and, like Dickens, I was writing and sending in the episodes as they were written. That means I couldn't go back and add something to Chapter 2 to fit with something I didn't think of until Chapter 7. Also, at 74,000 words, it's a bit short.
I'm going to read it for the first time in the next couple of weeks to see where it can take some additions and general tweaking.
If you can't wait that long, all the episodes of the novel (except for the last) can be found in Lightspeed's archives. The final episode will be available for a free read on May 26.
The PS editions will probably contain some new material. This was the first time I've ever serialized a novel and, like Dickens, I was writing and sending in the episodes as they were written. That means I couldn't go back and add something to Chapter 2 to fit with something I didn't think of until Chapter 7. Also, at 74,000 words, it's a bit short.
I'm going to read it for the first time in the next couple of weeks to see where it can take some additions and general tweaking.
May 14, 2015
Last Kaslo episode
The final episode of The Kaslo Chronicles is now available for purchase in the May issue of
Lightspeed Magazine
. Or you can wait until May 26, when it will be posted for a free read.
I'm going to take a look at it over the next little while -- I've never actually read it as one continuous story -- and get it into shape for publication as a novel.
The rare publisher's copy of Of Whimsies and Noubles, a Luff Imbry novella from PS Publishing, has completed its auction on Ebay. The winning bid was £62 (about US$97), which is very gratifying. The proceeds will go to Nepal earthquake relief. I'm waiting for the organizers to tell me where to send the book.
I'm going to take a look at it over the next little while -- I've never actually read it as one continuous story -- and get it into shape for publication as a novel.
***
The rare publisher's copy of Of Whimsies and Noubles, a Luff Imbry novella from PS Publishing, has completed its auction on Ebay. The winning bid was £62 (about US$97), which is very gratifying. The proceeds will go to Nepal earthquake relief. I'm waiting for the organizers to tell me where to send the book.
May 10, 2015
Ebay Auction of Whimsies/Noubles Continues
The Ebay auction for the rare publisher’s copy of Of Whimsies and Noubles still has three days to run. There have been twelve bids and the highest now is £41. Proceeds go to relief for the victims of the earthquake in Nepal.
May 7, 2015
Free shipping anywhere of Of Whimsies and Noubles
The Ebay listing for the donated limited-edition copy of Of Whimsies and Noubles says it will only ship to a UK buyer. The organizer can't change that, but it ain't so. I'm the shipper and I will send the book, postage free, to whoever buys it.
The Ebay link again.
The Ebay link again.
May 6, 2015
Rare Whimsies and Noubles to aid Nepal
In an effort to aid the Nepalese after the devastating earthquake, something called Authors for Nepal has asked folks like me to donate books to be auctioned on Ebay. I've offered a signed copy of Of Whimsies and Noubles, the limited edition (100 copies) Luff Imbry novella from PS Publishing, which came out last year.
This is a highly collectible title, being not only a signed hardcover, but what's called a publisher's copy: one of only a handful of extras produced beyond the 100-copy limit. Technically, that makes it very rare indeed.
I've only just now been told that the book is up for auction, which closes on Friday. When I checked the Ebay listing, I saw that there were no bids and the asking price was 10 pounds.
If anyone's interested, here's where to go.
This is a highly collectible title, being not only a signed hardcover, but what's called a publisher's copy: one of only a handful of extras produced beyond the 100-copy limit. Technically, that makes it very rare indeed.
I've only just now been told that the book is up for auction, which closes on Friday. When I checked the Ebay listing, I saw that there were no bids and the asking price was 10 pounds.
If anyone's interested, here's where to go.
April 10, 2015
Not me
There's a short story collection called Fairly Wicked Tales from a small press called Angelic Knight. It contains a story called "Little Beauty" by Matthew Hughes.
The thing is, that's not me. I believe the author is actually Matthew Alan Hughes, an up and coming American who writes dark fantasy and whose name usually appears in full. I don't know why the middle name is missing from this book, but if you're one of the small coterie of readers who buy anything with my name on it (may your tribe increase!) I thought I should let you know.
~
There won't be any more news of story sales from me in the next few months. I'm 36,000 words into the historical novel I've wanted to write for more than forty years and it's going to keep me busy right through the summer.
The thing is, that's not me. I believe the author is actually Matthew Alan Hughes, an up and coming American who writes dark fantasy and whose name usually appears in full. I don't know why the middle name is missing from this book, but if you're one of the small coterie of readers who buy anything with my name on it (may your tribe increase!) I thought I should let you know.
~
There won't be any more news of story sales from me in the next few months. I'm 36,000 words into the historical novel I've wanted to write for more than forty years and it's going to keep me busy right through the summer.
