Matthew Hughes's Blog: barbarians of the beyond, page 25
June 21, 2013
New Raffalon story sold
I've sold a new adventure of Raffalon the thief: "Stones and Glass," a 15,000-word novelette, will appear in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, probably in the next year.
For those wondering where Raffalon fits into the Archonate universe: in my first Archonate novel, Fools Errant, the protagonist Filidor carried with him on his wanderings a book entitled The Edifications and Discourses of Liw Osfeo. The place names and settings of the Raffalon tales are the same as those of the Osfeo book. As to whether or how those locations relate to Old Earth in its penultimate age, you'd have to ask that book's author.
I will write more Raffalon stories as time goes by. When I have enough of them, and the first-use rights have all been accounted for, I'll put them into one volume and self-publish them as an ebook and a POD paperback.
There aren't enough Osfeo tales to justify their own collection, so they will be included in a round-up of non-Archonate sf stories that I plan to put out in e- and POD-formats down the road.
Another Raffalon story, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," will appear in the cross-genre anthology, Rogues, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, and to be published by Bantam Spectra next year.
For those wondering where Raffalon fits into the Archonate universe: in my first Archonate novel, Fools Errant, the protagonist Filidor carried with him on his wanderings a book entitled The Edifications and Discourses of Liw Osfeo. The place names and settings of the Raffalon tales are the same as those of the Osfeo book. As to whether or how those locations relate to Old Earth in its penultimate age, you'd have to ask that book's author.
I will write more Raffalon stories as time goes by. When I have enough of them, and the first-use rights have all been accounted for, I'll put them into one volume and self-publish them as an ebook and a POD paperback.
There aren't enough Osfeo tales to justify their own collection, so they will be included in a round-up of non-Archonate sf stories that I plan to put out in e- and POD-formats down the road.
Another Raffalon story, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," will appear in the cross-genre anthology, Rogues, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, and to be published by Bantam Spectra next year.
May 30, 2013
Jack Vance is gone
This is my second day in Athens, and I woke up to find an email telling me that Jack Vance, the author I most admire, has died after a good, long life. The thought that keeps going through my mind is that I could have taken the time to get down to Oakland and meet him, to tell him how much his work has meant to me.
To those of you who have goals you want to fulfill someday, don’t let that day wait too long. Some doors close, never to reopen.
To those of you who have never read Vance, I envy you the discovery of one of the great, singular voices in literature. Note that I’m not saying “in science fiction or fantasy” — but the whole great megillah of the human experience laid down in letters over the centuries by the best minds the species has produced.
He was that good. And by his work he will be remembered, long after the rest of us are wandering among the shades.
To those of you who have goals you want to fulfill someday, don’t let that day wait too long. Some doors close, never to reopen.
To those of you who have never read Vance, I envy you the discovery of one of the great, singular voices in literature. Note that I’m not saying “in science fiction or fantasy” — but the whole great megillah of the human experience laid down in letters over the centuries by the best minds the species has produced.
He was that good. And by his work he will be remembered, long after the rest of us are wandering among the shades.
May 22, 2013
Hapthorn and Imbry Collections Now in Paperback
As I posted here recently, I'm using Amazon's CreateSpace subsidiary to offer some of my self-published ebooks as print-on-demand paperbacks. The first two titles are the short story collections 9 Tales of Henghis Hapthorn and The Meaning of Luff and Other Stories.
They're now available from Amazon and directly from CreateSpace's estore. Through the wizardry of my excellent webmaster, Bradley W. Schenck, if you go to the new paperbacks section in the bookstore on my website, the listed titles will appear. If you then click "add to cart," you'll be taken directly to CreateSpace's estore (they pay me a higher royalty than does Amazon).
Most amazing to me, though, is that recent changes in the book distribution industry mean that you could also walk into any brick-and-mortar bookstore in North America or Europe, order the titles, and they'll come in just like any other published book. Plus your bookseller will make a little.
I like booksellers. Anything that keeps them in business is all right with me.
They're now available from Amazon and directly from CreateSpace's estore. Through the wizardry of my excellent webmaster, Bradley W. Schenck, if you go to the new paperbacks section in the bookstore on my website, the listed titles will appear. If you then click "add to cart," you'll be taken directly to CreateSpace's estore (they pay me a higher royalty than does Amazon).
Most amazing to me, though, is that recent changes in the book distribution industry mean that you could also walk into any brick-and-mortar bookstore in North America or Europe, order the titles, and they'll come in just like any other published book. Plus your bookseller will make a little.
I like booksellers. Anything that keeps them in business is all right with me.
May 20, 2013
Fools Errant review
The Entropy Pump blog has posted a review of my first Archonate novel, Fools Errant: " It’s a sly and witty travelogue that sports a fool as the main character (thought not a foolish one) who, instead of seeing the wonders around him, looks at the world as something that is out to get or least annoy him."
A fair summary of Filidor Vesh, at least at the start of the novel. Here's the first chapter.
A fair summary of Filidor Vesh, at least at the start of the novel. Here's the first chapter.
May 19, 2013
Hapthorn and Imbry Paperbacks Coming
As part of my new venture into self-publishing my backlist, I'm taking advantage of the CreateSpace/Amazon connection to turn some of my ebooks into Print-On-Demand paperbacks. Amazing to me, these POD titles will not only be available from online bookstores, but can be ordered by actual brick-and-mortar bookstores in North America and Europe.
The first titles out will be the short story collections 9 Tales of Henghis Hapthorn and The Meaning of Luff and Other Stories, which have been selling pretty well as ebooks. They should be through the production process before the end of May.
Doing the paperbacks has slowed down bringing out the Guth Bandar story collection and one of my trunk books. But I'll probably get to that after I've relocated to Athens at the end of the month.
The first titles out will be the short story collections 9 Tales of Henghis Hapthorn and The Meaning of Luff and Other Stories, which have been selling pretty well as ebooks. They should be through the production process before the end of May.
Doing the paperbacks has slowed down bringing out the Guth Bandar story collection and one of my trunk books. But I'll probably get to that after I've relocated to Athens at the end of the month.
May 16, 2013
My thanks
A while back, I said here that I would be helpful if satisfied readers expressed themselves in the form of Amazon customer reviews. The response has been very gratifying: reviews of Template, Hespira, and the short story collections 9 Tales of Henghis Hapthorn and The Meaning of Luff and Other Stories have been very supportive.
Those of us who do not sit high enough up the ladder in this business of fiction writing don't get to meet all that many of our readers. We don't merit book tours or collect invitations to be Guest of Honor at a big con. So when you care enough to send an email or to post a review somewhere, it helps.
As I usually respond to readers who email me: I appreciate the encouragement.
It helps keep me productive, too. I've sent another Raffalon story off to F&SF, and I'm working on another involving Erm Kaslo, the confidential op who first appeared in "And Then Some" in a recent Asimov's. I think Kaslo is going to be the first of my characters who actually goes through the universe's wrenching transition from rationality to sympathetic association -- or to use the vulgar term, magic.
My intent, as with the Guth Bandar stories that eventually became The Commons, is to write a Raffalon and a Kaslo novel in episodes, then string the elements together to make two ebooks.
Those of us who do not sit high enough up the ladder in this business of fiction writing don't get to meet all that many of our readers. We don't merit book tours or collect invitations to be Guest of Honor at a big con. So when you care enough to send an email or to post a review somewhere, it helps.
As I usually respond to readers who email me: I appreciate the encouragement.
It helps keep me productive, too. I've sent another Raffalon story off to F&SF, and I'm working on another involving Erm Kaslo, the confidential op who first appeared in "And Then Some" in a recent Asimov's. I think Kaslo is going to be the first of my characters who actually goes through the universe's wrenching transition from rationality to sympathetic association -- or to use the vulgar term, magic.
My intent, as with the Guth Bandar stories that eventually became The Commons, is to write a Raffalon and a Kaslo novel in episodes, then string the elements together to make two ebooks.
May 13, 2013
Rogues antho co-edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois finished
I had an email from Gardner Dozois today to say that ROGUES, the latest cross-genre anthology he has co-edited with George R.R. Martin, has been turned in to the publisher. A publication date will be announced soon.
I have a story in it called "The Inn of the Seven Blessings" about a thief named Raffalon, who made his first appearance in "Wearaway and Flambeau" in last year's July/August issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
I have a story in it called "The Inn of the Seven Blessings" about a thief named Raffalon, who made his first appearance in "Wearaway and Flambeau" in last year's July/August issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
May 8, 2013
I'm on the British Fantasy Awards jury
I'm one of five members of the main jury that will decide who wins the British Fantasy Awards in the categories of fantasy novel, horror novel, novella, short story, collection, anthology, magazine/periodical, comic/graphic novel and screenplay.
The other members are Esther Sherman, Neil Williamson, Pauline Morgan, and Ros Jackson.
I'll have lots of reading between now and the end of August.
The other members are Esther Sherman, Neil Williamson, Pauline Morgan, and Ros Jackson.
I'll have lots of reading between now and the end of August.
April 29, 2013
News roundup
I'm in the last twenty-four hours of the housesit I've been doing for the past six months, a rural property on Vancouver Island, looking after some horses and a cat. Tomorrow we upstakes for a short-term gig on the mainland, then by the end of the month we'll be in Athens for the start of a three-month sit.
Underland Press, the publisher of the Luff Imbry novel, The Other, has been bought by another house, Skyhorse Press. They've asked if I want to do a sequel, or any other books I might have in mind. Once I get settled in Athens, I'm going to write up a proposal for a sequel to The Other and we'll see what happens.
I've got a major project in prospect, but I can't announce anything until I see what level of interest it may stir in a major publisher that I've approached. I can say that it ought to be big news within the community of Jack Vance fans.
In the meantime, I've been writing another novelette featuring the archetypal thief Raffalon, who was the protagonist of "Wearaway and Flambeau," a story that ran in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction last year.
Sales of my self-published ebooks haven't pushed me into betsellerdom (yet), but it's gratifying to see people take them up in an age when reprints are largely disdained by the industry. To those of you who have bought copies, I'd appreciate it if you could pester your friends and associates until they do the same.
Underland Press, the publisher of the Luff Imbry novel, The Other, has been bought by another house, Skyhorse Press. They've asked if I want to do a sequel, or any other books I might have in mind. Once I get settled in Athens, I'm going to write up a proposal for a sequel to The Other and we'll see what happens.
I've got a major project in prospect, but I can't announce anything until I see what level of interest it may stir in a major publisher that I've approached. I can say that it ought to be big news within the community of Jack Vance fans.
In the meantime, I've been writing another novelette featuring the archetypal thief Raffalon, who was the protagonist of "Wearaway and Flambeau," a story that ran in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction last year.
Sales of my self-published ebooks haven't pushed me into betsellerdom (yet), but it's gratifying to see people take them up in an age when reprints are largely disdained by the industry. To those of you who have bought copies, I'd appreciate it if you could pester your friends and associates until they do the same.
April 22, 2013
A taste of memory
Lawrence M. Schoen runs regular feature on his blog called Eating Authors, in which folks who write stuff are asked to relive memorable meals. He asked me a few months to send him a write-up and I said I would. But, my memory being what it is, I couldn't really get a grip on an appropriate incidence of the gustatorily unforgettable.
Then I remembered a day when I was fifteen . . .
Then I remembered a day when I was fifteen . . .
