The Front Burner plus some

Mario here:


What I'm reading: The Comedians by Graham Greene.










Like most writers, I've got a lot of irons in the fire. Unfortunately, most of the irons remain lukewarm. I have a couple of freelance projects that are stop-n-go. For those of you in the loop, you know there's a new Felix Gomez book in the works. The series is orphaned for now, more or less. HarperCollins still has the rights and all five of my previous titles remain in print...as ebooks. But they've passed on future books, so number 6, Rescue From Planet Pleasure, will come out as a self-pubbed ebook. When? Hopefully soon.

You'd think that with this Felix book already on the front burner, I'd be pouring over it, 24/7. But no. I've got a secret project that I dig into, an hour here, an hour there. It's a story not like any I've yet written--no tough guys, no violence, no bloodsuckers--but it does involve people getting in over their heads doing what they shouldn't. Working on this project is liberating and a lot of fun. Stay tuned.

Call for Submissions: From the Mothership. Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond. An anthology of science fiction, fantasy, and horror featuring characters of color. (Though I hate that term. Would little green men from Mars be persons of color?) But the site's pitch makes a good point.

When we look up at the night sky, space is black as far as the eye can see. Yet, when we read novels about it or watch something on TV or in the movie theater, it is white beyond all comprehension. With this collection, we hope to give space some much needed ... color, shall we say (and other genres, of course).

Submission guidelines here. Deadline, May 1, 2013.