Ah, summer break. Normally, I have all manner of writing to do, short and long works, which have been stockpiled for this ten-week stretch. This summer, that is not the case. Instead, I have drafted my Sword & Sorcery story for the next Thrilling Adventure Yarns and it is off to Aaron Rosenberg for editing.
My attention has shifted to an original fantasy story that I began last December and find myself excited all over again as I review my notes, tweak some character descriptions, and resume outlining. We’ll see what shape it’s in when I have to return to school. Hopefully, it will be in good enough shape for a developmental editor to give it a professional once over.
While things have been quiet on the freelance front, it’s not entirely devoid of activity. First up is the Sherlock Holmes story I wrote last summer. It will be included in the fourth volume of Cases by Candlelight, where I will be accompanied by Aaron Rosenberg, Hildy Silverman, and Christopher D. Abbott. While all four of us belong to Crazy 8 Press, this is from Christopher’s separate imprint. He has made quite a business out of Holmes, and I was all too thrilled to be asked to contribute.
The book is scheduled to debut at Shore Leave in mid-July but there is a pre-order link now available for those who like Holmes, or me, but can’t make it to the con.
Also debuting at Shore Leave is PRISM, the collection of SF/espionage tales that began life on Amazon’s Vella platform. We liked the setup and characters and felt it deserved to be completed. So, in addition to the original nine stories, there are now 19: Pre-Mission Stories: “Dispersion” by Aaron Rosenberg * Mission 1: “Partners” by Robert Greenberger * Mission 2: “The Golden Gamble” by Mary Fan * Mission 3: “Worth Its Weight in Diamonds” by Paul Kupperberg * Mission 4: “The Trust code” by Christopher D. Abbott * Mission 5: “Delivery Exception” by Dayton Ward * Mission 6: “The Mind Game” by Hildy Silverman * Mission 7A: “Sound of the Sea, Part 1” by Russ Colchamiro * Mission 7B: “Sound of the Sea, Part 2” by Russ Colchamiro * Mission 8: “An Atypical Robbery” by Robert Greenberger * Mission 9: “The Locked Heart” by Hildy Silverman * Mission 10: “Pointe Blank” by Mary Fan * Mission 11: “The Medusa Maneuver” by Aaron Rosenberg * Mission 12: “Nice Little Town” by Geoffrey ThorneMission 13: “The Film Fiasco” by Aaron Rosenberg * Recall Mission: “The PRISM Schism” by Hildy Silverman * Mission 14: “Full Twisting Volkova” by Mary Fan * Mission 15: “Movin’ On Up” by Keith R.A. DeCandido * Mission 16: “My Favorite Flower” by Russ Colchamiro. Hldy wrote two and took on the task of editing the entire collection, which I think should make for good beach reading.
Arriving on my birthday is Outside In Can Live with It, where 171 different authors present short, creative takes on each episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I wrote about “House of Quark,” which I still find an entertaining installment. I always enjoy stretching a bit with these collections and have been proud to be a part of the program. I have been in all but the Doctor Who and Twin Peaks collections.
Almost imminent is Hearts of the Abyss, a horror romance anthology for which I wrote a tale for. I am assured it’s coming this summer, but no official date has been given.
This past week, Jim Beard has announced the lineup for Jack of All Comics, an essay collection celebrating Jack Kirby’s work for Marvel and DC during the 1960s and 1970s. Here’s how he describes it:
There are a Million Ways to Talk About Jack Kirby…
…and you’ll find twenty-eight of them in this book! Twenty-eight writers tackle twenty-eight topics, all of them about the incredible, invincible, uncanny, and mighty works of the King of Comics! There have been many books on Kirby—but never before like this one!
Jack Kirby’s comic book output during the 1960s and 1970s was truly groundbreaking, forming universes and creating concepts that have stood the test of time to this very day. Jack of All Comics covers nearly every single title the King worked on throughout those two decades to celebrate, converse, and sometimes even kvetch over the highs and lows of each series with insightful and illuminating essays.
Join a cool collection of wondrous writers as they bring the Kirby Krackle to jaw about Jack! Dive into the deep end as they deliver the details on the Kirby Influence over both the Marvel Universe and the DC Universe! Read along with their riotous raconteuring of personal tales of their first experiences with Jack’s powerful pencils, crafty concepts, and characters! Kirby’s here—don’t ask! Just buy it!
Editor and lifelong King of Comics fan Jim Beard is joined herein by such stalwart scribes as Will Murray, Robert Greenberger, Paul Kupperberg, Cliff Biggers, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Dan Wickline, and many, many more! Jack’s never been covered by a passel of powerful personalities like this! It’s a Boom Tube to Supertown by way of the Rainbow Bridge!
Alas, there is no order link or pub date as yet. The book has been proofread and copy edited so I expect it out in the next few months.
The week has also been spent on household chores and reviewing the 48-page Yearbook supplement, preparing to hit the submit button, my final school commitment for some weeks.
I did mention the busy summer travel schedule. Well, after Trek Long Island, the next trip was this past weekend with Deb as we drove to West Virginia for a recording of Mountain Stage, a weekly radio program hosted by Kathy Mattea that we enjoy listening to via WUMB out of Massachusetts. Performing were Shemekia Copeland, Tab Benoit, Charlie Musselwhite, Harlem Gospel Travelers, and Abby Posner.
We headed down early Sunday to see some new small towns and will meander our way home today.
What We’re Watching
We finished both second seasons of Andor and Slow Horses and were entertained. I thought the latter took a while to get going, but it was a fine, slow-burn. We also returned to the second (and final) season of Unprisoned, a Hulu sitcom with Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo, that deserved more. We also jumped on the Dept. Q bandwagon, which we find exceptionally well done. On Monday, we completed watching the under-appreciated Eoitle, which we adored and are sorry to see prematurely canceled. And we began the final season of the harrowing The Handmaid’s Tale.
We also caught the film Deep Cover which was well-plotted and quite entertaining. It’s currently on Amazon Prime and worth watching.
What I’m Reading
Having zipped through the Brad Meltzer book, I switched to The Anxious Generation, which my principal praised back in August, and I have been meaning to read ever since. It’s a powerful study of how the smartphone and then social media altered millennia of social development in just a few short years, permanently changing our children’s development, giving rise to anxiety and assorted mental health issues. It is certainly giving me a deeper insight into my students.
I also finished listening to Rebecca Yarros’ Iron Flame which is a very well-constructed romantasy, and if you overlook the hyperbolic romantic stuff, is a strong story.
#Tags: Aaron Rosenberg, Andor, Cases by Candlelight, Christopher D. Abbott, Hearts of the Abyss, Hildy Silverman, Jack of All Comics, Jim Beard, Kathy Mattea, Mountain Stage, Outside In, PRISM, Shore Leave, Slow Horses, The Anxious Generation, Thrilling Adventure Yarns, Unprisoned