The Odyssey workshop and Orson Scott Card’s Literary Boot Camp both were very valuable in improving my writing. So if you’re an aspiring science fiction and/or fantasy writer, I recommend you apply.
Follow the links for more info.
Orson Scott Card’s Literary Boot Camp
I guess I should also mention that “The Ashes of His Fathers” is eligible for the annual Analog readers poll.
I feel kind of embarrassed touting my work for awards, but I’m sure I’ll get over it.
The Hugos are awarded by members of the World Science Fiction Convention, which anyone can join by paying about $50.
Out of my stories that were published last year, I would like to draw your attention to two.
My short story “The Ashes of His Fathers” (Analog, May 2008) received several recommendations for the Nebula Award, but its eligibility was cut short by the new Nebula Awards rules. However, it is still eligible for the Hugo. Here’s an excerpt from The Fix’s review of the story:
And if all of Analog’s stories were as good as “The Ashes of His Fathers,” the magazine might sell substantially better.
Read “The Ashes of His Fathers” for free on my website.
The second story is “The Robot Sorcerer” (InterGalactic Medicine Show, December 2008). Because Hugo Award eligibility is based on calendar years, this story hasn’t had much time for word of mouth to spread. But here’s an excerpt from The Fix’s review:
The story is personal in scale and filled with mystery, action, and even tragedy. Stone explores many themes: the nature of life, magic versus technology, magic as technology, moral dilemmas, and self-sacrifice being only a few. He does so while also creating a complex plot that doesn’t confuse the reader, establishing depth of character, and describing a rich and fascinating world while also maintaining a good pace. It is, by far, the best story in this issue.
I can’t make the story available for free on my website because IGMS still has exclusive rights to it, but you can read the beginning here, and if you want to read the end, the issue only costs $2.50.
Voting in the Codex Novel Contest finished last night. There were twelve novels competing.
Because reading twelve novels would have been a bit much, judging in the contest was based on the first 50-70 pages and a synopsis. Judges didn’t even have to read all of that for every entry, but they had to read at least the first three pages or the synopsis of all entries before choosing five to read all the way through. In many ways, judging this contest was like reading a literary agent’s slushpile.
There were some very strong entries, and I expect several to eventually find a publisher. So it gives me great pleasure to report that my novel Unforgettable managed to take first place in the contest. It’s a real confidence booster.
Now I just need to finish the revisions I know I have to make and then start submitting it.
Thanks to the turnout of friends, acquaintances, and fans, the signing went very well. The bookstore was well stocked with copies of Blood Lite, but due to a mixup, they only had two copies of the InterGalactic Medicine Show anthology on hand. Fortunately, I had eight copies in my car, and all but one of those sold. All told, I think over twenty books were sold, possibly making it my most successful bookstore signing ever.
The time just flew by, because I had friends to talk to during the whole two hours I was there. I signed my stories, I accidentally signed someone else’s story once, and I even drew a picture for one particularly demanding fan.
I’ll be doing a book signing at the Orem Barnes & Noble on Saturday, January 17, starting at 1:00 pm. They will have copies of the Blood Lite and InterGalactic Medicine Show anthologies with my stories. (I believe they may also have a few Writers of the Future anthologies still in stock.)
I received a contract in the mail today for my short story “Attitude Adjustment.” I figure it will appear in Analog before the end of the year.
Probably the most useful government reform I can think of would be to have an unwaivable requirement that in order to vote in favor of any bill, a Senator or Representative must be present on the floor of the house for a reading aloud of the entire bill.
The online magazine Apex has reprinted (repixeled?) my Writers of the Future published finalist story “In Memory.” It’s free to read.
