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Giant Praying Mantis Firing Flames…
While a Giant Light-Covered Mushroom Changes Colors… Friday night in Las Vegas… The twenty-five foot metal praying mantis shoots long streams of flames from both nostrils without warning, scaring the wits out of tourists. Not sure praying mamtis have nostrils, but I won’t go there. And oldies music plays, sometimes to the beat of the fire. The mantis is in front of the container park on Fremont and we can see the flames clearly from out place. Now, just tonight, someone at the historical school park between our place and the praying mantis installed a forty-foot massive mushroom covered in lights that change color. I walked down to stand near…
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Working on a StoryBundle…
Visions of the Future… That is the title of a StoryBundle that will be out toward the end of this month. Pure science fiction. And I already have two anthologies in it, so can’t use any more anthologies or collections. I just need three more novels. And what I am looking for must have the following qualities. Science Fiction with element of the future in some way or another. Top-notch science fiction cover. First book or stand-alone book. The author must have a social media reach, since the idea behind bundles is to get ten different books and authors together and have everyone promote so that we all find new…
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36 Years Ago
I Met Kristine Kathryn Rusch… I was living in Moscow, Idaho, in an apartment on the second floor in the Moscow Hotel right in the middle of the town and over a bar called The Garden Lounge. My second wife and I were no longer together, although I consider her a friend. I was an assistant manager and tended bar at a billiard bar. And I still drove school bus at times if they needed me to fill in. My house on the Oregon Coast had burned down one year earlier and I had lost most of the writing I had done in the previous three years, plus my first…
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Finally Getting Some Things Caught Up…
Not Everything, Yet, But Gaining… Today I finished all the layout of Smith’s Monthly #60. Yes, realize or try to imagine 60 monthly issues. Five full years, although there was a 2 year gap in there when Kris was sick and we had to get down here to Vegas. But now still going strong. And I also did the introduction and got everything together for Smith’s Monthly #61. Will turn that in after a day or so. And also got a bunch done today on the next issue of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine. Got to get that turned in. So all kinds of fun projects. And a very strange Sky Tate…
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Another General Day
Some New Covers, Workshops Caught Up, Other Stuff… Didn’t get a story done tonight, didn’t even start one. Just did other stuff. Tomorrow back on a regular story per day again. Should be interesting to fire back up. I really miss not being regular at it. I think this is day #111 or so, and I think I have about 90 or so stories done. I’ll know more tomorrow as I finally start using my new tracking and filing system. But 90 sure isn’t bad and 21 is easy to make up. Should have that made up around August 1st. Maybe sooner if I get on a run. So not…
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More Pictures of Writers of the Future
They Sent Me a Bunch… Thought I would share some. The first two pictures is a sight many of you see who take workshops online. Here the poor students in one day got me for 2.5 straight hours on a topic called “The New World.” I hope it all made sense. The next picture is the next day. Tim Powers and I did 45 minutes or so on the fun, the insanity, and dangers of Hollywood. We both had some fun stories. Next picture is at the signing. All the writers and judges had to sign a few hundred books. Fun assembly line. Across from me was Rob Sawyer. Luckily…
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Yes, I Am Now the Editor of Writers of the Future…
You Heard That Right… Jody Lynn Nye is the coordinating judge, so she and Kary English will work together to get the top manuscripts to all the judges each quarter. After all the judging is done, the manuscripts will go into Writers of the Future and the names will be put back on them and I will get to work with the authors and put the book together and so on. The folks at Galaxy Press and Author Services are maybe the nicest, friendliest, and most hard-working people I have ever had the pleasure to know. And working with them will be a fantastic pleasure. As I said, I was…
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Playing With Marbles
Took A Couple Hours… And met with an antique dealer friend here in Vegas and sorted marbles. She has a shop that I have been buying marbles from and when I showed up today she started pulling out bags and boxes of unsorted marbles, so for two hours I helped her stock her display case and figure out which marbles were new and which were older and expensive. To a marble collector like me, that was heaven. I also bought a antique 30s or 40s leather marble bag with the word “marbles” on it and a cowboy on a horse. No idea what or when it came out, but way…
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ALIENS AMONG US BUNDLE
Really, Really Cool Storybundle… With some fantastic science fiction books by great writers. I got to curate this and I even mentioned it here when I was looking for books. Fun putting it together. Following is my blog about it. I hope you grab a bundle for some great reading. WWW.Storybundle.com/aliens ALL FUN… One thing science fiction fans think about when you say “Aliens Among Us” is aliens like body snatchers, or Grays flitting around Area 51. None of that in this group of great novels and stories. Just great books with great takes on aliens. And the title of this bundle comes from a Pulphouse Fiction Magazine anthology of…
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Cats Vanish In Less Than A Day
Cattitude Story Bundle About to Vanish!! You don’t want to miss all this fantastic reading. Ten different novels with cats as one kind of focus or another, plus a collection and an anthology. This will end on Thursday evening. Don’t let it slip by. https://storybundle.com/cats And what is amazing is that for one low price of $20 you can get all the books and stories. Really fun stuff in all kinds of different genres. And great writers. If you bought all these books on Amazon, you would pay $50 or more. So test out some new authors, read some fantastic cat novels and stories. Nothing like cat fiction to cheer…