Announcements

“O What Freedom, This Great Steel Cage” now available from Analog

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My flash story, “O What Freedom, This Great Steel Cage” is in the May issue of Analog, on sale at fine newsstands now.

I want to point out Ian Creasey‘s name on the cover there. This is significant to me personally because years ago, I used to subscribe to a couple of magazines, including Asimov’s. Alas, I had to stop subscribing when I realized that I just wasn’t keeping up with my subscriptions. That stack of unread magazines has sat by my bed ever since, and the one on the top of the stack is the August 2010 issue of Asimov’s.

For SIX YEARS I have stared at the cover of that magazine, the contents seeping into my brain by osmosis as I slept. SIX YEARS of staring at those names, including (you guessed it) Ian Creasey.

I have since met Ian online, so naturally I sent him this picture of me snuggling with my August 2010 Asimov’s:

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Very happy to be once again appearing in such a prestigious magazine, and to be sharing a table of contents with Ian.

My story “Never” now available from The Sockdolager

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Peter Pan was kind of a dick.

I mean, all of Neverland exists solely so he can play out his fantasies. Whatever he wants, he gets: kick ass tree house, mermaids, fairies. He wants adventures, so he gets pirates…regardless of what the pirates think of the matter. Even if the pirates were real people with real lives, and people who cared for them, and maybe, just maybe hoping for one more chance to redeem themselves from some really terrible deeds…too bad! Peter says you’ve got to come and let him trounce you for all eternity, so that’s your new life. Bad luck fellows!

Neverland is a paradise, but only as long as you’re Peter. If you’re a pirate, it’s a fate worse than death.

Hop on over to the Spring issue of The Sockdolager and read all about it. And if you prefer the entire issue in an easier to read format, you can do that too (might I recommend the print edition?)

See Evelyn in Heidi!

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Evelyn is very pleased to invite you to Provision Theater’s presentation of Heidi! Evelyn is performing as part of the ensemble children’s choir, and since she will be yodeling along with accordion music, you might say I have been training her for this role her whole life.

This world-premiere adaptation of the perennial children’s favorite Heidi tells the story of a lively orphan girl who goes to live with her bitter grandfather in a little hut high in the Alps. Soon she is happy and healthy, leading a carefree life with her grandfather, her new friend, Peter, and the goats on the Alm. But Heidi’s happiness is short-lived when she is sent to stay with a rich city family as a companion for a sick girl, Klara. This new adaptation reveals the transformative power of a little girl’s ability to shine light into the lives of everyone around her–even those with a crippled spirit or a hardened heart.

March 26 – April 17
Performances on Saturdays at 12pm & 3pm & Sundays at 3pm
(No performance on Easter Sunday, March 27)
Special weekday matinees will be on on 4/6 & 4/13 at 10am

Tickets are $15 for adults & $10 for children 12 & under.

Evelyn does not get tired of people coming to see her perform, so she’s always happy to have friendly faces in the audience!

Blog Administrivia

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For those of you who read the blog on Facebook, you may have noticed some formatting errors recently. Please bear with me.

I’ve been using NetworkedBlogs for many years to push to Facebook because I can’t stand the default WordPress integration. However, they decided to make their service really crappy in order to force people into paid accounts, so I am experimenting with different methods.

So far, all of those methods suck and I don’t like how they look on Facebook.

I apologize and hopefully I will get something working before too long. In the meantime, the links will still be posted, even if they have redundant text, bad images, or generally look stupid.

–The Management

“Never” to appear in The Sockdolager

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I am very please to announce that my story “Never” is set to appear at The Sockdolager.

What exactly is a “sockdolager” you muse, and then immediately feel foolish for speaking aloud to an empty room. Ah ha, but that’s where you’re wrong: the microphone in your computer secretly transmits all sound back to me, here in “Is This Thing On” headquarters.

A “sockdolager” is a forceful blow, or an exceptional thing or person.

The Sockdolager is a very small publisher.

We publish genre fiction that’s quite good & mostly short. You can read some, if you like.

And then they have an old timey picture of a fine lady about to wipe the pencil moustache off of a gentleman with her serious krav maga skills….so, my kind of place.

(Seriously, left yourself wide open to the ol’ knee-in-the-junk follow through there, dude)

More details as they become available; tentatively look for the spring issue.