Matthew Hughes's Blog: barbarians of the beyond - Posts Tagged "raffalon"
News roundup
I'm in the last twenty-four hours of the housesit I've been doing for the past six months, a rural property on Vancouver Island, looking after some horses and a cat. Tomorrow we upstakes for a short-term gig on the mainland, then by the end of the month we'll be in Athens for the start of a three-month sit.
Underland Press, the publisher of the Luff Imbry novel, The Other, has been bought by another house, Skyhorse Press. They've asked if I want to do a sequel, or any other books I might have in mind. Once I get settled in Athens, I'm going to write up a proposal for a sequel to The Other and we'll see what happens.
I've got a major project in prospect, but I can't announce anything until I see what level of interest it may stir in a major publisher that I've approached. I can say that it ought to be big news within the community of Jack Vance fans.
In the meantime, I've been writing another novelette featuring the archetypal thief Raffalon, who was the protagonist of "Wearaway and Flambeau," a story that ran in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction last year.
Sales of my self-published ebooks haven't pushed me into betsellerdom (yet), but it's gratifying to see people take them up in an age when reprints are largely disdained by the industry. To those of you who have bought copies, I'd appreciate it if you could pester your friends and associates until they do the same.
Underland Press, the publisher of the Luff Imbry novel, The Other, has been bought by another house, Skyhorse Press. They've asked if I want to do a sequel, or any other books I might have in mind. Once I get settled in Athens, I'm going to write up a proposal for a sequel to The Other and we'll see what happens.
I've got a major project in prospect, but I can't announce anything until I see what level of interest it may stir in a major publisher that I've approached. I can say that it ought to be big news within the community of Jack Vance fans.
In the meantime, I've been writing another novelette featuring the archetypal thief Raffalon, who was the protagonist of "Wearaway and Flambeau," a story that ran in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction last year.
Sales of my self-published ebooks haven't pushed me into betsellerdom (yet), but it's gratifying to see people take them up in an age when reprints are largely disdained by the industry. To those of you who have bought copies, I'd appreciate it if you could pester your friends and associates until they do the same.
Rogues antho co-edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois finished
I had an email from Gardner Dozois today to say that ROGUES, the latest cross-genre anthology he has co-edited with George R.R. Martin, has been turned in to the publisher. A publication date will be announced soon.
I have a story in it called "The Inn of the Seven Blessings" about a thief named Raffalon, who made his first appearance in "Wearaway and Flambeau" in last year's July/August issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
I have a story in it called "The Inn of the Seven Blessings" about a thief named Raffalon, who made his first appearance in "Wearaway and Flambeau" in last year's July/August issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
My thanks
A while back, I said here that I would be helpful if satisfied readers expressed themselves in the form of Amazon customer reviews. The response has been very gratifying: reviews of Template, Hespira, and the short story collections 9 Tales of Henghis Hapthorn and The Meaning of Luff and Other Stories have been very supportive.
Those of us who do not sit high enough up the ladder in this business of fiction writing don't get to meet all that many of our readers. We don't merit book tours or collect invitations to be Guest of Honor at a big con. So when you care enough to send an email or to post a review somewhere, it helps.
As I usually respond to readers who email me: I appreciate the encouragement.
It helps keep me productive, too. I've sent another Raffalon story off to F&SF, and I'm working on another involving Erm Kaslo, the confidential op who first appeared in "And Then Some" in a recent Asimov's. I think Kaslo is going to be the first of my characters who actually goes through the universe's wrenching transition from rationality to sympathetic association -- or to use the vulgar term, magic.
My intent, as with the Guth Bandar stories that eventually became The Commons, is to write a Raffalon and a Kaslo novel in episodes, then string the elements together to make two ebooks.
Those of us who do not sit high enough up the ladder in this business of fiction writing don't get to meet all that many of our readers. We don't merit book tours or collect invitations to be Guest of Honor at a big con. So when you care enough to send an email or to post a review somewhere, it helps.
As I usually respond to readers who email me: I appreciate the encouragement.
It helps keep me productive, too. I've sent another Raffalon story off to F&SF, and I'm working on another involving Erm Kaslo, the confidential op who first appeared in "And Then Some" in a recent Asimov's. I think Kaslo is going to be the first of my characters who actually goes through the universe's wrenching transition from rationality to sympathetic association -- or to use the vulgar term, magic.
My intent, as with the Guth Bandar stories that eventually became The Commons, is to write a Raffalon and a Kaslo novel in episodes, then string the elements together to make two ebooks.
New Raffalon story sold
I've sold a new adventure of Raffalon the thief: "Stones and Glass," a 15,000-word novelette, will appear in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, probably in the next year.
For those wondering where Raffalon fits into the Archonate universe: in my first Archonate novel, Fools Errant, the protagonist Filidor carried with him on his wanderings a book entitled The Edifications and Discourses of Liw Osfeo. The place names and settings of the Raffalon tales are the same as those of the Osfeo book. As to whether or how those locations relate to Old Earth in its penultimate age, you'd have to ask that book's author.
I will write more Raffalon stories as time goes by. When I have enough of them, and the first-use rights have all been accounted for, I'll put them into one volume and self-publish them as an ebook and a POD paperback.
There aren't enough Osfeo tales to justify their own collection, so they will be included in a round-up of non-Archonate sf stories that I plan to put out in e- and POD-formats down the road.
Another Raffalon story, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," will appear in the cross-genre anthology, Rogues, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, and to be published by Bantam Spectra next year.
For those wondering where Raffalon fits into the Archonate universe: in my first Archonate novel, Fools Errant, the protagonist Filidor carried with him on his wanderings a book entitled The Edifications and Discourses of Liw Osfeo. The place names and settings of the Raffalon tales are the same as those of the Osfeo book. As to whether or how those locations relate to Old Earth in its penultimate age, you'd have to ask that book's author.
I will write more Raffalon stories as time goes by. When I have enough of them, and the first-use rights have all been accounted for, I'll put them into one volume and self-publish them as an ebook and a POD paperback.
There aren't enough Osfeo tales to justify their own collection, so they will be included in a round-up of non-Archonate sf stories that I plan to put out in e- and POD-formats down the road.
Another Raffalon story, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," will appear in the cross-genre anthology, Rogues, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, and to be published by Bantam Spectra next year.
New Raffalon story coming in F&SF
Gordon van Gelder, editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, tells me that "Stones and Glass," a novelet featuring my Dying Earth-era thief, Raffalon, will run in the November/December issue.
And now for something completely different: I have a piece in today's online Globe & Mail about a sneaky way to abolish the corrupt and largely unuseful Canadian Senate.
And now for something completely different: I have a piece in today's online Globe & Mail about a sneaky way to abolish the corrupt and largely unuseful Canadian Senate.
Update on my unusual life
I’ve settled into a seven-week sit in the little village of Tala, just outside Paphos in the Republic of Cyprus. The population is a mixture of Greek Cypriots and British expats. The scenery is stunning, the architecture is generic eastern-Mediterranean, and the climate is hot and relatively humid. They not only grow olives and figs, but little sweet bananas.
I’m looking after two rescue dogs – that is dogs that have been abandoned and rescued, not St Bernards with brandy casks, although one of them is coincidentally named Brandy. The other one, Bailey, had a spinal break late last year that has left her back legs mostly paralyzed. Still, I take them for a walk every morning, before the heat gets too heated. Bailey has a custom-fitted pair of wheels that take the place of her back legs, and she rattles along like Ben Hur.
She also has no bladder or bowel control, so there’s a certain amount of cleaning up to be done – although I’ve learned how to position her over an enamel chamber pot and squeeze her abdomen to express urine before she leaves a puddle.
And you thought being a world-wandering author/housesitter was all beer and skittles. Actually, the beer here is good and cheap, a euro or so for a half-liter bottle and I’m still trying to figure out how they can sell a liter bottle of Jim Beam bourbon for less than it retails for in the States.
In authoring news, before I finished the last sit in Athens – three months in Exarchia, the anarchists’ quarter – I wrote a 15,000-word novelette featuring my Dying Earth-era thief, Raffalon, and sent it to Gordon Van Gelder at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He’s just sent me a note to say that he’s buying it. When it runs, it will be my twenty-fifth appearance in F&SF, which when I think about how I used to buy used copies of the mag to read in the early sixties (couldn’t afford a subscription, and we were always moving house), always amazes me.
During the week since I arrived in Tala, I have done the first draft of the fifth episode of The Kaslo Chronicles, the serialized novel about my hardboiled PI who becomes a wizard’s assistant when the universe’s operating system abruptly switches from rational cause-and-effect to will-powered magic.
The first Kaslo episode, “And Then Some,” originally ran in Asimov’s and is now appearing as a reprint in Lightspeed Magazine. Future episodes will run every two months. I’m going to be very interested to see where the story goes (I can’t outline; I just start and out it comes, a thousand words a day).
A week or so ago, I set the price for my 9 Tales of Henghis Hapthorn story collection ebook to zero, just to see if it leads to more sales of the other ebooks. If you’d like to pick one up for nothing, check Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, or the Archonate bookstore.
I’m looking after two rescue dogs – that is dogs that have been abandoned and rescued, not St Bernards with brandy casks, although one of them is coincidentally named Brandy. The other one, Bailey, had a spinal break late last year that has left her back legs mostly paralyzed. Still, I take them for a walk every morning, before the heat gets too heated. Bailey has a custom-fitted pair of wheels that take the place of her back legs, and she rattles along like Ben Hur.
She also has no bladder or bowel control, so there’s a certain amount of cleaning up to be done – although I’ve learned how to position her over an enamel chamber pot and squeeze her abdomen to express urine before she leaves a puddle.
And you thought being a world-wandering author/housesitter was all beer and skittles. Actually, the beer here is good and cheap, a euro or so for a half-liter bottle and I’m still trying to figure out how they can sell a liter bottle of Jim Beam bourbon for less than it retails for in the States.
In authoring news, before I finished the last sit in Athens – three months in Exarchia, the anarchists’ quarter – I wrote a 15,000-word novelette featuring my Dying Earth-era thief, Raffalon, and sent it to Gordon Van Gelder at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He’s just sent me a note to say that he’s buying it. When it runs, it will be my twenty-fifth appearance in F&SF, which when I think about how I used to buy used copies of the mag to read in the early sixties (couldn’t afford a subscription, and we were always moving house), always amazes me.
During the week since I arrived in Tala, I have done the first draft of the fifth episode of The Kaslo Chronicles, the serialized novel about my hardboiled PI who becomes a wizard’s assistant when the universe’s operating system abruptly switches from rational cause-and-effect to will-powered magic.
The first Kaslo episode, “And Then Some,” originally ran in Asimov’s and is now appearing as a reprint in Lightspeed Magazine. Future episodes will run every two months. I’m going to be very interested to see where the story goes (I can’t outline; I just start and out it comes, a thousand words a day).
A week or so ago, I set the price for my 9 Tales of Henghis Hapthorn story collection ebook to zero, just to see if it leads to more sales of the other ebooks. If you’d like to pick one up for nothing, check Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, or the Archonate bookstore.
Another two stories sold
A couple of sales to report:
"Avianca's Bezel," a 15,000-word novelet, is another in a series of tales about Raffalon, my Dying Earthesque thief, sold to Gordon Van Gelder at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction;
"The Village," the fifth episode in the serialized novel, The Kaslo Chronicles, sold to John Joseph Adams at Lightspeed magazine.
"Avianca's Bezel," a 15,000-word novelet, is another in a series of tales about Raffalon, my Dying Earthesque thief, sold to Gordon Van Gelder at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction;
"The Village," the fifth episode in the serialized novel, The Kaslo Chronicles, sold to John Joseph Adams at Lightspeed magazine.
Raffalon rides again
I've sold a novelette to Gordon Van Gelder at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction: "Prisoner of Pandarius" is another episode in the adventures of my archetypal thief, Raffalon. And, yes, there is wizardry involved. I've teamed him up again with Cascor, the ex-cop turned wizard who came aboard in "Stones and Glass".
I think this represents my twenty-fifth sale to F&SF. I'm starting to feel like a regular.
I think this represents my twenty-fifth sale to F&SF. I'm starting to feel like a regular.
Rogues anthology will be out in June
The cross-genre anthology,
Rogues
, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, has had its release date moved up by the publisher, Bantam. It will now be in stores as of June 17, instead of the fall. My story in the antho is "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," a tale of Raffalon the thief and his uncomfortable relationship with a minor deity.
Another Raffalon novelette
I've sold "Telltale," another novelette about Raffalon the thief, to Gordon Van Gelder at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
Fans of Raffalon might like to consider purchasing Rogues, the George R.R. Martin/Gardner Dozois anthology of cross-genre stories, when it comes out in mid-June. It contains the original Raffalon tale, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," and a lot of other fine picaresque ficgtion from a stellar line-up of wordspinners.
The last Martin/Dozois cross-genre antho, Dangerous Women, hit the New York Times bestseler list when it came out last fall. I'm hoping Rogues follows the same trajectory.
Fans of Raffalon might like to consider purchasing Rogues, the George R.R. Martin/Gardner Dozois anthology of cross-genre stories, when it comes out in mid-June. It contains the original Raffalon tale, "The Inn of the Seven Blessings," and a lot of other fine picaresque ficgtion from a stellar line-up of wordspinners.
The last Martin/Dozois cross-genre antho, Dangerous Women, hit the New York Times bestseler list when it came out last fall. I'm hoping Rogues follows the same trajectory.
