lists

There isn't much of a question that I've been a bad blogger lately, but I've been thinking about end of year lists that I enjoy doing every year.  There really isn't much chance that I'm going to get them out today or tomorrow, but I do hope to get them in the first week or two of January.  That seems reasonable.

So, just something to look forward to. 

Pelland and Bear

There is news.  More or less.

Elizabeth Bear has news:

This is probably a good time to mention that Subterranean will be doing an e-collection of all the previously uncollected New Amsterdam stories, including “Almost True,” “The Tricks of London,” “Twilight,” and “Underground,” and either one or two new ones, depending on how many pages it takes me to dispatch my ideas.

I also may or may not have sold “Faster Gun,” the story frequently known as “John Henry Holiday Is Sick Of These Time Traveling Assholes,” to Tor.com, but I can’t actually tell you until they send me a contract. Ahem.

There may also be some good news on the horizon regarding a short story collection, but until paperwork is signed, that’s all I can tell you about that.

Starting from the top (which is actually the second paragraph from Bear's post) - Great news, and I may have to pick it up despite my disinterest in ebooks if there are new stories in it.  I've the chapbooks for "The Tricks of London" and "Twilight", and will get "Underground" when I order up the limited edition of ad eternum (which I should really do soon).  On the other hand, I'd love a print edition of this e-collection.  Because I like print editions of awesome stuff.

Bear's last two Tor.com stories were "The Horrid Glory of Its Wings" (review) and "The Girl Who Sang Rose Madder" (review).  Both were excellent, so should that mystical contract arrive, I very much look forward to reading "Faster Gun".  But then, I tend to very much enjoy reading anything that Bear writes, be it novel or short fiction.

Which brings us to the third quoted paragraph.  I've been hoping for a new collection for some time now, but it's kind of like talking about a new Promethean Age novel - I want what I probably can't have and it's completely out of Bear's hands.  So, here's hoping that we catch the horizon for this one.


In Jennifer Pelland news: The first chapter of her debut novel Machine is up for reading over at Apex.  I've been looking for this one since I first learned of the sale.  I absolutely adore her short fiction and can't wait to read Machine. 

As such, I am not going to read the first chapter.  I want to wait until I can read the whole thing at once.  You can also buy the book.

Night Shade Books: One Year Later

So often we focus on the big story of the day, but then never think to find out what happens after the spotlight has shifted to another "Big Story of the Day".  When I say "we", I place myself at the forefront of "we".  This is fairly normal, I think. 

The thing is, the follow up is also part of the story and if we were interested enough to engage with the original story, we should engage in checking back in to see if there is any resolution. 

What brings this up is that Rose Fox posted an update to last year's Night Shade situation. 

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check out Post 1 and Post 2.  As a result, the SFWA placed Night Shade Books on a one year probation to give them the chance to get their act together. 

According to the SFWA, they did.  Probation has been lifted and Night Shade remains a qualifying market for authors.  See Rose Fox's post for the full SFWA letter regarding this.

Awesome. 

I have long been a fan of the work Night Shade publishes and I'm glad that the issues were able to be resolved, though I'm still saddened that they ever had to occur in the first place.