Writer. Archer. Animal Doctor.

I can clearly recall the first time I heard Thoraiya Dyer's name. I'd never met her, yet I was incredibly jealous and was filled with an instant and illogical dislike. I even wanted to throw rocks at her. Of course at that time I had no idea she was not only a superb writer, but an archer.

After I started reading some of her work, the jealousy became adoration and worship ('Damn, I wish I could write like her' levels) and the dislike for her subsided. But it was only at the launch of Anywhere But Earth launch I finally had a chance to meet her. As she passed I noticed her name tag, and mentioned I'd loved her novella, 'The Company Articles of Edward Teach', and wished I'd brought it with me for her to sign. She looked at my name tag and mentioned she read my blog. Sure, I thought, nice thing to say. And then she mentioned a post I'd made a couple of weeks prior.

A short time late Thoraiya became the first person ever to ask me to sign my work.

Over the past year or so, Thoraiya has been incredibly supportive. Emails with just the right words at the right time, advice, shared commiserations, praise and encouragement - even listening to my occasional grumble. More than that, though, she continues to be a writer I hold in awe. Her ability to shape words, create worlds and to carry me away into another time and place amazes me.

More than that, I continue to be grateful a multi-award winning author treats me, a relatively unknown writer, as a peer.

One day, I'll get the opportunity to spend a little more time with Thoraiya. Perhaps I'll even buy her a drink or two and tell her the story of that early dislike.

A collection of four new stories, Asymmetry, is slated for release (as part of the fabulous Twelve Planets series) through Twelfth Planet Press in early 2013. Go on. Check it out.

Maybe you'll be jealous too.

2011 Aurealis Awards.

Congratulations to all the winners at last night's Aurealis Awards. I've read most of the winning titles, and enjoyed them all. I'd like to specifically mention a few of the winners.

I'm currently attending Jack Dann's workshop on Spec-Fic, and so I've gotten to know him a little as a mentor. Ghosts by Gaslight, edited by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers is a fantastic collection. Congratulations, Jack.

The late Paul Haines was, of course, my mentor for several months, and then became a friend with whom I was in regular contact. The Past is a Bridge Best Left Burnt from The Last Days of Kali Yuga is wonderful, and fully deserves the award.

I first met Thoraiya Dyer at the launch of Anywhere But Earth in November of last year. I'm proud to be sharing a TOC with her in FableCroft's upcoming anthology Epilogue. Her story, Fruit of the Pipal Tree in After The Rain is a most worthy winner also.

Robert N Stephenson's story, Rains of la Strange, shared a TOC with my own So Sad, The Lighthouse Keeper in Anywhere But Earth. Congratulations to Rob, and publisher/editor Keith Stevenson.

I've met Kim Westwood on a few occasions, and also shared a TOC with her in the above anthology. The Courier's New Bicycle is an excellent novel. Congrats, Kim.

Twelfth Planet author, Sue Isle picked up an award for Nation of the Night, while Lisa Hannett scored a couple for Ticonderoga's excellent collection Bluegrass Symphony and the short story The Short Go: a Future in Eight Seconds. I thoroughly enjoyed these works when I read them.

I wasn't able to justify flying up to Sydney for the ceremony, but it sounds like everyone had a great time. One of these years I'll get there. In the meantime, I've had a great week. I sold two stories, had a rewrite request on another, and have two stories on hold.

If I keep at it, maybe one day I'll be fortunate enough to be nominated for an Aurealis.

Think Small.

I've recently been amazed at some of the stories I've read in Analog, Asimov's, and Fantasy & Science Fiction. Not at the quality - quite the opposite. I was amazed they made it into the pages of the big three.

Sure, there's been some great stories too. But recently it seems as though the quality in those magazines has become increasingly inconsistent. At first I figured it was just a matter of taste, that the stories I thought were average were simply stories I didn't like. But when I analysed those stories, I discovered they contained a number of aspects that only a beginning writer should be guilty of. Lazy writing, infodumps, irrelevant scenes, corny dialog, and ridiculous coincidences pulled out of the hat at the last minute. And considering these mags receive hundreds of submissions every month and can pick and choose to their heart's content, it either says something about their selection process, or the scarcity of good writing out there.

What I am starting to realise is that some of the best stories around are, instead, to be found on  the pages of anthologies from small presses. Coeur de Lion, Twelfth Planet, FableCroft, Ticonderoga, to name a few Australian ones. Unfortunately, these publications don't get the exposure or respect they deserve.

Locus magazine continues to review every story in every issue of the big three (plus a swag of other pro mags) while ignoring so many smaller ones. While I understand they obviously receive far too many books to read and review, I would suggest that it's the 'other' magazines and anthologies that actually need the support of Locus. The big three are going to sell those issues anyway - particularly since the reviews usually come out well after the mags are off the news-stands.

Keith Stevenson, of Coeur De Lion, for example, recently lamented the difficulty he has in getting his books reviewed. And, of course, if books aren't reviewed and seen, they don't sell, and then they don't get placed on recommended reading lists or awards shortlists - no matter how good they are. Stevenson's Anywhere But Earth has received fantastic ratings and reviews on Goodreads, but has barely raised a blip elsewhere. And this is despite his previous anthology, X6, being placed on the Locus recommended reading list and winning a number of awards.

I was a little surprised recently when a local reviewer told me they had trouble accessing release information on local small press anthologies. I wouldn't have thought it was that difficult. 'Like' their Facebook page, regularly visit their web page, subscribe to a newsletter - whatever.

Support your small publishers, and tell others.

Reading And Writing.

It's important to keep up to date.

I recently read an anthology of short stories from a (very) small press.  There was nothing startling about the collection. One story stood out as excellent, a couple I thought were merely OK, while the rest were, in my opinion, quite below standard.

It so happens that I've seen the author of one of those 'below standard' pieces online - bragging about the sale and obviously  very proud. And I have absolutely no problem with that. It's a little unfortunate that in their naivety they haven't recognised the level at which they have been published. I did, however, have a chuckle when the writer started suggesting the story was truly original, completely brilliant and was even talking about major awards.

It was simply obvious to me that the writer hadn't read much SF.

While the writing was fairly uninspired and flat, the real problem was the story was one that I've read many times before. And I picked the ending in the first paragraph or so.

It's important for a writer to know the history of their genre. And to keep up to date.

When I submitted one of my first stories (So Sad, The Lighthouse Keeper) to a well known small press, the editor told me that I'd obviously read a lot and all that reading had paid off. He told me that it showed in the confident and calm manner of the writing and the descriptive prose. He then advised me that the story wasn't done yet, rejected it and broke my heart.

And damn his eyes, he was right. It needed more work.

I try to keep my reading broad. I read a lot of non-fiction, not just science but historical, biographical, travel - anything that takes my interest. Fiction-wise, I read almost anything - stories of all genres and all lengths. I regularly read Asimov's, Andromeda, Analog, and a couple of others. I can even tell you the differences between the purchasing tastes of Sheila Williams, Gordon Van Gelder and Stanley Schmidt.

And don't forget local small press. I read what I can from the markets I sub to. I try to ensure I know what Ticonderoga, Fablecroft and Twelfth Planet are publishing.

After all, if I plan to sell to these markets, I must know what they're buying.

Aussie.

I've posted before about how great it is to be part of the Aussie Spec Fic community. They are generally courteous, professional, supporting and encouraging.

They are also very talented.

It's no surprise that Australia is so successful in the Writers of the Future contest. In fact, Australians win more WOTF awards per entry than any other country. Sean Williams told me that.

And our small press is alive and healthy. Quietly producing quality anthologies and collections with hardly a blip on the radar.

And so congratulations must go to Alisa Krasnostein at Twelfth Planet Press on winning the World Fantasy Award (Non-professional).

I often hear of writers that sub to small press magazines and anthologies but don't buy any.

Support the writers, support the small press, subscribe to a magazine or buy a couple of books. Twelfth Planet is a great place to start.

A Most Excellent Week.

Yes, I'm still grinning. Anywhere But Earth is beautiful, lovely to look at and hold. And now that I'm reading it, I find it even more delightful (and I haven't even reached my story yet!)

It seems to be doing well on Amazon, having climbed many thousands in their ranking system (although that could reflect only a handful of sales) and has broken into the top 100 of Amazon's SF Anthology list.

It's available in eBook and paperback here.

And, of course, I'm heading up to Sydney for the launch next Saturday. (info here) Hope to see you there.

But beyond that, I've received very positive feedback on a story (send positive vibes in that direction, please), rewritten and subbed two more, and subbed a third that was just waiting for the right market.

Which means I now have TEN stories out in the submission wildwoods.

And that is a personal record.

I am cautiously optimistic for at least three of those stories. And I expect to hear back from editors on a couple in the next week or so.

But then again, submission land is a strange and weird place that works in mysterious ways.

Speaking of which, two excellent posts on submission caught my attention this week. Tehani Wessely and Alisa Krasnostein are both lovely people and excellent editors, and I'm not just saying that because I'm hopeful of selling stories to their presses. I would point out I met them at Worldcon last year, and they certainly have their evil sides, as in when they held me down and forced me to purchase their books.

But they are currently producing high quality anthologies through their award winning and respected presses, FableCroft and Twelfth Planet. 

If you're interested in subbing, and doing it right, the advice in these posts is invaluable.