Halcyon Afternoon and Why I Wrote It

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This is a particularly pleasant time for me. To begin with, I'm at the World Fantasy Convention, where I'll see a lot of old friends and serve as toastmaster. And I have two new Mongolian Wizard stories coming out (I apologize for the delay), one today and one tomorrow at Reactor Magazine.

Today's story, "Halcyon Afternoon," is atypical for the series. It's not as violent as these stories tend to be. That's because I felt that after undergoing so much suffering and loss, Franz-Karl Ritter deserved at least one afternoon of contentment and bliss. Even his wolf, Freki, got the day off.

Of course... Ritter's luck being what it is, and all of Europe being entangled in a wizard war, the afternoon would not prove entirely blissful.

You can read the story here. Or you can find the entire series of Mongolian Wizard stories--ten so far--here. Or you can simply go to Reactor Magazine and wander about happily. It's full of great stories and terrific non-fiction.

And tomorrow . . .

Ritter's luck takes a downturn--along with everyone else's--in "Dragons of Paris." An old friend pops up, a relationship turns difficult, and a battle where victory seems certain goes sour.

(And now, I'm off to the convention!)

Above: Illustration by Dave Palumbo. It's not only beautiful but true to the story. I'm grateful for both of those.

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All Souls Night (Part 17 of 31)

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CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

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All Souls Night (Part 16 of 31)

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CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

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One Week E-Book Sale of Vacuum Flowers!!! One Full Week!!!

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Open Road Media, which publishes several of my e-books, has announced a one-week reduction in price of Vacuum Flowers. Starting this October 18 and running through October 25, 2024, it will be available for $1.99. That's in the US only.

So if you're an e-book reader and have been curious about my novel... well, there you are.

And if you don't already know . . .

Vacuum Flowers is what used to be called a Grand Tour of the Solar System. Rebel Elizabeth Mudlark is operating off of stolen wetware and on the run from very dangerous people. She arrives in the inner system on a cometary orbit, which takes her through a great variety of human and post-human societies, including the most dangerous one of all--Earth.

That bit about the cometary orbit is not incidental. Comets enter the Inner System on either a hyperbolic or a parabolic orbit. The one is open, the other closed. I knew that the book would end with Rebel Elizabeth Mudlark standing in the stardocks with a coffin at her feet. But I didn't know if the person within the coffin would be alive or dead or if REM would someday return to the Inner System or was leaving it forever. I only decided that when I came to write the last page.

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All Souls Night (Part 15 of 31)

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CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

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All Souls Night (Part 14 of 31)

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CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

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All Souls Night (Part 13 of 31)

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CONTINUED TOMORROW.

 

Above: Every Autumn, I write a Halloween story, write it out on leaves (one word per leaf), photograph the leaves, and then leave them where.I found them. The story is then serialized, starting on October 1 and concluding on the 31st--All Souls Day.

 

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