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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