Blurbing: 2 for 2!
So in my life, I can only recall being approached for blurb twice. Both times this actually happened with one of RoF's current Nebula nominees, Christopher Kastensmidt. I had actually forgotten about both times, but as you might imagine, I've recently been swapping a number of emails with Chris. During the course of these emails, something prompted me to visit the website that he created for his S&S/historical fantasy duo that has earned him his Nebula nomination with their inaugural adventure.
It had been a while since the last time I visited the site, so I got to poking around. And in the quotes section, I came upon this awesome little number: “I expect Christopher Kastensmidt’s dynamic S&S duo of Gerard Van Oost and Oludara to do wonderful things in the future.”
- Douglas Cohen, Editor of Realms of Fantasy
As I said, I had forgotten all about this. When Realms of Fantasy closed under Sovereign Media, we had Chris' story in inventory. I was rather glum that it wouldn't see publication with us, as I thought this story was awesome and was excited to have discovered it in the slush. So in one of my LJ posts following the magazine's closure, I happened to write the above sentence about about Chris' characters. From there, the magazine was rescued by Warren Lapine and we ended up publishing Chris' story after all. Shortly before we published the story, Chris was putting the finishing touches on the website I linked to above. He contacted me, asking me if he could use this quote on the site. I was flattered, and being as I believed every last word of what I wrote, I told him to go ahead.
When I saw this quote tonight, a few minutes later I recalled the second time Chris asked me for a quote.
You see, a few months later, Chris was doing some heavy promoting for his story in Brazil, which is where he lives and also where the story takes place. I received another email from him, explaining to me that he had an interview set up with a TV station there that was interested in the attention his story was receiving here in the States, and they asked him for a press release. So he asked me if I would mind giving him a quote to use in the release. So I went through my emails files and dug up what I passed along to him:
"Truly memorable characters within sword & sorcery literature are rare. As numerous authors have learned over the years, it is a Herculean task to step out of the shadows of Robert E. Howard's Conan, Michael Moorcock's Elric, and Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser. Perhaps a handful of others can be added to this list, no more. With Gerard van Oost and Oludara, Christopher Kastensmidt has given me reason to hope this exclusive club has just admitted its two latest members. This duo is fresh and different--as is the setting of a magical colonial Brazil--yet at same time their adventures hearken back to everything that makes me love this field. It is a merger of old and new, and I look forward to the next installment in this universe."
So am I patting myself on the back here? Yeah, a little bit. :) But at the same time, I wouldn't have passed along either of these quotes to Chris unless I meant them. So now that the initial euphoria has passed from seeing one of my slush survivors score a Nebula nomination, I have to admit that stumbling across these quotes does make me smile all over again. It's a fantastic tale, and I'm honored not just to have found it in the slush, but also be one of the first people to predict that it would go on bigger and better things after seeing publication with us. And yes, I'm also pleased that I'm 2 for 2 with my blurbing career! :)
It had been a while since the last time I visited the site, so I got to poking around. And in the quotes section, I came upon this awesome little number: “I expect Christopher Kastensmidt’s dynamic S&S duo of Gerard Van Oost and Oludara to do wonderful things in the future.”
- Douglas Cohen, Editor of Realms of Fantasy
As I said, I had forgotten all about this. When Realms of Fantasy closed under Sovereign Media, we had Chris' story in inventory. I was rather glum that it wouldn't see publication with us, as I thought this story was awesome and was excited to have discovered it in the slush. So in one of my LJ posts following the magazine's closure, I happened to write the above sentence about about Chris' characters. From there, the magazine was rescued by Warren Lapine and we ended up publishing Chris' story after all. Shortly before we published the story, Chris was putting the finishing touches on the website I linked to above. He contacted me, asking me if he could use this quote on the site. I was flattered, and being as I believed every last word of what I wrote, I told him to go ahead.
When I saw this quote tonight, a few minutes later I recalled the second time Chris asked me for a quote.
You see, a few months later, Chris was doing some heavy promoting for his story in Brazil, which is where he lives and also where the story takes place. I received another email from him, explaining to me that he had an interview set up with a TV station there that was interested in the attention his story was receiving here in the States, and they asked him for a press release. So he asked me if I would mind giving him a quote to use in the release. So I went through my emails files and dug up what I passed along to him:
"Truly memorable characters within sword & sorcery literature are rare. As numerous authors have learned over the years, it is a Herculean task to step out of the shadows of Robert E. Howard's Conan, Michael Moorcock's Elric, and Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser. Perhaps a handful of others can be added to this list, no more. With Gerard van Oost and Oludara, Christopher Kastensmidt has given me reason to hope this exclusive club has just admitted its two latest members. This duo is fresh and different--as is the setting of a magical colonial Brazil--yet at same time their adventures hearken back to everything that makes me love this field. It is a merger of old and new, and I look forward to the next installment in this universe."
So am I patting myself on the back here? Yeah, a little bit. :) But at the same time, I wouldn't have passed along either of these quotes to Chris unless I meant them. So now that the initial euphoria has passed from seeing one of my slush survivors score a Nebula nomination, I have to admit that stumbling across these quotes does make me smile all over again. It's a fantastic tale, and I'm honored not just to have found it in the slush, but also be one of the first people to predict that it would go on bigger and better things after seeing publication with us. And yes, I'm also pleased that I'm 2 for 2 with my blurbing career! :)