The Way of the Wizard
I've announced this elsewhere, but a few months ago I sold my story "Too Fatal a Poison" to The Way of the Wizard. About a month away from launch, and I can finally stop holding my breath--it's really going to happen!
It's a tremendously exciting sale for me. I've always loved wizard stories and this anthology is a marvelous mix of superstars and newer writers--and I feel awfully lucky to be in such esteemed company. Every time I look at the TOC, I have to find the nearest fainting couch, while I recover my wits.
Many thanks to all of you who gave me invaluable feedback, making "Too Fatal" a far, far better story than it was--especially you old crotchety Salooners (yes, this means you, Mr. Cody, Mr. Newman, and Mr. justinhowe ), Jeanne Cavelos, and Michael J. Deluca, aka boonofdoom . Thank you!
Beyond my joy in "Too Fatal" finding such an extraordinary home, I would be very remiss if I didn't acknowledge the special debt this story owes to John Joseph Adams.
Here's what happened. A while back, I sent an early version of "Too Fatal" to F&SF. John picked it out of the slush, contacted me, offered excellent editorial input--both gentle and incisive--and worked with me on the resulting rewrite.
While F&SF ultimately passed on the story, John stayed in touch with me, followed what was happening with that particular story and then, when he was putting together The Way of the Wizard anthology, encouraged me to submit "Too Fatal". Luckily, he still believed in the story and was able to find a slot for it in his anthology.
All of which makes him kind of a godfather for "Too Fatal," and one to whom I am very grateful.
Makes you believe in editors everywhere, doesn't it? And even the merits of the slush pile!
For those of you who have an interest, the anthology should be available in November, at bricks-n-mortar locales. Or, at Prime Books, or, of course, here.
And, to whet your wizard's wand, cover art and TOC.