“[James Lee Burke’s] novel, The Lost Get-Back Boogie was rejected 111 times over a period of nine years, and, upon publication by Louisiana State University Press in 1986, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.”

I don’t know if that is encouraging to other writers, or discouraging, given the magnitude of this man’s talent.

Get Wayfaring Stranger. Dave ( Read more... )

This is a very nice review of Myths, Metaphors, and Science Fiction, my first full-length venture into non-fiction.
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I was up again at 5.30 this morning, to work on “The Dolphin House.” To understand the strangeness of this, you need to know I was a night owl for most of my life.
The manuscript is up to 85,000 words, probably its limit. Now that the horrible (for me) slog through the first draft is done, the plot and characters just about jelled, the fun part ( Read more... )

I have an article in this issue of Lightspeedabout being female in the swcience fiction culture of the 80s. Out soon! Check it out.

http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/special-issues/women-destroy-sf/table-of-contents/

Useful Things Learned While Editing a First Draft:
1. “Hunt and peck” typists get worse with age and arthritis.
2. If you change the name of a town, use “Search and Replace” not memory to find usage. Not doing so leads to much confusion.
3. Decide, once and for all, on the spelling of a character’s name.
4. Unnamed “Spear-carriers” deserve respect too ( Read more... )

Tonight I took part in a service for Easter week at St Luke’s, “Women of the Cross.” It was a quiet, contemplative hour in a church lit mostly by candlelight, composed of gospel passages, stories and song about the women who also played a role in the events of the passion. The melancholy sound of a solo female voice in the darkened church,“Were you ( Read more... )

Myths, Metaphors, and Science Fiction is now available on the Aqueduct Press website:

http://www.aqueductpress.com/index.php

This is a piece about my writing method that Marleen Barr asked me to submit for an online journal (Deletions) she was guest -editing. In it we meet the pesky voice of my subconscious mind:

http://www.deletionscifi.org/episodes/murgatroyd-maybe/

I have no idea where the time went! (My last post was Christmas???)

The new, interim issue of the SFWA Bulletin has arrived, containing my Ray Bradbury tribute "Of Myth and Memory." This article (which also makes reference to the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, and one of my favorite SF writers, Catherine L. Moore)  is also the first chapter in my non- ( Read more... )

A day late, but none the less heartfelt Christmas wishes to you all.