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Over at The Intergalactic Medicine Show, reviewer, novelist, and fellow Codexii James Maxey serves up a review of my novel Buffalito Destiny. James does take me to task at one point, saying often in this book you can substitute the word "alien" with "magic." It's not exactly hard SF. That's a fair criticism. But then, my protagonist is a stage hypnotist, not a physicist. Maybe there is a hard SF explanation for how buffalo dogs do their thing, but I wouldn't expect the Amazing Conroy to know it any more than most people with drivers' licenses know how to build an internal combustion engine. That doesn't make cars magical, but I understand where James is coming from. Some readers expect a bit more explanation, and I surely did take the easy way out. But then, like Conroy, I'm not a physicist either. On the other hand, he also said this in his review: The greatest strength of the book is that the author is obviously in love with his characters. He wrote a book that he was passionate about, no doubt aware that it wasn't exactly mainstream fare. The book has a genuine urgency to it, as if Schoen is certain this story needs to be told, and only he can tell it.This reminds me of my view on teaching from my years in academia: If you're going to stand up in front of a room of 18-22 year olds, morning after morning, you'd damn well better be passionate about what you're trying to teach. And you should be, because the discipline is something you've opted to dedicate your life to sharing. Otherwise, get the hell out, you're wasting your time and your students' time. If a similar passion is coming through in my novel, then I'm well pleased. And speaking of being well pleased, James Maxey's short story, "Silent as Dust," is available for free at IGMS through the end of the year. Go read it. It's brilliant! Here's the link.Tags: conroyverse, reviews
Current Mood:  pensive
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Those of you who know me well know what an insufferable prick I can be when it comes to gifts. This is because there's very little that I want, and what little I want I usually just go and get for myself (you know, like books). This make gifting situations (e.g., my birthday) a living hell for my wife. This year for Hanukkah she insisted that she had found eight gifts that I would really really like. I was dumbfounded at the idea. Eight gifts I'd like? Holy octuplified oil, Batman, I'd be happy with one gift that I really liked. Here's one of the gifts, my very own dalek:  Okay, okay, so it's actually a step stool, but it looks enough like a dalek, and it glides so smoothly across the floor that I'm sure I heard it saying "Exterminate!" at least once. It's very very cool, and just exactly what I needed for the library (I have a folding step ladder, but it's a pain, doesn't hide away well when not in use, and doesn't make me hallucinate that it's calling for my destruction). What a great gift! Current Mood:  cold
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Friday's visit for an ultrasound revealed that the "mass" on Lucie's adrenal gland has not grown. It hasn't gone away, but the lack of any increase in size means it is not a tumor. This is very good news because had it been a tumor the likelihood of a successful surgery (i.e., one that not only removed the tumor but also left the dog alive after the procedure) was very low. However, Lucie still has Cushing's Disease, which means her adrenals are not producing the right levels of several different hormones. However, since she doesn't have a tumor, this probably means we will go ahead with a chemical treatment which will, in effect, wipe out her adrenal glands ability to manufacture any hormones (or that's how I understand it, anyway). The result will be that we will then have to orally provide daily doses of hormones to her, which won't be so bad if we're lucky enough to figure out the right mixture/balance sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Gej had his first puppy class on Saturday morning. The class only had two other puppies (and one of them belonged to an employee). A lot of it was very basic, things that anyone who had ever had a dog should already have known. But it's good to be reminded all the same (my last dog was more than ten years ago). I did learn a few new things, and the next two sessions promise to be quite useful. Also, Gej got to play with other dogs, and that kind of socialization is very good for him. The sooner he learns to play nice and get along, the sooner we can move toward therapy dog training. I'm looking forward to more walkies with him around the neighborhood, but that didn't happen today because of the ice and snow that has lingered. Phooey. Tags: gej, lucie
Current Mood:  content
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Actual email (names removed to protect the clueless) rendered in bold, because it still burns in my brain:The website isn't really specific. I think the mistake is that I sent a pdf file instead of a rtf. I'm not even sure what an rtf is. I've submitted to past companies as pdf files or with the samples chapters in the body of the email. Can you help me out with what I did wrong. The website doesn't say whether to send a synopsis, sample chapters, or the novella in its entirety.My not-so-patient reply:On the contrary, [name deleted], the website is very specific: "We are currently open for novella submissions (speculative fiction in the range of 20K to 40K words) for consideration in future issues of Alembical. Submissions should be sent as RTF attachments to papergolemsubs@gmail.com"Other than requesting "standard manuscript format," we have only three guidelines: 1) submissions should be novellas in the range of 20K to 40K words. 2) submissions should be sent as RTF files. 3) submissions should be sent to the proper email address. You failed at two out of three. You sent a couple chapters. Not what I asked for. Submit the entire novella. Hence the website mentioning "novella submissions." You sent a summary. Again, not what I asked for. You sent your files as MS Word DOC files (not PDF files as you seem to think). The guidelines specifically ask for RTF files. If you're not familiar with this, expend a little effort to find out. Seriously. I don't know if you managed "standard manuscript format" since you didn't send me anything I asked for I didn't bother to open the files and look. Here's the thing, [name deleted]: editors are looking for good stories, but they're also looking for people who can follow directions. Otherwise, even with a good story, walking the author through the editorial and publishing process is going to be a nightmare. Viewed that way, even Paper Golem's relatively simple guidelines are a test. You're welcome to try again, with a clean slate. Regards, Lawrence M. Schoen, Ph.D. Publisher, Paper Golem LLC Tags: paper golem
Current Mood:  frustrated
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