Swords Against Boredom

I got word today from Baen Books, where my novel “Sundered” has been under review.

It was not the word I wanted.

After a two-year process of lost emails, misplaced manuscripts, editorial shakeups and just plain delays caused by a heavy workload, Baen rejected the manuscript. That follows on the heels of a short story that was rejected after it sat in slush at a major market for more than a year.

Egads. Read more »

Editor Paul Jessup reports the second issue of GrendelSong magazine will ship April 22, a bit later than planned.

The issue will include The Gods-forsaken World, my third tale of Calthus, the resurrected sword-and-sorcery hero wandering in a world that has forgotten him and the empire he once served. You can order a copy of GrendelSong No. 2 here.

– Steve

Rob Santa of Ricasso Press reports that he has received 100 submissions so far for his upcoming “Black Dragon, White Dragon” anthology. He’s accepted eight stories to date.

He also shared some statistics about those 100 submissions, and I thought it interesting enough to pass on here: Read more »

Rejections are part of this business, and I don’t worry too much about them anymore. The best response to a rejection is to send the story to another editor.

But now and then you get a rejection that seems sort of … goofy. Here’s a quote from one I received from “Blood, Blade and Thruster” recently on a story about Otrossius, the overbearing demigod:

I thought you had a fun story in there, but your prose was, for me, too verbose. Too many big words where they weren’t needed.

Considering myself a professional who tries to learn from feedback, I took a look at the story. Of the 2,300 words, 85 were of three syllables or more. That works out to about 3.6 percent of the total. Only 20 of those topped three syllables. I exclude the hero’s name from the list, because it pretty much has to be in there a few times. Read more »

Here are a few things I hope never to see in fantasy stories ever again … Read more »

Things people have written or said about my fiction — either in reviews, online forums, emails or acceptances or rejections: Read more »

Otrossius and Lacius, my comical sword-and-sorcery duo, finally have moved beyond my hard drive and critique groups.

“Otrossius and the Drake Who Bothered No One” will appear in the “Black Dragon, White Dragon” anthology from Ricasso Press. Fantasy writer Rob Santa is the brains behind the operation. Read more »