Tag: Short Fiction

Upcoming New Anthology by Ian R. MacLeod

Posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2014

IanRMacLeodWe’re very happy to share with you the details of Ian R. MacLeod‘s upcoming new collection, FROST ON GLASS. The book is due to be published by PS Publishing in spring 2015.

Alongside ten of Ian’s best recent stories (each bookended by afterwords by the author) and a selection of his non-fiction, the collection includes a brand new eponymous story – ‘a dystopian novella set on a writers’ commune’ – and also a new essay about ‘that perennial subject of where writers get their ideas from’. This substantial volume, Ian writes, is ‘a big, fat Christmas pudding of a book.’ The title, he continues, ‘reflects the delights and frustrations of writing fiction, which is a theme which runs through much of the rest of FROST ON GLASS‘. Here’s the provisional table of contents (which may change, slightly)…

  • Introduction:  Don’t Look Back.
  • THE DISCOVERED COUNTRY  —  Afterword: Silver Machines
  • HECTOR DOUGLAS MAKES A SALE  —  Afterword: A Cul-de-Sac in Los Angeles
  • Foreword: Different Warts and All  —  A Truncated Life in Books
  • THE COLD STEP BEYOND  —  Afterword: The Future isn’t Real
  • A Concise and Ready Guide  —  Afterword: Bloody Dragons
  • An Empty Grey Cell of One’s Own
  • RE-CROSSING THE STYX  —  Afterword: On Being Dark
  • THE TRAVELLER AND THE BOOK  —  Afterword: On Writing Rubbish
  • I’ve Got This Idea For A Story…
  • THE CRANE METHOD  —  Afterword: Rejection
  • The Decline of the English Ghost story
  • LETTER TO WILL  — Afterword: Those Who Can’t…
  • Me and the Mushroom Cloud
  • TUMBLING NANCY  —  Afterword: Other Writers
  • FROST ON GLASS  —  Afterword: Writer’s Block
  • ENTANGLED  —  Afterword: Volcanoes and Dinosaurs

An exact publication date hasn’t yet been set, but we’ll be sure to share it with you as soon as we know. The same goes for the cover art, which is still in production.

Short Fiction Watch: Kari Sperring

Posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2014

Various-StarsOfDarkover2014-BlogIn our continuing series of posts highlighting our clients’ shorter fiction, today we can share with you the information about Kari Sperring‘s latest piece: HOUSE OF FIFTEEN WINDOWS, which will be included in the STARS OF DARKOVER anthology, the fourteenth in the Darkover anthology series.

The book is a collection as a tribute to the work of Marion Zimmer Bradley, and is due to be published by MZB Literary Works Trust, on June 3rd 2014 – this would have been Bradley’s 84th birthday.

Sperring is the author of the two fantasy novels, LIVING WITH GHOSTS and THE GRASS KING’S CONCUBINE – both published by DAW Books. Here’s some praise for her novels…

‘… worth picking up. The characterization in particular is well above what I normally expect from SF&F. The magic is interesting too: very subtly done… overall it is a very impressive debut. Here’s hoping there are more books to come.’ — Cheryl Morgan on LIVING WITH GHOSTS

‘Readers who are looking for a beautiful and original work of fantasy should pick up THE GRASS KING’S CONCUBINE. Sperring has said on her blog that she has plans for a sequel. I’m glad to hear it, and I will be interested to see what she does with the plots that are left hanging at the end of the first book. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable read, and I think that fans of thoughtful fantasy should give THE GRASS KING’S CONCUBINE a try.’  —  Strange Horizons

Kari is currently at work on her new novel, alongside other projects.