Not So News

Below are the faded bits of yestermonth—kept around because you never know what people will google on. New news is on the homepage.

Spring '08

Finally, a date with my publisher

Just got news that we have an official publication date for Pandemonium, my first novel: August 26, 2008. You can even pre-order the book on the Del Rey/Random House website for only $13, a move recommended only for the brave at heart, or people who are my mother. I mean, there's not even a cover for it yet—so ordering now is the very definition of buying it sight unseen.

This is not the cover, but an image I've been using on my PR materials, but it's all I've got for now: 

Last, a little Hebrew grammar lesson

My story "Second Person, Present Tense" is now appearing on the Israeli SF webzine Bli Panika, which translates as "Don't Panic." I can't read a word of it, but my thanks to the translator, Ehud Maimon, and Bli-Panika's editor Rami Shal'heveth, who provided very cool illustrations for the story.

— Daryl, 2/4/2008

 

Fall '07

The blog has moved! Long live the blog!

I was getting tired of fighting with my web hosting provider, so I moved this site, but also decided to have the blog hosted elsewhere. If you subscribed to the blog's RSS feed, you may want to redirect to http://darylgregory.wordpress.com/feeds/  

The "Pick Six" interview with Heidi

It's a simple gimmick: Heidi Ruby Miller sends a writer 12 questions, the writer picks six to answer, and hijinks ensue. You can see what I said and what I avoided saying at Heidi's blog.

 

Summer '07

"Damascus" appearing in a couple "Year's Best" anthologies

The novelette "Damascus," which appeared in the December '06 issue of F&SF, is reappearing right now in two "Best of the Year" anthologies, The Year's Best Science Fiction, 24th Annual Collection,  edited by Gardner Dozois, and Best SF 12, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.

Cool thing: Getting to share the table o' contents with friends. In the Dozois edition "Damascus" will be back to back with "Life on the Preservation" by  Jack Skillingstead—you gotta read his stuff if you aren't a reader already. And in Best SF 12 one of my table partners will be Heather Lindsley -- her story "Just Do It" is satire with an ending that sneaks up on you and bites hard.

"Damascus" also made the Locus Magazine Recommended Reading List for 2006.

"Unpossible" now not unpublished

On the stands now in the October/November "All-Star Anniversary" Double Issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction—a story about all those children who had fantastic adventures in the  "lands beyond", and what happens when they hit 50, realize that life hasn't lived up to the storybook ending, and try to go back. (Hint: You can't go back.)

Rich Horton of Locus picked it as a recommended story for the month—you can read his review and others.

"Unpossible," as well as "Dead Horse Point" which appeared earlier in the year at Asimov's, have been picked up by two different "Year's Best" anthologies. I'll be more specific as soon as I get the contracts signed.

Upcoming Appearances

Coming up soon I'll be at the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs, NY, on November 1-4, 2007. Come hang out with me and ex-upstater, current frontman for Attic of Love, and once-and-future King of Beautiful Sentences, sf writer Andrew Tisbert.  Andrew and Jack Skillingstead will both be in an upcoming issue Talebones—issue 35 to be exact.

July '07

"Dead Horse Point" on the stands now

The August issue of Asimov's is out now, with "Dead Horse Point" in there somewhere. Tangent Online called it "a poignant tale of love and desperation." Full Review.

Gabriel McKee has an interesting discussion of the story in SF Gospel, his blog focused on "explorations of religion in science ficiton and popular culture." He raises the point that concept of space-time in the story is similar to Augustinian eternalism. I would have mentioned eternalism in the story, except I didn't know about it until I read McKee's blog. I should really read the reviews before I write—that would save time and make me look smarter.

 

Yucking it up at the Nebulas

I had a fantastic weekend at the Nebulas, held in NYC this year. Here's a picture somebody in SFWA snapped at the after-banquet party. Left to right, that's Jack Skillingstead (prolific writer guy, looking as snazzy as a Beat Poet), Christine Cohen (super agent—who sold Pandemonium to the guy to my left and your right), Me (talking about eating baby octopi at a Korean barbecue), and Fleetwood Robbins (editor, Man of Destiny, KoreaTown Guide, etc.).

 

Second Person, First Biology Blog

Here's a wide-ranging post on the Biology in Science Fiction Blog that starts with my story "Second Person, Present Tense" and roams far afield on recent research on consciousness: "Second Person, Present Tense" and the Zombie Within

Panda What?

The contracts have been signed. Right now I'm working on the edits for Pandemonium, my first novel, which will appear from Del Rey Books next sumer. They also purchased a book to be named later, which, as you might guess, hasn't been named, though I'm thinking of calling it "Patricia Jolie-Pitt."

"Damascus" appearing in a couple "Year's Best" anthologies

The novelette "Damascus," which appeared in the December '06 issue of F&SF, is reappearing this summer in two "Best of the Year" anthologies, The Year's Best Science Fiction, 24th Annual Collection,  edited by Gardner Dozois, and Best SF 12, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.

The Best SF 12 book is out now. Get 'em while they're still that blazing red/orange hot. 

Cool thing: Getting to share the table o' contents with friends. In the Dozois edition "Damascus" will be back to back with "Life on the Preservation" by  Jack Skillingstead—you gotta read his stuff if you aren't a reader already. And in Best SF 12 one of my table partners will be Heather Lindsley -- her story "Just Do It" is satire with an ending that sneaks up on you and bites hard.

"Damascus" also made the Locus Magazine Recommended Reading List for 2006.

March '07

Del Rey likes me, they really like me—or at least my novel

Del Rey Books editor Fleetwood Robbins has made an offer to buy Pandemonium, my first novel—as well as a book to be named later. The contract details are still being worked out, and there's no publish date yet, but I'll post more details as I get them.

I'm still feeling a bit thunderstruck. Doctors assure me that the ringing in my ears will eventually die down.

There are too many people to thank for getting me through the writing and marketing of this book (starting with Kathy, Kathy, and Kathy), but here's a big shout out to my agent, Chrstine Cohen of the Virginia Kidd Agency, for tipping that last row of dominoes and getting the book into Fleetwood's hands. Say YAY-ah!

Voted off Nebula island

My story "Second Person, Present Tense" was on the preliminary Nebula ballot, but didn't survive to the final round. But for a limited time you can still read the story (for free, natch) on the Asimov's website.

I'm going to the Nebula banquet anyway, just so I can steal the breadstricks. In a major act of niceness, Asimov's editor Sheila Williams invited Kathy and I to sit at her table as guests of the magazine.  As my friend Andy said, "As far I can tell, free food is more important than a Nebula."  

Oh, and here's the Final Nebula Ballot. I have to admit that there's some excellent stuff on that list.

Future stories (not actually set in the future)

A couple other stories are scheduled to come out sometime in the new year, but I don't know when exactly.

"Unpossible," which will be appearing in F&SF, is about what happens when those adventurous heroes of children's books grow up—or refuse to.

And Asimov's will be publishing "Dead Horse Point," a story about free will, quantum mechanics, and the debts of friendship, all set in my favorite Utah state park. It'll probably be in the August issue.

December '06

The Early Christmas Gift to Me

Sheila Williams, editor of Asimov's, just e-mailed me to say she's picking up "Dead Horse Point," a story about quantum mechanics, the demands of friendship and kinship, and whether the universe permits any such thing as free will—set in my favorite state park. 

November '06

Offensive? Check. Shocking? Roger.

"Damascus" is a story of mine appearing in the December issue of F&SF, now on the stands, and the reviews are starting to come in.  

Janice Clark of Tangent Online said of the story, "Chillingly realistic, it presents a glimpse of what could happen if even one ambitious, efficient medical professional were convinced that bio-terrorism was the road to salvation… You may find parts of this story offensive or shocking, but you definitely won’t find it dull." Full review.

Locus Magazine's Nick Gevers also used the "chilling" word in his review. Maybe I'm freaking people out. But Mr. Gevers did pick it as a recommended story for the month and finished with this: "'Damascus' is a potent addition to SF's literature about matters spiritual, and surely, for its courage and sympathy, deserves an award or two." Full review.

Get a copy and test your stomach now!

Or consider the unpossible

In '07 watch for a much sweeter story in F&SF: "Unpossible." None of the deaths in that story happen on stage.

No One Likes How they Sound on the Radio (and I don't either)

I did a radio book review of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods for WPSU, our local public radio station. The book was the 2006 choice of Centre County Reads, a local organization I'm part of that finds a book for the entire county to read, and then organizes events and discussion groups around the book. The review only confirms that I possess not only a face perfect for radio, but a voice perfect for print. 

 

October '06

Not much to say: "Damascus" will be in the December '06 issue of F&SF—and it's a creepy one. A much sweeter story, "Unpossible," will be in that magazine sometime next year.

September '06

I've almost recovered from WorldCon. Four nights staying up to 3am (6am my time) had me remembering that I'm not that young anymore. Most Alarming Sight: the skinny guy dressed as Violet from The Incredibles. Most Alarming Sound: Adam Rakunas' recording of William Shatner and Henry Rollins rapping. Most Alarming Zombie Chant (courtesy Heather Lindsley): "What do we want? BRAINS! When do we want them? BRAINS!!!"

On the writing front, there are some upcoming stories my Mom should buy:  "Damascus"—a weird, dark SF story about bio-terrorism, cannibalism, and your own personal Jesus—will be in the December '06 issue of F&SF, and the short fantasy "Unpossible" will be in that magazine sometime next year.

August '06

In August I'll be at L.A. Con IV, AKA WorldCon, AKA The 64th World Science Fiction Convention.  Ah, to be in Los Angeles in August, along with thousands of other people, many of them dressed as Klingons, some of them even attending the convention. My people!

Speaking of cons, I had a great time at Confluence, a small con in Pittsburgh that ran July 28–30. No one dressed as a Klingon. My thanks to Laurie and Jim Mann and the Confluence folks for inviting me.

Back to our regularly scheduled narcissism: Buy my stories! Now out on the shelves are the Year's Best annuals, and "Second Person, Present Tense" is in Hartwell and Cramer's Year's Best Science Fiction 11 and Gardner Dozois' Year's Best Science Fiction 23. Get both, then write a compare & contrast essay. 

Down the road, a new novelette called "Damascus" will appear in F&SF, exact publish date not yet set, but it will probably be in one of the cold months. And another short story, "Unpossible" will be in F&SF sometime even later.

Don't worry, I'll let you know when they're out. Why? Because blatant self-promotion is all about consistency. Staying on message. Protecting the Brand. All Daryl, All the Time.

But enough about me. What do you think of me?

 

July '06

I forgot to update the site. Nobody noticed.

June '06

Con Games:

Come have a beer with me at Confluence, a small con in Pittsburgh going on July 28–30. Geoffrey Landis is the Guest of Honor, a writer who in his spare time puts robots on Mars (nice hobby). Also there will be fellow State Collegian Jim Morrow and ex-Penn State professor and living legend William Tenn (AKA Phill Klass).

In August I'll be at L.A. Con IV, AKA WorldCon, AKA The 64th World Science Fiction Convention.  Ah, to be in Los Angeles in August, along with thousands of other people, many of them dressed as Klingons, some of them even attending the convention. My people!

Then again, personal contact is overrated. Why not just read? Hartwell and Cramer's Year's Best Science Fiction 11, which includes my story "Second Person, Present Tense," is now on the shelves, and the same story will soon be out soon in Gardner Dozois' Year's Best Science Fiction 23. Down the road, a new novelette called "Damascus" will appear in F&SF, publish date not yet set.

May '06

Asimov's Readers' Award and a Free Breakfast Dept:

"Second Person, Present Tense" was chosen by the readers of Asimov's as their favorite novelette of 2005—thanks, readers! The awards are given out at the annual Analog/Asimov's breakfast during the Nebula weekend, so I went down to Tempe where I got to meet Asimov's editor Sheila Williams, her loyal assistant editor Brian Bieniowski , and a bunch of other fine folks, including Connie Willis, who was Nebula toastmaster for the weekend (chosen, she said, because she could control Harlan Ellison, who was receiving the Grandmaster award that weekend). Brian told me that he plucked my manuscript out of the slush pile on his first day on the job, and that when Sheila read the story (which by this point had become separated from the cover letter) she thought they'd discovered a new writer. (See, my career plan after Clarion was to publish 3 stories, then disappear for 10 years, so that I could re-emerge as a new writer. I'm not saying it was a smart plan, but I did execute it to perfection.) Oh, and here's a really horrible picture to prove it happened. My thanks to Sheila and Brian for taking a chance on an unknown.

At some point I'll describe the other highlights of the weekend, such as getting personally yelled at by Harlan Ellison (it turns out that the statement "Harlan Ellison yelled at me" is mathematically equivalent to "I was in the same room with Harlan Ellison." For an example, see Eric Stone's story about Harlan forcibly renaming him.) Everybody else I talked to was just wonderful, especially Sheila, who introduced me to several Asimov's writers like Jack Skillingstead, Paul Melko, and Ted Kosmatka (Ted, get a web page!). But the best part of the weekend was hanging out with my good friend and Clarion classmate, the writer and rock god  Andy Tisbert. Key lesson of the weekend? Andy showing me how to stop the lime from getting caught in the neck of a Corona. 

Then this, out of the blue:

A week after I got back from the Nebulas, Sheila wrote me and said the story had also won a Fountain Award Honorable Mention. This award, sponsored by the Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) is given to "a speculative short story of exceptional literary quality, chosen from work nominated by magazine and anthology editors." Which I guess means I write good. My thanks to Sheila for nominating the story, and to the jurors (Gwenda Bond, Carol Emshwiller, Jeff Ford, James Patrick Kelly, and Mary Anne Mohanraj) for putting it on their short list.

And finally,

just before the Memorial Day weekend, I found out that "Second Person" was also named a Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award Finalist. The Sturgeon award is for best short science fiction, as decided by the field's short fiction editors and reviewers. The winner will be picked in July, at the Campbell Conference Awards Banquet in Kansas (which I won't be able to go to).

I tell ya, it's been a mind-boggling, ego-stroking month.

April '06

Nothing to report on the Daryl front, so let me pass on some news about another State College writer (and Nebula award winner, World Fantasy award winner, etc.)  James Morrow. His new book The Last Witchfinder is out and I'm reading it now—and so far it's vintage Morrow, fast and funny and scarily erudite. I went to his reading at the local Barnes & Noble along with a crowd of other folks and he kept them laughing, especially with his pirate voice.

 

March! "Gardening at Night" in the April '06 issue of F&SF, is on sale now. Among other things, it's about TB, evolution, and intelligent design. Tangent Online and  SFRevu have reviews of the issue.

January '06

"Second Person, Present Tense," which appeared in Asimov's, has received a few New Year's gifts. In the first week of January I got a contract for it to appear in Hartwell and Cramer's Year's Best Science Fiction #11, due out in June. On the 26th I got a contract for it to appear in Gardner Dozois' Year's Best Science Fiction, 23rd Annual Collection, which has a release date of July 11, 2006. Then on the 28th, Pam McNew (see the interview below) told me that the story had made Locus Magazine's Recommended Reading List for 2005. It's like Christmas all month long.

December '05

Please enjoy this 2005 Personally Configurable Christmas Letter I wrote especially to you, my dear friend relative creditor rehab counselor. (Check all that apply.)

November '05

I'm thankful.

October '05

Pam McNew of Lit Haven did a mini-interview with me where I droned on a lot more about religion and writing. As the kids say, Check It.