April 2012

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All my life’s a rejection

That mantra seems to be the life of a writer, or at least of this writer. My most recent addition to this remarkable collection of rejections is for a humourous little story I wrote, ostensibly for Tesseracts 16: Parnassus Unbound, called Occupational Hazards, a tale about drinking inappropriate quantities of tea at inappropriate times while trying to meet deadlines. Mark Leslie Lefebvre, good egg and hugely knowledgeable fellow, wrote, among other things: While, traditionally, this…

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25
Apr 2012
By StephensWork In ProgressComments Off on All my life’s a rejection

Review: Pyramids

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett My rating: 4 of 5 stars Must say I’m enjoying the journey through Terry Pratchett’s witty, weird mind. An almost entirely new cast of characters in this installment of Discworld, very human, ordinary folk who are thrown into extraordinary situations. The result is a funny, madcap spoof of ancient Egypt, legendary assassins, new age occult beliefs and pseudo-sciences, and, well, pyramid power. I swear I heard Baldric (Tony Robertson of Black…

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23
Apr 2012
By StephensReviewsComments Off on Review: Pyramids

Thoughts on Amazon’s KDP Select

When Amazon first announced its Kindle Direct Publishing Select program, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in carrots dangling, unlike a lot of small publishers and authors I hung back. There’s an old saying: if a thing seems too good to be true, it probably is. In this case, there’s the caveat Amazon clearly states: When you choose KDP Select for a book, you’re committing to make the digital format of that book available exclusively…

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19
Apr 2012
By StephensIndie Life, PublishingComments Off on Thoughts on Amazon’s KDP Select

Review: The Steel Seraglio

The Steel Seraglio by Mike Carey My rating: 4 of 5 stars I would have to preface this review by stating The Steel Seraglio, by Carey, Carey and Carey, is an ambitious work, a literary etude or variation on the legendary collection of Islamic tales we’ve come to know as One Thousand and One Nights. Like its historical counterpart, it is a tale within many tales, complete with unreliable narrator, and with an oblique homage…

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16
Apr 2012
By StephensUncategorizedComments Off on Review: The Steel Seraglio

Review: Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett

Wyrd Sisters by Terry PratchettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars We return to Granny Weatherwax in this installment from Discworld, and a hilarious parody of Shakespeare’s MacBeth, of princes threatened and exiled, lost and then found, only to discover the play is the thing. As always, imaginative, witty, often downright silly. Truly wonderful escapism. View all my reviews

15
Apr 2012
By StephensReviewsComments Off on Review: Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett

Writing Progress

The headline is perhaps a bit misleading. I’ve made little progress on any new writing, which means The Rose Guardian is stuck in stall. There’s just been too much time required of me as a publisher to steal any time for the creative depth the novel requires. All, however, is not lost. Barb Geiger, Five Rivers’ editor, now has Caliban and is leaving blue pencil all over it for me. I was a little heartened…

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03
Apr 2012
By StephensIndie Life, My BooksComments Off on Writing Progress