Idols, Middles, and Giggles

I had a dry spell for news during the month of March, but as the rains ease in the Northwest, the writing news dry spell ends as well. Or something like that. Yes, I’m mixing metaphors. And not very successfully.

First, the latest volume of Fiction River just appeared. Sparks, edited by Rebecca Moesta, contains many marvelous young adult stories, all with a spark of hope, by great writers like Dayle Dermatis, Lee Allred, Leslie Claire Walker, Thomas Carpenter, Michele Lang, and Mark Leslie (and more!). I’ve read every story here, and I love them. A marvelously upbeat volume, filled with great stories.

I’m happy to add that I have a story in the volume as well—and just in time. American Idol inspired my story “Salem Week,” and since Idol is heading off into the sunset this week, I give you the magic version of AI to remember it by. And let me simply say that magic competitions are much more dangerous than singing competitions…

The other news? I have a novella in a new bundle from a new company called BundleRabbit. Leah Cutter has curated this one, and it includes fiction from Anthea Sharp, Dean Wesley Smith, Daniel Keys Moran, Blaze Ward, Leah Cutter, Michael Warren Lucas, Mindy Klasky, Sherry D. Ramsey, and Michael Stackpole.

All of us have included fiction from one of our series. Standalone fiction, to entice you. In addition, you can get a coupon for two free ebooks from Kobo Books. So for as little as $12, you can get 12 ebooks.

The bundle also allows you to donate to a charity. Our charity, The Washington State Talking Book and Braille Library, provides access to books for those people unable to read standard print material. This award-winning organization also loans magazines, music scores, and foreign language titles. It’s a lifeline to many, particularly to those who are shut-ins, the material mailed to them for free.

The bundle will be available for three weeks only, so hurry and get yours!

Finally, the giggles. For your listening pleasure, two podcasts. The first promotes the Uncollected Anthology that I participate in every quarter. Kobo Writing Life Director Mark Lefebvre interviewed almost all of us involved with the anthology at our anthology workshop last month. We were punchy, silly, and informative—although not necessarily in that order. You can find that here.

Scifi Saturday Night interviewed me last week, and we ended up in a very fannish discussion of Daredevil and other things. You can find that podcast here.

So lots of cool stuff. Free listening, book deals, great short stories, marvelous fiction. Enjoy!