TALES.htm
A traditional bard tells two categories of tales: those of his or
her own crafting and those learned from other bards, both contemporary
and those who have come before. I keep that tradition by being both
a writer and an editor.
Most writers will tell you they've been writing most of their
lives, and I'm no exception. If it hadn't been for that tornado in
1974, I'd probably still be hiding a pencil-on-lined-notebook-paper
romance manuscript I wrote in junior high. I began writing for other
people's consumption in the mid-80s - essays and regular columns on
size acceptance issues in several organizational newsletters. In the
early 90s, I started getting paid for that kind of thing. I also
started writing - and selling - short fiction.
Published stories to date:
"Yearbride", Snows of Darkover anthology, Marion
Zimmer Bradley, Editor: My first professional fiction sale, to
the woman whose works got me hooked on fantasy in the first place.
"Porter Piedmont and the Office Party Santa", originally written
for the November/December '92 issue of Rump Parliament Magazine,
and so well-received that it was reprinted a few years later. It
appeared on BOOKFACE.COM during that endeavor's brief and glorious life,
and is included in The Folly of Assumption collection.
(See below for details)
"Porter Piedmont's Not-So-Wonderful Life". Sequel to the above
story, published in Rump Parliament Magazine and on BOOKFACE.COM.
Also included in the Folly collection.
"Mrs. Bailey's Harp", Zone 9 Magazine, May '96 issue,
John Peyton, Editor, and BOOKFACE.COM. In print again in the Hell
Hath No Fury... collection from Yard Dog.
"The Impression of Power", first appeared in Sword & Sorceress
XIV, Marion Zimmer Bradley with Rachel Holmen, Editors, and
subsequently on BOOKFACE.COM. I still don't know how I managed
to sell an "Arthurian" story to the woman who wrote The Mists of Avalon.
This one is available again in To Stand As Witness, my second
collection from Yard Dog Press, and in the audiochapbook from HarpHaven Publishing.
There are more Myr Aelyn stories in the works.
"What Goes Around...", another holiday offering (the holiday
being celebrated was Halloween) in Rump Parliament Magazine.
and on BOOKFACE.COM. Now delighting a whole new audience as part of
the Folly collection.
"Neighborhood Watch", Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, Issue #40,
illustrated by Vincent Di Fate: A story that combined
size acceptance and fantasy, and introduced a fat, fiesty and toothsome
heroine into SF&F. The readers of BOOKFACE.COM apparently liked this
one, too; it stayed in the top spots on the Horror Top Ten for quite a
while, and was climbing the ranks again when the site met its demise.
To those who've asked when we'll see another story with these
characters - I'm working on it. In the meantime, this tale can be
enjoyed in the Folly collection.
"Hell Hath No Fury...", Sword & Sorceress XVII anthology,
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Editor: The first of my "Copperwood Bard" stories to
see publication, and now the title story in my third
YPD collection.
"That Which Feeds The Soul", a short fantasy about misconceptions
and marriage. Published for the first time on BOOKFACE.COM, and released
in 2001 in the print anthology Outside The Box: The Best of Bookface.Com,
edited by Lou Anders. Included in Hell Hath
No Fury... from from Yard Dog.
"Doin' The Drive-In", co-authored with Bradley H. Sinor, a curious
bit of weirdness involving eggs rolls, barbecue sauce, sex and violence
in Selina Rosen's Bubbas of the Apocalypse, May 2001.
"The Folly of Assumption", the lead-off story for the June 2001
collection of the same name from Yard Dog Press. A veteran assassin's
assignment is foiled by her intended victim...or is it?
"Scarborough Fairy", Kinships Magazine, Issue #4. RenFaires,
Irish stepdance, magic and an unusual take on fairies. Appearing again
in Hell Hath No Fury...: Five Bardic Tales from Yard Dog Press.
"Metal and a Man of Good Heart", (To Stand as Witness,
Yard Dog Press, April 2002). The finding of it is legend. Now comes
a tale of its creation. Another of the stories I read on the audiochapbook CD.
and featured in Issue #13 of the podcast magazine Sci Fi Traveling
Road Show.
"To Stand As Witness At The End", (To Stand as Witness,
Yard Dog Press, April 2002). Also can be heard read by the author on
the audiochapbook from HarpHaven Publishing. "It has been said that the Blessed
Kingdom fell to treachery, but the truth of the matter is that it
succumbed to a broken heart."
"Queen's Bard", (Hell Hath No Fury...: Five Bardic Tales,
Yard Dog Press, May 2003). When the Bard of the Copperwood Harp
acts as messenger, even the Gates of Death cannot stop her.
"Promise and Pledge", (Elysian Fiction Issue #4, May 2003).
A tale of old love and tough decisions.
"Spinacre's War", (Low Port, edited by Sharon Lee & Steve
Miller, Meisha Merlin Publishing, August 2003). My first sale of
something science fictional, on the theme of being careful who
and what you throw away as "useless".
"Widder Liggett And The Breath O' God" (Four Bubbas Of The Apocalypse,
Selina Rosen, Editor,Yard Dog Press, 2004). Pass the BBQ sauce and hunker down for a tasty tale. There's a
brand new anti-Yumbie weapon in the wilds of North Carolina.
"Combat Shopping", (Turn The Other Chick. Esther Friesner, Editor, Baen, 2004)
For a heroically-proportioned woman warrior, battles are easy. It's buying new armor that's hard.
"Necessity And The Mother", (Sword and Sorceress XXI, Diana Paxson, Editor, DAW, 2004) -
Banning weapons and armor of steel from Hemfrock may not have been the smartest move the spellcasters
could have made.
"The Bubba of DunTrune", co-written with Bradley H. Sinor, (International House of Bubbas.
Selina Rosen, Editor, Yard Dog Press,.2005) Penn and Raven together again, this time in the Highlands
of Scotland.
"Blinket's Dilemma", (Flush Fiction, Selina Rosen, Editor, Yard Dog Press April 2006)
Such a tiny village, such big problems.
"Act of War", (Lorelei Signal edited by Carol Hightshoe, April-June 2006 issue.)
Also appears in A Time To...: Best of Lorelei Signal 2006) In war, any war, there are common
tactics and common cruelties. This time around, there's uncommon resistence.
"In The House of Sisters",(Sorcerous Signals, edited by Carol Hightshoe, February - April 2007
There is power is sisterhood. But what happens when it's not enough? Now available in Arcane
Whispers: The Best of Sorceress Signals 2007, edited by Carol Hightshoe and published by Wolfsinger Press.
"Old Age And Sorcery", (Catopolis, edited by Maritin Greenberg and Janet Deaver-Pack.
DAW, Dec. 2008). Life as a Free Cat was not without its dangers. Life in the Top Cat's Household
held a whole different set.
"Nimue And The Mall Nymphs", (Witch Way To The Mall, edited by Esther Friesner,.
Baen, May 2009). There were times when Nimue mourned the loss of "survival of the fittest" as a
teaching tool for the young.
"Lady Blaze", (Warrior Wisewomen 2, edited by Roby James, Norilana Books, June 2009).
A star-faring bordello, a madam who tells it like it is, and space pirates!
In the Pipeline
"Sarah Bailey and the Texas Beauty Queen", sold to Esther Friesner's "Fangs For The Mammaries" (ritual
disclaimer: the title is not Esther's fault!) anthology, due out from Baen Sept. 28, 2010. With the wrong real
estate agent, hunting for a new home could suck the life right out of you.
"The Lady Of Trade Town", to be published in The Ladies of Trade Town from Norilana Books
in July 2011. Yes, I'm editing the anthology, but I wrote the song and I reserve the right to write the story. And
I have.
Collections
The Folly of Assumption: The Collected Fat Fantasies, a
chapbook of five of my size-positive short stories. Something of a
companion to Such A Pretty Face, any of the stories would have fit
nicely therein. Cover art by Tania Mears
To Stand As Witness. Three tales that weave old threads
from Arthurian legend into whole new cloth. Two never-before-published
stories plus "The Impression of Power". Cover art by Laura J. Underwood.
Hell Hath No Fury...: Five Bardic Tales. The latest
collection, includes the never-before-published "Queen's Bard".
Cover art by Laura Underwood.
All three collections are available from Amazon.com. I do,
however, heartily support the twin notions of saving money while
putting a fairer share into the pockets of the publisher and
the writer by ordering straight from the publisher,
Yard Dog Press.
You can also get them - signed! - directly from HarpHaven Merchanter
AudioChapbook
(ISBN: 0-9779051-0-1)
Over the years, I've had numerous requests for recordings of me reading my
work, and frequent queries as to whether any of my stories came in audiobook format. Most often, the story
prompting the requests and queries has been "To Stand As Witness At The End". I consider it one of my best to date,
and one of my better "performance" pieces. So this collection of three Arthurian pieces seemd like the natural choice
for the first offering from my new venture.
That cover drawing, by the way, is by the multi-talented Laura J. Underwood.
Anthologies
So...what does one do with twenty years of experience editing
publications of one form or another, a respectable track record as a
writer of fantasy, national recognition as a size issues activist,
the desire to keep the tradition of "open reads" alive and an
idea for an anthology with heroes and heroines the likes of which have
never been seen before? One throws both caution and common sense to
the winds and pitches the aforementioned anthology to a publisher.
The publisher was, of course, Meisha Merlin, the nutcase..errr..
visionary was your humble servant, and the anthology, as you probably
know by now, is Such A Pretty Face: Tales of Power and
Abundance.
(Cover Art by Doug Beekman)
Released in May 2000, it continues to be well-received and enjoyed,
which pleases me no end. You can also get either the Limited Edition hardcover or
the trade paperback - signed! - directly from me at HarpHaven Merchanter
In the Pipeline
The Ladies of Trade Town, an anthology I'm editing for publication by Norilana Books in April 2011.
Science fiction, fantasy, and related genre short stories about the practitioners of "the world's oldest profession".
Non-Fiction
Before there was Such A Pretty Face, there was Rump Parliament,
a bi-monthly magazine for people "Working To Change The Way Society Treats Fat
People". It served as a gathering place for readers fighting one of the last safe prejudices,
a teaching tool for new activists, and a platform for the voices that spoke so eloquently
against discrimination on the basis of weight and body size.
Prejudice By The Pound: Collected Essay From the Size Rights Movement gathers
together, for the first time, essays and editorials I wrote over the course of ten years as
Rump Parliament's Founding Publisher & Editor. Part snapshot of a ten-year period of
a human rights movement, and unfortunately, still relevant today.
Avaulable in trade paperback from HarpHaven Publishing, you can find it - signed -
at HarpHaven Merchanter
Lover
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