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| Artwork by Sang Han |
Fate (if you believe in that sort of thing) has a way of, occasionally, flipping reality onto its head.
I have worked for Night Shade Books for these past nine years: the very first book I worked on was Adam Roberts's Swiftly, which I completed in May 2005; the last book I worked on, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Seven
, edited by Jonathan Strahan, was completed in January of this year. In the course of these nine years, I edited, line edited, and/or copy edited content for approximately 190 books for Night Shade. 190. One of these days, I just may list all the titles. Unfortunately, I should have stopped working for Night Shade at least six months ago, but we'll leave that discussion possibly for another blog post.
, edited by Jonathan Strahan, was completed in January of this year. In the course of these nine years, I edited, line edited, and/or copy edited content for approximately 190 books for Night Shade. 190. One of these days, I just may list all the titles. Unfortunately, I should have stopped working for Night Shade at least six months ago, but we'll leave that discussion possibly for another blog post. About the same time I was wrestling with the decision whether or not to take on another Night Shade project (which I didn't, thankfully), another author was wrestling with a similar decision: Bradley P. Beaulieu (pronounced "Bowl-yer") was owed money by Night Shade Books (Aren't we all?) and the publisher had decided to push out volume three of his Lays of Anuskaya trilogy for at least another full year. Brad chose then to leave Night Shade, take volume three, The Flames of Shadam Khoreh, with him, and self-publish the book. He explained all this in a blog post entitled "A Slight Change of Plans," which he published on February 19, 2013.
Now, while all this was going on, Brad was also running a Kickstarter campaign for his short story collection, Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten & Other Stories
. Funding ended for Brad's collection on January 11, with the primary goal reached, as well as all six of the stretch goals.
. Funding ended for Brad's collection on January 11, with the primary goal reached, as well as all six of the stretch goals.Which brings us to the present: Bradley P. Beaulieu was in need of an editor for Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten, and I was in need of a new editing gig -- and I am pleased to announce that I will be working with Brad on this project.
Initially I edited the three stories written exclusively for the collection as part of the Kickstarter stretch goals:
"To the Towers of Tulandan" is a prequel story to his Lays of Anuskaya trilogy (The Winds of Khalakovo, The Straits of Galahesh
, and the forthcoming The Flames of Shadam Khoreh).
"Prima" is somewhat of a sequel story to the trilogy: the story takes place 25 years after the end of The Flames of Shadam Khoreh, but is not related to the main events in the trilogy.
"Unearthed" is a prequel story to the world of Bryndlholt, a new middle-grade series that Brad has recently begun writing.
Today begins the next phase of this project for me, in which I will copy edit the full collection, which includes the above three stories along with fourteen additional stories, as listed here in alphabetical order:
"Cirque Du Lumière": first published (as by Brad Beaulieu) in Fellowship Fantastic, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes, DAW Books, 2008.
"Flotsam": first published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume XX, edited by Algis Budrys, Galaxy Press, 2004.
"Foretold": first published in Steampunk'd, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Jean Rabe, DAW Books, 2010.
"From the Spices of Sanandira": first published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, serialized in issues #10 and #11, 2011.
"Good Morning Heartache": first published in Spells in the City, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Jean Rabe, DAW Books, 2009.
"How Peacefully the Desert Sleeps": first published (as by Brad Beaulieu) in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, October 2007.
"In the Eyes of the Empress's Cat": first published (as by Brad Beaulieu) in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, March 2006.
"An Instrument of War": previously unpublished.
"Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten": first published in Realms of Fantasy, June 2008.
"Parting the Clouds": first published in Time-Traveled Tales, edited by Jean Rabe, CreateSpace, 2012.
"Prey to the Gods": previously unpublished.
"Shadows in the Mirrors": first published in The Dimensions Next Door, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes, DAW Books, 2008.
"Sweet as Honey": first published in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, November 2009.
"A Trade of Shades": first published in AlienSkin Magazine, February 2004.
Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten & Other Stories is a huge collection, approximately 145,000 words including front and back matter; and now that I've gotten a taste of the worlds of "Tulandan" and "Prima," as well as "Unearthed," I'm looking forward to these other stories.
These are novel (no pun intended) times in publishing: Kickstarter, self-publishing, ebooks, etc. -- and I'm excited that I have the opportunity to work on this project with Bradley P. Beaulieu.
See the follow-up blog post:
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