Thank you, thank you, and I’d especially like to express my appreciation to the following people:
* Deena Fisher of Drollerie Press for editing my novel, Alien Dreams, and also doing the
cover art and design on the book;
* Jody Wallace of NovelBooks, Inc. and Michele Dowdey of Mundania Press for editing
successive editions of my novel, Beyond Those Distant Stars;
* Antonia Pearce of Blade Publishing for editing my novel, A Senseless Act of Beauty.
Before I go any further, perhaps I should explain what this is all about. No, I’m not
accepting any coveted awards. What we on the Drollerie Press Blog Tour are doing this month, is recognize an unofficial holiday that is growing in popularity. The Sweetest Day falls on the third Saturday of October and “is described by Retail Confectioners International as an ‘occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, aged, and orphaned, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.’”
This year, I’d like to focus on those who have generously devoted time and effort to helping me improve and in some cases, market my writing. Since much of my fiction, in keeping with the Halloween season, is not only speculative but creepy and scary, perhaps extra thanks and appreciation are called for. Cosmic monsters, vicious aliens, and yes, your darkest, most soul-shriveling fears are all found in my fiction, which one normal friend of mine has described as just plain “weird.” When it comes to erotic romance, most of us may be receptive even (or especially) if it is more than a little bit kinky. But Deena Fisher of Drollerie Press had the patience to take Alien Dreams through more than three complete edits even though its main character changes into a giant alien and makes love to their queen for thousands of subjective years, occasionally exchanging bodies so he can experience the sex from another point of view.
Here’s some more editors I’d like to thank:
*Lauren Gilbert of Eternal Press for Here Be Dragons;
*Heather Bollinger of Mundania Press for Speaker of the Shakk;
*Lea Schizas of Damnation Books for Green in our Souls;
*The anonymous editor of Blue Leaf Publications for The Voice of Many Waters.
Alas, I can’t thank them all. There are the cover artists, too, you see, and the editors of the nearly five hundred short stories and poems I have published in my writing career. Yes, I know that some of the editors may have done little, simply corrected spelling, but the meaning of the Sweetness Day is that we acknowledge and remember those whose kindness and assistance have benefited us. For me, that means in particular those whose editorial eye and judgment have helped me sharpen characterization, improve phrasing, avoid inconsistencies, and see creative possibilities I hadn’t noticed before. The grisly ghouls and evil creatures that inhabit my fiction, both on this Earth and elsewhere owe a profound debt to their guidance and suggestions.
In closing, I’d also like to thank all those in my writers group, which I have been a member of for twenty years. Their astute ability to see the flaws, contradictions, and limitations in my work are much appreciated. To mention just a few:
* Dave Wilson, the czar of Storytellersunplugged.com;
* Richard Rowand, the former editor of Starshore, who once volunteered to read Beyond Those Distant Stars and threw the manuscript across the room when he noticed some egregious weakness;
* Dr. Ingrid Parker, the eagle-eyed, award-winning author of the Akitada mystery series;
* And Allen Bryden, Jean Klein, John Bushore, Jackie Bushore, Jacqueline and Jeff
Falkenhan, Bob Stein, and anyone else I’m forgetting.
- LAST, AND ABOVE ALL, I’d like to thank my beloved sister Mona. Though she has
passed on, I will always treasure her memory for many things, including her willingness to
read my stories and generously give me her expert, perceptive advice.
Thank you all, my partners in creation. I couldn’t have done it without you!
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