So. Things are going to be a little different around here for the next few weeks. Behind the break, I'll explain what's going to be happening, but if you want the short version, here you are:
tl;dr: I'm going on vacation for a couple of weeks. Posts will continue at the usual intervals in my absence. Also, there's some cool stuff coming up in the near future.
For all the details, see below.
Vacation! Woo! Effective Saturday morning, I'll be off visiting relatives, and probably won't have regular internet access (though I'll see if I can't check in a couple of times). So here's what's coming up:
First off, I'll finish out my post buffer. Ditzy Doo and the Blustery Day and the Blueblood Returns set of stories will go up on Monday and Wednesday.
After that, I've managed to cajole a few trusted souls (i.e. people whom I know visit this site and whose e-mail addresses I had handy) into writing some guest posts. Having already read them myself, I can assure you that you're all in for a treat; we've got fandom commentary, story reviews, and a little bit of frothing-at-the-mouth-style ranting all scheduled. That ought to get us through to July, when I'll be back home.
But my homecoming will not just bring a return to the status quo; no, there's some exciting stuff on the horizon. First off, Fallout: Equestria. Although it's still a ways off going by my usual "last updated" approach to reviewing stories, I'm skipping it to the head of the line due to one simple fact: it's about 600,000 words long. I'm going to have two weeks of traveling in which to do some reading, so why not mix business and pleasure? I'll see if I can't get through it on the trip, and write up my review of one of the fandom's most substantial works when I come home.
Even more exciting, Kazka Press recently contacted me to ask if they could send me a review copy of their upcoming brony-themed short story anthology. When I was through being stunned that I'm apparently important enough to merit the attention from a commercial publishing house, I accepted their offer. So when I return, look for my review of Bronies: for the Love of Ponies. For those of you who'd heard about this collection and were greeting its imminent publication with either anticipation or apprehension, I hope that my review will offer some insight.
So all in all, there's a lot to look forward to in the next month.
Have fun. You certainly deserve a vacation from this blog. I'm sure you've left us readers in good hands.
ReplyDeleteAnd good luck with Fallout: Equestria. Better to read it when you have free time than when you have a deadline running up.
... I find it fundamentally disturbing that that book exists.
ReplyDeleteAlso, have fun on your trip!
Ahh...Fallout: Equestria.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to see Past Sins go up, but this is something that gives me a genuine shiver to think about. I love that fic with a passion, but I'm not blind to some of it's bigger flaws. 600,000 words though? Didn't appreciate it was THAT long...it's hard to believe I even got through it...
Shit..ladies and gets, is about to get real.
Fallout Equestria. Oh lord, I am excited beyond belief.
ReplyDeleteWhat even is that book.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the content, both guest and regular! Enjoy your trip!
Could someone please describe what exactly that book is?
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful vacation!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you what that book isn't: a collection of short stories about bronies.
ReplyDeleteI'd had plans to submit to Kazka myself, as I had a story about a brony that was easily formatted to fit their criteria. However, they ran into legal trouble with the whole "stories about someone else's intellectual property" deal, and had to change the definition of "brony" from "person who watches My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (and participates in the brony fandom, self-identifies as a brony, etc.)" to "man who really like ponies". It may have been horses and not just ponies, too.
So, it's got precisely nothing to do with the fandom, other than "it seemed like a good idea at the time". That said, it's awesome that they've contacted you like this when you're not even a published-lit review blog, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it. :D
Well:
DeleteMy story in the book is about a guy who's very much a fan of the show--the story opens with him working on a piece of fanfiction, as a matter of fact.
But now that I think about it, the word "brony" never appears in my story, nor do the phrases "my little pony" or "friendship is magic." And while I haven't seen a copy of the book yet, the sample stories available on the website as well as the story that really jumpstarted the anthology into existence--when Kij Johnson said they could reprint her Nebula Award-winning short story "Ponies," it really lit a fire under everything--like you say, they aren't at all about Friendship is Magic fandom. And even though the pseudonyms we all use make it hard to tell, I think I'm the only writer in the book who's actually done any FiMFiction....
So I may be the token brony in the book. I hadn't even thought about that till right now... :)
Mike
I was really put off by what I saw as "too good to be true". I mean, yes, I started working on revamping my fic for the collection, but then the copyright thing came to pass and it was like, "Didn't someone think of this sooner?" So I'm really unenthusiastic about the whole thing.
DeleteThat said, it's good that you're in there repping the fandom. But the whole thing seems fairly pointless at this stage. I guess we'll have to see.
Thanks for the well-wishes, all! I'm about to leave as I post this, so TTFN and all.
ReplyDeleteAs for what the book is: I'm pretty curious myself, since the exact nature of the prompt changed as the anthology was being conceived and collected (as PP explained above). But as with so many other things in life, I'm going to stay optimistic going in; after all, AugieDog/Mike wrote one of the pieces, and I know he's capable of producing a good story. Ponies won a Nebulae, which has to mean something. But if you aren't sure what to make of it... well, all I can do is tell you what I think of it.
In a few weeks, when I read it. Until then!
Enjoy your vacation!
DeleteIt could be worse...
ReplyDeleteI'm quite looking forward to that anthology review. I liked the idea of it, but it seemed like something that could be exploitative and "cashing in on a fad." The fact that the only review I can find is a 5-star one by the book's editor himself doesn't help.
ReplyDeleteI've got my:
DeleteContributor copy and have read the other stories, so needless to say, I'll be interested in seeing Chris's reaction, too. :)
My own hardly objective opinion? It's got a bunch of good horse-related science-fiction, fantasy, and horror stories in it--a few of them quite good--but, well, other than mine, none of them really makes reference to the current Pony show. A couple use imagery that makes me think the authors are only familiar with the earlier versions of My Little Pony, but most of the stories spin out from the idea of "pony fandom" without harkening back to the cartoon at all.
As a collection of thoughtful and provocative stories--and one or two that are just plain fun--I'd put this ahead of the anthologies regularly published these days by DAW or Baen. But to forestall any disappointment, I feel obliged to say that anyone who's specifically looking for stories relating to "Friendship is Magic" and its fans will find them kinda thin on the ground here.
Mike
Nailed it. :B And you're the only fandom contributor, right?
DeleteI am:
ReplyDeleteBut I don't really see that as a bad thing. I mean, it would've been great to have more actual self-identified bronies participate, but I really like Phoe's phrase "the tapestry painted by this book" in her review at EqD. And, well, any anthology that goes from Kij Johnson to me is gonna be pretty much covering the skill level from top to bottom... :)
Mike Again