The second Karen Pantelli book, Lethal Beauty, is just about done. I’ve finished going through the copy edits and the book should be out in the world in the next week or so. That’s the cover below. A description to follow soon, but needless to say, Karen gets herself in a whole lot of trouble again. She’s great fun to write. Very different than Garrison Gage, of course, and very different kinds of books, but I’m glad she’s finding her own fans. I happen to like her quite a bit.
A few readers have asked if the Pantelli books will be available in audio. The answer is . . . yes. Eventually. I’m debating some options there. Sorry I can’t say more, and that they’re not available now, but I do plan to make them available in audio eventually.
As a quick reminder, if you want to be one of the first people to know when I’ve published something, please do sign up for my very infrequent newsletter. I don’t spam. I don’t give your email to others. It really is just a way to make sure that people who like my work know when I’ve got something new in the world. It’s getting harder to break through all the noise these days, so my email list is the best way to make sure you don’t miss something, especially since I continue to be such a social media minimalist. (And I do try! I just don’t seem to be wired for it!) I’ve been thinking of doing a few more special discounts and giveaways just for my fans, so if you’re thinking of signing up, now’s a good time.
That’s Paisey up there, sitting in my office window, enjoying the air conditioning as the street outside my house bakes in the sun. We broke all the heat records on Sunday. In Salem, Oregon it hit 113F, beating the previous recorded high of 108F (which we last hit back in 1981) by a long ways. Then we beat that record on Monday, hitting 117F. You read that right. Even some of the hottest cities in the United States have never reached that temperature, which an extremely rare “heat dome” allowed to happen here in the rainy pacific northwest.
The next Karen Pantelli book is now with the copy editor. I’ll have more information about that soon, including a cover, which is almost done. Really had a lot of fun with this one.
My story, “Exchange Policy,” about a widower who wants to exchange his android wife for a different one for a very unusual reason, just appeared in issue twelve of the new incarnation of Pulphouse magazine. The issue is chocked full of great stories. You can buy an individual issue in both print and ebook, or subscribe to the magazine.
I’ve had the good fortune to have my stories appear in many wonderful publications over the years, but this one means quite a bit to me. I “sold” my first short story to the editor, Dean Wesley Smith, back in 1994. I put “sold” in quotation marks because the magazine ceased publication before the story could see print or I could be paid for it, but it didn’t take away from the satisfaction of that first sale, especially since Dean bought it at the life-alternating writer’s workshop I frequented for a few years when I was in Eugene attending the University of Oregon. I learned more about writing at that workshop, which included such luminaries as Dean, his wife Kristine Kanthryn Rusch, Ray Vukcevich, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jerry Oltion, and many others that came and went over time, than I ever learned in my college writing classes. We met every Tuesday in the banquet room of the greasy G Willikers Neighborhood Bar & Grill (which went out of business long ago) and it was generally open to all writers, which made it all the more amazing. Michael J. Totten, a fellow student at U of O who would later became a prize-winning journalist, novelist, and editor (and lifelong friend of mine), stumbled upon the workshop when he was working at a convenience store across the street and one of the attendees wandered in and saw that Mike was reading a copy of F&SF. This writer said something to the effect of: “Hey, did you know the editor of that magazine is across the street right now?” (The editor being Kristine Kathryn Rusch, of course.) That was how Mike first attended, and how he invited me to the same workshop a few weeks later.
That first “sale” to Pulphouse, an extremely short piece called “With Dignity,” was later published in Buried Treasures, an anthology put together by Jerry Oltion of orphaned Pulphouse stories. However, I was always sad my work never got to appear in the magazine, since it was just the sort of genre-bending periodical that I loved. (I remember scouring Escape While There’s Still Time Books, a genre bookstore in Eugene run by the late Bill Trojan back then, for back issues, which I believe I still have somewhere.)
Anyway, Dean brought Pulphouse back to life a few years back, in different form but still with the same basic spirit, and I’m pleased as punch to have a story appearing in its pages. It’s extra special because over the just shy of 30 (!!!!!) years I’ve known them, Dean and Kris have been mentors, teachers, co-teachers, and finally friends, so that makes the story’s publication even more special to me. (And please keep in mind that I was eighteen years old when I walked into that writer’s workshop, so don’t think I’m ready to start collecting Social Security checks or anything.)
Incidentally, Dean also bought my first real short story sale as well, for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds anthology, but I will save that tale for another time.
That’s a shot of our backyard patio nestled in the trees, where I’m writing this post. (We also have what we call our “urban patio,” on the east side of the house, which gets a lot more sun, so we have options depending on the weather.) Early June can often go either way in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but today it’s gorgeous and sunny. The grass is lush and green. The roses are in bloom. I’m coming to the end of another book and feeling good about it. Not much to report, otherwise, and I’m trying to stay focused on the book, so I’m making it a quick post this month.
My daughter turns eighteen in a few days. I have to say I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I’m so proud of the young woman she’s become, a great student, thoughtful, conscientious, and living a well-balanced life, already admitted to the university of her choice and about to embark on the next chapter of her life. On the other hand, it means I’m definitely getting older. It seems only yesterday that I was bringing her home from the hospital, wondering if I had it in me to be the kind of father she deserved, my life changed forever the moment I looked down into her eyes for the first time. Congrats, kiddo! Now you get to vote in the next election. It’s only for the local school board, but still, use your power wisely.
Writing productivity is up. I think I’m finally starting to unwind some of the fairly entrenched habits I had that might have served me well when I was a part-time writer with a day job but actually get in my way now that I work at this full-time. Coming to the end of another book, but no news other than that. It’s something of a running joke around the house. Other people talk about their days, and when it’s my turn, since I seldom talk about works-in-progress, usually all I can say is, “Well, I wrote 10 pages.” What an exciting life I lead.
A Bit of Whimsy: Sunset in Newport, Oregon
That’s a shot at sunset from the balcony of our hotel in Nye Beach, in Newport, one of our favorite places on the Oregon coast. Heidi and I, along with Rosie, our intrepid Irish Setter, made a quick two-night jaunt to the coast in mid-April. It hit nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit that first evening, almost unheard of on the Oregon coast, though it was fifty-five and foggy by the time we left, more the norm. There is a reason they sell a lot of sweatshirts on the Oregon coast. Even longtime natives seem to have a hard time remembering, despite repeated experience, that it can be in the mid-nineties in the valley and be forty degrees colder once you get over the coastal range. I actually love this, it makes escaping an oppressive heat wave no more than an hour’s drive away, but people who step out of their cars in shorts and tank tops are usually too busy shivering to appreciate it themselves.
Scott Recommends
Another Man’s Moccasins by Craig Johnson. I continue to be impressed with the breadth of Johnson’s skills. There is a granular detail to his writing that really brings these tales of Sheriff Walt Longmire, and the fictional Absaroka County in Wyoming where he resides, to vivid life, and from the very first page I feel like I’m in the hands of an author with a strong voice and in full control of his craft. This one starts with discovering the body of a young Vietnamese woman alongside the interstate, a woman who just may have a connection to Longmire’s service during the Vietnam war. Just superb.
“J.K. Rowling” by Natalie Wynn. I know I’m venturing into controversial territory, but once again, I came to Wynn’s YouTube video (part of her ContraPoints series) a little late in the game. This time it was because I was deliberately seeking out intelligent dialog on a difficult subject and found multiple people recommending Wynn’s video. What difficult subject are we talking about? Why, Rowling’s comments (both on Twitter and on her blog) that many regard as transphobic. My own views are irrelevant except to say that I think we need a lot more listening and empathy these days, and I mean real listening and empathy, the kind that comes without judgement, agenda, or with the barely concealed impatience of someone just waiting for their turn to speak. I was happy to listen to Wynn deconstruct Rowling’s essay in a thoughtful, entertaining manner, and you just may be too:
Airlie Winery. Almost two years ago, on one our trips to Newport, Heidi and I stopped at Airlie Winery, a cozy vineyard in the coastal range that feels much more remote than it really is, just a few miles from Highway 99 off Maxfield Creek Road. There were two Irish Setters roaming the property at the time, big beautiful dogs, and I said, “You know, if we do get another dog, I think I might like one of those.” Well, Heidi ran with this, of course, and there we were two years later returning to the winery (finally open again after closing during the pandemic) to enjoy some wine, cheese, and crackers while Rosie, our own Irish Setter, was able to occasionally roam and visit with other dogs, including the owner Mary’s setters. We heartily recommend Airlie to anyone in the area. The first shot below is of Rosie running among the vines. The second is from the creek below the main building, where we sat for a bit and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon.
