It’s been an interesting response to my announcement that Kris and I are doing the Kris and Dean show again. If you don’t know what that is, check the post right below this one. Basically, it’s a workshop for all levels of writers, giving a complete overview of how to write selling fiction and what goes on in editor’s offices. We cover both novels and short stories and do a surprising amount of structure of story work. A very intense weekend, so if you know of anyone interested in becoming a fiction writer, tell them about it.
Why did I say this was an interesting response? Because I’ve got a lot of questions about it, far more than I expected, to be honest. And from all over the country. Now understand, we live on the Oregon Coast, two hours from Portland. Flights into Portland are fairly cheap, and the hotels here are really cheap, but that two hour drive from Portland to here has stopped a bunch of people, even though I’ve explained that there will be ride sharing.
So, if you have read my post below this one, and are interested, just write me for where to send the fee to. That confirms and holds your spot and gets you on the e-mail list that will form for the group to help share rides and other details. Both the June and September weekends will be a lot of fun.
On the cover column beside this, I also have a new short story out. Finally, something published I can claim here. I’ve published two novels in the last seven months, neither of them I can tell anyone about. The fun of secret pen names and ghost writing.
Anyway, the story, like a lot of my stories, is very strange. Crime Spells, edited by Martin H. Greenberg an Loren L, Coleman in an anthology combining magic and crime. My story is titled “The Old Girlfriend of Doom” and stars one of my ongoing characters, Poker Boy. Poker Boy is a lower level super hero, middle-aged, with the same special powers that top poker players have, only advanced and super-sized a little. He travels around saving people and taking people’s money at the poker tables to pay for the travel. In this story, an old girlfriend comes to him to try to get help in saving her brand new breasts. It gets very strange from there, which is pretty standard for all Poker Boy stories.
I even have a full Poker Boy novel I have written called “The Slots of Saturn” which for some reason, I have never mailed anywhere yet. Got to do that real soon now.
In Crime Spells there are a ton of really fun stories, including stories by Mike Resnick, Michael A. Stackpole, Jay Lake, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Ilsa J. Bick, Steve Perry, Phaedra Weldon, Devon Monk, Seven Mohan, Jr., and a bunch more. Get the book quickly before it vanishes. You’ll have a lot of fun reading a bunch of stories about magical crimes.
At the moment, I am working on a legal thriller that, if I am lucky, will come out under a name I can tell everyone about. So got to get back to work on that. If you are interested in the Kris and Dean show, just e-mail me and put workshops in the title line. And if you have e-mailed me and I haven’t gotten back to you, please try again. Clearly lost in a spam filter somewhere.
Good writing to everyone. Back soon to start a new series of writing articles.
Cheers, Dean
