What? There were canapes here before I got here? You ated them all!
I disagree that short stories are 'by writers and for writers' because I am not, and am never likely to be a fiction writer, but I love short stories. The Chains That i Refuse was one of the best books I read last year, my limited shelf space has a high proportion of short fiction collections by writers as diverse as you, Lewis Shiner, Jim Kelly, Karen Fowler, Howard Waldrop, Lucius Shepard, Richard paul Russo, Kelly Link, Leigh Kennedy and as many more again. These are the writers I find interesting, the ones I want to proselytize, and its as much for their short fiction as their novels (much more so in some cases). But I don't read the magazines anymore. Here in smalltown England its hard to find them without driving 70 miles round trip, and I dont have the money to gamble on a subscription (never have had it.) Interzone just doesn't look good to me right now, and in the past alienated me with some of its editorial decisions/attitudes. So I read blogs like this, hear about things around the net, look them up, sometimes get lucky. I hadn't read a single piece of your short fiction before I bought Chains, but I'd liked Hammered, and things you wrote on here intrigued me, so when I found a copy I grabbed it, flicked through, looked fun, and bought it. As I said, it was a wise move, but the point is, I got lucky with you. I met you in Glasgow, that made me aware of your name. I am almost certainly missing out on many other fine stories but they aren't coming to my attention. I could go looking, but I could be spending that time going looking for new music, or catching up on the laundry, or walking the dog. How are the short fiction magazines going to find me?
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2007-10-23 11:39 pm (UTC)I disagree that short stories are '' because I am not, and am never likely to be a fiction writer, but I love short stories. The Chains That i Refuse was one of the best books I read last year, my limited shelf space has a high proportion of short fiction collections by writers as diverse as you, Lewis Shiner, Jim Kelly, Karen Fowler, Howard Waldrop, Lucius Shepard, Richard paul Russo, Kelly Link, Leigh Kennedy and as many more again. These are the writers I find interesting, the ones I want to proselytize, and its as much for their short fiction as their novels (much more so in some cases). But I don't read the magazines anymore. Here in smalltown England its hard to find them without driving 70 miles round trip, and I dont have the money to gamble on a subscription (never have had it.) Interzone just doesn't look good to me right now, and in the past alienated me with some of its editorial decisions/attitudes. So I read blogs like this, hear about things around the net, look them up, sometimes get lucky. I hadn't read a single piece of your short fiction before I bought Chains, but I'd liked Hammered, and things you wrote on here intrigued me, so when I found a copy I grabbed it, flicked through, looked fun, and bought it. As I said, it was a wise move, but the point is, I got lucky with you. I met you in Glasgow, that made me aware of your name. I am almost certainly missing out on many other fine stories but they aren't coming to my attention. I could go looking, but I could be spending that time going looking for new music, or catching up on the laundry, or walking the dog. How are the short fiction magazines going to find me?