Announcing…”Realms of Darkover” Is Out!

Folks, I’ve been so preoccupied with edits, my novel CHANGING FACES, and other things that I completely forgot to announce this very important event:

REALMS OF DARKOVER is out! And my third story in the Darkover universe, “Fiona, Court Clerk in Training,” is included.

What’s my story about? Well, all three of my stories have been about Fiona n’ha Gorsali or members of her immediate family; this one features Fiona as a child, when all she wants is to become a judge like her father. But Darkover has never before had a female judge…and even though her mother is a Renunciate and her father has no objection to Fiona becoming one as well (indeed, Fiona must become a Renunciate, or she can’t become a judge at all; Darkover has very straitened paths for women unless they choose the Renunciate path), it’s still not going to be easy for Fiona to obtain her heart’s desire. And as we see, the first step on Fiona’s path toward becoming a judge is to become an official court clerk, despite her tender age.

I had a ball writing about Fiona as a feisty thirteen-year-old, and I hope you’ll enjoy my story immensely, along with all the other great stories in REALMS OF DARKOVER.

My Conversational Interview Is Up at Deborah J. Ross’s Blog…

Folks, I mentioned this a few weeks ago…every week, Deborah J. Ross, the editor of the forthcoming REALMS OF DARKOVER, is posting an interview on Wednesdays. So far, she’s interviewed Rosemary Edghill, Marella Sands, and Shariann Lewitt…and now, it’s my turn.

Because I’m a contrary sort (and I admit it, too), I wrote up my interview in a different way, or as I described it:

When Deborah J. Ross, esteemed editor of Realms Of Darkover, asked me a few interview questions, I asked her a question in return: “Could I write my answers in conversational style instead?” She told me to go for it, thus, here I am.

Now, what is my interview about? It’s about my character Fiona n’ha Gorsali, Darkover’s first female judge, and one of the most powerful judges ever in the history of Darkover. While Darkover’s creator, Marion Zimmer Bradley, introduced Fiona in THE SHATTERED CHAIN many years ago, she never did anything with Fiona n’ha Gorsali…and thus, when asked for a story concept, I decided to figure out how the powerful Courts of Arbitration had been reconciled to accepting a female Renunciate judge as one of its members.

Or, as I said in the conversational interview:

When I sat down to write a story for Stars Of Darkover, I decided early on that I wanted to find out more about Fiona. What had happened to put her on the Courts of Arbitration in the first place? So I wrote “At the Crossroads,” that showed how Fiona was able to forge a consensus with highborn, lowborn, and Terranan included. Surely something that unusual would warrant that remarkable individual being placed on the Courts of Arbitration, Renunciate or no…and so it transpired.

Then, when Gifts Of Darkover came around, I decided to write about Fiona’s parents in “A Problem of Punishment.” I knew her mother’s name was Gorsali, and that she was a Renunciate; I figured that Fiona’s father must’ve been a judge before her. But who was this man, Dominic macAnndra? As he hazily introduced himself, I found a man of courage and conviction—and also a man who fell in love at first sight, during a conflict, with his eventual freemate (wife), Gorsali.

You might be wondering what else was left to write about…well, it’s simple. What about Fiona’s childhood?

So, I talked about my newest story about Fiona, which is called “Fiona, Court Clerk in Training,” and features Fiona at the ripe old age of thirteen, and a bit of her parents and their quite solid marriage, besides.

I had a lot of fun writing about Fiona as a thirteen-year-old, and I hope readers will enjoy my story, too.

So…if I’ve intrigued you (and I surely hope I have), hop on over and check out my entire takeover–er, conversational interview! — at Deborah J. Ross’s blog.

Friday Free-For-All (AKA News, Round-up, Etc.)

Folks, I have a bit of news for you.

First, as you know, I wrote about “the story behind A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE” and it was posted yesterday over at the Opinionated Man’s blog. I tried to discuss, for readers new to me, a little bit about why I do what I do — and why I’ve fought so hard to keep the Elfyverse alive.

But then, I thought a little more. And realized that readers who have been with me every step of the way deserved a better answer. So, after much struggling, here it is.

The main reason I kept trying, with the Elfyverse, was because the stories interested me. In that, I’m no different from any other writer.

But the secondary reason was because it made me laugh, even in the darkest hours…and I figured if it could make me laugh, it could make anyone laugh.

Look, folks. We all have days where we wonder why we’re still here. (I can’t be the only one who’s ever wondered this.) Work doesn’t go well, the traffic on the Interstate is bad, family members get sick, you ran out of money before you ran out of month…the list of things that go wrong is seemingly endless, and there’s almost no relief in sight.

But there are books that make you laugh, or make you think, or maybe take you out of yourself.

This, in a nutshell, is why I started writing in the first place. And it’s why I fought so hard for my Elfy duology, because I hope AN ELFY ON THE LOOSE and A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE might be able to do that for you — if it can’t, it’s not for lack of trying.

Anyway, I did say “round-up,” didn’t I?

Last week, I pointed out that REALMS OF DARKOVER will be out in May, and is available for pre-order. Editor Deborah J. Ross has interviewed all the writers, with Shariann Lewitt being the first up last week. But this week, it’s Rosemary Edghill’s turn…and she has some very interesting things to say about Darkover, about writing, and about why she enjoys doing both.

Do go take a look at her interview, will you? (Rosemary Edghill is a fantastic writer. You could learn a lot from her.)

Happy Friday, folks!

News: REALMS OF DARKOVER Is Now Available for Pre-Order!

Folks, I have good news to share.

First, REALMS OF DARKOVER — the latest in the long-running Darkover anthology series, started by Marion Zimmer Bradley and continued by Deborah J. Ross — is now available for pre-order! (It’s due to be released in May of 2016.)

Second, Ms. Ross, editor of REALMS OF DARKOVER, has a new interview up over at her blog today featuring Shariann Lewitt. Ms. Lewitt’s story in REALMS is called “Tainted Meat,” and features owls. (Yes, owls.)

Do go read the interview, will you?

Third, this interview series will include Rosemary Edghill and Rebecca Fox next week (on 3/9/2016), Marella Sands the following week (3/16/2016), then yours truly on 3/23/2016. More authors are scheduled after that, and I do plan to let everyone know when the newest interviews are available.

I’m proud to be a part of REALMS OF DARKOVER, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading the various author interviews as they are published.

Otherwise, in case you missed it, I have a new guest blog up at the Opinionated Man’s  WordPress blog and also at his personal blog. It’s about A LITTLE ELFY IN BIG TROUBLE, and gives a longer blurb, plus links to the sample chapters and the three places it’s available… the hope is, maybe this will extend my reach a little and aid in “discoverability” (that is, having readers discover I’m out here, and that my writing might intrigue them).

Granted, this whole notion of discoverability often seems mythical, considering. But I’ve been doing what I can to raise my profile, in the hopes that one day soon, people who don’t know me will enjoy my work. (I want people who do know me to enjoy my work, too, mind…but there are a whole lot more out there who might just like the Elfyverse, if they but know it exists.)

Anyway, happy Wednesday, folks! (Now go read the interview with Ms. Lewitt, then go find the guest blog I did if you haven’t read it already.)

Friday Fun: Cover Reveal Plus Lineup, REALMS OF DARKOVER

Folks, it’s Friday. It’s been a long, hard week for many of us, especially due to the terrible acts of terrorists all over the world.

My heart goes out to the people in Mali, in Paris, in Lebanon, and elsewhere. There is so much strife, so many problems, and so much distress in this world…sometimes it can be hard to see anything good.

But good things still exist. I don’t know if they can be enough to outweigh all the terrible things or not. Still, we can but try — and a little diversion from the world’s problems can’t do any harm, right?

That said, I do have some good news to share. And I want to share it right now, as it seems appropriate.

My third story in the long-running Darkover universe (begun by Marion Zimmer Bradley, and continued by Deborah J. Ross), “Fiona, Court Clerk in Training,” has been accepted by Ms. Ross in her role as editor for REALMS OF DARKOVER (due in June of 2016). This is my third story about my character Fiona n’ha Gorsali and/or her family, who becomes Darkover’s first Renunciate judge and a prominent legal authority down the line. But this story is about Fiona’s first steps toward that goal — before she becomes a judge, she must first become a court clerk. And she decides to do this at the tender age of thirteen…

At any rate, I’m very pleased to have sold this story to REALMS OF DARKOVER.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s the table of contents for REALMS OF DARKOVER:

Introduction, by Deborah J. Ross

Tainted Meat, by Shariann Lewitt

Snow Dancing, by Jane M. H. Bigelow

Impossible Tasks by Marella Sands

The Snowflake Fallacy, by Michael Spence

Old Purity, by Leslie Fish

A Walk In The Mountains, by Margaret L. Carter and Leslie Roy Carter

The Fifth Moon, by Ty Nolan

Sudden Tempest, by Deborah Millitello

Housebound, by Diana L. Paxson

Sea of Dreams, by Robin Wayne Bailey

Stormcrow, by Rosemary Edghill and Rebecca Fox

Fiona, Court Clerk in Training, by Barb Caffrey

(See? I’m restraining a happy dance, mostly because I’d probably pull a muscle if I did. But rest assured, I’m quite pleased about this.)

And all authors have been given the ability to let people know about this anthology — which is why tonight’s cover reveal.

So, without further ado, here is the cover for REALMS OF DARKOVER — enjoy!