Hi Guys,

In case you're interested, the TTA podcast is now up for my Interzone story, "Feelings of the Flesh," replete with the original color illustration.  I did the reading for this one myself.  I'm somewhat excited, as this marks the first time my fiction has been podcasted.  Given the content of the story, you might say I went with a high octane approach.  I think I flubbed one of the last lines, but otherwise it's a fairly smooth reading, imho.  Feel free to give it a listen (though I warn you that it's long). 

Well, no.  Still, I received a pleasant surprise yesterday.  I was swapping some emails with Jetse de Vries, the assistant editor at Interzone.  And he had this to say:
 
One thing: at the dealer's room in Denvention, there were quite a few questions about IZ #212, specifically from people who wanted it because "Feelings of the Flesh" was in it. Well, we had *two* issues on the Thursday, none on the remaining Friday, Saturday or Sunday. In other words: Interzone #212 is sold out. Pete Bullock, our electronic editions man, is very busy with the podcast right now (you know all about it, as "Feelings of the Flesh" will be on it sometime in the future), so until that time your fans can only get an electronic copy of IZ #212 on Fictionwise (http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook53709.htm?cache).
 
Now, I'm not deluding myself here.  I know people aren't going around, telling each other "You have to read 'Feelings of the Flesh.'"  But I think it might be fair to say people are curious.  If so, it's obviously because I'm the assistant editor at Realms of Fantasy.  And you know what?  I'm fine with that!  Anything that makes people want to read me is a good thing.
 

So I received issue 216 of Interzone in the mail today.  This is their guest-edited mundane sf issue.  More relevant to me is the fact that it also contained the results for the annual IZ reader poll.  This one polled all the stories published in IZ during 2007, a grand total of 40.  The top 10 had already been posted over at the IZ forum, so I knew I hadn't placed this high.  The results only listed the top 20 though, and "Feelings of the Flesh" failed to place here either.  So all I know for certain is that my tale placed in the bottom half.

That, and the following tidbit mentioned in the reader poll summary: "The most controversial stories were probably Hal Duncan's 'The Whenever at the City's Heart' and Rachel Swirsky's 'Heartstrung' - both received respectable positive votes ('Heartstrung' was in the top five of positive votes) but also the highest number of negative votes.  'Feelings of the Flesh' by Douglas Cohen also split opinions sharply."

This is interesting for a couple of reasons.  First, the way IZ runs its reader polls, a positive vote is a point in favor of the story in question, but a negative vote is a point taken away.  So splitting opinions sharply will certainly impact where my story finished.  Second, while it would be wonderful if everyone loved my story (yeah right!), I'll take the consolation victory of apparently pushing people's buttons.  It's easy to vote for a story you liked, but to actively vote against a story is a whole different animal.  Splitting votes in this manner says to me I was pushing buttons.  That's fine with me.  If I'm pushing buttons, it'll be harder to forget me.  Any writer wants people to like their stories, but I'll take active dislike over indifference any day of the week!  Indifference is the easiest way to be forgotten.

I must admit that while I wasn't stressing the reader poll, I was certainly curious to read it.  I mean, this is my first published story, so you can't blame me.  

And speaking of my first published story, I should mention that you haven't heard the last of "Feelings of the Flesh."  I wish I could share more, but I've taken the oath of secrecy.  So for now I must remain mysterious.  But rest assured when the time comes, I'll share ... 
     

So it's my birthday today.  Technically I'm in my 20s for another eight hours, but today marks "the big 3-0."  Honestly, I don't feel any different.  A few months ago I was quite aware of this looming number, but then personal tragedy struck the life of one of my best friends, in the form of his wife of 28 (someone I'd known 14 years) passing away.  Now you all know why there has been so little blog activity here of late.  Anyway, after something like that happened, the old "3-0" held and holds absolutely no power over me.  Just another number.  I might as well be 20.

But I'm not posting for sympathy.  Birthday wishes are welcome, but even more welcome would be a present, in the form of a translation.  One of my fellow contributors to Interzone 212, Garth Lynn Powell, came across an online review of the issue in question and posted it on his blog:

Começa com "Feelings of the flesh" de Douglas Elliott Cohen mas confesso que gostei mais da short story de Gareth Lyn Powell com o titulo "Ack-Ack Macaque". Em apenas quatro paginas este conto descreve-nos a historia de Tori e seus namorados Andy e Josh, em que numa animação por computador criada por Tori e postriormente transformada num jogo on-line pela empresa de Josh, sai fora de controlo e tras o caos e o apocalipse perante a impotência e desespero deles.

Outros contos se seguem como "A handful of pearls" de Beth Bernobich ou "Jihad" de Will McIntosh, este com o tema tão em voga do eco-terrorismo.
Após "The Algorithm" de Tim Akers vem a parte final com as esperadas criticas a livros, filmes e até podcasts.

As you can see, it's not quite English.  Portuguese, actually.  Anyone care to give me the birthday present of translation?

Oh, and Happy Holidays to everyone!

So Interzone is going to become available over at Fictionwise, starting with its most recent issues, #'s 211-213.  This means that you if haven't read my premiere story, "Feelings of the Flesh," in issue 212, now you can do so at your leisure (not to mention all the other fine stories they put out!)

Here's the official release from TTA Press, publishers of Interzone:

As Electronic Editions Editor for TTA Press, it is with great pleasure that I introduce to you, the reader, another way to enjoy Interzone.  In addition to the print version, readers will now enjoy instant access worldwide to the first ever e-Editions of Britain’s longest running science fiction and fantasy magazine, premiering at Fictionwise.

Beginning with Fictionwise’s regular release of new titles on Monday, December 17, 2007, readers will have the option of purchasing single issues or a one-year subscription.  The eBooks will debut with the three latest issues of Interzone: 211, 212, & 213.  Future issues will appear alongside the arrival of the print edition.  At this time, there are no plans to offer any issues before 211.

Fictionwise offers a wide array of eBook formats, which now include formats for the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle (with wireless download option).

Inside each e-Edition of Interzone you will find the complete text and color artwork found in the print edition.  In lieu of having the compelling look and feel that our editor, Andy Cox, bestows on the print edition, the e-Edition will be formatted so that it can be easily read on virtually any electronic device.

A one-year eMagazine subscription would make a great holiday gift for yourself or a friend.  New issues automatically appear in your personal Fictionwise bookshelf when they become available, and an email notification will be sent.  You can begin with the issue of your choice.  Subscriptions are convenient and save you money!

I hope you enjoy reading the e-Edition of Interzone as much as Andy, myself, and the good folks at Fictionwise have enjoyed bringing it to you.  Don’t forget to try TTA Press’s Crimewave, crime and mystery magazine, available now at Fictionwise.

Cheers!
Pete Bullock

Copies of Interzone 212 arrived today from the publisher (thanks, Andy!)  In it is "Feelings of the Flesh," my first published story.  I've been published for about a month, but now that I've had a chance to hold the magazine in my hands, turn to page 6 and see my printed words (not to mention my name) on the page, I finally feel published.  And with an excellent venue too.  What a fine feeling.  I could get quite used to this. :)

Anyway, I have a few more things to do today.  Once they're done I'm turning off my computer, turning off the phone and all other electronics, locking the door, and I'm going to enjoy the fiction of my fellow contributors.  I'll even indulge and read "Feelings of the Flesh," so I can read a story of mine on the printed page.  It's Narcissus Day, and I'm making no bones about it.

Published.

Sweet.


P.S. Last night I dreamed the copies arrived.  This is the third time in my life one of my dreams came true.

Alas, there has been a communication snafu.  Someone associated with Interzone provided me certain information, and this information led me to believe that Interzone 212 would be released in the U.S. yesterday, as my blog post indicated.  Someone even more firmly associated with Interzone (i.e. publisher/editor Andy Cox) glanced at my blog, saw my entry, and was nice enough to correct me about this misunderstanding.  His best guess is that newsstand copies for IZ 212 won't reach the U.S. until October.

Sorry to anyone that went around looking for a copy today based on my info.  If it makes you feel any better, I was pounding the pavement in Manhattan today, fruitlessly looking for a copy of my own, because I was too excited to wait for those copies I have coming via mail.  I must admit though, that part of me is relieved.  Robert Jordan was one of my adolescent heroes, and he died yesterday.  I didn't want to remember the day my first story reached U.S. soil as the same day RJ passed away.  So given this, I shall happily wait a few weeks more.

Again, sorry if I've caused anyone difficulties.  The next time I post about IZ 212 being in the States, it will be because I or someone I know has bought a copy from the newsstands.

So according to the press release I read a while back, Interzone 212 hits the U.S. today.  That means my premiere story has found its way to American soil. :)  If you live in the NYC area and want to pick up a copy, I received all sorts of solid suggestions where to find a copy here (that would be the second entry, under comments).  If you're in another part of the country, well, I'm sure there must be copies of the magazine somewhere.  If you know where, I encourage you to post such information here for the curious.

In other related news, I received what I suppose amounts to my first piece of fan-mail today.  In the comments thread from my recent "I'm Published!  But ..." thread, Alankria stopped by to offer some thoughts about my story.  If you're at all curious, you can read her thoughts by scrolling to the bottom of the comments thread here

So.  My story has hit U.S. soil, I received my first piece of fan-mail, and it's an NFL Sunday.  I shall now be George Constanza and get out on a high note ...

 I'm not a morning person.  But I woke up today with a nice groggy smile, because I knew I was officially a published author.  According to the publicity release I saw courtesy of Interzone's publicity guy, Roy Gray, copies of Interzone 212 will begin finding their way into some stores in the UK on September 6th.  Therefore, I am published.  Subscriber copies go out this weekend, and American newsstand/bookstore copies should arrive around September 16th, but I am published!  Woo hoo!

But ...

I won't feel published until I'm holding a copy of Interzone 212 in my hands.  Perfectly understandable, but it means the waiting does continue for a little longer.  And today started off extra cool, because the NFL season starts tonight (great game too, with the Colts vs. the Saints), and a little back on this blog I mentioned how Roy Gray set up an interview for me with my local paper, The Valley Stream Herald.  The timing worked out that the article about me would also be published today.  So I also spent all day looking forward to getting my hands on a copy, and hoping a couple of jerks from high school got a chance to read it.  With a circulation of 30,000 I'm sure a few of those jerks did.

But ...

Yes, I got almost a full page in the newspaper, which is quite cool.  And I can look past the fact that the picture they took of me makes it seem as if I have a dent in my chin.  But what is inexcusable is what amounts to either a case of supreme idiocy on the part of the reporter, or, barring that, yellow journalism.

From the article:

"When he was 20 years old, Cohen began writing his novelette while working at the fantasy magazine, 'Realms of Fantasy.'

Sigh.  When Cohen was 20 years old, he was not working on this novelette.  What he said to the reporter was that he wrote his first fantasy short story at this age.  And at this age, Cohen was barely reading short fiction at all.  He was reading novels.  Which means he was definitely not the assistant editor at Realms of Fantasy.

More from the article:

"Cohen, who has a Bachelor's degree in English from Hofstra University, realized the best chance for him to become a successful writer was to get insight on his work from established fantasy writers.  So he thought who better to critique the rough draft of his novelette than his favorite fantasy author, Dan Simmons.

"Cohen found Simmons at the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop ...etc."

Let's look past the fact that I told him my favorite sf writer is Dan Simmons.   To someone unfamiliar with the genre, this can be forgiven.   But  I attended Odyssey when I was 22.  Dan looked at chapters to an unfinished epic fantasy novel that remains in a drawer to this day (and unfinished it shall remain).  When I attended Odyssey, I still had yet to write "Feelings of the Flesh" ...and I wouldn't write the real first draft to this story until I was 25 or 26.  And that rough draft he refers to was originally a short story, not a novelette.

More:

"After the workshop ended, Cohen decided to send his reworked  story to several science-fiction fantasy publications." 

He must be referring to the story I had yet to write.

More:

"He finally received a response from the assistant editor of the British fantasy magazine Interzone.  Unfortunately, his gratification was ephemeral at best.  The assistant editor wanted to make several changes to Cohen's story, some that Cohen did not agree with.

"After several rewrites and two years of his life dedicated to the story, Cohen finally got an email from the publisher of Interzone, Andy Cox, saying they would run his story in the Sept. 6 issue."

Sigh.  Yes, Jetse suggested changes, some that I didn't agree with (and some that I did).  But that's why I had a long email discussion with him, wherein we bounced ideas back and forth, until both of us were comfortable with everything I would do for the rewrite.   Everything stayed civil the whole time, and Jetse was quite the pleasure to work with (and his brilliance helped make this story immeasurably better).  The omissions here suggest a much different tone, and that isn't appreciated.

And yes, there were two rewrites involved before Jetse passed this along to Andy, but what I told the "reporter" is that I was tinkering with this story for about two years, occasionally fixing and polishing a finished draft that was doing the submission rounds, before I submitted it to IZ.   Following the reporter's time-line, I shopped this thing around for 5 years (and had written it two years before that!) before taking it to IZ, and then, because Jetse's rewrites were apparently so demanding, it required I "dedicate" another two years of my life to the story before Andy Cox took it.  Andy accepted this story about two weeks after my 27th 28th birthday, and if memory serves correctly the whole rewrite process was a little over two months (I got really sick for a while, or it would have been even faster).

In short, this reporter (and possibly the editor) should be ashamed of himself.  One could argue that I have every right to be livid with rage ...but I'm not.  I'm a published author today.  And for all the bungling, almost all the important details were mentioned ...my name as a published writer ...the name of my story ...Interzone, Andy Cox, and the IZ website (the important missing detail is Jetse's name, which I dropped) ...and Realms of Fantasy.  Even Odyssey and Jeanne got a mention, which is cool.  And lots more readers know about these things than before.  So I won't be a diva and call The Herald  to complain, although I have every right to.

I'll just be glad I'm published, that the aforementioned items got some extra exposure, and that my work of fiction contains a lot more underlying truth than this piece of journalism.
 

Andy Cox has posted the cover art and TOC to issue 212 of Interzone over at the TTA website.  Personally, I think it's awesome.  It's also very cool to see my name of the cover of the magazine.  And I know fiction contributors Will McIntosh & Tim Akers (the latter online only), so it's cool to be premiering with such fine folks (I'm sure the rest of them are fine too).  And look at that!  I'm the lead story!  Most excellent.

Oh.  Andy also noted on the forum that subscriptions shall go out this weekend.  *Rubs hands*  Soon you shall read my drivel/brilliance ... mwahahah!

The Good: So I did that interview today with The Valley Stream Herald.  Went really well.  We spent about 40 minutes talking over coffee, and the reporter seemed really pleased with what I said.  Guess I'm quotable. :)  So I plugged Interzone and Realms of Fantasy, and let it be known where copies of my story could be acquired.  I also gave him a copy of the story off my printer.  He's anxious to read it.  And it turns out The Valley Stream Herald has a circulation of 30,000!  Not too shabby!  The story is going to be run a week from today, which, coincidentally, is the day my story premieres in UK bookstores.  How fitting.

The Bad: I heard from Andy Cox today.  Due to a last-minute decision the next issue of Interzone isn't going to be color but back & white.  Oh well.  I was a little disappointed, sure, but life goes on.  And really, I'm so excited about being published it's really not that big of a deal.  The illustration will still be used, just not a color one.

The Icon:  But let the color illustration live on!  It's a little indistinct, sure, but so long as you can see that blue tongue licking that knife it'll serve!

Blogging aside, I'll be pimping myself a lot this week.

As John Joseph Adams notes on his blog, this Saturday morning the two of us will be making an appearance on the speculative radio show, The Hour of the Wolf, hosted by Jim Freund.  It's on 99.5 FM, from 5-7 a.m.  And if that's too early for you (or if you don't receive this station broadcasting out of NYC) you can always hop over to the Hour of the Wolf website and listen to it after the fact thanks to the nifty archives.  John and I came on the show once before, and as he so aptly puts it in his Slushapalooza post, last time the phone lines lit up like a Christmas tree.  There wasn't enough time to answer all the questions, so this time around we should be devoting more time to Q&A with the callers.

Also, and this one sneaked up on me, tomorrow I'm going to be interviewed by a newspaper.  As you're all no doubt sick of hearing by now, my premiere story will be appearing in next month's issue of Interzone.  Well, last week I received an email from Roy Gray over at Interzone.  Roy handles advertising & publicity for the magazine.  So in this email Roy tells me how when a new/newish author over in the UK has a first acceptance with one of TTA's magazines or anthologies (TTA being the publisher of Interzone and other fine publications) they've taken to doing press releases.  Since I'm in the U.S., normally I wouldn't be contacted about this, but because I'm also the assistant editor at  Realms of Fantasy, Roy had a sneaking suspicion there might be a story in here somewhere.  The question was whether I'd be interested in participating if anyone wanted to interview me.

The answer was yes!  So Roy fired off some questions to me, about my story, about me as an editor and writer, and about just plain old me.  Some follow-up questions ensued,  and soon enough Roy sent me the official press release for my approval.  It looked good to me, and when he asked what my local newspaper was, I told him The Valley Stream Herald.  So he took care of contacting them, warning me it was quite possible nothing would come of this.  But authors are used to nothing resulting from our labors (it's called rejection), so this was no big deal.  I was just grateful for the opportunity.

So anyway, I heard from Roy yesterday that he'd sent off the press release to The V.S. Herald, and I figured that was that.  So imagine my surprise when today I received a call from a reporter at the The V.S. Herald, wanting to interview me for a piece they would run in next week's paper.  So now I'm meeting him to be interviewed tomorrow!

Wow!  I have to admit that aside of the obvious connections it creates, being the assistant editor at Realms of Fantasy has certain advantages.  This position is the main reason most of you tune into my blog, which is really another form of media.  But now I'll be on a radio show and interviewed by a newspaper with an actual subscriber base, just days before my first story will be premiering with a great magazine.  I don't think too many people get this sort of opportunity for a premiere short story.  It's pretty outstanding.

Admittedly, the radio gig is mostly coincidence, since this was booked back in early July and I didn't know for certain I'd be appearing in the September issue of IZ until very recently.  But it's some sweet timing.  While I'll mostly be on the radio to talk about my position as assistant editor, you'd better believe I'm going to drop a mention concerning my story.  I believe the listening audience for Hour of the Wolf is somewhere between 50,000-100,000 (could be wrong, but I think this is about right).  Valley Stream has a population around 60,000, and it's safe to say at least a few thousand people in Valley Stream subscribe to this newspaper.   So that's what?  At least  55,000 people I'm getting the word out to between these two venues?  Possibly a lot more?   And with this many people, I think it's safe to say a few of them will be curious enough to hunt down a copy of my story.  Even if it's just one person, it will be one more person reading my story.  And that's what it's all about.

So to put it more bluntly this is FUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

So thanks to everyone.  Thanks to Interzone's assistant editor, Jetse de Vries, for discovering my story in his slush and putting me through those tough rewrites that made the story reach new heights.  Thanks to Interzone's publisher/editor, Andy Cox, for deciding to publish this story in his fine magazine.  Thanks to Warwick Fraser-Coombe, whose fine  color illustration for my story will drop jaws.  Thanks to IZ's advertising/publicity superstar Roy Gray for making this interview happen with The V.S. Herald.  Thanks to Jim Freund for wanting  me back on his outstanding and illustrious show (yes, illustrious--check out the previous guests and you'll see why).  Thanks to Shawna McCarthy, editor at Realms of Fantasy, for hiring me as her assistant editor (and thus allowing me to discover I not only enjoy writing speculative literature, but editing it).   Thanks to the many wonderful writing teachers I had whose lessons gave me the skills to tackle the job at Realms and excel from the very beginning--Jeanne Cavelos, Dan Simmons, and Orson Scott Card in particular.  Thanks to many critiquers who looked at earlier versions of "Feeling of the Flesh" before I sent it to Interzone.  I'd name you all, but it's been so long I'm afraid I barely remember anyone!

And thanks to everyone who tunes into my blog.  I love sharing stuff like this, and I really appreciate all the encouragement, support, and interest you've all shown in my various projects, including the rapidly approaching D-DAY for my first story.  I see myself continuing this blog for a long while yet (and to think I was once vehemently opposed to blogging!)

I could not ask for a better premiere into the world of short speculative fiction.  Now let's see what the reviewers have to say! :)

So my first story is coming out in Interzone soon.  Most excellent.  Obviously there a # of family & friends interested in acquiring a copy of the magazine.   The thing is,  Interzone is published in the UK.  People can order copies from the website, but between the conversion rate and overseas shipping it gets a tad expensive to buy a single issue.   I'll point them in this direction if I have to, but I've been told there are a few stores in the U.S. that carry Interzone.  So does anyone know of any bookstores (or other stores) in the NYC area that carry Interzone?   If so, please share.

Received an email from Andy Cox from Interzone today, asking for a bio.  I think it's safe to say I'll be in the next issue.  Woo hoo!

Also came across a cover letter today addressed to Shawna McCarthy and  Carina Gonzalez.  Carina has been gone over two years.  Methinks someone is out of the loop.

So I'm going to be at this year's World Fantasy Convention.  There are a limited number of reading slots available (a lot actually, but still finite).  I'd like to do a reading from what will be my premiere story with Interzone.  After swapping a couple of emails with the program director, it's no sure thing that I can be given a reading slot.  But from the sound of it, if I can guarantee an audience I'm going to significantly increase my chances.

So how about it folks?  Of those of you attending this year's World Fantasy Convention, how many of you would be interested in hearing me do a reading from "Feelings of the Flesh?"  Lord knows I've mentioned it enough on my blog.  How many would consider showing up and lending support to the Slushmaster?

Speak now ,or leave me dangling upon the e-winds ...

So fairly recently I was gushing away on my blog when, on the Interzone website, I saw the artwork to what will be my premiere story.  In fact, I was so pleased that with the help of Jetse de Vries, the assistant editor over at Interzone, I got a hold of the artist's email address and fired off a complimentary email. Here's part of what he wrote back:

Hi Douglas,

Thanks for the email. I'm glad you liked the picture, yours was a fun story to illustrate. Lots of action and interesting visuals, always makes my job as an illustrator that much easier.

I love good action scenes, both reading and writing them.  It comes from being introduced to the genre by Robert E. Howard's writings.  I also love strange/interesting imagery, because such things are cool.  What's better than seeing a clear picture of something strange that doesn't exist?  That's pure imagination, which creates a sense of wonder, which takes me back to why I started reading this stuff in the first place.  So the fact that the artist would immediately key on these two aspects of my writing was tremendously gratifying.  Also, it's both good and interesting to learn that action and strange imagery can be conducive to the creative process of an illustrator.  Makes me hopeful that more of my stories will get cool illustrations in the future.  Once I sell them, of course. :)

So back in January of 2006 Interzone accepted my story, "Feelings of the Flesh," after the assistant editor, Jetse de Vries,  put me through two strenuous rewrites.  It marked my first sale.  Needless to say I was pretty excited.  Since then I've been waiting, checking the Interzone forum with all the regularity of a stalker, hoping for some news of its publication.  Today, before I checked the IZ forum, in a rather delicious twist of irony, I received this email from one of my slush survivors, one Sarah Totton:

So today marked another first for me. I received via email attachment a galley proof to look over for the magazine Paradox. I'm a contributor for the next issue, but not as a fiction writer. Instead, I wrote a review. I've written a few reviews for the RoF website, but for various reasons those haven't been posted yet. So this will mark the first time one of my reviews will see publication. And not counting some fan letters of mine that were published in the Marvel Conan comics many moons ago, this also marks the first time my writing will appear in print. Fun stuff.