Hooray for the Drollerie Blog Tour!

Welcome back to the Drollerie Blog Tour! Today I am hosting a new guest-- Brandon Bell, short story author, editor (of the Aether Age), and writer of this engaging blog: http://nithska.blogspot.com/.

Your turn, Brandon!

"Hopefully you've done some extra reading today among the blog tour set up by Drollerie Press authors and some non-Drollerie folks like me.  If not you should find some links below to lead you on to Good Stuff(tm).

The writing prompt suggested for this introduction was 'best/worst experience with a work in progress'.

The worst experience as a writer is that moment --and it arrived for the first time when I was a teen-- when you read something achingly beautiful and realize: I'm not that good.

And, for me, that's not something I went through and left behind: it's a shadow that follows me.  I can find worth in what I do, but satisfaction is difficult.  This is one of those character traits that can be debilitating or the greatest motivation.

Selling my first story (The Fourth Horseman), my first story to a print anthology (Return to Luna), getting the title story in an anthology (Things We Are Not), and now co-editing an anthology (The Aether Age)... these are the biggest payoffs I've experienced. 

To keep things in perspective, I keep all my rejections from F&SF pinned to the wall right in front of me.  I'll crack that egg eventually.

Of course I hope to pique enough of your interest that you'll click through to my blog and give a listen to the free audio version of Broken Vessels (and another audio surprise to follow soon) , and then click the links to read my stories.    Of my blog posts, I am most  proud of the sporadic reviews I've posted (everything from Leigh Brackett to Alice Munro, Jack Vance to China Mieville) along with posts about the small press/ genre fction, and some of the social issues around it.

Most of all, I hope you will check out and keep an eye on The Aether Age. 

I think it is interesting, when I look at Ralan's Anthology page, how many anthologies get churned out with  --from the outside looking in-- a marked lack of inspiration or joy.  Aether Age isn't one of those.  That it be a great shared-world story collection will be for you to decide.  I believe it will: there is much talent and passion working to be sure it is.


M.S. Corley has presented us with amazing cover-art (preview to come soon).  We have T.C. Parmelee (did you check out the free recording of Broken Vessels on my blog?  Well, come on!) doing the audio version, AND we have the Chameleon Chamber Group on board to do a soundtrack.  Can you say: OMG?  Eric S. Raymond is writing an introduction for the anthology (you can read why on the Aether Age blog).  And the writers... no comments yet since we don't have a finalized TOC, but stand by!

We are knee-deep in slush reading and still weeks to go.  I think The Aether Age is going to be special, but this is 'me' and I'm going to obsess until we send it over to Hadley Rille to go to the printer. 

As someone once wrote, it was the best of times, it was the worst of
times..."

Thanks, Brandon!