Big News

[dr_phil_physics]

It's A Non-Winning Winner!

Just took a phone call from the Writers of the Future contest administrator.

There will be TWO 2004 Clarionites published in the WOTF anthology this summer. albodgan Al Bogdan had a Second Prize winner from the Q3 contest and now I will be the sole published Finalist, also from the Q3 contest. So I'll also be getting an invite to the WOTF event this summer and presumably will be paid for the publication in the anthology. Al will have one official heckler at the event. Don't have a date yet for the WOTF event -- they are looking to change the dates so they won't have to compete with WorldCon for Locus space. (grin)

My story will be "A Man in the Moon", just over 14,000 words. This story first made it out in the world a month before Clarion at just under 3000 words and has grown up over the years. (double-grin)

Just five days into the new year and a sale already. Yay!

Dr. Phil

Comments

[dandyfunk.livejournal.com]

Congrats!

See you at the workshop.

[chris-s-owens.livejournal.com]

Congrats!

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I glanced at your blog -- and found myself (a) the subject of your newest entry (http://chris-s-owens.livejournal.com/2757.html) and (b) feeling sorry that your story didn't make it. (grin) That's the worst aspect of the WOTF, really -- for everyone who wins or is published, many someone elses don't. (double-jeopardy-grin)

Looks like you did some real detective work on your competitors for the coveted Published Finalist category. For the record, they took the longer of my two stories, 14,200 words versus 10,500 words, so for them to have taken two stories, the second would've had to fit into the spread of stories and been under 4000 words. Huh, come to think of it, my Q1 2008 story is under 3900 words. (triple-word-score-grin)

Dr. Phil

[chris-s-owens.livejournal.com]

Hi,

No need to feel bad at all. That's the name of the game. And thanks for the info. More numbers to crunch!

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I note from your blog:

My story "Hangar Queen" was the first place winner in the WotF 1Q07.

Funny think is that I am editing a new story called "Hangar Queen" right now. Was considering sending it in for Q2 2008 WOTF contest... (BIG-grin)

Either: (1) Great minds think alike. (2) There are only so many good titles.

Dr. Phil

[dandyfunk.livejournal.com]

1) you're the first to suggest not only that my mind is great, but that it is capable of thought!

2) The original title was "Shop Queen." I changed it to make it sound more military.

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

In my case, "Hangar Queen" is a hard military SF story. Tough to go to war when your cruiser is broken and the other ships keep stripping it for parts so THEY can go to war. (grin) I first read about "hangar queens" in a book about F4 Phantoms in Vietnam. Naturally, regs say you can't actually have a hangar queen, so periodically they'd take their current one, strip off anything left that was good, but make it flyable. Very funny passage in that book about flying an F4 as an open air cockpit with no hydraulics on the landing gear (welded in the down position) for a five minute hop to another base.

Nothing like persevering under adversity.

Dr. Phil

[dandyfunk.livejournal.com]

My hangar queen is not a ship, but just a component.
And there will always be hangar queens, whether or not the regs allow it. Most get a eye-catching red stencil with "NOT FOR FLIGHT" on the side.