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Writing the Elfyverse . . . and beyond

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E-Quill Publishing Features Michael’s Stories

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Cover Page for "On Westmount Station"

I’m very pleased to announce that my late husband Michael’s work is being featured at the e-Quill Publishing Web site.  Please see this link for further details:

http://www.equillpublishing.com/xcms_entry.php?xcmsentryid=42

Here’s the press release in its entirety:

Michael B. Caffrey is an eBook author from the USA. Due to the tireless devotion of his wife and fellow author, Barb Caffrey, Michael’s works continue to live on even though he passed away suddenly of an illness in 2004.

Much of what Michael wrote has been edited, and in some parts, co-authored by his wife Barb, who has succeeded in capturing the essence and ‘feel’ of Michael’s style. Not an easy accomplishment but one she achieved well, given her intimate knowledge and understanding of her husband’s style.

Titles released through e-Quill Publishing

Among those works listed through e-Quill Publishing, are included the popular Columba series, a fantasy magical series written for his wife Barb. The titles include

Columba and the Cat (2002)

Columba and the Committee (2002)

Columba and the Crossing (2004)

Columba Collection of short stories (2010).

Michael also wrote science fiction, creating the Joey Maverick series, a series set in an alternate far future setting. 

A Dark and Stormy Night (2001)

On Westmount Station (2010)

***** End Press Release *****

Please note there are more stories on the way, at least four more in the “Joey Maverick” universe, at least one more in the “Columba” fantasy universe, and of course there are many, many more stories in my Elfyverse, which Michael helped me start and without his influence wouldn’t be the same place.

Michael’s work deserved to live; so did he, but unfortunately despite my fervent wishes (and, I’m sure, his), that did not happen.  That his stories live on is a blessing, though never as much a blessing as was his presence in my life.

Know that I will work as fast as I can to get more stories written or finished.  I’m very pleased that there has been demand for these stories, and I want you all to know that as long as I’m alive, I will continue to work on all of this along with my own Elfyverse and all other stories that were in progress at the time of Michael’s death but for a time had to be set aside until I was once again ready to deal with them.

Written by Barb Caffrey

February 21, 2011 at 10:03 pm

Posted in Marketing, Michael B. Caffrey, milsf, Remembrance, Writing

Time to de-stress

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After the tumult of the past week, I badly needed a day to get away from it all and de-stress.

You see, I get very worked up about politics.  I don’t see it as “political theatre,” or at least not just that . . . I see it as extremely important.  And sometimes, the importance of the political moment can crowd out everything else.

I don’t know about anyone else, but what I do to de-stress is to read my favorite “comfort books” (as I discussed a few blogs ago), rest, then meditate after I’m a bit calmer.  Because things are usually neither as bad as they first appear, nor as rosy as they can look in our best moments — they’re like people, period, and have elements of both.

That we can have the seed of hope in a truly despairing day is one of those conundrums philosophers have been trying to solve for millenia, and I know I certainly don’t have the answer to it.  But that does seem a saving grace, now and again.

Yesterday, the hope I saw despite all the tumult was an unusual picture — on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show,” starring disc jockey and humanitarian Ed Schultz, he had a member of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) community in Madison right alongside a member of the pro-life community in Madison.  This is rarely seen; even more rare, they got along, and agreed that what the protestors are fighting about (the right to have their voices be heard through collective bargaining) is extremely important.

But I couldn’t take in that hopeful picture just then; I was too wracked by the suffering I could see, easily, if the current Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, gets his way.

Therefore, what this blog is about is simple: sometimes we need to take a step back when we’re too emotionally involved in something — particularly if it’s an external event.  (I’m not saying you should step back from your love relationships; far from it!  Though sometimes sleeping on a decision helps you, so the principle does apply somewhat even to this example.)  Only when we de-stress a bit can we actually figure out that there are hopeful things going on all around us, big and small . . . and that life isn’t as bad as it first appears.

My late husband Michael often used this axiom — just get through the day, or as he put it, “sufficient unto the day are the needs thereof.”  (I know he’s quoting someone but I haven’t been able to figure out who said this first.)   It helps to remember that not everything in the world is awful, hopeless, bleak beyond belief or worthless, even though stupid things do keep happening (today, in Madison, some probably well-meaning doctor handed out fake “I am really ill” slips to anyone who asked, including a Fox News producer) that make my teeth grind.

Now, I’m going back and watching some more of “The Maury Show,” which is yet another way to de-stress that I find extremely helpful.  I hope you find your way to relax, get away from it all — at least mentally if you can’t physically — and remember to enjoy whatever you can of your life.

Written by Barb Caffrey

February 19, 2011 at 10:45 pm

Posted in Comfort books, Framing Narrative, Michael B. Caffrey, Persistence, Relaxation, United States Politics, Wisconsin politics, Writing

Persistence is Key

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Nothing gets done in this world without one, simple truth: persistence.

Without persistence, we wouldn’t have one of our greatest American Presidents, Abraham Lincoln — admittedly an exalted example — because what most people fail to remember from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debates is that Abraham Lincoln was then a candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois.  And he lost, which ultimately was a great thing for the country (how could Abraham Lincoln have become President in 1860 if he’d been a sitting Senator?), yet he couldn’t have known this in 1858.

In the writing field, the career path of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller has already been discussed, extensively, by me, as they are shining examples of what persistence, faith in yourself and genuine talent can do to keep dreams alive. 

In the music field, the career of Art Pepper (1925-1982), alto saxophonist, is an insightful example.  Pepper had major drug problems, and ended up in prison for over ten years in the 1950s, just as he was starting to make a name for himself.  He resumed his career after that ten years only after he met his third, and last, wife, Laurie; some of his best work was recorded between 1975 and 1982, the year of his death.  In his autobiography (transcribed by Laurie Pepper), STRAIGHT LIFE, Pepper described the difficulty he had in believing he could still make great music, and credited his wife, Laurie, for her faith and belief in him until the end of his life.  (Sometimes, behind every great man really is a great woman.)

And not everyone becomes famous or appreciated his or her lifetime; Charles Ives (1874-1954) is a famous example in music (he was a composer, but was known more for being an insurance executive than as a composer or musician).  Ives’s best-known composition, “Variations on America,” features bitonality and polyrhythms, and was far ahead of its time in how melody and harmony were conceptualized.  Ives, in general, was at least fifty years ahead of his time in how he conceptualized harmony and melody.  (This is partly why Ives’s music wasn’t much appreciated until he was near death, and afterward.)

Going on with this theme, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was barely-known during her lifetime; she’d written thousands of poems, but only a dozen were published during her lifetime, often altered by publishers to “fit the rules of the times.”  (Haven’t we all heard this, writers?)  She was known for writing poems without titles; for using “slant rhymes,” or close-to rhymes (like “ill” and “shell”); for short sentences, and for unconventional capitalization and punctuation.

All of these examples — every single last one of them — shows the importance of continuing to do whatever the person (or people) in question was good at, because by doing so, that was eventually what caused the breakthrough in every single life.  It wasn’t always noticeable at the time — I’m sure Sharon Lee and Steve Miller had no idea their Liaden Universe (TM) books had become so popular before the advent of the Internet (they’ve said so, in other places) — but that was what did it for them.

In other words, PERSISTENCE IS KEY.  Because we cannot force a breakthrough; we might not even recognize a small breakthrough when it happens.  But we can persist, and keep on going; we can continue to believe in ourselves, and keep up “the good fight,” while refusing to surrender our creativity to anyone for any reason.   And being married to a good person — as Sharon Lee is to Steve Miller, as Charles Ives was, to Harmony Twitchell, as Art Pepper was, to Laurie Pepper — can really and truly help.

It is that last quality that I tend to highlight, being fortunate enough to marry the right man for me, Michael B. Caffrey, and I do my best to remember, every day, how much faith and belief he had in me.  But all of the other qualities — talent, self-belief, drive, honest ambition, a willingness to “do your thing” regardless of what anyone else thinks about it — are just as important; in some cases, like Emily Dickinson’s, if a person was relying on finding and marrying the right person to propel him or her to greatness, it just wasn’t going to happen.

So I urge you, once again, to keep on trying.  Refuse to give up, no matter how long it takes.  Give yourself a chance, even if no one else will . . . and do your best to let your dreams take shape.

Written by Barb Caffrey

February 13, 2011 at 11:34 pm

Posted in Art Pepper, Inspirational stuff, Language, Michael B. Caffrey, Persistence, Writing

Stories at e-Quill Publishing and State of the Elfyverse

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Folks, it’s that time of year again . . . time for my periodic “state of the Elfyverse” post, and also a friendly reminder of my stories, and Michael’s, that are available at e-Quill Publishing.

As for the Elfyverse — Part 45 of AN ELFY ABROAD is complete.  Parts 43 and 44 have been revised and are complete.  Part 46 has been started.  Not a bad month’s work.

As for the Elfyverse (new) short story, “Boys Night In,” I have a new beginning that works a little better, but it’s still in progress.  I’ve maybe added 500 words, total, since the last time I discussed it . . . more work to go on that one.  The story stands, right now, at 8500 words in length.

“Keisha’s Vow,” the ELFY prequel set in 1954 (with dead characters being alive, while others are much younger), remains stalled out.  Right now it’s in the novella range, but I think it projects to a full (albeit short) novel . . . I know what comes next but not quite how to get there, as if I’d missed a few steps along the path that is this particular story.  Still working on this one.

As for ELFY, I haven’t found an agent yet, nor have I found a publisher for it, but I remain hopeful.

Now, as for the stories at e-Quill Publishing?  One is mine alone, a short story satire about friendship, aliens, and unemployment called “The Fair at South Farallon.”  It’s 3750 words long and is available at this link:

http://www.equillpublishing.com/the-fair-at-south-farallon.html

The next one is an Elfyverse short story that originally appeared at the Written Word Online Magazine in 2007, “Trouble with Elfs,” that was started with the able assistance of my late husband, Michael, thus he gets a credit for it.  It’s available at this link:

http://www.equillpublishing.com/the-trouble-with-elfs-a-story-from-the-elfyverse.html

Finally, there are several stories of Michael’s available, the latest of which is the Joey Maverick adventure “On Westmount Station,” a story I finished for him and co-wrote.  It is 10,000 words long, and if there’s interest in this story I plan to continue writing in my husband’s “Maverick” universe.

Please go to this link to find it; it’s a bargain at only $1.00 (Australian):

http://www.equillpublishing.com/joey-maverick-on-westmount-station.html

Written by Barb Caffrey

January 30, 2011 at 11:40 am

Posted in e-Quill Publishing, Elfyverse, Michael B. Caffrey, Persistence, Writing

New Joey Maverick story up at E-Quill Publishing

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Ten years ago, my late husband, Michael B. Caffrey, completed his novel MAVERICK: LIEUTENANT, a novel of military science fiction in a far-future universe depicting the Atlantean Union (which comprises humanity, the Kiral, a cat-like race, and the Wyrm, who are sort of like flightless dragons, along with were-mice and cat-owls, sentient creatures who are more than animals but perhaps less — or other — than humans, Kiral and Wyrm).    He unfortunately did not live long enough to see an allied story about Joey Maverick, “A Dark and Stormy Night” (subtitled by me “A Joey Maverick Adventure”) published at the Written Word Online Magazine in May, 2005, nor did he ever intend for me to do any writing in his universe.  (By necessity, I both edited “A Dark and Stormy Night” and added about 1400 words, upping the romance a little bit and adding some internal monologue, in order to make it a legal collaboration and thus a little easier to sell.)

But Michael left behind what he called “The Big Book of Maverickiana,” a few notes, a great deal of personal reminiscence and, of course, me.  And I couldn’t leave Michael’s universe alone; I couldn’t leave his work unfinished and unable to be appreciated.

We’d been told by a few publishing insiders we trusted that the only thing Michael’s novel needed was action; it had everything else.  So I endeavored to add some, keeping in mind Michael’s main dictum about Joey Maverick, which was that Joey should have adventures — how not?  But not have them in such an obvious way that non-Naval people know much about them . . . or maybe anything at all.

I wrote most of what’s now “Joey Maverick: On Westmount Station” in 2006, then revised and updated in 2008 and again in 2009 before finally finding an ending I liked in 2010.  I added characters, dialogue, an important subplot, internal monologue and additional interaction between the already-extant characters in the narrative, making this a 50/50 collaboration (or perhaps a bit more; this was drawn from the first chapter of Michael’s novel but, shall we say, was liberally interpreted by me).  The story is approximately 10,000 words in length — a long short story, or perhaps closer to a novelette? — and would probably be the first tenth to twelfth of a proposed “Maverick” novelization/revision.

Michael and I actually discussed what to do in the event something happened to either one of us (I guess I should thank the whole mess surrounding the brain-damaged Terri Schiavo, which was still going on in early 2004 before her ex-husband, who was also her legal guardian, was allowed to end her life in accordance to what he said were his late ex-wife’s wishes), and what he’d told me was this: “If you are able to do anything with it, do what you think best.  I trust you.  But if you can’t, please don’t bend yourself out of shape just to keep this alive.  Work on your own writing, and enjoy your life, first.”

I’ve done the former — and I’ve been trying, very hard, to do the latter, ever since Michael’s untimely passing in September of 2004 — but I’m sorry.  I could not let this universe go.  There’s so much potential there; so much of what Michael had is really, really good and all it needs are what amounts to a few sub-plots and some additional action and then it can be sold.  It won’t be exactly what Michael would’ve written, but it’ll be as close as I can make it because this is what I must do in order to honor Michael’s memory, and keep faith with him in the way I see best — by bringing as much of his literary creation to the marketplace as I possibly can, as he undoubtedly would’ve done had his heart not inexplicably given out that fateful, tramautic, and inexpressibly sad day.

I hope you will enjoy this story, as it was a labor of love and faith to keep Michael’s universe alive all these years.  And providing it is appreciated as much as “Dark and Stormy Night” was, in 2005 and again with its re-release in 2010 by E-Quill Publishing, I’ll be writing a whole new chapter into Joey’s story, something Michael was talking about but did not get the chance to write . . . but that’s for another day.

For now, please go to the link at:

http://www.equillpublishing.com/product.php?productid=48&cat=0&page=&featured=Y

Thank you kindly, and please, let me know what you think of this story.

 

************

Updated as of 1/30/2015: Both of Michael’s “Joey Maverick” stories are now available on Amazon, not at E-Quill Publishing. (I thought people knew that, but I had some comments today indicating not everyone does.) I hope to be able to format these stories for the Nook later this year also, but for now, if you wish to read Michael’s work (and I do hope you do), please go to these two places, and enjoy!

For “A Dark and Stormy Night,” AKA how Joey meets the love of his life, the fiery Belinda Simpson, amidst a far-future sailing disaster: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Stormy-Night-Adventures-Maverick-ebook/dp/B00H1A16PA

For “On Westmount Station,” described above: http://www.amazon.com/Joey-Maverick-Westmount-Station-Adventures-ebook/dp/B00H131850

Written by Barb Caffrey

January 23, 2011 at 4:21 pm

Posted in e-Quill Publishing, Michael B. Caffrey, Persistence, Remembrance, Writing

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Odds and Ends

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I have some good news to report, and some odd news, thus the blog title header.

The good news?  Mom left behind two scratch-off lottery tickets at the grocery store and thought they were gone forever.  I called; they weren’t.  Some kind and honest soul had turned them in.  I went to get them for her, and unfortunately, they lost.

But it was greatly appreciated that an honest person found them and turned them in to the customer service desk at the store.  It helped restore my faith in humanity a little bit, which has been down since the unprovoked attack on Gabrielle Giffords, which killed six people and wounded fourteen, last Saturday.

Now for the odd news — this past Tuesday, Mary Fallin was sworn in as the new Governor of Oklahoma.  She is their state’s first woman Governor, and was taking her oath of office outdoors.

What happened?  Well, rather than say she’d “support, obey and defend” the Constitution, she said she’d “support, obey, and offend” the Constitution instead.

Don’t believe me?  Check out this story for further details:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/13/politics/main7242727.shtml

The most ridiculous quote in this article comes from Gov. Fallin’s spokesman Alex Weintz, who blamed the weather for Fallin’s verbal miscue.

“She dropped the ‘d’,” Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz said Wednesday. “I was amazed that anyone was able to speak at all or get any of their lines right considering how cold it was outside.” It was 29 degrees and light snow was falling when Fallin recited her oath of office on the steps of the state Capitol.

Now, folks . . . I live in Wisconsin.  We have colder temperatures than this all the time, and often, the oaths of office are administered outdoors.  No one here has ever said he’d “offend” the Constitution of the state, or of the United States of America.  So I have to believe this is a spurious reason for why Gov. Fallin misspoke.

Anyway, other than that things are just rolling along . . . writing-wise, I’ve written 3000 words this week, which isn’t bad, considering.  (Maybe I’ll get more writing in over the weekend; one can only hope.)  And tomorrow, there’ll be a Packers playoff game to watch — not sure if I’m rooting for ’em, against ’em or just watching ’em at this point, but at least it’s something that keeps me amused.

Written by Barb Caffrey

January 14, 2011 at 11:59 pm

Posted in Heartwarming stories, Sports figures, Writing

Just reviewed “The Dragon Variation” and “Mouse and Dragon” at SBR; Comments.

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Folks, here’s the link before I forget:

http://shinybookreview.wordpress.com/2011/01/01/the-dragon-variation-and-mouse-and-dragon-two-more-excellent-books-by-lee-and-miller/

Now, a few comments from me (otherwise known as the peanut gallery):

These books are excellent.  Truly outstanding.  Magical, even . . . they get all the emotions right.  All the mores right.  All the cultural issues right.  The language is impressive, the descriptions are just right, and the romances are conflicted, realistic, sometimes amusing and touching, all at once.

I wish I could write this like this pair of authors, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller; I truly do.

The end of my review talked about the emotional, powerful impact MOUSE AND DRAGON had on me.   MOUSE AND DRAGON is about the too-brief marriage of Aelliana Caylon and Daav yos’Phelium, and is realistic in so many ways about what happens to a widower when his spouse dies that I can’t even tote them up on a toteboard.  That Aelliana’s presence sticks around (more or less in ghost form) is not the most amazing part of this achievement; it’s that Sharon Lee and Steve Miller — neither of whom have been widowed as far as I know — got it right that our deceased spouses do live on.  In us.

One of the issues I’ve had with widowhood from the beginning is that I didn’t know how to express my feelings over the loss of my husband beyond rage, despair, extreme frustration and loss.  It’s really hard to lose a spouse when you’re only thirty-nine years old, and you’ve only had a few, short years together.  Blissful years, sure.  But still — far too short.

The entire story of Daav’s marriage — how he met Aelliana, in SCOUT’S PROGRESS.  How he married her, then lost her, in MOUSE AND DRAGON.  How he dealt with her continued presence in FLEDGLING and SALTATION — has now been sketched out.  It is a stunning achievement, one that I can’t praise highly enough; it shows two extremely intelligent people who are constrained by circumstances that manage to forge a life together, then manage to keep on loving each other in a meaningful way after one of the pair’s physical death.

Daav’s solution — which I will discuss here, but I warn you it is a spoiler if you haven’t read the end of MOUSE AND DRAGON, or any of FLEDGLING or SALTATION — is to immerse himself in an alternate identity, Jen Sar Kiladi, and thus take a lover.  He has a child, Theo Waitley, by his lover, who is a half-sibling of his son Val Con yos’Phelium by his wife, Aelliana Caylon.  And Aelliana has stuck around; she still views herself as Daav’s wife, and despite him taking a lover (at her insistence, I might add), nothing has changed for them as far as their feelings go.  It’s just that because she no longer has a physical body, she can’t meet all his physical needs.

I’ve been pondering this.  I think there’s something here that might help me, psychologically, deal with something I’ve really not wanted to have to think about — possibly being with another man.

You see, Michael was the ultimate in my experience.  The best husband (as I had two previous ones, believe you me, I know how good a husband he was).  The best, and most supportive person, I have ever had the privilege to know, yet he was not sycophantic and would tell me off if he felt the need (which, fortunately for me, was rarely).

How do you go beyond “the ultimate?”  How do you find any meaning with anyone else?

I don’t know, but I’m finally willing to at least consider the possibility that someone extraordinary — someone like Kamele Waitley was for Daav/Jen Sar — might exist out there.

I’d best end this now, or I’ll get maudlin — and trust me, none of us need that.

Written by Barb Caffrey

January 1, 2011 at 6:25 pm

Posted in Book reviews, Language, Michael B. Caffrey, Remembrance, Widowhood, Writing

State of the Elfyverse: End of the Year Edition

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Folks, since we’re two days away from the New Year, it’s about time I updated the state of the Elfyverse.  (I think it’s been two months, maybe three, since I last did this.  How time does fly.)

We start off with the in-progress short story, tentatively titled “Boys Night In.”  I estimate this as about 60% complete; I have the framework for this story, and some of the jokes, but there’s something just not right as of yet.  (I shall, of course, keep working on it.)  Story will be, approximately, 10K words in length.

AN ELFY ABROAD — part 45 is in progress.  Part 44 has been revised.  Part 46 has been tentatively sketched out, in prose only . . . no detailing or jokes.  (This means I’ve probably written five, maybe six thousand words since the last check-in.)  Story stands at an unwieldy and perhaps excessive 255,000 words . . . very good possibility this book is going to end up being split as it’s at least fifteen chapters from the end.

ELFY — I tried twenty agents this year; two bit on sample pages.  Both passed after I sent the sample pages.   Two small-press publishers have shown interest; one believes ELFY, which stands at 240,000 words, needs to be split in thirds.  (I’m still mulling this over.)  The other believes ELFY should stand as-is, but there are other things (not of my making) that are perhaps an impediment to its release at the second small-press publisher.

Needless to say, I am not giving up on ELFY.

KEISHA’S VOW — This is an ELFY prequel, set in 1954 . . . I’ve done some editing here, and perhaps have added 1500 words since October.  I’m still working out part 23, and have realized a few possible problems, but haven’t had much time for this work in particular due to working on the collaborative effort with Piotr Mierzejewski.  KEISHA’S VOW continues to stand at just over 35,000 words; this novel should finish somewhere between 95K and 115K if all goes well.

Now, the state of the non-Elfyverse stuff . . . .

CHANGING FACES, a spiritual, paranormal romance set in the present day, has been re-started, and about 2500 words have been added.  This work now stands at 105,000 words, and should finish by 130K.

THE GIFT, a spiritual, paranormal romance novella set in the present day, has been re-started, and about 1500 words have been added.  This work now stands at 24,000 words, and I hope will finish at 40K.

Novella in progress with Piotr Mierzejewski — currently untitled, formerly titled IRON FALLS — we have about 20K words of an unformed story.  A very rough first draft, IMO . . . some chapters are more finished than others, which I suppose is a saving grace.   This novella is near-future military suspense, set in 2047 in Russia.

10K word story sent to Writers of the Future in September (can’t give out the title), which is fantasy/adventure.  Can’t imagine this story will do well if my/Michael’s collaboration “Joey Maverick: On Westmount Station” didn’t even get an honorable mention, but I suppose it counts.

Word count for the year stands at 235,000.  Not including this blog, various book reviews, writing e-mails, or anything save actual writing on projects.

I have no idea how to count all the editing of projects I’ve done for ComicsBulletin.com and for various friends, so I won’t . . . I’ll just say, “a lot,” and be done with it.

Happy New Year, everyone.   (Oh, and my New Year’s resolutions?  Finish CHANGING FACES at long last.   Figure out why AN ELFY ABROAD is going so long and get a plan as to how to split it up.  Finish THE GIFT at long last.  And finish KEISHA’S VOW at long last, too.  Plus find ELFY a publisher!  Please?)

Written by Barb Caffrey

December 30, 2010 at 6:36 pm

Posted in Elfyverse, Writing

More about the Story behind Lee and Miller’s FLEDGLING and SALTATION

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Folks, I rarely get to have as much fun as I did today in writing a joint review for the first two books about Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s excellent character, Theo Waitley, for Shiny Book Review.

Before I forget, here’s the link to the review:

http://shinybookreview.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/fledgling-saltation-aka-theo-waitley-parts-1-and-2-are-highly-enjoyable-satisfyin/

Now, let me tell you a bit more about Lee and Miller’s excellent Liaden Universe.  These two writers put out three excellent novels in the late 1980s — they are called AGENT OF CHANGE, CONFLICT OF HONORS, and CARPE DIEM — and they had a following, but their publisher apparently didn’t realize how well the books were actually selling.  (This was slightly pre-Internet, or at least previous to the pervasiveness of the Internet.)  So they were dropped by their publisher.

Normally, with writers, this forces them to try something else.  Or it forces them completely out of publishing for a while, or for good.  And in Lee and Miller’s case (they are married, and are co-writers), they took jobs but continued to work on the Liaden Universe because it interested them.

Then, as they have said in many places, came the Internet . . . and then, they found out how many people loved their three Liaden books.

At that point, they found publisher Stephen Pagel of Meisha Merlin Publishing, and he re-issued the first three Liaden books as PARTNERS IN NECESSITY, also contracting for several new books in the series — these were, not necessarily in the order written, PLAN B, I DARE, LOCAL CUSTOM, and SCOUT’S PROGRESS.  After that came CRYSTAL DRAGON, CRYSTAL SOLDIER, and BALANCE OF TRADE.  All of these were excellent books — truly outstanding — and I read and devoured them as quickly as I possibly could.

But then, something awful happened.  Meisha Merlin went bankrupt, and suddenly, Lee and Miller were sitting there without a publisher, and needing to get the rights to their own work back before they could try any of those successful books with any other publisher.

Once again, many writers would have folded here — they would’ve seen the universe as against them, or perhaps just that their work had run its course, or maybe that no matter what they did, things just weren’t going to work.

Fortunately, Lee and Miller are made of sterner stuff than this, and continued to work on the Liaden Universe.   They started writing FLEDGLING online and set up a unique way to fund it — they speak of this at the end of FLEDGLING, so I’m not “talking out of school” in any way — and finished a strong first draft of FLEDGLING that was paid for by subscription from their online friends and supporters.

At this point, Toni Weisskopf, publisher of Baen Books, entered the picture.  She wanted more Liaden Universe novels (bless her) and was in a position to do something about it, so she contracted with Miller and Lee for three novels about Theo Waitley, the first two being FLEDGLING and SALTATION, the third the hotly-awaited GHOST SHIP.  And when all the rights to the other Liaden Universe novels reverted to Lee and Miller, Baen Books decided to republish them in omnibus issues (this has already commenced, with THE DRAGON VARIATION, an omnibus that combines LOCAL CUSTOM, SCOUT’S PROGRESS, and CONFLICT OF HONORS; more of these omnibuses will follow in 2011), then bought a sequel to SCOUT’S PROGRESS, the recent, and outstanding, MOUSE AND DRAGON.

Best yet, all of the novels — every single last one of them that’s currently extant, that is — are available through Baen’s Webscriptions e-book program, or will be available through Webscriptions once finished (GHOST SHIP, I’m looking squarely at you).  Plus there’s an excellent short-story collection available called “Liaden Unibus I and II” available at Webscriptions, in case you just can’t wait to read any more stories from Lee and Miller.  (I highly recommend it; I got it as a birthday present for myself this past August.)

In short, we writers who are sitting on the outside looking in need to look at the persistence of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.  They have talent, yes — oodles and oodles of talent — but what is the most striking thing about them, aside from how well they write and how enjoyable every single last story I’ve ever read from either one of them (singly or together) is, is their persistence,  their stalwart refusal to give up.

I know that persistence is the name of the game; I can’t create luck for myself, nor for my fellow writers like Loren Jones or Jason Cordova or Kate Paulk who are very good writers just waiting for their big breaks.  But providing I can stay alive to write another day, and providing I can hold a positive thought, I can persist.

And I will.

Because I believe in the Elfyverse; I believe in what I’m doing.  I believe what I write makes sense, and that if I can just get it before someone who will appreciate it in the publishing world, maybe I can have a small sliver of the success that Lee and Miller have enjoyed.  I realize writing is not likely to be extremely remunerative — Lee and Miller, for all their popularity, can’t stay financially afloat on their writing earnings alone, nor can the excellent writer Dave Freer (who’s come out and said so on his blog; Sharon Lee has spoken of her day job, and how it helps to pay the bills, on her blog).  But I believe it’s worth my time and effort to pursue.

It takes me longer without Michael to figure out how to get out of plot problems, but I can do it.  I can finish what he left behind in his “Joey Maverick” SF universe.  I can finish what he left behind in his alternate history/fantasy “Columba” universe.  But most importantly, I can finish what I started — the three novels that (so far) comprise the Elfyverse (along with one complete short story and three others in progress).  My non-Elfyverse novel CHANGING FACES.    Many other short stories and at least one novella, all in various stages of development (or are out at magazines or publishers).

I refuse to give up on myself.  That is not the winning strategy, and as seen from the example of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, if you persist, and get any sort of shot at all, you can succeed in publishing.

So I will persist.

Michael would expect no less.

Written by Barb Caffrey

December 29, 2010 at 11:03 pm

Posted in Book reviews, Elfy, Elfyverse, Heartwarming stories, Michael B. Caffrey, Persistence, Publishing, Writing

Amazon.com has some ‘splainin’ to do.

with 2 comments

I wanted to update my publication history in my brief profile at Amazon.com (I have one because I’m an Amazon Vine reviewer), and it wouldn’t let me — it said my update contained “profanity.”

Well, here’s what I was trying to do — you tell me if there’s any hidden profanity here, OK?

Current publication history:

November 2010 — “No Rest” (poem), to Midwest Literary Magazine. Also forthcoming in the DUE NORTH anthology.

October 2010 — “The Fair at South Farallon” to e-Quill Publishing, a small yet reputable publishing house in Australia.

September 2010 — “Trouble with Elfs: A Story from the Elfyverse,” with Michael B. Caffrey, to e-Quill Publishing (reprint sale — originally published at the Written Word online magazine in February 2007).

“A Dark and Stormy Night: A Joey Maverick Adventure,” Michael B. Caffrey with Barb Caffrey, to e-Quill Publishing (reprint; originally appeared in the Written Word online magazine in May 2005).

Editor for “Columba and the Cat,” “Columba and the Committee” and “Columba and the Crossing”, three of my late husband Michael B. Caffrey’s original stories, to e-Quill Publishing, September 2010.

December 2009 — “Break the Dark Lens” (poem), to Joyful! Online magazine.

“Trouble with Elfs,” to the Written Word online magazine, February 2007.

“A Love Eternal” (poem), September 2006, to the Written Word online magazine.

“A Dark and Stormy Night,” to the Written Word online magazine, May 2005.

The BEDLAM’S EDGE anthology (Baen, 2005), “Bright as Diamonds,” with Michael B. Caffrey.

“On Collaboration” (nonfiction), to Vision Online magazine, July 2004.

Editor, ComicsBulletin.com (an occasional, yet real, gig), mid-2010 to the present.

Editor, Masterpiece Comics, 2005-2008.

Editor, the Written Word online magazine, November 2007 to January 2009 (when the WW went on hiatus).

******

It was at this point I also tried to add that I am reviewing books for ShinyBookReview here at WordPress, and it kicked out. (I know Amazon.com also is holding my review for Connie Willis’s book ALL CLEAR because I’d said my Amazon.com review was a shortened version of the same review I’d done for SBR.)

I would really like to know what, if anything, was profane in my update, because I would like to know why Amazon.com refused to update my profile, or at least have some justification for why they were so very stupid this evening.

Written by Barb Caffrey

December 12, 2010 at 4:33 am

Posted in Book reviews, Criticism/critique, e-Quill Publishing, Elfy, Elfyverse, Michael B. Caffrey, Publishing, Writing

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