Posts Tagged: Sword & Laser

sword-and-laser-tom-merritt-veronica-belmont

So. Dream come true.

No, not the Hugo. Being invited by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt for an interview on the Sword & Laser podcast. I’m a huge fan of their work, and had a blast chatting with them about the Hugo Awards, LonCon 3, the SFF fan community, and working with Kameron Hurley on “We Have Always Fought”.

S&L Podcast – #187 – How to Win a Hugo

Listen to the Episode!

P.S. Sorry for the audio quality. iPhones aren’t great recording devices, apparently.

The Sword & Laser Anthology, edited by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt

The Sword & Laser book club, spearheaded by fantasy geek Veronica Belmont and science fiction geek Tom Merritt, is one of the most vibrant and enthusiastic fan communities on the ‘net. In addition to the book club, Belmont and Merritt also host a podcast and a weekly video show, which feature discussion about all the hooplah (good and bad) in fandom, book club discussion, and interviews with some of the genres’ most popular authors.

As if that wasn’t enough, the busy duo saw an opportunity afforded to them by their loving community of fans: an anthology of new writers. I reached out to Veronica Belmont to discuss the anthology, which is just a few weeks away from release, and features some pretty great stories (including one from me!).

“The Sword & Laser Anthology is almost two years in the making, at this point,” Belmont explained when I asked her about the origins of the anthology. “We’d been planning it for a long time, but we officially started accepting submissions in March of 2013. Building this community, which has existed since 2007, we realized very early that we had many talented writers among our listeners, and we wanted to give them an opportunity have their voices heard as well. That’s basically where the idea came from.” Read More »

sword-and-laserI’m proud to announce the sale of A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes to the Sword & Laser Anthology. This is my first fiction sale, and I’m ecstatic that it is going to become a part of a project that will (hopefully) be widely read and embraced by the SFF community.

A Night for Spirits and Snowflakes is a 7,500 word story about a young soldier caught on the losing side of a meaningless war. Soldier-turned-gravedigger, he buries his fallen comrades in shallows graves, their last moments whispering in his head. Audience to this sojourn are the spirits of those dead men, drifting like snowflakes around the boy as he lays them to rest.

If you are unfamiliar with Sword & Laser, the second largest book club on Goodreads, I wrote about my excitement the Sword & Laser Anthology last year when it was first announced. I have immense respect for Veronica and Tom and am flattered to be involved with the project.

I will have more details about the project, including the release date and a table of contents, as those details are announced.

Sword & Laser

Sword & Laser, a popular video show, podcast, and online book club community, hosted by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt, have announced that they will begin accepting submissions for a new Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology beginning Spring 2013, titled, fittingly, The Sword & Laser Anthology. The anthology, which does not have a release date, is looking for “new, previously unpublished stories, which can fall under the headings of science fiction, fantasy, or a combination of the two.”

After years of discussion, Tom and I are finally going ahead with the Sword & Laser Anthology!

Sword & Laser is the largest group on Goodreads, with over 13,000 members, and works with many of the genre’s biggest names, like Patrick Rothfuss (who also has a video show, called The Story Board, on Geek & Sundry, the production company that hosts Sword & Laser), John Scalzi, Daniel Abraham and N.K. Jemisin. It’s unclear whether this anthology is aimed at “new” writers, or just “new” works from established writers, but, given Sword & Laser‘s industry connections, I doubt they would need to open submissions for the anthology if they weren’t hoping to also discover new writers from among their fans. Either way, it’s a terrific opportunity for writers to have their stories featured in an anthology that will, no doubt, have a huge audience.

The question remains whether the anthology is being entirely gathered and edited by Belmont and Merritt (who, while undeniable enthusiasts, are not professional editors themselves), or if an established editor/dedicated editorial staff will also be connected with the project.

On a personal note, Belmont and Merritt better be ready to be inundated by short stories penned by one “Aidan Moher.”

More information on the anthology, including early submission guidelines, can be found in the official release.