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The gift that keeps on giving
Aug. 16th, 2005 10:26 amReading: Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara, the August release from Luna Books. So far I'm enjoying it, it reminds me very much of her earlier work when she was writing as Michelle Sagara before she changed to Michelle West.
Writing: received a nice surprise in the mail yesterday, a check from the German rights sale of my novella Charlotte's Kitten which was included in Bewitching Kittens, published in 1998.
This story has a special place in my heart. It was a bizarre concept-- a Halloween story set in Regency England. Setting aside the issue that Halloween was not a commonly celebrated holiday in England at that time, the assignment also included the instructions "a kitten must be central to the plot."
I'd already sold two novels to this publisher, and participating in an anthology was seen as a way to advance my career. So when my editor called to offer me the slot, after initial misgivings I accepted.
Giving in to the absurdity, I gave myself permission to have fun. I wrote a ghost story incorporating among other things, a reference to a Monty Python skit, and a tagline from a Magnum PI joke. My research on All Hallow's Eve customs yielded mangel-wurzels which I gleefully included because it was a really cool word.
The anthology was published in October 1998 and promptly sold out, owing largely to the incredibly cute cover that had kitten lovers buying the book without knowing anything about what was inside. It was the first of my books to earn out, and every time I think that I've heard the end of it, another check will trickle in. Pretty cool.
Writing: received a nice surprise in the mail yesterday, a check from the German rights sale of my novella Charlotte's Kitten which was included in Bewitching Kittens, published in 1998.
This story has a special place in my heart. It was a bizarre concept-- a Halloween story set in Regency England. Setting aside the issue that Halloween was not a commonly celebrated holiday in England at that time, the assignment also included the instructions "a kitten must be central to the plot."
I'd already sold two novels to this publisher, and participating in an anthology was seen as a way to advance my career. So when my editor called to offer me the slot, after initial misgivings I accepted.
Giving in to the absurdity, I gave myself permission to have fun. I wrote a ghost story incorporating among other things, a reference to a Monty Python skit, and a tagline from a Magnum PI joke. My research on All Hallow's Eve customs yielded mangel-wurzels which I gleefully included because it was a really cool word.
The anthology was published in October 1998 and promptly sold out, owing largely to the incredibly cute cover that had kitten lovers buying the book without knowing anything about what was inside. It was the first of my books to earn out, and every time I think that I've heard the end of it, another check will trickle in. Pretty cool.
