Short story sale

[layla]

I'm thrilled to announce that my short story "Netcasters" will appear in Sword and Sorceress 27 this November. The complete anthology lineup is here.

This is my first "pro" short story sale -- as determined by pay rate -- and I'm totally jazzed about it. :) (Naturally this is the first year in awhile that I haven't included "pro short story sale" in my list of goals for the year. Nuts.)

This story was inspired by macramé, the art of creative knot tying. Looking at a piece of ornamental macramé on my desk, the thought occurred to me that it might be an interesting idea for a story to include a magic system that uses knots as a spellcasting medium (rather than, say, a spoken spell, a scroll or potion, etc). Then I started wondering what sort of people might find magic knots useful, and what instantly came to mind was "Fishermen!" So that's what this story is about: a fishing village in which the fisherfolk have a closely guarded talent for tying very special knots, and a thief who stumbles onto their secret.

Comments

[schneefink]

Congrats! Fisherfolk knot magic sounds great :)

[layla]

Thank you! :)

I don't know how original an idea it is, but it led to a story I'm pretty happy with.

[schneefink]

I've read one or two stories with knot magic before (I can't remember titles or authors) and two magic fisherfolks, but there are new aspects and stories in every idea.

[layla]

*nods* I know it's a bit cliche to say this, but there are very few truly new ideas -- what's new and unique is what you do with them!

[revena]

Congratulations! And what a neat anthology tradition to get your first pro-rate sale in, too.

[layla]

Thank you very much!

I am quite thrilled. :D

[ambyr]

Congrats! That sounds awesome. I have very fond memories of reading through back issues of S&S in my childhood, but I haven't looked at the more recent volumes. Guess I should check them out :-).

[layla]

Thank you! :D I haven't read any of the older volumes, just the newer ones, though I suspect that I am missing some good stuff. (Which reminds me that it's been years since I went and prowled through our local used bookstore -- perhaps I should do that!)

[thistleburr]

That sounds really cool! Congrats :)

[layla]

Thank you so much! :)

[jkcarrier]

Excellent news! I'll look forward to reading it.

[layla]

Thank you so much! -- and thank you for all of the support you've given my creative endeavors over the years too. :)

[sophia_sol]

Oh wow, congratulations! That is super awesome, and the story sounds really interesting!

[layla]

Thank you! :D

[michelel72]

Fantastic! (And cool premise!)

[layla]

Thanks! :D

[sushiflop]

Woah! CONGRATULATIONS Layla! This sounds like such an interesting premise 8D will it be available to buy/read online at some point?

[layla]

Thank you so much! \o/ It will be available to buy (ebook or print) in November.

(btw, have you read the latest Homestuck updates? OMFGWTFBBQ!)

[sushiflop]

So glad to hear it! I'll keep an eye out and try and get hold of the book, because this sounds really interesting :D

and yes I have. CALLIOPE IS ADORABLE.

[layla]

Thank you so much *blushes* - I will mention it again when it is out! (And you have a poem coming out soon too, right?)

YES! CALLIOPE! She is the most adorable little fangirl. ^_^

[sushiflop]

I do! It'll be in the July/August issue of Cicada. I'm not sure you can buy individual issues of that either way, and I am submitting more things too *^*

I laughed... so hard... at the latest panels... weird sense of humor indeed (DAVE).