After a dry spell of November/December, I have a flurry of good news to report:
* “The Candidate,” a 5000+ word fantasy story written to immerse players in the background and storyline of Ascension board game, has been accepted by Gary Games and will be serialized in three parts on their web site sometime in late January or early February.
* A 2500 word essay “On The Road” will be published by Star City Games later this month. It is an autobiographical piece recounting some of my experiences while traveling to tournaments, and it’s hilarious, if I say so myself. No prior knowledge/understanding of Magic trading card game is needed to read this, though it helps 🙂
* My column on MTG trading is forthcoming in the next issue of Beckett Magic magazine. Not sure of the release date, but should be sometime soon.
* “The Field Trip,” a 2200 word humorous science fiction story has been accepted into the “In Situ” anthology from Dagan Books. “In Situ” is an archaeological term referring to artifacts found in their original environment. I found the concept intriguing and wrote the story specifically for this anthology, so I am naturally stoked to have it accepted. The anthology is tentatively scheduled for April 15.
* I am working hard to keep up with the Write 1 Sub 1 schedule. The first week of January was very productive. I polished up and sent out The Candidate, and wrote On The Road, both of which were quickly accepted. The second week, not so much. I had a ton of work I could not climb out of. Still, I wrote a 1000 word fantasy flash story “The Last Incantation.” I am going to be a few days late in submitting it, since I like to stew the story for a little while, then send it to my friends for a second opinion, and then edit some more before actually inflicting it upon some innocent editors/slush readers – but I am optimistic about my ability to keep up with the W1S1 schedule on average, so far.
Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction 