First Ever Guest Post: Jeff Harget

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The best thing about blogging is the people you meet. Not that I've ever actually met Jeff.  We haven't had beers or shared embarrassing childhood stories or spent a cold Buenos Aires morning burying a dead llama jockey that I HAVE NO IDEA HOW HE GOT INTO MY TRUNK!
But Jeff has been super supportive to me and my writing. He's really nice. Like super nice. Like so nice it makes me wonder whether he actually has a closet full of suits made with human skin and he's just covering up for it. Even so, he's my kinda people.
And he's been kind enough to grant me my very first guest post! I asked Jeff to tell us a little bit about how he got his short story published. As always, he exceeded my expectations.
Check it out._____________
"I've Never Had a Story Rejected."
Can you make that claim? Writers all over the world can.  Never rejected.  Not even once.
How?
Are they storytellers so brilliant that rejection isimpossible?  Is their prose so powerfulthat the Earth itself is moved by it?  Dothey write their characters so real they knock at your front door and borrowcups of sugar?  Are their settings sovivid that you could walk through them with your eyes closed?
They must have a secret.  That's the only explanation for never havinghad a story rejected, isn't it?  Want toknow what their secret is?  I'm about todivulge it.  Right here.  Right now. Follow this simple step and you'll never find another rejection letterin your mail again.
Don't submit yourstory.
That's it!  It'sthe only way.  It's guaranteed to preventthe heartbreak of reading, "Sorry, but your story isn't right for us atthis time."  And you'll never againbattle the self-doubt that comes with receiving no response at all to yoursubmission.
This is a secret I knew instinctively.  I had a perfect record with zerorejections.  I was undefeated.  And I wasn't about to jeopardize it!  Surely, my fragile ego couldn't possiblywithstand an incrementing counter in the losses column.  Once a rejection came I'd never again be ableto claim that I had avoided the disappointment of rejection.
Undaunted by fear, I blissfully wrote my stories andchapters.  I posted chuckles andlight-hearted shorts on my blog without the dread of agents and editorsscrutinizing every word and phrase.  Iparticipated in weekly challenges with my online fantasy writing group, knowingthe worst I'd receive was a callous critique. I was happy.  I was writing.  And I had never been rejected.
And then came opportunity.  A message appeared in the fantasy writinggroup, posted by an editor who had just finished selecting stories for the"Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates" anthology.  She asked the group, "You wouldn't perchance have a really good story about magic?"
"Magic??? This is a FANTASY Writing group," Ireplied, and ended my response by quoting Harry Potter. "I lovemagic!"
She asked if I was fishing for an invitation.  I hadn't thought so consciously, but now thatshe'd asked, maybe subconsciously I was. Was a push all I needed?  Iinquired about where I could find the submission guidelines.  "Nowhere," she answered.  She doesn't like slush.  Submissions were by invitation only.  We took the conversation to email and shetold me what types of stories she was seeking.
"What the heck," I thought.  I drafted the first thousand or so words ofan idea I had.  I sent it to her andasked if it was in the ballpark.  Shesaid it was.  So without regard for myperfect record, I wrote.  A few weekslater, I sent her the finished story.  Andwaited. 
An email arrived a couple months later.  It contained a handful of suggestededits.  I was ecstatic.  Edit requests mean they're interested, or soI'd read on more than one blog.  Ihappily revised and resubmitted.  A fewdays later I received word that she wanted to include "Barnabas" inthe anthology.  My short story had founda home.
This was a case of me being in the right place at theright time with the right story sent to the right editor.  In North Carolina, we call that "sheerdumb luck."  But sometimes, sheerdumb luck is the best kind to have. 
But then I got to thinking.  That's what it always comes down to, isn'tit?  Beautiful, powerful, excitingstories by the thousands skirt across the desks of countless agents and editorsbefore they find a home.  They have to bethe right story at the right time for the right place and read by the rightagent. 
All we can do is keep submitting our stories until thecelestial muses align and our words emit that almost divine aura that only theright agent at the right time can see. It doesn't matter how many desks our stories see before they find theirhome.  What matters is that we continuegiving our stories the chance to find that perfect home.
The quotable Winston Churchill said, "Success is not final. Failure is not fatal.It is the courage to continue that counts."
Never having been rejected isn't a boast; it's proof youneed to buy more stamps and click "Send" on more emails containingyour stories and queries.  Have courage.Be tenacious, unrelentingly persistent. The perfect home for your story is out there.  Only you can help your story find it.
About Jeff Hargett
Jeff Hargettis a grandfather from North Carolina with an imagination full of magic anddragons. He stays young and fit by dining on epic fantasy whenever possible. Hehas a short story that appears in the Spells: Ten Tales of Magicanthology and a couple others that placed in competitions, but prefers his fictionin novel-length doses. He is currently writing an epic fantasy series that hehopes will be published while he can still wield a pen. He’s a firm believerthat when this world doesn’t suit you, you should write a world that does. Heenjoys interacting with readers and other writers and spends far too much timeloitering around his blog.
When this world doesn’t suit you, write a world thatdoes.

Lollipop and Grandpa's Back Garden Safari - Penelope Harper and illustrated by Cate James

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Summary:
Back gardens have never been this exciting! Lollipop and Grandpa are intrepid explorers, always on the lookout for the next adventure! It’s often just the two of them against the world in their expeditions, armed only with ham sandwiches and imagination. In this book they set out on an exciting expedition in the back garden where they encounter Chimpan-trees, a Hippo-potta-compost and even a Croco-logus. They’re prepared for action, but will Lollipop and Grandpa make it back home safely?~~~

I was given this book a little while ago and I completely fell in love with it. The story is charming, imaginative and heart-warming. It's great for kids who want to have some adventures in their garden or in the park - instead of a boring patch of grass, they can discover a world full of danger and scary creatures like the Chimpan-trees or the Croco-logus. Any corner of the garden can transform into a scary creature and there really isn't a peaceful place to eat ham sandwiches!
The illustrations by Edinburgh-based illustrator Cate James are simply fantastic. They're very stylish and evocative and play on textures as well as colour. The font is really easy to read and Penelope Harper's story is well-paced, funny and an amazing springboard for children's imagination. 
This is an adorable book for grandparents to read to their own little explorers and this is the start of an amazing picture book series about Lollipop's adventures with her Grandpa. Thumbs up from me!

Lollipop and Grandpa's Back Garden Safari, by Penelope Harper and illustrated by Cate James | 2012 | Phoenix Books | Age 3 to 5 | Gift

Dreamsongs, Volume 2

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When I read and reviewed Dreamsongs, Volume 1 (Canada, USA, Europe) way back in 2007, George R. R. Martin told me that the second volume was even better. Hard to believe, I thought. After all, as a compendium of GRRM's early work, the first installment was a veritable journey through the author's long and celebrated career. What I enjoyed the most, and it's the case in this second volume as well, was that each section begins with an extensive and insightful commentary that allows readers to learn so much about the stories behind the stories. As good as the material is, I often found Martin's commentary to be as fascinating as the tales themselves.

For all you GRRM fans out there, the collection of short fiction found within the pages of both Dreamsongs volumes is the perfect opportunity for you to get better acquainted with the material which allowed George R. R. Martin to win every possible speculative fiction award out there. And believe me when I tell you that at times it gets as good as A song of Ice and Fire. Indeed, in my opinion Dreamsongs, Volume 2 is second only to A Storm of Swords in terms of quality. So for all those clamoring for The Winds of Winter, if you need a GRRM fix, then look no further. Taken as a whole, the Dreamsongs books offer nearly 1500 pages' worth of GRRM awesomeness.

Martin never much liked labels. For him, it's about writing good stories. Maybe this approach is the reason why he somehow managed to work his magic regardless of the genre he's writing in. In Dreamsongs, Volume 2, GRRM comes across as a veritable master storyteller, be it in fantasy, science fiction, horror, urban fantasy, or whatever other label you'd like to attach to any of the tales found between the covers. Yes, it's that damn good!

Here's the blurb:

Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, #1 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin is a giant in the field of fantasy literature and one of the most exciting storytellers of our time. Now he delivers a rare treat for readers: a compendium of his shorter works, all collected into two stunning volumes, that offer fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master.

Whether writing about werewolves, wizards, or outer space, George R.R. Martin is renowned for his versatility and expansive talent, highlighted in this dazzling collection. Included here, in Volume II, are acclaimed stories such as the World Fantasy Award-winner “The Skin Trade,” as well as the first novella in the Ice and Fire universe, “The Hedge Knight,” plus two never-before-published screenplays. Featuring extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume II; is an invaluable chronicle of a writer at the height of his creativity—and an unforgettable reading experience for fans old and new.

In the first section of this collection, "A Taste of Tuf," we are introduced to Haviland Tuf, an eccentric ecological engineer. Not the most endearing of fellows, but nevertheless a very interesting protagonist. Both "A Beast for Norn" and "Guardians" may not be as great as some of the other material that comprises this collection, yet they set the tone and demonstrate how multilayered GRRM's talent truly is. It will become much more evident later in the book, but you immediately realize that Martin is as comfortable writing science fiction stories as he is with fantasy. Having said that, "Guardians" offers a few unexpected surprises that were quite satisfying.

The "The Siren Song of Hollywood" section contains two scripts from two projects GRRM worked on; Twilight Zone and Doorways. When it was aired, The Roads Less Traveled was cut and edited in such a way that it never reflected what the original script was all about. Here we have the full script, so those who saw the show years ago can now discover how it was always meant to be. A pilot was filmed for Doorways, but ABC pulled the plug and production ceased afterward. Again, the full script is found here. Martin refers to Doorways as the great "what if" of his career and it's easy to understand why.

The "Doing the Wild Card Shuffle" section has to do with the Wild Cards project and how it came to be. Since nowadays GRRM edits but doesn't write in the Wild Cards universe, it's interesting to read some older material from him. "Shell Games" features the Great and Powerful Turtle and Dr. Tachyon, and is a good introduction to the Wild Cards universe. But "The Journal of Xavier Desmond" is a powerful tale of a man dealing with cancer and approaching death. To a certain extent, it's also a study of America's foreign policy around the world through the 70s and the 80s and the impact it had on this alternate history. This one contains a number of poignant and touching moments, and was one of my favorite reads.

"The Heart in Conflict" is the section that literally blew my mind, however. Basically every single story found within was incredible! "Under Siege" is about time travel and an attempt to prevent the creation of the USSR. In a nutshell, "The Skin Trade" is a werewolf tale. But it's so much more than that. Essentially, it might be the best thing GRRM has written as far as short fiction goes. It's scary and awesome, and I for one would love to read more about PI Randi Wade and Willie the werewolf collector agent. Hands down the best piece in this collection. "Unsound Variations is an interesting chess and time travel tale that was also surprising.

"The Glass Flower" explores GRRM's science fiction future history. It's got a weird vibe at times, but is also an engrossing read. Most people reading this review are already familiar with "The Hedge Knight," the first tale featuring the unlikely duo Dunk and Egg. If you're not, then know that there are a few more ASOIAF stories out there! The novelette "Portaits of His Children" caps off the collection with a bang. It's a disturbing story about the price paid by writers when they put their ideas on paper.

Fascinating and unforgettable, Dreamsongs, Volume 2 is an amazing collection of short fiction from a man who has become a master of essentially every single sub-genre of speculative fiction. This book deserves the highest possible recommendation. Looking for the best possible Christmas present for GRRM fans everywhere? These two volumes have to be it!

The final verdict: 9.5/10

For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe

Ken Liu's Sense of Wonder

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Ken Liu is interviewed over at the Sense of Wonder blog.  Go check it out. 

I can't really turn around these days without running up against something about Liu.  It's not a bad thing.  He's already published several stories this year.  I'm holding off on those until I get closer to being done with the reading for my Hugo ballot.  By that point I expect another handful of Liu to be in the world.  The last year has been intensively prolific. Read him.