We got back from an impromptu trip to Arizona, and upon return I was pleased to see my contributors copy of the October issue of Analog complete with my story “Following Jules.” The story itself is getting some good chatter around the web (here, here, and here, for example), but what had me hopped up about the contrib copies was that I saw that the internal illustration for the story was a fantastic piece done by Mark Evans.
This is one of the best perks about being published–I’m still a pretty small fry, but I can say that my work has been illustrated by several remarkable artist, including Frank Wu, Kelly Freas. Mark Evans’ work on “Following Jules” makes me smile.
Hi Ron,
I’ve been following your blog since reading “Operation Hercules” in On Spec – which was an awesome story, by the way. I was wondering what attitude you take toward reviews of your work. My short fiction has only been reviewed once, so I have no idea how to react to it aside from surprise. Do you spend a lot of concern on reviews, or do you accept them and move on?
Thanks,
Brandon Crilly
Hi, Brandon. Thanks for the comment on “Operation Hercules.” I admit I like that story quite a bit, and I was really happy to see it in such a great magazine as On Spec. Regarding reviews, I admit to being insanely curious about what people think of my work–of course–but I’ve now seen enough of them to know that opinions can vary considerably. So at the end of the day I try not to get too tied up in them either way.
Sometimes it’s easier than others, though. [grin]
I like your thinking, Ron. Hopefully I’ll keep the same attitude with future reviews of my work. I just read your August 10 post; I’m in the same place with my writing, though for very positive reasons. Hang in there!