Break-out Session:

• Entering the Arena: Finding Publication in Today’s Cut-Throat Market

@ RedBird-RedOak, Milwaukee, WI, for Red Oak Young Writers

I finished RotB this evening.

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised.  When I ordered the book, I expected to enjoy it, but I didn’t recognize most of the contributors’ names.  I figured with a small press anthology, it would be like other small press anthologies I’ve read. I would really like a handful of the stories (mostly by authors with some name recognition) and enjoy most of the the others, while having to slog through the usual handful of dogs.

There were no dogs.

I liked all of the stories.  Yes, some I like more than others, but that’s only to be expected.  What surprised me was the high quality, not of most of the stories, but all of the stories.  I’ve read anthologies by major publishing houses full of top tier authors that haven’t been this good.  I’m making a note of some of the names I wasn’t familiar with to look up more work by these authors.  Some of my favorites were (in no particular order) by Tor, Rosenblum, Lumley, Stewart, Durham, Ruckley, Ehart, Courters, and Williams.

I have Return of the Sword but haven’t gotten around to it.  I will within the next few weeks.  I’m also going to order Roar of the Crowd after I get my next paycheck.  Keep up the good work.  You have a new loyal reader.

April 2010 -  Panelist

One session:

• A New Edge to Sword & Sorcery ~ with John O’Neill, Alex Bledsoe, & Nicholas Ozment

@ OddCon 2010, Madison, WI

2010 – Through Blood and Iron: A Collection of Heroic Fantasy

~ A 3,800 word story about responsibility and power…and losing oneself to either.

*Graphic battle violence and death.

It has been a privilege and an honor to know and work with Jason Waltz. Not only is he a talented editor and dedicated publisher, he is also one of the most worth while human beings its been my good fortune to encounter anywhere. If he never edited a word of fiction again or published another book (and I hope he does much of both) he would still be one of the most important people I talk to every day.

I think Jason Waltz is a positive force in keeping the torches burning for traditional sword-and-sorcery stories.  It’s not just that Jason comes up with interesting themes for his Rogue Blades Entertainment anthologies, it’s that he buys my st… no, wait … it’s because he’s a genuinely nice guy who cares about the writers he hires in the right way — meaning he challenges them to polish and trim and pushes them to produce the most coherent, entertaining copy available.

There is a natural order in the publishing world, the same as in the bloodiest jungle. Writers write and Editors then rip the pound of flesh nearest the writer’s heart from their still palpitating chest and hold its dripping mass over their heads for all to see, all the while cackling maniacally the unholy editor’s chants of “doesn’t meet our current needs” and “restraining order”.  I have worked with Jason Waltz since he was with Flashing Swords, and I can say without equivocation that I have never seen him kick a dog, steal candy from a small child, or cross a picket line unless he really needed to, or at least felt like it. In truth, Jason has purchased perhaps a half-dozen stories from me, and each time has shown professionalism, courtesy and a passion for the genre that make him stand out amongst his peers. Most importantly, his checks have all cleared, which fact alone makes him a prince among editors.