STARGLIDER #5

STARGLIDER #5:
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS AND FANS OF ROBIN WAYNE BAILEY

HI THERE! It's been a while since I put out a newsletter, and one is definitely overdue! Quite a lot of new work has come out, just come out, or just sold. It's been a very busy time here at the Black Lagoon! Despite that, this will probably be a little shorter than I'd like, because I'm typing with a broken arm. Hopefully that'll excuse any typos, too. It's awkward doing this with one hand, though, so let's get right into it.

DRAGONKIN! -- At Last, A Brand New Bailey Novel!

DRAGONKIN, iBooks/Simon & Shuster, hardback $13.95 (ISBN
0-7434-5854-0)

My newest novel, DRAGONKIN, will be arriving in bookstores as you read this (or within the week). This is the first novel I've completed since my little cancer adventure a couple of years ago, and I'm extremely excited about it. Simon & Shuster/iBooks has done a beautiful job producing it in gorgeous hardback format with a cover and even interior illustrations by noted artist Troy Howell, whose artwork graces all of Brian Jacques' REDWALL books. The publishers are giving DRAGONKIN a huge push, and best of all, they're offering it at a superb price of only $13.95!

DRAGONKIN is quite unlike any other book I've written before. It's aimed at both the adult and younger reader with plenty to offer both. I really hope you'll give it a read. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! I'm hard at work on the sequel now. It's called DRAGONKIN: TALISMAN.

ARCHITECTS OF DREAMS -- Don't Miss This!

ARCHITECTS OF DREAMS: THE SFWA AUTHOR EMERITUS ANTHOLOGY, Meisha Merlin Books, simultaneous in trade $16 (ISBN 1-892065-98-3) and hardback $32 (ISBN 1-892065-97-5

At last it's out, and what a beautiful book! Books, actually, as Meisha Merlin has issued it simultaneously in hardback and trade paperback editions. ARCHITECTS OF DREAMS is my second outing as an editor, and I'm very proud of this book. For those of you who don't know, each year the Science Fiction and Fantasy Wrtiers of America periodically select one living writer from the Golden Age of Science Fiction for the honor of Author Emeritus. It's similar to the Grand Master Award but, well, different. And I was pleased to be asked to edit the first Author Emeritus anthology containg stories by the first five recipients of the honor. Within this volume you'll find three wonderful stories each by Emil Petaja, Wilson Tucker, Judith Merril, Nelson Bond, and William Tenn. If you haven't read these terrific authors before, you're long overdue, and if you have it's time to rediscover and enjoy them once more.

Along with my own introduction to the book, you'll also find tributes by Connie Willis, Joe Haldeman, Steven Gould, and James Gunn. This is a "must have," not just for my readers, but for all science fiction and fantasy book collectors!

Knock-out cover by new artist Ogi Selinsky!

THE LAKE OF FIRE -- In print Again!

THE LAKE OF FIRE, Philip Jose Farmer's THE DUNGEON #4 (paired as a two-books-in-one volume with Charles deLint's THE VALLEY OF THUNDER), iBooks/Simon & Shuster, $7.99 (ISBN 0-7434-5853-2)

A lot of you have asked about this hard-to-find work, and now the entire, unique DUNGEON series is coming back into print again. Based on an outline by well-known sf writer Philip Jose Farmer, this six-book series was executed by Richard Lupoff, Bruce Coville, Charles deLint, and myself. Be warned: the packaging is tricky. There are no names on the covers, and not even the titles of the individual books. This was all very much an experiment! Aside from the artwork, you'll find only THE DUNGEON, volume 2 on the cover. And most likely you'll find it under "F" for Farmer on the shelves. Enjoy!

NIGHT'S ANGEL -- Still Available!

NIGHT'S ANGEL, Meisha Merlin Books, simultaneous in $40 hardback (ISBN 1-892065-67-3)or $20 trade paper (ISBN 1-892065-68-1)

Still very much in print in both hardcover and trade paperback is this omnibus edition of my three FROST novels, FROST, SKULL GATE, and BLOODSONGS. Also included as a bonus is a brand new "Frost" short story, the first new adventure featuring this character in more than a decade. It's called "The Woman Who Loved Death." And I'm probably not done with her yet!

With a beautifully dark cover by Oklahoma artist Keith Birdsong.

"Toy Soldiers" -- my first-ever novella!

Look for this in FUTURE WARS, edited by Martin Greenberg and Larry Segriff, Daw Books, $6.99 paperback, ISBN 0-7564-0129-1

The novella is that odd length - too long to be considered a short story, and too short quite to be considered a novel. It's not a form I've worked with before, and it presents its own special challenges. Add to that the fact that I've never written military-style science fiction before. Nevertheless, I'm extremely happy with "Toy Soldiers," a tale about a very special group of ten-year-olds fighting a guerilla war on a distant planet at the close of a galactic conflict. Please read this one - and heck, I don't usually stump for awards, but please remember it next year at Hugo nominations time!

WELCOME BACK TO SANCTUARY -- Hope You Survive!

THIEVES WORLD: TURNING POINTS, edited by Lynn Abbey, Tor Books, $25.95 hardback (ISBN 0-312-87517-7

If you haven't noticed, THIEVES WORLD lives again! Welcome back to the meanest, dirtiest, most treacherous city in the history of fantasy fiction! Actually, this is "Thieves World - The Next Generation," because the new series takes place 40 years after the end of the last series, which means all new characters, all new conflicts, and all new dangers! Lynn Abbey, Andy Offutt, Diana Paxson, and myself are joined this time with a host of newcomers to Thieves World, including Raymond Feist, Dennis McKiernan, Selina Rosen, Mickey Zucker Reichart, and others. And if you want to know what transpired during that 40 year "break" don't forget to pick up Lynn's kick-off novel, SANCTUARY, also from Tor Books.

OH, LORD -- MY ARM HURTS!

Which is a whiny way of saying I need to wrap this up. There are lots of other things I should mention, like "The Terminal Solution," an absolutely haunting alternate fiction story I just sold for an upcoming anthlogy called REVISIONS, and it may be the best thing I've ever written in my life. (The manuscript just sold at auction at ConQuest for $150 -- a real ego booster!) I mentioned I'm working on the second DRAGONKIN novel, and there are several more short story commitments, including another THIEVES WORLD story due soon. And news on the LANKHMAR novels, too. But that will all have to wait while I go take a pain pill and lie down for a while. (The break to my arm is only a week old.)

I do plan a number of appearances as soon as I can work them all out. I just returned from ConQuest right here in Kansas City, and it was terrific this year. I'll definitely be at Konniption in Columbia, Missouri, June 6-8. And at Conestoga in Tulsa in July. And I'm giving serious thought to the Worldcon in Toronto, but haven't made up my mind. But wherever I am, there I'll be -- and I hope you'll be there, too.

My best wishes, thanks, and gratitude to all of you!

Robin Bailey