Well, we’re absolutely blown away by the fantastic response we’ve had to the In Your Face crowdfunding campaign. In five days we’re heading to nearly double the initial target, and all the early bird print rewards have been taken! But there is still a long way to go and plenty excellent rewards (particularly pre-orders of the book) still available. Based on the word count of stories we have in hand, we will need to hit around $4,500 in the campaign to be able to pay pro-rates for all original stories, so that is the target we’re aiming for as a stretch goal.
You might also be interested in reading about the story behind the story that many of our authors are posting – we’ve rounded up the ones published so far here.
Thank you to everyone who has already backed the campaign – we look forward to having your book to you in late March. And a huge thanks to everyone who has shared the campaign with their social networks – it’s a massive help, and greatly appreciated!
With the Ditmars now open for entry, I was reminded that it’s useful to post an eligible work post here for reference. If you are eligible to nominate work for the Ditmars, Hugos, Bram Stoker and all of those things, I encourage you to do so. The more people who nominate work they thought was award-worthy, the more diverse and interesting the final ballots are. If you loved something from FableCroft, we’d love you to nominate it, but please, just nominate anything you really enjoyed and be part of the process!
There is a great (if not entirely complete) list of work that is eligible for the Ditmars here – it’s well worth taking a look to remind yourself of other excellent Australian work produced in 2015.
Thoraiya Dyer is a four-time Aurealis Award-winning, three-time Ditmar Award-winning, Sydney-based Australian writer. Her work has appeared in Clarkesworld, Apex, Cosmos, Analog and pretty much every FablecCroft anthology. Her collection of four original stories, Asymmetry, is available from Twelfth Planet Press and her debut novel, Crossroads of Canopy, first in the Titan’s Forest trilogy, is forthcoming from Tor books in 2017.
Dyer is represented by the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency. She is a member of SFWA. A qualified veterinarian, her other interests include bushwalking, archery and travel. Find her online at Goodreads, Twitter (@ThoraiyaDyer) or www.thoraiyadyer.com.
My In Your Face story, “Where the Pelican Builds Her Nest”, came from the collision of two emotions. One, my glumness that wildlife, so glorious when allowed to thrive in pristine wilderness, can be as corrupted by the environmental degradation of our cities as human beings are. Two, my anger that TV rapists are so often depicted as strangers.
When I think of pelicans, I want to think of them sailing in proud flotillas across the sapphire waters of Port Stephens in NSW, scavenging guts from recreational fisherpeople at worst!
Statistics from the ABS tell us that when we think of rapists, we should think, 68% of the time, about somebody known to the victim. I think of the brother-in-law from “A Streetcar Named Desire” and how the sister stays with him in the end. That a scenario from a play written in 1947 remains probable is angry-making to me.
The title of the story comes from the poem by Mary Hannay-Foott, “Where the Pelican Builds Her Nest,” which I love for its movement and imagery even though it’s about white settlement and all the disease, death and displacement implied in that process. You can read the poem at Bushverse here.
If Thoraiya has sparked your interest in the In Your Faceanthology and the powerful stories it contains, you might like to support the crowdfunding campaign by pre-ordering the book (and lots of other goodies) at Pozible. And please feel free to share with your networks!
You can find more posts by our authors linked here.
We’re very excited about meeting our initial target for the In Your Face crowdfunding campaign, less than 12 hours after launching! We deliberately set a modest target, but would really love to reach out for our stretch goal of increasing the per word payment for each story. The current rate is 3 cents per word for original stories, capped at 5000 words – our first goal will be to extend the rate to the full word count of each story. From there, we would love to increase the rate per word higher, with the ultimate goal being the 6 cents per word advised by SWFA as pro rates.
We’re currently finalising reading of original works, and hope to be able to announce the provisional table of contents in the next few days.
If you would like to back the project, we have limited early bird reward levels at discounted rates for both ebook and print copies – get in quick to nab a great pre-order price!
We are very excited to leap straight into the new year (huh, which also happens to be a leap year!) with a brand new crowdfunding campaign for our forthcoming project, In Your Face.
With thanks to the group SpecFaction, who initially sparked off the project in the form of a financial grant intended for just one purpose, to produce an anthology showcasing Australian spec fic, we have been able to offer payment for original stories of 3 cents per word, and for reprints a flat rate of $50 per piece, for around 12-15 stories. This campaign is designed to expand the number of excellent stories we are able to include in the book by at least five stories.
As our goal is always to pay our contributors what their efforts deserve, while our initial target is quite low, our stretch goal once we reach our target will be to increase the amount we are able to pay per story – the aim is to pay pro-rates of 6 cents per word, as per the SWFA guidelines, but we would be pleased to be able to increase the pay rate by any amount.
Rewards include ebook and print editions of the anthology, as well as extra goodies in different bundles. And if you get in quick and support, there are super discounted prices for a limited number of earlybird backers!
I need to offer fair warning: the book will be made up of original and reprinted speculative fiction stories that deal with very provocative themes. The stories we have already accepted are challenging and/or confronting but with a firm purpose – they are pieces that will perhaps make readers uncomfortable because they are a bit too hard-hitting or close to the bone, but which interrogate these themes and ideas, and make a point about the world we live in. It won’t be an easy book to read, but it is a powerful one.
If this sounds like something that’s right up your reading alley, jump on in and pledge your support! We also appreciate every share on social media that spreads the word – our unending gratitude to every person who does so!
Tehani and Marisol bonded over Pern (and Doctor Who) at a science fiction convention, decided that it was time for a reread of the series, and really, they should blog about that. They are reading in Anne McCaffrey’s preferred way, which is basically publication order.
Pern Series – Dragonsdawn
T: In my memory, Dragonsdawn was one of my very favourite books. Revisiting it, I realised that actually, I didn’t love it quite as much anymore. Part of that may have been that I just wasn’t as invested in the characters (although Sean and Sorka remain favourites). But a lot of it came down to, I think, the pacing. There were sections I really skimmed over, and I don’t think it was because it was a reread – it was because they were a bit overlong and kind of dull…
M: This is the first book, chronologically speaking, and after reading it I’m reminded why I firmly believe one should NOT read this book first. I’d pick just about any other book before it. It’s a good book overall, but it’s not Pern. It’s Pern Easter Eggs, or the Silmarillion for Pern. The backdrop of how it all began is interesting, but not as interesting as if you know WHY these stories are important in modern day Pern.
In the first of several very exciting announcements we have to make about forthcoming projects for 2016, it is our very great pleasure to make it known that in March 2016, FableCroft will publish The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower by Kate Forsyth.
This unique collection will include Kate’s research on the Rapunzel story that underpinned her stunning, award-winning novel, Bitter Greens, as well as several other pieces related to fairy tales and folklore. The book is not your usual reference work, but an wonderful exploration of the subject matter, written in Kate’s clever and engaging style.
We plan to release both a hardcover print edition as well as an accessible ebook version, with cover art by one of our favourite authors, Kathleen Jennings, and aim to launch at the Natcon, Contact, in Brisbane over the Easter long weekend.
Tehani and Marisol bonded over Pern (and Doctor Who) at a science fiction convention, decided that it was time for a reread of the series, and really, they should blog about that. They are reading in Anne McCaffrey’s preferred way, which is basically publication order.
Pern Series – Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern / Nerilka’s Story
T: In Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern, we go back in time several hundreds of years (turns), and read the story of “Moreta’s Ride”, a ballad we were introduced to in earlier books.
M: This is one of those great tiebacks where you realize the ballad in no way reflects the reality of the situation. And given the nature of the entire pandemic, I doubt it could, anyways. Most poignant fact being that no one wanted to admit she was on Holth and not Orlith. Nor was the last wink between as heroic in the story as it sounds in the ballad. It was a terrible accident brought on by exhaustion.
I mean, it’s still heroic, but it’s not the same.
T: One of the things that struck me was how McCaffrey did a pretty good job of making some small societal changes that made it clear it was a different era. Nothing hugely significant, but just tweaks that may logically have changed before we get to the “present day” Pern.
A couple of new snippet reviews around the ridges:
Over on Amazon, reader Ladi8ug loved The Aware, saying: This was a fantastic read! Lots of twists and turns and just a few easy to see plots to make you feel like you know what’s going on, then you are back to wondering what will happen next. I rarely give 5 stars, but this book deserved it.
And still on Glenda Larke, Goodreads reviewer Siavahda wrote a wonderfully detailed review of Havenstarwhich ends with: …this has gone straight onto my favourites shelf, and is going to get recced to everyone I know.
At Goodreads, reader Liz gave Cranky Ladies of History five stars and said: Thoroughly enjoyed it! Many of the stories had me looking for more information on these fascinating women. A great introduction to women in history.
We missed this lovely review of Pratchett’s Women on Amazon, courtesy of reader Syntia, when it written earlier this year: …not afraid to point out and analyze glaring problems with portrayal of female characters…
And this great line from a review of Guardian by Jo Anderton on Goodreads: …included many really visceral moments that I loved…
As always, thank you to all the wonderful readers who take the time to rate and review our books on Amazon, Goodreads and other forums – we appreciate each and every one!
Tehani and Marisol bonded over Pern (and Doctor Who) at a science fiction convention, decided that it was time for a reread of the series, and really, they should blog about that. They are reading in Anne McCaffrey’s preferred way, which is basically publication order.
Pern Series – The White Dragon
T: So this has always been, in my memory, my favourite Pern book. Reading it again was interesting, because I realised that some of the bits I thought were in it are actually in other books, which was weird, but also, there is so much I forgot! It was like coming at it for the first time, which was fantastic.
M: I had the exact same experience! It’s really again proof of her storytelling power, that that many bits from a character stay with you despite multiple books, usually over multiple years for readers.
T: I love the fact that so much of the story of this book comes about due to the intellectual curiosity of the characters, not just the harpers, but others too, both young and old. The way learning and cross-crafting is so important. And the idea that sometimes, you just have to take a leap to reach the next level!Continue reading “Revisiting Pern, the great McCaffrey reread: THE WHITE DRAGON”→
FableCroft 
