Cautionary Tales (31 page)

Author's Note

Each entry herein has its Note, so I suppose the volume is entitled to one too. Funny thing about my Author's Notes: editors don't like them, publishers don't like them, reviewers don't like them, critics hate them. Nobody likes them—except the readers. Over the decades I think I have hundreds of reader endorsements, many saying they prefer the Notes to the novels, which leaves me with mixed feelings. I remember only three negative votes, and when I rechecked those, one was from a woman who liked them but thought I shouldn't have to work so hard writing them; one reader didn't see much point in them; and I forget the third. Assuming it was fully negative, that makes the reader score about a hundred to one in favor. So what's with the critics, who hate what readers like? And I think that's it: critics tend to have aberrant tastes, which is why they are critics instead of writers.

You might think I have included all my left over pieces. Not so. On rare occasion a story loses all its rights to the publisher, so I can't use it. I have also done a number of essays targeted to specific audiences, that would not be of much interest to this (I presume) more general audience. For example, there is “Syntax of Dreams,” which was written in response to a request for an idealized Last Lecture: if I knew it was to be my last, so that I would have no further chance to address my audience, what would I say? So I said it, in about 5,000 words, but it gets technical and I concluded it was not for this volume. There are the talks I have given at conventions, targeted to their interests, such as my “Blockhead” talk, where I said I'm a blockhead because I don't write only for money, and most Internet writers and publishers are blockheads too; they applauded that. Or the one where I used the analogy of a person getting a ten dollar bill, provided he shares it with someone else; pretty soon he catches on that he doesn't have to share evenly, because if the other person doesn't take the lesser deal, he gets nothing. I likened it to publishing, where the publisher offers maybe five percent of the money an author's book makes, and if he doesn't take it, he gets nothing. Which is one reason I support Internet publishing. But is that of much interest to the general reader? And some I simply lose track of. I try to keep a careful record of everything I write, but things do slip through the cracks, like typos.

But for those who are interested, you are welcome to visit my Web Site, www.HiPiers.com, where I have a monthly blog type column featuring my feisty opinionations, plus an ongoing survey of Internet Publishers and related services for the benefit of aspiring writers looking for markets, plus general information about me and my novels. Or my Blog site
http://piersanthonyblog.blogspot.com
where I have spot essays. Or my email address [email protected]. Or my Twitter site, at
https://twitter.com
/PiersAnthony where I have an ongoing novelette “Forbidden Fruit” told line by line in 140-character-or-less Tweets, one per day. I lack the imagination to do original Tweets on different subjects, so I make them into stories which eventually may be collected into a volume like this. So there are several ways to reach me, if you are interested. Otherwise, I wish you well in your uninterested life.

Credits: some of these were written for amateur publications and I never saw them in print, so the listings are approximate.

“Bluebeard” published in
Interzone
1995

“Root Pruning” 2006

“Cartaphilus” written for
Starkweather: The Grid
circa 2006

“A Picture of Jesus” published in
Science Fiction Age
1993

“My America” published in
My America
2002

“Serial” published by
Excessica
2007

“The Courting” published in
Bits of the Dead
2008

“Pep Talk” published by NaNoWriMo 2008

“Knave” published by Cobblestone 2008

“Juliet Quartet” published by Excessica 2009

“Editing” written December 2008

“Medusa” published in
Divine Matches
circa 2010

“Rat Bait” published in
Something Wicked
circa 2010

“Humor” written February 2009 for
Crossed Genres

“Lost Things” published in
The Horror Zine
2010 and
What Fears Become
2011

“Privy” published in
The Forsaken
circa 2011

“Wood Knot Dew” published in
Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror: Exercises from Today's Best Speculative Genre Writers & Teachers
circa 2013

“Living Doll” published in
Attic Toys
2012

“Religion” written 2012, publication uncertain

“Adult Conspiracy” written 1992 for
Down in Flames
, never published.

And a credit for my proofreader Scott M. Ryan, who caught half a slew of errors I had missed.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Piers Anthony

ISBN: 978-1-4976-6280-3

This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com