We’re coming up on the end of the publishing year, which in some ways for me has been a little thin this time around. There are reasons for that, yes, but they don’t change the result. I’ve published four stories this year in the traditional way, and I use that term loosely since only two of those were print publications. Electronic media’s becoming the new “traditional,” and soon the idea of paper except for very special projects and limited editions will be seen as positively quaint. I was on track to publish five original stories, which is pretty typical for me, but we all know what happened to Realms of Fantasy. So it goes. I started to compile what would have been a very brief summary when it occurred to me that to consider only the traditional venues marginalizes what else I’ve accomplished this year, projects which I am rather proud of, frankly, both for breaking new ground in my attitudes and pushing my comfort zone into the 21st Century. So for the first time ever I’m going to give my yearly breakdown in two separate sections: Traditional, and eBook.

Traditional:

“The Swan Troika,” Realms of Fantasy, February, 2011
The Ghost of Shinoda Forest, Beneath Ceaseless Skies #63, February 24, 2011
The Tiger’s Turn, Beneath Ceaseless Skies #79, October 6, 2011
THE HEAVENLY FOX (novella), PS Publishing, February 2011

eBook Original:

Spirits of Wood and Stone, June 2011
Black Kath’s Daughter, August 2011
The Blood Red Scarf, September 2011
A Warrior of Dreams, September 2011

eBook Reprint:

The Long Look, Original Publisher: Five Star
Our Lady of Ursae Majoris and Other Stories, Original Publisher: Various
The Ogre’s Wife: Fairytales for Grown-Ups, Original Publisher: Obscura Press
Ghost Trouble: The Casefiles of Eli Mothersbaugh, Original Publisher: Various
Hereafter, and After, Original Publisher: PS Publishing, UK

I’ll also note that, in addition to the reprints, the Eli Mothersbaugh compilation of twelve stories contains five new, never before seen stories, which really were written especially for this volume:

“Muramasa’s Rage”
“Souvenirs”
“Beacons”
“His Hour Upon the Stage”
“The Missing Ghost”

I consider the novelette  “The Missing Ghost” to be the coda of the series; I’m not saying I’ll never write another Eli Mothersbaugh story, but right now I can’t see it. The story arc is completed, so far as I’m concerned, and Ghost Trouble is the definitive volume of the series.

Next year the eBook original section will not be so large, but I do not expect it to be empty, either. As for the traditional publishing side, we’ll just have to see. Also, upon checking my Bibliography (the master file), I see that I actually had TWO stories come unsold at Realms of Fantasy’s closing. I really need to pay more attention to that sort of thing. While both were sold, only one was under contract and would have been published in the phantom December issue. That story was “Palace of the Jade Lion,” a ghost story set in ancient China. If I have any regrets this year other than the loss of RoF itself, it’s that RoF didn’t survive long enough to publish this one. It was, all bias considered, a really neat story, and considering the artist possibilities, the illustration would have been gorgeous.

Edited to Add: I just found out a few minutes ago that Ruth Sanderson’s illustration for “The Swan Troika” was given a full page in Spectrum 18. The honor is all to the artist, of course, but I can’t help feeling a little honored by association.