In this week’s column, Corvis Rebaine, Terror of the East and advice columnist, takes on MMORPG-inspired relationship woes.
Because this is a very silly world, I introduce you to the first installment of “Ask the Warlord,” in which you can reap the wisdom of Corvis Rebaine, advice columnist!
Got a new Suvudu column up, in which I discuss the tendency in fantasy to not take advantage of the fact that many of these worlds have active, physical divinities wandering around.
A notice for some of you small anthology publishers out there. (And I stress some, since many of you are not guilty of this–and rest assured, you’re appreciated.)
I find it funny that you never seem to ask your layout people, or your printers, or your cover artists, to do the work for free up-front, in exchange for a tiny percentage on the back end and “professional exposure.” You don’t, because none of them would do it, and because it’s damn insulting.
So why do you think it’s okay to ask the writers–who are, arguably, the only ones without whom a book cannot exist–to do it? Why do you think it’s okay to ask us to contribute our hard work in exchange for nothing up-front (or literally a fraction of a cent per word, which is no better), and expect us to be grateful for the “opportunity”?
You don’t have to pay a lot. You don’t even have to pay professional rates. But you have to pay something. If you can’t afford to pay your authors, you can’t afford to publish an anthology.
Period.
Like most authors, I fantasize about what it’d be like to see some of my books translated to movies or television. The odds are vastly against this, not only because it doesn’t happen often anyway, but because Hollywood doesn’t seem interested in big budget epic fantasy that doesn’t have huge name recognition behind it.
But it just occurred to me the other day, as I was daydreaming… The Conqueror’s Shadow would make one hell of an anime, wouldn’t it? 
(This has been a glimpse into Ari’s wishful thinking. We now return you to your regularly scheduled web-surfing.)
I’m not familiar with the processes and procedures for the David Gemmell Legend Awards. I don’t know how many books make the shortlist, or how hard it is to get on it.
So, uh… Is it a big deal that The Conqueror’s Shadow (UK Gollancz edition) was nominated for the 2011 award? 
