A long time ago, there was a fine, upstanding editor who wanted to publish a non-heteronormative anthology about people who weren't what they appeared. So he put out a call for submissions, pored over tales by candlelight in the wee hours of the night and after painstaking examination of all the stories he was offered, selected twelve for publication. Then, as fate would have it, the publisher of the anthology fell upon hard times and was forced to push back the publication date not once, but twice before finally letting it go altogether. Such is the way of things in the publishing world, as we all surely know.
But the fine, upstanding editor loved the stories he had selected, and his writers loved the project, and they persevered together until at last a new publisher was found. And now, to the delight of everyone involved, Scheherazade's Facade is coming to print and e-book.
So I am beside myself with delight to at last report, after two years, that I have sold my slipstream story "The Daemons of Tairdean Town" to Scheherazade's Facade. This was my first Clarion story, the one Samuel R. Delany called 'rich and subversive' to my everlasting and unrelenting glee, the unique child that needed a unique home in the world. Let me also sing the praises of my editor, the formidable Michael M. Jones, who never, never, never gave up on this anthology. And last, but assuredly not least, let me tell the deeds of Circlet Press, who came to our rescue on a dark road and showed us the way home.
Read you here the names of the storytellers:
∗ Alma Alexander– “The Secret Name of the Prince”
∗ C.S. MacCath — “The Daemons of Tairdean Town”
∗ Paolo Chikiamco – ”Kambal Kulam”
∗ Tiffany Trent — “Driftwood”
∗ Melissa Mead — “Pride”
∗ Tanith Lee– “Keeping the World on Course”
∗ Aliette de Bodard — “A Bitter Taste”
∗ Lyn C.A. Gardner – ”Going Dark”
∗ Sunny Moraine — “The Cloak of Isis”
∗ Shanna Germain — “How to Dance While Drowning”
∗ Sarah Rees Brennan — “Treasure and Maidens”
∗ David Sklar — “Lady Marmalade’s Special Place In Hell”
And now, dear friends, I take the mantle of storytellers past, of entertainers on the road, to ask for the blessing of your patronage. In order to bring these stories to you, Michael M. Jones is passing the modern poet's hat of the Kickstarter Project, that our humble tales might earn their weight in bread and beer for us. So if you loved Scheherazade, if you love queer stories or if you simply love to read a good tale, we, the Company of Writers and Artists would be grateful for your coin.