Well, this year, I got something I've wanted for a long time. I've been the Stoker co-chair for the HWA's Stoker Awards since roughly 2002, and during that period, I've been in charge of tallying those who have received recommendations for the coveted Stoker Awards. I've also been the one in charge of coordinating the votes.
Not this year. This year I made the ballot, so others did the vote counting and coordinating.
That's right. My name appears on the listing of
2010 Stoker nominee list. Scroll down to the line that says "Superior Achievement in Short Fiction," on that list, you'll see a familiar name. The story is called "Final Draft," and no, it's not about writing or software.
"Final Draft" isn't on the internet. It's in print, but since the rights haven't reverted to me yet, so I can only offer you the first two pages of it
right now. If you'd like the print book, you can find out more about the HORROR LIBRARY, Volume 4 anthology in which it appears
here.
What excites me about making the final Stoker ballot, which is synonymous with being "nominated" for the award, is actually twofold. The first is the somewhat petty but very awesome fact that I will now be able to refer to myself as a "stoker nominee," which will be a very nice addition to my résumé and cover letters.
The second thing, and the one that means more to me than anything else, is that my peers have put my work in company with that of authors like Joe Lansdale, Gary Braunbeck, Lisa Mannetti and Nate Southard. These folks, even though I've met and talked with them -- know some of them personally -- are like rock stars to me; they're among the elite of the writing world in the genre.
It's a very big honor, and I'm very excited about it.
I first became aware of the stories of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and her vampiric protagonist Count Saint-Germain back in the 80s, and I became an instant fan with BLOOD GAMES and the CHRONICLES OF SAINT-GERMAIN, and I've been one ever since.