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Cat Rambo

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Cat Rambo

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Fare Thee Well, Fellow Traveller

I heard the news about David Hartwell’s accident last night; it makes me inexpressibly sad to see one of the people who have shaped the speculative fiction landscape for so long pass. Others will tell you of all his wonderful accomplishments; I want to celebrate his life by recounting a few moments of it that I was privileged enough to share.

I first met David at the Locus Awards in 2006. I was incredibly nervous and introduced him to someone else as “David Hartman,” an error I would perpetuate for several conventions because I’d be so nervous about doing it again that I inevitably would. He was gracious about it every time.

He had an exhaustive knowledge of not just speculative fiction, but popular media in general. Connie Willis sent me to him at some point when I was researching screwball comedies, and we had a wonderful half hour session in the bar with me frantically scribbling titles down on napkins. He was always a pleasure to talk with, and full of interesting nuggets of information.

His dress style was inimitable; I wish more of our editors followed his example. I’m going to miss glancing over a convention crowd and being able to instantly spot him. He was one of the things I could count on at certain conventions.

January has brought some sad passings, including Bowie and Rickman. It breaks my heart to see David added to that list. He was definitely one of the influencers, and the publishing world will be changed by his passing.

Update: Locus says the obit was released prematurely. Keep an eye there for updates.

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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."

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Patreon Revamp, AKA Why You Should Join If You Haven't Already
I have been wrestling with this for a while trying to figure out the schedule for the year but here’s what I arrived at. Check out Patreon if you would like to sign up!
$2 Campus Pass
  • Access to the Discord server, which runs about 100 members online at any given time,  and its over two dozen channels, such as #critclub for story critiques (and a chance to be the person whose story I pick for a crit each month), #marketnews for market information, #motivation for weekly goal keeping, and #cutebreak for pet pictures and other life-enhancing photos.
  • Informational posts (weekly events, writing games, internet rabbitholes) as well as fiction snippets.  Includes access to 7+ years of past posts.
  • Monthly class for Patreon supporters.
  • Weekly Zoom events: Wednesday Writing Games, Friday Clean and Chat.
  • Monthly Zoom events: Story Discussion group, special speakers, and Social Media talks.
  • Advance chance to sign up and special rate on live classes through the Rambo Academy, as well as early access to sales and writing retreat registration.
$5 Deluxe Campus Pass
  • Everything in lower tiers.
  • Access to recordings of past events and classes.
  • Ability to submit questions in advance for classes, special speakers, and social media talk.
  • Yearly limited edition sticker (sent out in December).
$10 Campus Pass plus Library Card
  • Everything in lower tiers.
  • Yearly ebook  (sent out in December).
  • 1 live or on-demand Rambo Academy class per year  (transferable but non-cumulative, starts on 3rd month).
$25 Scholar’s Edition Campus Pass
  • Everything in lower tiers, but live class is every 3 months  (transferable but non-cumulative, starts on 3rd month).
$50 Schoolhouse Rock Edition Campus Pass
  • Everything in lower tiers but live class is monthly and starts immediately (transferable but non-cumulative).
$100 Super Extra Deluxe Campus Pass
  • Everything in lower tiers.
  • A monthly 15-30 minute coaching session or story edit up to 4,000 words.
Everything from the $5 level up will also be available through Paypal subscription for people who don’t want to add Patreon to their addictions. I tried to keep everything equitable because I didn’t want any level to feel like I was taking away stuff.

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What I'm Working On: July 30, 2013

Picture of a blue Adirondack chair with copper arms.What I am currently working on:

  • Beasts of Tabat, the first in the fantasy trilogy I have been working on for a while now is with my agent, in preparation for what I hope is the final rewrite. So I’m wrangling the synopses for the two books that follow.
  • “Haunted” is a collaboration with Bud Sparhawk that started as a short story and has swelled to novella length. It is far future SF.
  • A military fantasy story, featuring the same landscape as Beasts of Tabat.
  • People who sponsored me in the Clarion West Writeathon (it’s not too late!) will be receiving a packet of writing produced during the last six weeks that includes several short stories, a novel excerpt, and several pieces of flash. So I’m putting that together and finishing up rewrites of a couple stories that will be included.
  • Prepping for a couple of the new classes, including a shortened version of the editing class, a workshop on character building, and a session on turning an idea into a finished piece.
  • Expanding an partially drafted literary horror piece, Queen of the Fireflies, which I’m planning on taking with me to a writing retreat in September (Clarion West sponsors will be receiving the first 50 pages).
  • A couple of other collaborative pieces still very much in the works.
  • Turning the notes from my building an online presence for writers class into an e-book.
  • Working with Folly Blaine on doing the same with notes from our podcasting class.
  • Continuing to do interviews, such as my recent one with Don Sakers. Upcoming ones include Django Wexler and Bud Webster.
  • Preparing for various con appearances, including WorldCon, KillerCon, GirlGeekCon, the Baltimore Book Festival, the Northwest Book Festival, SteamCon, and Orycon. If you are interested in voting to determine my hair color for WorldCon, click here.

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