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Kristine Kathryn Rusch » Archive

Free Fiction

One of the many changes this new blog design has allowed me is the chance to put free fiction on my website. So every Monday at some point in the day, I’ll put up a new story for free. The first four will be holiday stories, but be forewarned–some are decidedly not sentimental. (Of course, some are.) WMG is also posting about ten of my holiday stories electronically this month, along with three holiday collections. Enjoy! … Read entire article »

Filed under: Current News

The Karnikov Card: A Spade/Paladin Story

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine just published my latest Spade/Paladin story, “The Karnikov Card.”  You can find an excerpt here.  And if you’re at all interested in other Spade/Paladin stories, check out Paladin’s website for updates. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Current News, free fiction

October 2010 Recommended Reading List

I taught a workshop this month and read a lot of great writing from the students, things I hope to see in print someday soon.  In addition to that, I suffered a lot of disappointment. Books I had looked forward to for months came out and were adequate in one case and just plain awful in another.  In fact the second book was by far the worst book I had read by that author, not in sentence- by-sentence writing, but in plot and lack of empathy.  I’m hoping his next will be much better. I decided not to recommend two articles that fascinated me in the October issue of Vanity Fair because they landed too squarely in the middle of topics I try to avoid on the blog—religion and politics.  … Read entire article »

Filed under: featured, free nonfiction, On Writing, Recommended Reading

The Business Rusch: Bookstores (Changing Times Part Six)

The Business Rusch: Bookstores (Changing Times Part Six) Kristine Kathryn Rusch In September, I attended a science fiction convention in Leipzig, Germany.  Leipzig is in the former German Democratic Republic, or what was then called East Germany.  The science fiction fans who put on the convention had started a science fiction club before the Berlin Wall came down.  The club focused on reading and so did the convention (which held its first event just two years after the Wall fell).  We had a lot of conversations about reading and literature.  I learned a great deal. But what surprised me the most were the conversations about bookstores. More than one person called going to the bookstore in East Germany an adventure.  One fan told me he never knew what he would find.  Each bookstore … Read entire article »

Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, On Writing

Freelancer’s Survival Guide Available!

The trade paper version of the Freelancer’s Survival Guide is now available.  I know a bunch of you mentioned you wanted it before Christmas, so I’m announcing now.  It’s only available on Amazon.com at the moment.  It has what is called a slow roll-out.  It’ll be in regular bookstores by the end of the year.  (You can’t order through them yet.  Wait until January for that.) Anyway, you can get the print version here. For those of you who’d like to buy an ebook, here’s the Amazon link as well as the Barnes & Noble link. The e-book will also be available on all the other e-book sites.  The product’s been sent.  It’s just taking some time for the e-book to get uploaded.  If you want it in your favorite format, and … Read entire article »

Filed under: Current News, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing

The Business Rusch: The Nimble Presses (Changing Times Part Five)

The Business Rusch: The Nimble Presses (Changing Times Part Five) Kristine Kathryn Rusch Last week, I wrote about how I believe e-publishing will save Big Publishing and got a lot of great comments.  I also got some private letters accusing me of being a “defender” of Big Publisher, a “shill” for Big Publishing, and a few very strange things.  (I’m not sure why discussing Big Publishing’s business model is a bad thing. <shrug>) So let me say it again:  I’m not pro-Big Publishing.  Nor am I pro-Small Publishing.  Or pro-do-it-yourself.  I’m just looking at the changes in the industry from my perspective which is admittedly biased, but it’s biased not in a cable-news kinda way (wherein I have a political agenda).  It’s biased in a I-think-I’m-right kinda way, which I freely admit … Read entire article »

Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, Freelancer's Survival Guide, On Writing

Freelancer’s Survival Guide update

It’s been a long saga on this project.  WMG has just published the electronic book.  I’ll have a link to that below. They tell me the actual paper version will be out by the end of the month. I’ve been sending e-mails to everyone who donated while I wrote the guide, so that I could send the promised free copy. Those of you who haven’t heard from me, please check your spam filter or e-mail me directly.  I’ll check your name against the list, then send along the copy of the Guide. Thanks, everyone, for the support.  I honestly, truly, could not have written this book without you. For those of you who’d like to buy a copy, here’s the Amazon link. The e-book will also be available on all the other … Read entire article »

Filed under: Current News, Freelancer's Survival Guide

The Business Rusch: How E-Books Will Save Big Publishing (Changing Times Part Four)

The Business Rusch: How E-Books Will Save Big Publishing (Changing Times Continued) Kristine Kathryn Rusch In my very first post in this long series of linked topics, I advised anyone who cared about publishing to keep up with the day-to-day industry news.  I wrote that blog post in my spare time over four days and I noted: “In four days, some parts of the [publishing] landscape changed—small parts, mind you, but they changed.  That’s how quickly the sands are shifting.” The sands continue to shift.  Last week, I mentioned that expensive overhead is one of the problems Big Publishing has—and by Big Publishing , I mean established commercial publishers who run multimillion dollar (in many cases multibillion dollar) corporations.  (Find that definition and more essential stuff in my second post). One aspect … Read entire article »

Filed under: Business Rusch, featured, free nonfiction, On Writing