They Didn't Ask Me ([info]dr_phil_physics) wrote,
@ 2009-03-06 02:01:00
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Current mood: excited
Entry tags:analog, dr phil stories, fan letters, holland, magazines, science fiction

Analog Sighting
Look At What I Found

Thursday afternoon, about 3:30pm EST, Barnes & Noble in Holland MI. I could see they had copies of Analog -- the title stuck out of the second tier shelf -- but I didn't know what the May 2009 cover looked like. Apparently it looks a lot like these:


And look -- one of the copies happens to have opened to reveal "The Brother On The Shelf" by Philip Edward Kaldon.

As You Can See... It Starts On Page 77

But with the May 2009 Analog on bookstore shelves, you can buy your own. Just don't try the Barnes & Noble in Holland MI -- they're out right now.

My First Real Fan Letter

Lots of people have wished me well with this or that publication. And I've gotten a number of congratulations with the publication of the May 2009 Analog and my story. But today when I checked the email over at my website http://dr-phil-physics.com I discovered my first real fan mail:

Dear Dr. Kaldon,

I enjoyed your story in the latest Analog. Enough so that I bought Tangle Girls, where I enjoyed Under Suspicion rather more. I also quite liked Le Grand Bazar and will happily order ASIM 38/39 as they are available.

Wow. Someone read my story in Analog, found my website, ordered another anthology, Tangle Girls with my story "Under Suspicion". I've generated a sale!

And no, I'm not being sarcastic here. This is both amusing and exciting to me. Because it happens to writers -- and I'm getting established as a SF writer, plain and simple. But it gets better, because my fan also had a question about my 29th century universe which I happily answered.

Yeah, people are beginning to read Dr. Phil. Okay, now I'm chuffed.

Dr. Phil

(20 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]ckastens
2009-03-06 07:49 am UTC (link)
And look -- one of the copies happens to have opened to reveal "The Brother On The Shelf" by Philip Edward Kaldon.

What an amazing coincidence! :)

BIG congrats on the publication and the fan! Two major milestones!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-06 03:48 pm UTC (link)
The first was, of course, expected. The other came clear out of the blue. And I should have expected it'd happen some time, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]albogdan
2009-03-06 01:07 pm UTC (link)
As Chris said, definitely many major milestones reached!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-06 03:55 pm UTC (link)
At the time I was getting ready to apply to Clarion in fall of 2003, I sat down and made a list of Writing Milestones. First publication. First sale to a major. Etc. Quite a number have happened since then, more left to go. But I don't remember if getting fanmail was on the list. (grin) But it's clearly a milestone.

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]j_cheney
2009-03-06 02:12 pm UTC (link)
Congrats!!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-06 03:55 pm UTC (link)
Thanks!

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]wendyb_09
2009-03-06 02:28 pm UTC (link)
Oooooh! The brother unit has groupies!!

Congrats brother o' mine! Guess I'll have to swing by Borders this weekend and see what I can see...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-06 03:56 pm UTC (link)
Groupie. Just one. (grin) So far. (double-grin)

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]wendyb_09
2009-03-06 04:55 pm UTC (link)
or would the singular be groupi?

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-06 06:56 pm UTC (link)
A group of one? I think we need a Venn diagram.

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]slithytove
2009-03-06 04:55 pm UTC (link)
What a great fan. Awesome!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-06 06:11 pm UTC (link)
Amazingly cool.

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]ken_schneyer
2009-03-06 08:00 pm UTC (link)
Very cool.

They actually sell Analog<?i> in the Land of Hope College? I was sure it was against some rule or other...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-06 08:14 pm UTC (link)
Hey, they let me teach Physics at Hope College. Seriously, Hope is a decent liberal arts & sciences college. As for Holland, they are as plagued by big box stores as the next community, and I'm sure B&N doesn't worry so much about local issues. (grin) Frankly, I was impressed they had four copies. Usually when I am looking for any of the four majors in SF/F, I'm lucky to see one or two copies on a shelf.

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Hoorah!
[info]burnt_njal
2009-03-06 09:05 pm UTC (link)
Yes, the best part of publishing in a well-known magazine is the fact that you get to see how people response. Any reviews yet that you know of?

I've been lucky enough to get a few pieces of honest-to-goodness fan mail too and it sends me straight to cloud nine. No one's every sought out any other of my stories though, at least not that I know of.

Enjoy it!

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Hoorah!
[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-07 05:58 am UTC (link)
Haven't run into official reviews yet, but I did run into one on the Analog blog -- you just haven't been keeping up with my LJ. (grin)

Still feeling mighty chuffed.

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]steve_buchheit
2009-03-08 07:35 pm UTC (link)
Hurrah! And the villagers rejoice! Okay, so you can tell us, just how many people did you grab as they walked by and said, "Hey, look, that's my story right there"?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-08 10:25 pm UTC (link)
(1) There wasn't anybody in the store.

(2) I bought all the copies they had. (evil grin)

(3) I did tell the checkout guy he needed to re-order and showed him my story.

(4) Okay, so it was a small thing, but I'm still chuffed.

(5) Check out today's entry!

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]therinth
2009-03-09 01:05 am UTC (link)
That's awesome Dr Phil! :D

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dr_phil_physics
2009-03-09 01:45 am UTC (link)
Thank you. (grin)

Dr. Phil

(Reply to this) (Parent)

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