Sheila's LiveJournal

I'm intending to do something different (for me) on my web site (www.sff.net/people/sheila-finch).  I'm getting ready to put up at least two thirds of the novel Birds for free download. The original short story, "Hitchhiker," was published long ago in Amazing Stories. Then the complete novel was serialized by A.J. Budrys in Tomorrow SF, and  finally it was  published by Wildside. I've always been partial to this story! It takes place in the near future in the aerospace industry in Southern California, and concerns an energy being who happens to blunder into our space. putting our satellites at risk,  and the attempts of a young woman to go into space to clear her astronaut sister's name. I you like it, there'll be a link to the paperback version at Wildside Press.  I've never done this before so we'll see what happens.

I had a lot of fun doing the research for this book, visiting the High Bay at Hughes, taking flying lessons, watching a shuttle landing at Edwards Air Force Base, visiting Los Alamos and the Thames Barrier Project., spending time in Alaska in winter. And I have the original of the gorgeous cover painting Bob Eggleton did for the short story version. (A nice coincidence: That was one of Bob's early magazine appearances, as it was mine too. Now, Bob's doing the cover for my collection of lingster stories coming out from Golden Gryphon this summer.)

But as they say, there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, and that project has been delayed because of other stuff -- Not the least of which has been my greyhound Annie's recent accident at the dog park, resulting in stitches. (She did it to herself, only two other dogs were around and one of them my other grey, Jack; he's usually the clumsy one.)

Happy Mother's Day to mothers everywhere and all children of mothers too!