Ghost Tour Story Is Live (Afterlive?) At Jim Baen's Universe!

[dr_pretentious]

Sound the trumpets! Joy makes a braggart of me.

My short story New Jersey's Top Ghost Tours Reviewed and Rated is in this month's issue of Jim Baen's Universe. It's my first appearance in a SFWA-qualifying market, which is a Very Big Deal. I've been enjoying the fruits of their four-figure check for a while, and now I get to see that this month's cover art is straight out of my story. I am a very happy creature.

So, what's the story about? A ghost tour operator gets a haunted cabinet for a birthday present, and next thing he knows, all his ghosts are unionizing on the eve of the Halloween tourist season. For fans of the Rugosa Coven stories, there are some cameo appearances, but this piece is completely freestanding, with far more humor than horror. Enjoy!

Comments

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

Bob and his family still appear on stage, and Jane still has her moment, all in the second half of the story. I was so relieved that the editors didn't ask for any cuts. Some of my critique partners were concerned that the cameos might be distracting for people who hadn't read the Rugosa Coven stuff, and some of them urged me to cut them, but I really felt like Bob was doing something structurally important for the plot. Jim's whole trajectory would be different without the stuff that happens during Bob's brief appearance. Jane was kind of a grace note, and I'd have acceded on that point without a fight if an acquiring editor had wanted it out. Glad I didn't have to.

(I do wish, though, that they'd noticed the minor infelicity I only discovered yesterday. Ah, well. I'd read the ms fiftysome times before submitting it, so really my little glitch should have been fixed on reading number forty-nine or so. Can't blame anybody else.)

There is an issue to download. According to the contract, it's theoretically possible that the story could appear in anthologies later. I'm not sure whether the fact that the magazine is scheduled to fold after the April issue makes an anthology appearance more likely or less likely. I'm just glad the story has made it out there while the magazine still exists.