Big in China!!

Mike GristUncategorized 5 Comments

House stuff continues apace, with every day being a range of two steps forward one step back progressions. Of course the key to remember is that’s a lot of forward steps! It sucks though. Eg, THE SHOWER.

  • For a week tried to get a good plumber to replace cracked shower tray.
  • Got a guy out, came 2 hours late, gave a quote, 1000 pounds +. I sent him photos to email, tried to get him to come back and do the work (even at that price!), but he never came.
  • Get another guy, lined up for that day- he doesn’t come at all.
  • Get another guy, from a 100 pound an hour company, he can come tomorrow! Bu, we haven’t got the shower tray yet.
  • Rush off to Wickes to get shower tray. Dither over which one one to buy. Catch taxi home as it is big and heavy.
  • Guy comes, ON TIME! Can’t install it, it’s the wrong one. Pulls old shower out- half tiles come with it. Can’t re-use old shower glass walls, the frames are busted. So now we have hole where shower was, bunch of junk, and wrong heavy shower tray.
  • Back to Wickes for refund.

In total, we ripped out the shower tray. That is a step forward, though it took many dance moves forward and backward to get there. BUT IT IS A STEP FORWARD DAMMIT!!! 🙂

Some other news for variety- sales stay low at 3 a day, page reads stay high at 4,000, and the artist agrees to work on new Mr. Ruins cover. My Dad says- why change the cover, I like it. Ah, sigh. I like/liked it too. But it looks kind of like a Turner painting. It looks old. It doesn’t look clean, sharp or threatening, the way a sci-fi vampire horror story should…

GOOD NEWS! 2 months back, a Chinese science fiction magazine contacted me about rights to print my story ‘Bone Diamond’. I said sure, go to it, $100. Money money, they roll with it, and a few weeks back ey presto, I’m in the magazine, in Chinese!

It’s not the cover story, but it is the second story, which is awesome. there is also art, which is awesome too. Here see:

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What is the name of the magazine? Science Fiction World Magazine(China) – Translations. It’s their first collection of translations. This cover is not of my story.

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Does the image on this contents page feel familiar (to those who have read Bone Diamond?)

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Yes, it is an image based on the story! I love it. It shows several pivotal moments, sets the scene in Egypt, the mood, I love it.

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Here it is next to the story. Even my byline has been translated into Chinese. Though..

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Here’s my name in English, in my bio as my website address.

I was teaching two classes of predominantly Chinese at the time I received this copy, so of course I took it into class to show off.

“I read this magazine all through my teens,” one boy said. Yeah. I think it has a high circulation, something like 20,000… Wow. Have I got any fans in China now? Are you reading this? Ni hao! (hello in Chinese)

 

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