Jennifer Brozek

When I'm writing, I'm pretty much head's down. Right now, I'm all about the Battletech webseries. I'm about to kill off the first NPC and then the first main character. Mostly you will hear, "I wrote 1000 words today."

I am also working a lot on Apocalypse Ink Productions. We have our regular "get on the same page" meeting on Wednesdays. And things are moving in multiple projects. I'm pleased and not yet overwhelmed.

I have enough to do that I am working to a specific schedule these days. It's wonderful and busy but not yet to the juggling chainsaws stage. Though, I can see it in the distance.

I have contracts for four anthologies (Beast Within 3, Beast Within 4, Coins of Chaos, Dangers Untold) with a couple more floating in the "in progress" ether. I can already tell you that the month of September is going to be crazy. But I'm looking forward to it.

A couple new reviews:

Human for a Day anthology: Fresh Fiction Review - They liked it.

Human for a Day anthology: MyShelf.Com review - Liked it a lot.

Under the Vale anthology: A Fantastical Librarian review - Discordance got a a shout out as a fresh voice and a good story.

And a reminder, My eBay auction for Worldbuilders ends on the 25th of January.

It's my birthday! Yay me! I've opened gifts from my family and my husband. Everyone knocked it out of the park. Mom and Dad got me an Amazon gift card which netted me six new books. Shannon and John got me custom made notepads with my picture and "A Word From Jennifer" on them as well as a custom made calendar that includes family photos and all of the birthdays and anniversaries for that side of the family. It was really cool. I love that kind of thing.

Jeff was a sneaky person and wouldn't tell me any hints at all. Plus, I've come to learn that he will obfuscate the gift in different boxes. This year, he put it in a large box, wrapped in a smaller box, and weighted it down with eight books. The gift? A set of black pearl earrings. They are gorgeous! And I would never have guessed.

Another gift to me is the fact that Human for a Day is featured today on John Scalzi's The Big Idea. This is huge and lovely and I really like what I wrote about the anthology. I appreciate that John has big and small press in his Big Idea column. This is my first anthology with a big six publisher and I really want to do more. It also amuses me that it did come out on my birthday. Almost like John is giving me an extra special gift.

I've only found one review of Human for a Day that I can find. It is a review by The Maine Edge staff writer Allen Adams and he likes it. That makes me happy.

This has been a fabulous birthday so far and I have a party scheduled for tonight.

Back in 2005, I made a decision. By 2006 I had figured out how to make my decision a reality. I wanted to be a published writer. My immediate goals were to first, get my short stories published, and second, become an accepted RPG author. My long term goal was to be published by a major publishing house like DAW or Tor. At the time, I had no thoughts at all about editing professionally or winning awards.

Shows you how well I knew myself and the industry.

By 2007, I was writing regularly for RPGs and selling my short stories to small press. I also was working on my first anthology. In 2009, I won my first editing award. In 2010, I won my first writing award. It is now 2011 and I have won another writing award and authored several RPG books on my own.

The only thing missing was being published by a major house. Until now. 5 years after I quit my fulltime job, I finally have my mass market sales and publications. Both are to DAW. The first was the Human for a Day anthology. The second is a short story in the new Valdemar anthology, Under the Vale and Other Tales of Valdemar.

As I hold these two mass market paperbacks, it is proof that if you work hard enough, dreams do come true. When I started, I knew nothing and nobody. Now, as I am about to turn 41 on December 9th, I have reached my long term goal; that thing I set out to do. Not only that, I got to write in one of my favorite fantasy universes with one of my favorite authors as the editor. The thought is humbling and emotional. Holding and petting my books is emotional. Dreams come true. MY dreams come true.

Of course, now that I'm a little older and a little wiser, I know that making your dreams come through is a never ending thing. Now that I've reached this first long term goal, I need to aspire to new heights. And I am. My new goal is to get a novel published by a major house. Not just a novel—a series. That's what I am striving for next.

But, in the meantime, I can smile and cry tears of joy and pet my DAW books. I made my dreams come true. Happy early birthday to me!

http://flyingpenpress.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=51

Table of Contents
Odd Jobs – Nathan Crowder
Backup – Ivan Ewert
Ina's Day – Andrew S. Fuller
Locator Beacons – David Lee Summers
Oh Give Me Land, Lots of Land, Under Starry Skies Above – Shannon Page and Mark J. Ferrari
Mass – Rick Silva
Running in Wonderland – Nayad A. Monroe
In a Dangerous Wild – Kay T. Holt
The Frigate Lieutenant's Woman – Erik Scott de Bie
Riding Westbound – Tyler Hayes
Finding Freedom – Dylan Birtolo
Travellin’ Show – Danielle Ackley-McPhail
Indoctrination – Warren Schultz
The Hunt for Liberty Jones – Brandie Tarvin
Toll Booth – Matthew Marovich
What a Mother Will Do – Ryan Macklin

Release party on Twitter this Friday, the 23rd.

This article is back up now that the website is in fine form again. Do enjoy.

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/blog/3691872-making-of-an-anthology-part-5-thoughts-on-the-table-of-contents

This is very exciting for me because I have two anthologies and a story with Dark Quest Books.

BEAUTY HAS HER WAY edited by Jennifer Brozek - http://amzn.to/mdnnzE
We love them: beautiful, strong-willed women. Now read an anthology filled with stories about them. This is not a heroine's book unless the heroine knows how to do bad in the name of good. This anthology is about women across the ages overcoming all obstacles to win their prize. Beauty will have her way...even if she has to get down and dirty to do it!

HUMAN TALES edited by Jennifer Brozek - http://amzn.to/mIGhJT
Be Wary and Beware.... There are tales that every parent knows and must pass on to their child. Tales of warning and terror...of those who break their vows and kill for no reason other than malice. Tales of saving the lovely princess from a prince that is much less than charming...and what it takes to bring her home, of rescuing babes from parents not fit to raise them, and the reason no supernatural can truly win a bargain with such vile creatures. These are Human Tales.

NO MAN'S LAND edited by Mike McPhail - http://amzn.to/jVcOIx
Includes my story "M.O.V.E". Same War, Different Perspective! With a clap of thunder from above, the Aerospace fighters tear through the sky, while below, our women warriors cross the hell of No Man's Land, to close with the enemy; in fourteen all-new military science fiction stories; with an introduction by David Weber, bestselling author of the Honor Harrington novels.

Sent to my Googlegroup first. Here because I remembered. :)

Because I think I would forget my head if it wasn't attached, I've asked my PA, Lily, to collect monthly round ups for me so that ya'll will hear from me once a month. They won't be as long as this one normally.

April 1-May 31
At the end of April, Jennifer was able to upgrade to active status with SFWA after recent sales to DAW. Go Jennifer!

===Sales:
"Discordance" to the anthology Tales of Valdemar #7 (DAW)
"Showdown at High Moon" to the Westward Weird anthology (DAW)
"A Promise Made" to Showdown at Midnight anthology (Science Fiction Trails)

===Events:
Norwescon 34, April 21-24 in Seattle was a fantastic weekend attended by Jennifer, who could be spotted anywhere from the Apex Books table in the dealers room to the green room, sitting on a number of panels and catching up with folks along the way.

===Publications:
APRIL
Jennifer’s “Making of an Anthology” series at the Apex Blog published a new installment, on invites and anthologies. http://www.apexbookcompany.com/2011/04/making-of-an-anthology-part-2-invitations/

Over at Geeks Dream Girl, her “Dice and Deadlines” series delved into expanding your horizons as a RPG writer. http://geeksdreamgirl.com/2011/04/19/dice-deadlines-expanding-your-horizons/

==On the editorial side…
Issue 64 of The Edge of Propinquity published, with new stories from universe authors Kaolin Fire, Peter M. Ball, Ivan Ewert, Alina Pete and guest author Lillian Cohen-Moore.

Human Tales, the dark and twisted anthology of ‘faerie tales’ from the supernatural side was released by Dark Quest Books.

MAY
Jennifer’s “Dice and Deadlines” columns’ newest installment discussed the nature of the freelance job hunt, and how a positive approach makes all the difference. http://geeksdreamgirl.com/2011/05/10/dice-deadlines-to-find-jobs-just-ask-and-share-the-love/

At the Apex Blog, Jennifer’s “Making of an Anthology” series saw a May installment, discussing how story selection for anthologies can work. http://www.apexbookcompany.com/2011/05/making-of-an-anthology-part-3-choosing-the-right-stories-for-an-anthology/

==On the editorial side…
Issue 65 of The Edge of Propinquity published, with new stories from universe authors Kaolin Fire, Peter M. Ball, Ivan Ewert, Alina Pete and guest author Mars Hage.

===Interviews
In April Jennifer was interviewed by MilSciFi.com about her story in No Man's Land, book four in the Defending the Future series. http://www.milscifi.com/files/inter-JB-NML.htm

===Reviews:
Rigor Amortis Review, by Nick Bronson.
Jennifer’s story “Swallow It All” appeared in the anthology.
http://www.shocktotem.com/05/14/2011/rigor-amortis/

CTHULHUROTIC - by Robert Derie. http://www.yog-sothoth.com/threads/20856-Unusual-Finds-Cthulhurotica-%28Adult%29
Jennifer’s essay “The Sexual Attraction of the Lovecraft Universe” appeared in the anthology.

Beauty Has Her Way review
http://sciencefictionmusings.blogspot.com/2011/05/beauty-has-her-way.html


Written by the Fabulous Lily.
Edited and approved by Jennifer.
Thank you all for reading.

Sincerely,
Jennifer

Isn't this cover beautiful? There is quite the saga I went through to get it. It's a barcon story at a convention. But, in the end, it was worth it. The artist, Shane Tyree, is awesome and wonderful and I had no problem working with him at all. Highly recommended all the way around.

I believe Beast Within 2 is due out in late June or July. I've very pleased with how it all worked out in the end.

I am home from a hasty roadtrip for a family wedding. Nothing like a 17 hour drive (one way) for a wedding. But, it is the last family wedding for a long time and I got to meet other new in-laws. So, it was worth it. Tiring but good.

However, I had an unusual amount of writer business come through the wires while on this trip--royalty payments, future contract discussions, blurb stuff and more--all of which I was dealing with via my smart phone. Not the ideal situation but made me thankful for the technology.

I came home to find the following review in my email. It's about Rigor Amortis at Shock Totem. They liked my brutal little story.

“Swallow it All,” by Jennifer Brozek, was another notable story, this one in the “Revenge” section. This one was quite short but it managed to provide a truly unlikeable antagonist who has had his wife raised as a zombie. It isn’t made explicit but seems likely that she died after he murdered her. Just enough details are provided about their situation that I couldn’t help but approve when he meets his deserved, and messy, end.

It is always nice to be called out specifically in a good way in an anthology review. It was a nice thing to come home to.

And now, to try to catch up on what needs doing.