Thursday, May 19, 2011

I'm Back!

Well, I'm back, although I'll be digging out from under emails and snail mail for a good while. I had 935 posts backed up on blogger and decided I didn't have the strength so I had to mark them all as read. I'll start visiting blogs again today. It'll take a bit to get back in the swing of things.

If you're wondering about my "hiatus," Lana and I had a vacation, something we haven't had in quite a long time. We took a road trip through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. We saw dinosaur footprints, petrified wood, painted deserts, meteor craters, giant caves, small canyons and giant ones, sand dunes and dust devils, tumbleweeds and massive human-made artifacts both old and new, and lots of varied wildlife. Lana took a couple of thousand pictures so you will be seeing some of those here as I start posting occasional details about the trip. I honestly didn't post that we were having the trip in the first place because these days you can't be too careful about who might be paying attention on the internet. We didn't want to come home to an emptied house.

Despite the fun of the trip, I am most glad to be home. One thing good that happened while I was gone was that the book Dreams in the Fire was published. I have a story in it called "A Gathering of Ravens." This is a charity anthology, with fiction and poetry inspired by the works of Robert E. Howard. The proceeds go to the Cross Plains, Texas group called "Project Pride," which consists of some of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. Project Pride maintains the Robert E. Howard house and museum in Cross Plains. There are plenty of professional writers in the anthology, as well as some new voices. All authors are associated in some way with Howard fandom. If you're fan of Howard or just a fan of good fantasy and adventure stories, this collection might be for you. It's available at Lulu. I've posted the cover below.

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32 comments:

David Cranmer said...

It sounds like you and Lana had a great trip, Charles. I'm looking forward to details and that book looks like a winner.

Charles Gramlich said...

Thanks, David. It was indeed an epic journey.

Randy Johnson said...

You guys must have had a great time. be forward to photos and such.h

Deka Black said...

Sounds like a great journey indeed!

Paul R. McNamee said...

Glad you're back. I bet it was a great trip.

That anthology is on my wishlist.

Between that and a new issue of Black Gate, I am going to need to go on eShopping spree soon.

And then - find time to read it all!

Charles Gramlich said...

Randy, Lana got some gorgeous shots.

Deka, indeed so, my friend.

Paul, truly it was. And yes, reading time is the hardest part.

Ron Scheer said...

Welcome back...Looking forward to your reports and pics of being on the road...

Scott said...

Charles,

Sounds as if it was a great trip! I'm glad you two got to do it. can't wait to see pics and such.

Travis Erwin said...

Glad y'all had a good time and I don't blame you for not announcing it beforehand, but I really hope y'all didn't travel I-40 because if you breezed right through Amarillo without letting me know or stopping you missed out. I'd have loved to buy you guys lunch and meet in person.

laughingwolf said...

glad you had a good time, and nice to have you back... will check out her blog asap....

Steve Malley said...

Mmm, gotta love a vacation! :D

ANd that book cover is really awesome: a striking image that also evokes that 1930s WPA style of the REH era....

nephite blood spartan heart said...

I love that cover, the Keegan's do some great stuff.

And I'm glad you guys weren't out on account of a flood or anything (right?)

And you ought to be getting that snail mail from me anyday now. Thanks again for the books.

Unknown said...

Glad you had a good time. Vacations are good.

Charles Gramlich said...

Ron Scheer, I've seen some of the pics already. They look dynamite.

Scott, thanks, man.

Travis Erwin, we actually didn't come through that way. We went down past Dallas on the I-20, and returned on the I-10

laughingwolf, cool, man

Steve Malley, they sure do make you tired, though. The cover was done by a couple of art friends of mine, the Keegans. A great couple and talented artists.

David J. West, yep, great cover. And no, no flooding for us. we'll be good where we are.

Carole, thankee. They are good, and it's good to get home and not have to go right back to work.

Cloudia said...

enjoyable thinking of you two traveling the west...





Aloha from Waikiki

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the walking man said...

I need a road trip! I wish you would have let me know you were going because I also need a new TV, a refrigerator, some books, a desk...

Richard Prosch said...

Welcome back! I love that part of the country for the landscape and for the food -in that order. Look forward to the pics!

Charles Gramlich said...

Cloudia, we were like modern day Bonnie and clyde, without all the crime and shooting and stuff.

Mark, yeah, you were the main reason we kept it under our hats. :)

Richard Prosch, I'll have some tihngs to say about the food. I sure got my fill of tacos but I love 'em.

BernardL said...

Judgment Day is tomorrow, my friend, so don't worry about catching up on the posts. :)

Chris said...

I will definitely be getting that anthology. My trip to Cross Plains and the Howard Museum was one of those "life list" accomplishments.

Charles Gramlich said...

Bernardl, yeah, but I'd like to go out all tidy! :)

Chris, I went to CP almost every year for 10 years but haven't gone in a while. I need to get back there.

Golden Eagle said...

It sounds like you had a great vacation! I'm looking forward to the pictures, too. :)

Cool cover for the anthology!

Jodi MacArthur said...

Sounds like you two had a wonderful adventure! Great time of year too for the warm states. Looking forward to the pictures at Lana's site. Congrats on the Book. I'm a Howard fan, so I'll check it out. Thanks for stopping by my site this morning, appreciate it. ;-)

Travis Cody said...

It's good to see you back. Although, if you'd stayed away another couple of days you probably could have hit 1000 unread posts.

A dubious milestone, but a milestone is a milestone. LOL!

pattinase (abbott) said...

Sounds like a fabulous time. Can't wait for the pics.

Charles Gramlich said...

Golden Eagle, Lana took over 2000 pics so it's taken her a while to go through them all.

Jodi, I'm starting to make the rounds again. Now that I'm home. We did indeed have an adventure.

Travis Cody, I know. I was actually a bit disappointed it hadn't reached 1000. :)

Patty, Lana's been working on getting em downloaded and ready for a couple of days now.

SzélsőFa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SzélsőFa said...

i'm glad you had a fun trip.
i'm looking forward to seeing some photos - those places are wonderful!

sage said...

Welcome back (as I get ready to leave). You'll have to tell us more about your trip.

Charles Gramlich said...

SzélsőFa, yes, and so different from what I'm used to.

sage, will do. Hope you have fun as well. I'm sure you will.

Barrie said...

Welcome home! I'm glad you guys got to go on vacation.

Lana Gramlich said...

Congrats on yet another publication, sweetie! You're the best. :) Had a great time with you on our vacation, too!