phew!

Much of my energy the past few months has gone into writing an essay on time-travel fiction for a scholarly book Keith Brooke is editing for publication by Palgrave Macmillan next Fall: The Sub-genres of Science Fiction: Strange Divisions and Alien Territories. Since I'm no academic, whenever I do something like this there's definite anxiety as I wait to hear the judgment of its adequacy . . . or, as I usually convince myself during the waiting period, of its many and profound inadequacies. This was especially so in this instance since Keith has otherwise assembled a very distinguished bunch of contributors.

Here, although the running order may well change, is the contents list:

Foreword - Michael Swanwick
Hard Science Fiction - Gary Gibson
Space Opera - Alastair Reynolds
Alternative History - Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Topian Science Fiction - Keith Brooke.
Aliens - Justina Robson
Planetary Romance - Catherine Asaro and Kate Dolan
After the Apocalypse - James Lovegrove
Religion - Adam Roberts
Time Travel - John Grant
Cyberpunk and the Human-Machine Interface - James Patrick Kelly
Special Powers - Paul Di Filippo
Post-Human - Tony Ballantyne
Afterword: Picking Up the Pieces - Keith Brooke

My own chapter proved to be a monster. The first draft was nearly 15,000 words long -- somewhat over the target figure of 5000. After much painful amputation, I got it down to 11,000 words and asked Keith for advice. With the help of his suggestions, I finally submitted at just over 8000 words . . . and then the waiting began.

Well, the waiting's over, and: Phew! My piece apparently passes the mustard. Er, cuts muster. Something like that.

And now commences another -- but this time much more pleasant -- period of waiting: waiting to read the other essays in the book, to which I'm very much looking forward!