Sporty Spec is available!
I'm very much looking forward to getting my copy of this, and you can order it already now from Lulu. Or if you prefer, wait a couple of weeks and it'll be available from Amazon and other online vendors. There are even launch parties happening in a few weeks, one on the West Coast, one on the East (US, that is, by the way). So if you happen to live there or be traveling there then, you can see the details at the Sporty Spec page.
So now for the origin of this story... It's called "City of Games." I wrote it specifically for the anthology, and its tone is meant to evoke a couple of writers I like: Dunsany, especially some of his stories that are basically travelogues of intriguing places; and Calvino, especially his book Invisible Cities, which was my introduction to him and part of what led to his becoming one of my favorite authors. It was meant to have more of a Dunsany feel, with only touches of Calvino, but in my opinion by the time it was done that was reversed. The other source of this story is something I'd written in my writing notebook (the original "Twigs and Brambles") years ago about a city where laws and policies are decided by a soccer-like game. That same idea led to a much darker, more cynical story about two years ago, a story that I still like but haven't found a home for yet. This is a much more whimsical take on the same germ.
I'm very much looking forward to getting my copy of this, and you can order it already now from Lulu. Or if you prefer, wait a couple of weeks and it'll be available from Amazon and other online vendors. There are even launch parties happening in a few weeks, one on the West Coast, one on the East (US, that is, by the way). So if you happen to live there or be traveling there then, you can see the details at the Sporty Spec page.So now for the origin of this story... It's called "City of Games." I wrote it specifically for the anthology, and its tone is meant to evoke a couple of writers I like: Dunsany, especially some of his stories that are basically travelogues of intriguing places; and Calvino, especially his book Invisible Cities, which was my introduction to him and part of what led to his becoming one of my favorite authors. It was meant to have more of a Dunsany feel, with only touches of Calvino, but in my opinion by the time it was done that was reversed. The other source of this story is something I'd written in my writing notebook (the original "Twigs and Brambles") years ago about a city where laws and policies are decided by a soccer-like game. That same idea led to a much darker, more cynical story about two years ago, a story that I still like but haven't found a home for yet. This is a much more whimsical take on the same germ.
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