Cemetery Dance is famous for its long-running magazine and its impressive span of collectable print editions, but we’ve also been quietly building an extensive list of eBooks. We’ve started this column to draw attention to eBooks that some of you might have missed.
This installment is devoted to Bruce McAllister’s story collection, The Girl Who Loved Animals. Bruce is no stranger to CD Online fans, since he’s had quite a few stories published in Cemetery Dance magazine: “Johnny” in #61; “The Bleeding Child” in #68; and “Blue House” in #74/75. He’s also got a story, “Dearly Beloved,” in Shivers VIII.
There’s a great way you could sample a stand-out story from the collection. LeVar Burton, of Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation fame, performed the opening story, “Kin,” on the very first episode of his podcast series, LeVar Burton Reads. The podcast, which includes the Hugo-nominated story “Kin” in full, is available to listen free at the Stitcher website.
The story “Kin” has been getting a lot of attention—and keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming announcement about another cool way to experience this story…
Other notable facts about stories included in this eBook:
- Stephen King chose “The Boy in Zaquitos” to appear in his 2007 guest-edited volume of Best American Short Stories.
- “Dream Baby” was a finalist for both the Nebula and the Hugo awards. “Kin” was also nominated for a Hugo.
- In the late ’80s and early ’90s, the collection’s title story, along with “Dream Baby,” earned McAllister the reputation as one of the field’s male feminist writers.
- The collection includes McAllister’s first published short story, “The Faces Outside,” written at 16 years old, published in IF and later earning the honor of appearing in Judith Merrill’s Year’s Best Science Fiction.
The book also features story notes that reveal each story’s origin as well as the influences—both literary and human—on the author’s life and writing career.
So, let LeVar Burton read one of Bruce McAllister’s stories to you, then check out the full eBook collection, The Girl Who Loved Animals!
Norman Prentiss is Editor, Electronic Books Division with Cemetery Dance Publications. He won a Bram Stoker Award for his first book, Invisible Fences. Recent books include Odd Adventures with your Other Father, Life in a Haunted House, and The Apocalypse-a-Day Desk Calendar.
