Souldrifter doesn't have an acknowledgement section, but if it did,
Wendy Wagner and
Bruce McAllister would be two of the people right at the top of the list. Both were gracious enough to read a pre-published version of the manuscript and then grace the cover of the book with wonderful endorsements. Bruce, who is a great mentor and teacher in addition to a great writer, even took the time to provide some suggestions for improving the book before I sent the final version to my publisher. I'm thankful to both Wendy and Bruce for their time and kindness. Here's a little background on each, in case you want to check their work out (and you should!).
Wendy Wagner is highly involved in the speculative fiction world on multiple fronts. As an author, she's had short stories published in some of the best SF/F magazines, and she's also author of
Skinwalkers, a Pathfinder Tales novel. On top of that, she's the Managing/Associate Editor of
Lightspeed and
Nightmare magazines, guest editor of the anthology
Queers Destroy Horror! and nonfiction editor of the anthologies
Women Destroy Science Fiction! and
Women Destroy Fantasy! Whew, that's a lot of hats to wear.
Wendy and I actually went to college together at Pacific University, and I feel quite fortunate to have friends in high places. For a flashback,
here's an interview I did with Wendy back in 2013, prior to the release of
Skinwalkers.
Bruce McAllister has been an acclaimed author for more years than I've been alive, which is sort of mind-boggling. He's probably most widely known for his short stories, which you can find collected in
The Girl Who Loved Animals and Other Stories, but he also writes novels. His newest novel,
The Village Sang to the Sea, is a fantasy based in large part on his early life growing up in Italy. He is also author of
Dream Baby, one of the best books I've read in recent memory.
Before moving to the Bay Area this summer, I lived near Bruce and had the pleasure of getting to know him. He's a fascinating person and a great teacher of the craft of storytelling. You can read the
in-depth interview I did with him last year over at Black Gate magazine.
Here's a heartfelt thank you to both Bruce and Wendy.
-Garrett Calcaterra
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