As a teen I devoured books by Robert Silverberg. The Man in the Maze, Those Who Watch, Downward to the Earth… the list goes on. I didn’t read everything – his output was prolific, I couldn’t even find them all – but his accessible, engaging, clever stories were a big part of making me want to be a writer. I’m sure many of my early tales were little more than awkward adolescent copies of his books.
Well, over time I guess I’ve found my own voice, and have published many stories along the way. Now, though, I’m thrilled to have achieved one of my dreams from those teenage years: a story published in Asimov’s Science Fiction. My novelette “Walking Gear” is in the March 2014 issue.
Not only that, but I’m sharing the contents page with Robert Silverberg.
Of course, Mr. Silverberg’s piece is his regular column, so getting a story in Asimov’s meant a fair chance of coinciding, but I still feel very honored. There are other luminaries in the issue too, like Mike Resnick, Ken Liu and Cat Rambo. Wow.
