Mary Soon Lee's Mailbox Blues for 1999

This page contains Mary Soon Lee's 1999 mailbox mutterings. For more recent news see the latest Mailbox Blues.

1999 Summary

A quick summary of my story-submitting fate in 1999 (this includes the two S&S acceptances mentioned above, which I estimate arrived on 29 December 1999):- For comparison, my career statistics to date are:

21 December 1999: Electric Wine acceptance :-)

'Tis the season for selling reprints. Electric Wine have accepted reprint rights to my story "Conversation Pieces," which first appeared in Beyond #2, June 1995 :-)

18 December 1999: Year's Best SF #5 acceptance :-)

Today I received contracts from David Hartwell for my story "Lifework" to be reprinted in next year's Year's Best Science Fiction #5 anthology. Hip, hip, hooray!!!! "Lifework" first appeared in Interzone #144, June 1999, and is among my favorite stories. Hip, hip, hooray, again!! :-) I also recently received friendly rejections from Altair and On Spec.

10 December 1999: Altair rejection

A thoughtful and friendly rejection from Altair.

6 December 1999: An end to silence...

Today I received two friendly, encouraging rejections, one from Amazing Stories and one from Darkling Plain.

1 December 1999: The great silence...

My silence on this page is merely a reflection of the vast quiet stillness of my mailbox. Perhaps a dozen replies will arrive tomorrow morning....

6 November 1999: Pulp Eternity acceptance :-)

I haven't updated this mailbox page for a few days, and have accumulated three story responses. Firstly an acceptance from Pulp Eternity for my story "Spell Night," to appear in the "I Am Cat" issue. Hurrah! :-) :-) Also rejections from SF Age and Vampire Dan's Story Emporium.

27 October 1999: Asimov's rejection

Just as I was wondering what had happened to all my stories, a 118-day rejection from Asimov's Science Fiction.

18 October 1999: Lost Ages publication :-)

The Lost Ages Chronicle today published "Dry Water," the story of mine that they accepted earlier this month :-) This story was first published in Random Realities #7 in June 1995. Alas, I also received a rejection from TransVersions.

16 October 1999: Pulp Eternity

Today I received a second rewrite request from Pulp Eternity in response to my first revision of the story.

14 October 1999: Lost Ages payment :-)

The Lost Ages Chronicle paid me today for the story they accepted earlier this month :-) Also in the mail, a 64-day rejection from Playboy.

11 October 1999: Phenix acceptance :-)

An unsolicited acceptance from the French magazine Phenix, which will be reprinting my story "The Day Before They Came" (first published in Interzone).

6 October 1999: Lost Ages sale :-)

The Lost Ages Chronicle recently solicited a story from me, and today they accepted reprint rights to "Dry Water," first published in Random Realities #7 :-)

4 October 1999: Dark Regions contract :-)

Today I received the contract from Dark Regions for last month's sale of "Dragonslayer" :-)

2 October 1999: Pulp Eternity

Today I received a rewrite request from Pulp Eternity.

Marion Zimmer Bradley

Marion Zimmer Bradley died yesterday, September 25th, after suffering a major heart attack on September 21st. I only just learned the news and still cannot fully absorb it.

Marion Zimmer Bradley was a pivotal figure in fantasy, both for her own fiction and for all the encouragement and opportunities she gave to newer writers. I can't think of any other major author who helped so many other authors, through her beautiful magazine and the many anthologies she edited. I was lucky enough to have a story ("The Hollow Dancer") in Sword & Sorceress XIV, one of the many anthologies we owe to her.

Many, many sympathies to all who knew Marion Zimmer Bradley.

13 September 1999: SF Age rejection

A 13-day rejection from the ever-swift SF Age.

11 September 1999: Dark Regions acceptance :-)

Today I found a message from Dark Regions on my phone machine, requesting a disk copy of my story "Dragonslayer" as soon as possible -- returning the phone call I confirmed that they were indeed accepting the story :-)

10 September 1999: Nowa Fantasyka payment :-)

Today I received a check from the Polish magazine Nowa Fantastyka for my earlier reprint sale of "The Day Before They Came" (first published in Interzone) :-)

28 August 1999: Mail catch-up

Two rejections to report, one from Adventures of Sword & Sorcery and the other from F&SF. Much more happily, I also received payment for my recent acceptance from On Spec :-)

20 August 1999: Etoiles Vives rejection

A friendly 22-day rejection from Etoiles Vives.

19 August 1999: Waxing & Waning publication :-)

Today I received my contributor's copy of Waxing & Waning #1, containing my short story "The Mother" :-)

17 August 1999: TOTU publication :-)

Today I received contributor's copies of Tales of the Unanticipated #20, containing my short story "The Turtle God." This is the first trade-paperback issue of Tales of the Unanticipated, and it looks beautiful in its new format.

11 August 1999: Altair publication :-)

Today I received contributor's copies of Altair #4 (the special Aussiecon III edition) containing my short story "1-800-Clone-Me" :-)

9 August 1999: F&SF rejection

A friendly 17-day rejection from F&SF.

4 August 1999: On Spec acceptance :-)

Good news today: I received contracts from the Canadian magazine On Spec for my short story "No-Name in the Long Winter" :-) This will be my second appearance in On Spec.

2 August 1999: Talebones rejection

A swift and friendly rejection from Talebones.

31 July 1999: ByLine rejection

A 14-day rejection from ByLine...

24 July 1999: Pirate Writings payment :-)

Today I received payment for my story "Slush" published in Pirate Writings #17.

22 July 1999: Three months old :-)

William is three months old today, and now weighs sixteen pounds. He is getting ever more vocal, and particularly enjoys squealing. He is also getting much better at holding onto rattles and other toys.... Also today, a friendly 21-day rejection from Maelstrom.

17 July 1999: Italian acceptance, Mind's Eye royalties :-)

The editor of the Italian web-magazine Intercom asked to reprint my story "The Day Before They Came" (first published in Interzone) which will be my first story to be translated into Italian :-) And I also received my first royalty check from Mind's Eye Fiction. Less happily, I had a rejection from Pirate Writings.

16 July 1999: Interzone publication :-) :-)

Today I received contributor's copies of Interzone #145, containing my story "Tranquillity" :-) :-) :-) This is my sixth story to appear in Interzone.... Also today, a friendly rejection from Talebones.

13 July 1999: Writing again :-)

I have now completed my first new story since William's birth :-) I am trying to write for an hour a day, but it is certainly not such an easy task as before he was born.... Meanwhile William is going through a phase of fascination with the wonder of owning a left hand.

9 July 1999: Odyssey folds :-(

Alas, sad news indeed that Odyssey is folding. I had one story in their slush-pile, which now needs to be submitted elsewhere. Also a rejection yesterday from Rosebud; they are reorganizing and the form slip invites me to resubmit my story to them next year.

7 July 1999: Whoops

I see I am woefully behind with my mail reports. I've received three rejections since my last update (from Asimov's, ByLine, and Story).... William is doing very well. Nowadays he occasionally manages to roll over, and he is also learning the important art of thumb-sucking.

21 June 1999: Waxing & Waning payment :-)

Today I received payment for my recent sale to Waxing & Waning :-)

19 June 1999: Interzone publication :-) :-)

Today I received contributor's copies of Interzone #144, containing my story "Lifework" :-) :-) :-) This is my fifth story to appear in Interzone.... Also today, a rejection from Pirate Writings.... On the baby front, William is becoming more mobile and beginning to learn to roll over :-)

12 June 1999: Altair rejection

A friendly rejection from Altair.

10 June 1999: The Urbanite rejection

A 14-day rejection from The Urbanite.... On the non-writing front, William is now holding cooing conversations with us.

1 June 1999: Waxing & Waning acceptance :-)

Today I received an acceptance from a new Canadian magazine, Waxing & Waning; I also received belated contributor copies from the Polish magazine Nowa Fantastyka for two stories printed in 1997 :-)

24 May 1999: Sword & Sorceress royalties :-)

Today I received royalties for my short story "The Hollow Dancer" from Sword & Sorceress XIV :-)

In non-writing news, William had a check up today. He is now one month, two days old; he weighs 12 pounds, 2 ounces; he is 24 inches long. He is growing well!

21 May 1999: Papyrus payment :-)

Today I received $100 payment from Papyrus for reprinting my short story "Silent in the Cities" :-)

20 May 1999: Flesh and Blood contributor's copy :-)

Today I received my contributor's copy of Flesh and Blood #4, containing a reprint of my story "The Hollow Dancer" (Sword and Sorceress XIV), and also received the contracts for my recent sale to Nowa Fantastyka, plus a friendly rejection from Altair.

18 May 1999: Gigamesh acceptance :-)

The Spanish magazine Gigamesh will be reprinting my story "Ebb Tide" (F&SF, May 1995) later this year :-) This will be my first story to be translated into Spanish :-)

10 May 1999: Year's Best and Talebones publication :-)

Today I received my contributor's copy of the Year's Best SF #4, edited by David G. Hartwell, published by HarperPrism, ISBN 0-06-105902-1. This is the first time I've had a story in one of the Year's Best volumes, and I am delighted :-) :-) I also received my contributor's copy of Talebones #15, containing my story "Vigil" :-)

William continues to be exceedingly cute. Yesterday Andrew bought him a new toy, an activity gym, and William lay in it absolutely fascinated by the bright toys dangling above him.

9 May 1999: Belated birth announcement :-)

I'm behind with everything; my e-mail and snail-mail in particular is building into a terrible To-Be-Answered pile. The reason for all these undone tasks was born into the world shortly after midnight on April 22nd: William Chye Lee Moore, weighing 9 pounds, 4 ounces at birth, 22 inches long. William is the first child of myself and Andrew (my husband), and he is one hundred percent cute. He was born by unplanned C-section, and developed jaundice on his second day of life, but the jaundice is now nearly gone, William and I are home, and all is well :-) :-) :-)

Andrew has been sifting my mail for me, so I can also report that the Polish magazine Nowa Fantastyka will be reprinting my story "The Day Before They Came" (Interzone #133, July 1998), and that I received the contracts for my earlier sale to Pulp Eternity. I've also had a few rejections, but I'm not yet even sure for which stories (I haven't looked at that section of mail).

20 April 1999: MZB's rejection

An encouraging 29-day rejection from Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine.

15 April 1999: Double rejection

After Monday's rare and very welcome double-acceptance, today comes a (sadly) more common double-rejection: one from Talebones and one from Asimov's....

12 April 1999: Interzone double-acceptance :-) :-)

A double-acceptance from Interzone of my short stories "Tranquillity" and "Lifework." I am thoroughly delighted :-) :-) :-)

10-11 April 1999: Papyrus acceptance :-)

A 12-day acceptance from Papyrus, who will be reprinting my story "Silent in the Cities" in May 1999 :-) :-) (This story was originally printed in Aboriginal SF #51-52, December 1996.) I also received a friendly 10-day rejection from Altair.

5 April 1999: SF Age rejection

A prompt, friendly rejection from SF Age.

1 April 1999: Aboriginal rejection

A 129-day rejection from Aboriginal SF with some helpful feedback, and an invitation to rewrite the story.

29 March 1999: Asimov's rejection

A friendly 56-day rejection from Asimov's.

25 March 1999: Talebones page proofs :-)

The page proofs for my story "Vigil" arrived from Talebones, and all looks well :-) Also in the mail, a 58-day rejection from Glimmer Train.

23 March 1999: Amazing Stories publication :-) :-)

Today I received contributor's copies of Amazing Stories #596, Spring 1999, containing my story "Luna Incognita." Happiness :-)

20 March 1999: Realms of Fantasy rejection

A 53-day rejection from Realms of Fantasy.

17 March 1999: Visionair contract :-)

Today I received the contract for my recent pair of sales to Visionair, and also a "came close" rejection from F&SF.

15-16 March 1999: Transversions publication, TOTU acceptance :-)

It's been a good couple of days mail-wise. First I received payment and contributor's copies of Transversions #10, containing my short-short "Courtly Love." And then I received an acceptance from Tales of the Unanticipated for my story "The Turtle God." Yippee! :-)

11 March 1999: Year's Best payment :-)

Today I received payment and the signed contract for my January sale of "The Day Before They Came" to the Year's Best SF #4, edited by David Hartwell. This is a particularly exciting sale for me: it will be first time in a Year's Best anthology :-) Also in the mail today, a 118-day rejection from Gotta Write Network.

10 March 1999: Visionair acceptance :-)

A 156-day acceptance from the Dutch magazine Visionair for my story "Universal Grammar" (F&SF, April 1997) -- with the unexpected bonus that they would also like to reprint my story "Ex Terra, Ex Astris" (F&SF, May 1998). Yippee!! :-)

4 March 1999: Space & Time rejection

A friendly and encouraging 77-day rejection from Space & Time, telling me that my story was in the final batch held for consideration.

3 March 1999: Tiger Moon Press payment :-)

Tiger Moon Press have now sent the second half of the payment they owed me for a story published all the way back in 1994 :-)

1 March 1999: Avon anthology rejection

After a quiet week, a 74-day rejection from the Avon anthology.

22 February 1999: Galaxy publication, Talebones payment... :-)

"The God on the Glass Cross," a story that I sold back in 1994 has now been published on the Galaxy website. Also today I received payment from Talebones for my forthcoming story "Vigil," and I had a rejection from Science Fiction Age.

18 February 1999: First place in Best of Soft SF Contest :-)

Yippee!!! Today I learned that my story "Cause and Consequence" from Interzone #136, October 1998, came first in the Best of Soft SF Contest. I am very pleased, not just because of the $100 check, but because this story is a personal favorite of mine..... N.B. Brian Wightman's story "Nocturne Bride" came second in the contest, and Leslie What's story "The Cost of Doing Business" came third.

16 February 1999: Pirate Writings re-publication :-)

Some people may recall that only half of a short-short of mine appeared last year in Pirate Writings #16. Today I received a contributor's copy of Pirate Writings #17 -- and, happily, this time it has the story in its entirety :-)

9 February 1999: Altair payment + contracts :-)

In the mail today, the contracts and payment for my sale of "1-800-Clone-Me" to Altair :-)

5 February 1999: Talebones contracts :-)

Today I received the contracts for the January sale of my short story "Vigil" to Talebones :-)

3 February 1999: Pulp Eternity acceptance :-)

After 8 days with no story responses, I received email from Pulp Eternity accepting my story "Star-Crossed." Yay! :-)

25 January 1999: Triple rejection

Ouch! A triple-rejection day, courtesy of Amazing Stories, Realms of Fantasy, and Glimmer Train.

24 January 1999: Honorable Mention :-)

Today I learned from Patrick Swenson that my story "The Three Kingdoms" from Talebones #12 will be receiving an Honorable Mention in the next Year's Best Fantasy & Horror :-)

23 January 1999: BSFA shortlist :-)

My story "The Day Before They Came" (Interzone #133, July 1998) has made the shortlist for the British Science Fiction Association Award for best short fiction :-). Better yet, one of the other four stories on the shortlist is by friend and fellow Worldwright Timons Esaias :-)

22 January 1999: Two rejections

A double-rejection day from Best of the Rest 2 and Amelia.

21 January 1999: Weird Tales rejection

A 78-day rejection from Weird Tales.

19 January 1999: Nebula preliminary ballot :-)

Today I received my copy of the Nebula preliminary ballot, which includes my story "Monstrosity" from F&SF, August 1997 :-) Less happily, the mail also contained a 92-day rejection from Zoetrope.

16 January 1999: Year's Best contract :-)

In the mail today: copies of the Year's Best SF contracts arrived from David Hartwell :-)

15 January 1999: Amazing Stories proofs :-)

Today I received the proofs for my story "Luna Incognita," which is currently scheduled for Amazing Stories #596, April 1999; I am very happy with the story's layout.

13 January 1999: Year's Best SF acceptance :-)

David Hartwell telephoned to say he would like to reprint my story "The Day Before They Came" (Interzone #133, July 1998) in his Year's Best SF anthology series. Hurray! :-) :-) :-)

11 January 1999: Talebones acceptance :-)

An email acceptance from Talebones for my short story "Vigil." This was a first for me: Talebones initially rejected the story three months ago. Then at the end of December, Patrick Swenson said they would like to accept it after all. Meanwhile I had submitted the story to Odyssey, but, thankfully, Liz Holliday was extremely friendly when I asked to withdraw it from there. And so I have my first sale of 1999 :-)

Also today, a 100-day rejection from Lynx Eye.

6 January 1999: Tiger Moon Press payment :-)

Over four years since they published a story of mine, Tiger Moon Press sent the first half of the payment. Late but still welcome :-)

2 January 1999: Tales of the Unanticipated

The mail-year begins with a friendly 92-day rejection from Tales of the Unanticipated.

1 January 1999: Happy New Year!

A very happy new year to everyone :-)

Other Mailbox Blues

The most recent Mailbox Blues
1995 Mailbox Blues
1996 Mailbox Blues
1997 Mailbox Blues
1998 Mailbox Blues
2000 Mailbox Blues
2001-2002 Mailbox Blues
2003-2004 Mailbox Blues