Loud Yell of Delight!!! 
A new short story will appear in our very own Jana Paniccia's (aka Sandtiger) and Julie Czerneda's anthology, forthcoming from DAW, Under Cover of Darkness!
And - before you Athera fans ask - the answer's YES, but with an authorial smirk and a wink - it's sorta second cousin to the back history you know and speculate over.
Guaranteed, it's an area you've asked after, often, the the wild fun of it is, you are in for a charged set of surprises!!
Soon as Jana has a release month for us, we can all start counting down for 07!
Off now to celebrate officially with a beer!
And you all can have fun guessing!
originally posted by Sandtiger
::Cheers::
I must say when I joined this chat sometime around 1997-98, I never would have guessed where time was to take me.
From being a great fan of Janny's to becoming her Editor on this particular project.
:
:
It was both a great pleasure and a great joy to be able to read and buy such a fabulous story for our anthology. That it was Janny's? Just added even more to the thrill.
This story is amazing. To say it came as a surprise would be an understatement. It's definitely something special. I am certain you folks will love it as much as I do.
(Aside: Okay - yes - and there is something especially thrilling about having one of Janny's stories that is *mine*. In an editorially possessive sort of way, that is.).
Thank you again, Janny. You are brilliant.
In terms of a release date for Under Cover of Darkness - as soon as *I* know - you will all know. I promise.
Jana Paniccia
(In her capacity as one of the editors of Under Cover of Darkness, DAW Books)
originally posted by Mark Timmony
This is soooooooo exciting!
Jana I want ISBN's and release dates asoon as possible so I can put it in the data base at Galaxy Books (Sydney) and start generating orders!
Mark
originally posted by Sandtiger
::
Mark, that would be fabulous. Thanks for the interest.
As soon as I have more details, I'll post them.
Within the next few weeks, we'll be able to post a list of contributors.
As to ISBN's, etc. that will take a bit longer. But rest assured, I'll give them to you as soon as I have them.
And because I haven't mentioned it yet - the theme of Under Cover of Darkness is secret societies - and it is a combined Fantasy and Science Fiction anthology.
Jana
originally posted by Stefan Urlus
Excellent news all round … bring it on I say
originally posted by susan stevens
fabulous to see so many fellow aussies loving jannys work, what say we collectively plead for a visit down under sometime…notice how collectively plead and plant the seed almost rhyme, theres definately a certain poetry to it…
xxxsusan…smirking in innocence
I'd come down under again in a heartbeat.
You fans are a wonderful crew!
originally posted by Hunter
We need to keep pinging Harper Collins Australia who would be funding/hosting Janny's trip to Australia…
originally posted by susan stevens
Hello Janny,
It would be an unparalleled honour to meet you. I missed out on virgil and shakespeare. Besides, they didn't handle language with the same wild abandon as a certain author who has won my heart…
Hunter,sorry
once again i am at odds with the terminology. pinging?? how does one ping. It sounds suspiciously like something i used to do to my sister when she was particularly irritating. (lucky for her i grew out of that stage, now just a death stare is all i need to keep her in line.) seriously hunter, what is required to further our cause…susan
originally posted by Hunter
"Pinging" means contacting via any and all means possible… i.e. basically getting in touch with Harper Collins - who are Janny's Australian publishers - and let them know how many people want Janny to come down under. In addition, anyone who is part of the various Cons in Australia can help by making Janny one of the GoH at the Con… when Janny came in 1998 (was it really that long ago?) she was a guest at Swancon in Perth and did a book signing tour as part of that… Publishers schedule these things well in advance.
At the end of the day, the publisher will sponsor the trip to sell more books and advertize their author… so a trip for the release of SF might be a good time
originally posted by Trys
I suspect 'ping' comes from an internet term where you send so many packets of information of a certain size to a server and it respondes.
I also suspect that it may have derived from the act of pinging with sonar. Submarines can send out one 'wave' of sonar to get back a single 'ping'.
Trys
originally posted by Auna
Give me one ping only … (Hunt for Red October)
Ping (sonar) - send a pulse of sonar out and see how long it takes to get reflected back (measurement of distance to target)
Ping (internet) - ping is a valid windows command you can use to determine how 'far' the route is to that server from your computer.
originally posted by Trys
Hmmm, not really 'how far' to the route, but how long it takes for info to get there, the server to respond, and the reply to get pack. There is also a utility that can be used to have each 'node' along the way reported so you can see the route to the destinationo server. The ping program usually sends five packets of info and you see the time for each and the average, i.e.:
Pinging paravia.com [68.178.129.180] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 68.178.129.180: bytes=32 time=70ms TTL=49
Reply from 68.178.129.180: bytes=32 time=73ms TTL=49
Reply from 68.178.129.180: bytes=32 time=72ms TTL=49
Reply from 68.178.129.180: bytes=32 time=72ms TTL=49
Ping statistics for 68.178.129.180: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 70ms, Maximum = 73ms, Average = 71ms
Now if that's more than most of you wanted to know.
Trys
originally posted by Hunter
If you were seriously geeky you would also explain what TTL was, why IPs have four numbers with dots in them (and how this differs from IPv6) and why and how paravia.com has the number 68.178.129.180 associated with it…
The Windows Ping only sends four pings… on a real operating system like Unix, pinging keeps going until you stop the command… so "pinging" HC is also about continuing to harangue them until they decide to bring Janny out…
Auna - one ping only Vasily, for old time's sake…
originally posted by susan stevens
Hi all,
just a quick update on our quest for 'a visit down under' i have emailed the publicity officer at HC to suggest they host janny for the SF release. As expected they politely answered "no plans to do so at present. The lady who responded was samantha rich. Do any of you happen to have the HC managing directors name, or any authoritive person i might be able to email with a similar request…my first email was addressed to (email removed) it might not have ascended the ladder far enough to be heard…xxxsusan…
p.s my requests always represent my views as an individual and do not infer any voice other than my own. are you all comfortable with me doing this.
The way I came to Australia before - Swancon was the instigator. HarperCollins chose to pick up the book tour afterwards.
Politely, if HarperCollins has provided you with a feedback e mail, that IS the correct address to use. The job of the person monitoring and responding to that venue would be the one to take notes and report higher up in the chain of command.
The fact they've created such an address, and somebody's answering, does indicate that they both listen, and care.
originally posted by Mark Timmony
Sam is in charge of publicity and author signings for HC Voyager in Oz.
If anyone would know (and have imput), she would. In any case it's unlikely that HC would invest in a tour before Janny's next book came out… in which case it would most likely be a joint effort with Voyager UK.
originally posted by susan stevens
Thankyou Janny, Thankyou Mark.
Alas, i feel like the proverbial bull in the china shop. Forgive my exuberance and my ignorance. I will take a deep breath and let the grey matter kick in before i open my mouth again…That's a promise…
xxxsusan
originally posted by Trys
susan,
Your exuberance is most appreciated. Please do not put it under lock and key.
Trys
originally posted by Hunter
Mark - authors tour when they have a book to sell… so timing it when Stormed Fortress is on the streets is a perfect time to do so.