Amy got me Chocolate Pot and Grand Tour for Christmas. Are the others in the same universe?

I don't think so, although Mairelon might be, now that I think of it. I didn't like it all that much, so I haven't re-read it. Mairelon the Magician has a sequel called Magician's Ward.

I like Stevermer's writing much more than Wrede's, so I enjoyed the joint efforts more than Wrede's solo books.

LCRW is already on my list, due to my acquaintance with the editors/publishers of it.

For SF, there are the SF magazines, such as Analog and Asimov's, which are all about short fiction. There are similar mystery magazines. A quick browse through the literary section of the magazine stand at Borders or B&N (or similar), would turn up lots of options.

See, though, I am looking to winnow for quality and type. Both Analog and Asimov's are too broad; and there are too many magazines out there. The question is, which are the best ones, the most up my alley?

Connie, next up is:

The Grand Tour : Being a Revelation of Matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, Including Extracts from the Intimate Diary of a Noblewoman and the Sworn Testimony of a Lady of Quality by Caroline Stevermer, Patricia C. Wrede

In a similar universe, I believe, are the College of Magics series by Stevermer:
A College of Magics
A Scholar of Magics
When The King Comes Home

Nutty, you know Kelly Link?? I adore her.

I talked to her over the weekend, at Boskone. Not only do I "know" her -- i.e., I have chatted with her at conferences a couple of times --, the first time we met, I knew who she was but she paused and looked at me funny and said, "Did you used to shop a lot at Avenue Victor Hugo [local book store]?" And that was how my first chat with her began.

She and her husband Gavin both used to work there, at a time when I shopped there like twice a month.

From ScifiWire:

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has created a new literary award to recognize outstanding science fiction and fantasy novels that are written for the young adult market, named in honor of Andre Norton, author of more than 100 novels, including the acclaimed Witch World series.

Pratchett fans: A Discworld fan film.

Any fans of the traditional Regency romance out there? (Traditionals being shorter, generally less sexually explicit, and more mannered than Regency historicals, which are what I currently write.) The buzz that I'm hearing from writer-land is that both major publishers who currently publish trads (NAL/Signet and Kensington/Zebra) are considering discontinuing their lines unless sales pick up soon. So if you enjoy these books, do your bit for their survival and buy some new ones soon.

Kensington is trying a new approach with their Regency covers, moving from this and this to a more modern chick-litty feel like this: [link] and this: [link] Which is definitely an improvement--I hope it's not too little too late.

The buzz that I'm hearing from writer-land is that both major publishers who currently publish trads (NAL/Signet and Kensington/Zebra) are considering discontinuing their lines unless sales pick up soon.

I wouldn't be shocked if it happened--to be honest, I've kind of expected it since F-C dropped the subgenre. And I *would* buy them, as a fan of the traditionals, except that (with the exception of about two or three Signet writers), the quality of the writing isn't up to scratch these days, especially in Kensington/Zebra.

It's a pity, because there used to be a high concentration of good writers in Traditional Regency.

I'm going to at least try the two new-cover Zebras I linked to, because I know the authors and those are their first books. Sort of a sisterhood thing, I guess--try the books, and if I like them, talk them up as much as I can.

It's weird, though, because the Signet editor I met at conference last year seemed more interested in acquiring trads than historicals--which disappointed me, because there's really no way in hell my wip could ever be edited into a trad. But I'm getting the impression Signet is kinda bearish on historicals in general, outside of their established authors. Which is too bad, because I think there's a wide open market for a major publisher to take some small risks within the subgenre--everything from moving beyond the medieval Scotland-Regency England-Victorian England range of acceptable settings to doing new things with the traditional settings. Like, oh, I dunno, gritty Regency historicals set on battlefields rather than ballrooms. Gee, who do I know who writes those? t looks in mirror What really interests me is that the most risk-taking historical publisher these days is Harlequin, who until very recently was going to give up selling historicals in the North American market except on their website and through their bookclub. Apparently the outcry was so great they changed their mind, and their guidelines say they're interested in anything from the ancient world through WWII.

Strange, this industry is. And just when you think you understand it, it flips around on you again.