Larry Hodges Science Fiction & Fantasy

But for me, it was a pretty good year. I sold 15 stories and had ten published. Strange thing about the ten published is that two were in November and five in December, so it was a bottom-heavy year. (Altogether, I’ve sold 124 short stories, including an even 40 at SFWA “pro” markets, six of them last year.) One nice breakthrough – for some reason, I’d never been able to sell anything to Daily Science Fiction. But I ended the year with two consecutive sales to them, in Nov. and Dec., which should come out sometime this year. Here are the stories I sold or published 2021, with the word count in parenthesis:

1. Global Warming is a Hoax Said the Alien in the Spare Bedroom (3200) to Galaxy’s Edge
2. Prototype Solar System with Strings Attached (1100) to Galaxy’s Edge
3. Soul Testing in Major League Baseball (1300) to Daily Science Fiction
4. Four Score and Seven Years of the End of America: A Bibliography (350) to Daily Science Fiction
5. Madam Hitler (6900) to New Myths
6. Love Drops (1100) New Myths; published Dec 2021
7. The Annual Times Square Paint Dry (150) to Stupefying Stories; published Dec 2021
8. The Devil’s Backbone (7000) to Alternative Deathiness; published Dec 2021
9. Space Force: First Victory (900) to Alternative Space Forces; published Dec 2021
10. Space Force: The Poem (300) to Alternative Space Forces; published Dec 2021
11. The Purple Rose of Retribution (5500) to Utopia Science Fiction; published Nov 2021
12. Ninety-Nine Sextillion Souls in a Ball (3600) to Dark Matter; published Nov 2021
13. Nanogod (4600) to Dark Matter; published May 2021
14. Galactic He-Men and Cheating Camels (100) to Martian Magazine; published May 2021
15. The Pushovers of Galactic Baseball Fame (1000) to Paper Butterfly Flash Fiction; published Feb 2021

I had another story coming out in 2021, “The Vampire on the Tesseract Wall (3900), at Amazing Stories, but they went into limbo. They paid me a $116 “kill” fee, and the story is back on the market. (What happens when 4-D beings import living creatures from Earth as decorations for their wall – but mistakenly take a vampire? It’s a mixture of SF and fantasy.)

I am pretty prolific. On Jan. 1, when a number of markets opened, I submitted a bunch of stories. My current count is 42 stories in submission (some markets allow multiple submissions); 45 stories on hold waiting for markets; ten stories that are “finalized” but waiting to be critiqued at critters.org and/or TNEO (which I’ll be attending this summer for the 14th time, including eleven years in a row); and 16 stories that I’ve started, some almost done, some I might not get back to.

But I spend a LOT of time on each of these stories. Each goes through multiple drafts. I’ll spend a lot of time writing it, then put it aside. Later, I’ll go over it again with a fresh mind, and do major rewriting. Then I put it aside again, and come back to it later with a fresh mind, and then “finalize” it. Then I send it in for critiquing at critters.org, along with three that go to TNEO.

I attended one workshop and only two SF conventions in 2021, the least I’ve been to since 2005.

• Balticon (May 28-30)
• Capclave (Oct. 1-3)
• TNEO workshop (July 23-31)

It’s been a busy year outside SF as well. As some may know, I’m also a professional table tennis coach and writer. (Of my 17 books, nine are on table tennis, one is a travel book, the rest F&SF. As I often jokingly tell people, I’m the best table tennis player in SFWA, and the best SF writer in USATT!) I did a lot of traveling for table tennis last year, including coaching USA Junior Teams in major events in Ecuador and Jordan:

• 29-30: Coached Maryland Junior Team at the Ohio Open.
• 12-14: Coached Maryland Junior Team at the Wasserman Ohio Junior Championships.
• 16-18: Coached Maryland Junior Team at the Cary Open in Cary, NC.
• June 3-6: Coached Maryland Junior Team at the USA Under 15 and Under 19 Junior Team Trials in Milpitas, CA.
• June 18-20: Coached Maryland Junior Team at the USA Under 11, Under 13, and Under 17 Junior Team Trials in Westchester, NY.
• July 4-9: Coached Maryland Junior Team at the USA Nationals in Las Vegas.
• 5: Coached Maryland Junior Team at the Westchester Teams in NY.
• 10-28: Coached USA Junior Team in Cuenca, Ecuador, at an international camp and three tournaments in 19 days. The first event was the Pan Am Hopes Championships, for the best players in North and Latin America under age 12. The player I coached, Ryan Lin, was seeded sixth but came in second! This qualified him for the World Hopes in Jordan. I also coached the Under 13 Boys’ team at the Pan Am Youth Championships and the ITTF Contender Open, where they won a bunch of medals.
• 26-28: Coached the Maryland Junior Team at the North American Team Championships in Washington DC.
• 8-15: Coached USA Junior Team in Amman, Jordan, at the World Hopes Camp and Tournament (for the best players in the world under age 12). The player I coached, Ryan Lin, finished 7th – in the world – and is now on the World Hopes Team (top ten in the world).
• 17-22: Coached Maryland Team at the US Open in Las Vegas. Also played in Hardbat Singles, where (shockingly for my age) I made the final (I’ve won it twice), and winning Hardbat Doubles for the 14th time. (Most events are with “sponge” rackets; hardbat is a separate event where players use old-style pimpled rubber without sponge. I normally play and coach with sponge but do hardbat as well.)

The most irritating to happen to me in 2021 (besides the obvious) was that the World Science Fiction Convention was held right next door to me in Washington DC (30 min away), Dec. 15-19, but I had to miss it as I was coaching, back to back, in Amman, Jordan and then Las Vegas – and trying to adjust to the ten-hour time difference!!!

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I have two new short story collections, both coming out today! This coronavirus thing left me nothing to do but get these two done! Both are on sale at Amazon in both print ($10) and kindle ($6) format. They are:

• Still More Pings and Pongs
  The third volume in my “Pings and Pongs” short stories series. This includes the 25 best short stories I’ve sold from 2016-2020.
• Trump Tales: A Taunting
  A collection of eleven Trump satires I’ve written. Seven were previously published, four are new. Also includes two cartoons! Why a taunting, you might ask? Well, isn’t that what Trump’s whole political career is based on, [falsely] taunting others? If you are a Trump fan, say away from this!!!

Here’s a listing of some of the stories.

Still More Pings and Pongs
(the third volume, after Pings and Pongs and More Pings and Pongs)

• …An alien census taker has been going door-to-door for 83,000 years – but now must battle with hostile aliens and an even more hostile doberman.
• …How did three Confederate Cavalryman find themselves charging down the aisle of a jumbo jet?
• …A billionaire declares war on a 4D civilization.
• …What if Satan sells his soul to a higher-dimensional being so that he’ll win at Armaggeddon?
• …A hypocritical American Christian meets up with Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates.
• …A young, dead Charles Darwin lives in a graveyard and wants to learn the origin . . . of the “Ded.”
• …A human becomes the plaything of a 4-D child.
• …A bat that thinks it’s a superhero.
• …How did penguins make it to Noah’s Ark?
• …What happens when a mathematician dies and becomes a zombie, but loses his moral compass?
• …If Death hates cancer, what would she do?
• …What if, one million years from
• now, Hitler is paroled from Hell?
• …And many more!

Trump Tales: A Taunting

• …Sing the ballad of Cadet Bone Spurs (to the tune of “The Beverly Hillbillies”)
• …A superhero confronts Trump
• …Learn about the
• …Five Horses of the Trump Apocalypse
• …Read three stories about the new Space Force
• …Meet the Plucky Billionaires Squad – Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, and Alice Walton take on President Trump!
• …A dream turns out to be too real
• …Meet the alien that’s been waiting for the president
• …Can Trump’s cabinet Bell the President?
• …See the humorous future of Trump’s Great Wall
• …Plus two cartoons!

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Lancer Kind did a four-part podcast interview of me at Sci-Fi Thoughts. In the interviews I talk about the importance of IDEAs in science fiction, and argue that, while many say “Character is king,” I think they should be at least equal.They range from about 6-10 minutes long.

On a side note, I’ve had some recent sales and publications.

• In August I sold “Blood Wars” to Galaxy’s Edge. (I have another story coming out in their Sept/Oct issue, “Death for the Cure: A Comedy about Cancer.”)
• In July I sold “High Plains Centaur” to New Myths.
• In June I sold “Back to Reality” to Alternative Apocalypses. That anthology comes out at the World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin, Ireland, Aug. 15-19 – I’ll be there! (B Cubed Press also created the anthology “Alternative Truths: Endgame,” which came out in late May with two stories by me, “The Ballad of Cadet Bone Spurs” and “The Great White Wall” – yeah, Trump satires!)

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Wow! Not only did I get a story in the current issue of Analog, but they also interviewed me! I got to talk about how the story came about, my writing process, and pretty much everything else about my science fiction writing.

I’ve been watching all the news on TV with growing disgust. I might have to write a sequel to “Captain Exasperation Woman Meets President Trump“!

It’s been a wild month. I had three new stories published:

• Analog: “The Plaything on the Tesseract Wall.” What happens when a 4-D child bullies a 3-D child?
• Galaxy’s Edge: “Death, the Devil, and the President’s Ghost.” The president has died, and he’s on the elevator with Death and the Devil. Which way will they go?
• Alternative Theologies: “An American Christian at the Pearly Gates.” What happens when a hypocritical Christian meets St. Peter? Not what you’d think!!!

Better still, I sold five stories! (I also have two stories that are “finalists,” at Apex and at Abyss & Apex. If both sell, it could be the Apex of my career!)

• “Releasing Hitler” to Galaxy’s Edge. What happens if Hitler is paroled from Hell one million years from now?
• “Ded Society” (9900 words) to Tales From the Old Black Ambulance. What happens if Charles Darwin died at age 12 (he almost did), and lived in a graveyard with the other “Ded,” who have no memory of their past – and he decided to learn about their origins?
• Three stories to DrabbleDark 2: “Nobody Would Believe You,” It’s Too Damn Hot and Cold,” and “The Stork, the Baby, and the Witch.” These are 100-word drabbles.

Better still, I wrote three new stories:

• “The Bullied Werewolf Boy.” An nerdy adolescent werewolf is constantly bullied, but settles all business with those bullies once a year on Halloween – but faces a big problem this time out.
• “Just One of the Gods.” Every galaxy has a God, so there are about 100 billion of them in our universe, all of them working out of cubicles in a huge office. But one intelligent lifeform has grown too technologically advanced and challenges the Gods.
• “The Fat Old Tortoise and the Hard-Working Hare.” What really happened during that tortoise and hare race!

Last weekend, Sept. 28-30, I was at the Capclave SF Convention. I had two author signings, and was on three panels, moderating two of them:

• “Science Fiction of Resistance” – Using politics in your writing.
• “Political Dynamite” (moderator) – “Writers and editors talk about how they address current events in their work and in social media.”
• “Flash Fiction: Writing for the Short Attention Span Generation” (moderator)

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This has been an exciting time for me as I gradually work my way up the science fiction writing ladder. This month I have three stories out in three major publications – including my first story in Analog! (Here’s the Table of Contents for the Sept/Oct 2018 issue, now out in newsstands – I’m the “Probability Zero” story, “The Plaything on the Tesseract Wall.” The story is about a 4-D being, a little girl, who plays with a 3-D being (a little boy), and in inadvertently becomes a bully – with a surprise result.

I also have stories in both the current and upcoming issues of Galaxy’s Edge. In the current (July/August) issue I have Satan’s Soul; in the upcoming (Sept/Oct) issue I have “Death, the Devil, and the President’s Ghost.” In the first, Satan is depressed as it’s the night before Armageddon and he knows he’s going to lose – but then a higher-dimensional being shows up, and after some negotiating, Satan sells his soul to it in return for winning the next day! In the second, the president has just died and his ghost is taking the elevator down, accompanied by Satan and Death – with a surprising turn.

Perhaps my favorite recent story just came out in “Alternate Theologies: Parables for a Modern World,” which is an anthology of stories that satirize bad religion. In my story, “An American Christian at the Pearly Gates,” a hypocritical Christian meets a surprising Saint Peter, who does a surprising thing!

Last month I was at “The Never-Ending Odyssey,” a nine-day annual writing workshop for graduates of the Odyssey writing workshop. I had three stories work-shopped there. All three are now rewritten, along with about seven other stories I’ve been working on periodically this year – and all are now making the rounds. I’ve sold 92 short stories, but sales are “tougher” these days as I’m pickier about where I send them – I rarely submit to the non-pro markets anymore. (I’ve sold 26 to SFWA “pro” markets.)

And now I’m deep into research for my new novel, now tentatively called “Election 2050: The Return of George Washington.” I’ve read several bios of Washington and lots of other stuff on his personality and psychology since he’s going to be the main character. I’ve got several great characters planned out to go along with him. I’d initially written 7000 words of the novel, but after a compete rethinking of it, I plan to start from scratch, once I’m done with the research and planning stage. (Originally I had the first ten U.S. presidents in the novel.)  Assuming it eventually sells, it would be my fifth novel.

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I’ve had four nice sales recently. Feb. 23 was a banner day as I made my first sale to Analog, as well as my 13th to Galaxy’s Edge!

• Analog: “The Plaything on the Tesseract Wall” (sold on Feb. 23, will be in the Sept/Oct issue))
• Galaxy’s Edge: “Plop Plop” (sold on Feb. 23)
• Terror Politico Anthology: “I’ve Been Waiting For You” (sold on Jan. 28)
• Third Flatiron: “Five Billion Pounds of Soul” (sold on Jan. 14) – available at Amazon

I recently bought the rights to www.larryhodges.com, so my science fiction & fantasy web page is either that or www.larryhodges.org – they are identical.

This July I’ll be attending “The Never-Ending Odyssey,” an annual 9-day writing workshop by graduates of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. (I’m a 2006 graduate of the six-week program.) As part of this we’ll each get to send in three stories or chapters for critique. I just sent in my first one, and now have six that I have to read and critique. I’ve already done two. In addition to critiquing, we also have a number of “Master Level” writing course we teach ourselves. This year’s focus is “Learning from Top Pros.”

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