The Bard's Fire

The year was 1970, two days after the May 4th killing of 4 students and wounding of nine others by National Guard troops at Kent State. I was a student at the University of Kentucky in Lexington where, the night before, the ROTC building (closed and scheduled for demolition) had burned during a peaceful demonstration on the other side of the campus. Then-Gov. Louie B. Nunn (R), never one to shy away from a press opportunity, called up the Kentucky National Guard to “quell the rioting”.

The campus went on lockdown, except for “essential services”, one of those being the campus radio station, where I was employed on a work-stutdy program as a DJ, newreader, and transmitter logkeeper when on duty. I was told to report to a particular entrance to campus an hour before each shift, where a detail of Guardsmen would escort me to the station. Others would escort me back after shift.

I have rarely been as scared since as I was then. Not of the guns. I’d been raised around guns. Not of the demonstrations taking place on the streets outside of the campus. They were textbook examples of the Constitutional right to “peaceful assemble”. What scared me were the National Guardsmen

Back then, with the Viet Nam War and the draft in full swing, joining the Guard pretty much guaranteed young men not in college or otherwise connected to influence safety from the draft. With rare exception, every single one of those making up the squad of four who marched me to and from the station were my age, just as scared as I was, and carrying military-issued guns. And because the governor of Kentucky, like the governor of Ohio, those guns were loaded with live ammo. Match and powder keg in entirely too close proximity.

There were no riots, peaceful demonstrations only, as I explained to every news outlet who called the station at the time. This was well before CNN et al, but ABC, CBS, NBS, UPI, and AP, as well as numerous major newspapers from all the country went away sadly disappointed, having been told by the governor’s press machine that the UK Campus was being torn apart. Sure, most of the little convenience stores in the area were entirely out of soft drinks, bread, peanut butter, and jelly, because demonstrators had completely bought them out to feed the Guardsmen facing them from across the street. The logistics of their deployment had not, apparently, been well-thought-out. And that ROTC building fire? Yes, it was arson, but the motive turned out to be insurance money.

The Guard today is different from the Guard back then. Mostly older, mostly more experienced, hopefully wiser and steadier. But they’re being deployed into cities and states without mayoral or gubernatorial request. And there’s the addition of the deployment of active-duty military personnel, trained for and possibly experienced in actual warfare, deployed in violation of the Constitution on the orders of one headline-hungry wannabe dictator. The match and powder keg are in even closer proximity today than it was back in 1970. I can’t be the only one made nervous by the situation.

I am overjoyed to announce that the HarpHaven Merchanter store, which has been closed while we deal with medical issues and treatment, is back in business!

Order items from the HarpHaven Publishing catalog straight from the source, and you can get them signed at no additional charge. And free shipping continues!

Enjoy another fine Con-Tinual panel, this one on Highlander.

https://www.facebook.com/GailZMartin/videos/2653717948111321?idorvanity=563373290941914

A genre writer traveling. A hotel with a "reputation". What could possibly go wrong?

Con-Tinual panel "Haunted Travels" has us sharing spooky tales from the road. Enjoy it at

https://www.facebook.com/GailZMartin/videos/2533758136791554?idorvanity=563373290941914

Discussing weapons and writing about them convincingly is a happy thing, especially when in the company of folks who know how and how to learn how. Enjoy the Weapons 101 panel at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0FqH1oIPBw&t=275s

I had the honor and pleasure of being part of Con-Tinual's Firefly panel with Jim Nettles, Bishop O'Connell, Sue Phillips, Misty Massey, Doc Coleman, and Carole M. Stokes. A grand time was had, and you can enjoy it at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJr5skdIg0w

The delightful Cat Rambo has posted the interview she did with me. Visual evidence that fun was definitely had now available for your view pleasure at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo8dbebgWUA

From time to time, I get questions from readers and fans about my works, including the anthologies I’ve edited.

Q: The Ladies of Trade Town is a themed anthology about prostitution. Did you catch heat about such a controversial subject?

Lee: First, a small correction. It’s a themed anthology about people who sell services that some consider controversial. And, yes, I did catch some heat, but not nearly as much as I expected. Before any of the stories that would be selected were even in my hands, I got a few letters condemning the anthology as “an abomination” and “immoral” and I’ll leave it to your imagination to what they called me. A few raged at me for being “an exploiter of women” and “misogynstic”. I note every one of the latter group apparently assumed I was male, since they were addressed to Mr. Martindale.

One of the things I do when writing submission guidelines is to give information on the kind of stories I want and don’t want. For Trade Town, I was looking for science fiction, fantasy, and related-genre stories that expanded the concept of what was being bought and sold, who was doing the buying and selling, and how that translated to the time, place, and society of the setting of the story. What I wasn’t looking for was porn or erotica, which – given the theme - apparently threw some writers a bit of a curve. A few wrote me saying that it was impossible to address the theme without one of those elements. Happily, a lot of good writers – those who made the cut and many who didn’t, figured out that it was, indeed, possible.

Q: Where can readers find The Ladies of Trade Town?

Lee: My online bookstore, HarpHaven Merchanter, carries our full catalog, including the trade paperback edition of Trade Town. Readers can order it signed by me, and can have it personalized to themselves or to the recipient if it’s a gift, at no additional charge. Shipping is free.

http://www.harphaven.net/dir

Readers who prefer ebooks can find it at Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=%22The+L...

and Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/la...

Amazon.com also has the trade paperback available.

I may have said this before, but one of the things that has kept me relatively sane during nearly two years of mostly-quarantine has been the virtual panels I've participated in. The latest one is now available.

Con-Tinual's Panel Room 99 is about getting it right when writing martial arts, and was great fun to be part of. You can find it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIsBiNqnrRA or at https://www.facebook.com/james.nettles/videos/652921502380951.

By all accounts, holiday shopping this year is going to be an adventure. Possibly frustrating and, in some cases, disappointing, thanks to the issues with supply chain, ground transport, staffing, and the myriad other components of commerce.

Small press, self-pubbing, crafters, and makers could well be our ace in the hole. No waiting for goods made in other countries or ships to be unloaded. The goods are in-house and ready to ship. Yes, the post office is problematic, but ordering early takes care of that.

And while you're at it, that includes my HarpHaven Merchanter. There's a handy link at the top of the screen on the right.