Here is the cover art and synopsis of the upcoming novel Children of Kings by Marion Zimmer Bradley & Deborah J. Ross.
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[Do you have an idea for a future Mind Meld? Let us know!]

This week we asked about Revisions. I’ve come across a couple of examples lately of authors reissuing books with significant changes from the initial publication, or changing it relatively late in the initial publication process. With the rise of ebooks, the potential for rolling revisions to books is a very real possibility.

We asked this week’s panelists the following:

This is what they had to say…

I’m a measure-twice, cut-once kind of writer; I do a lot of note-taking and thinking before I start a project. I try to have a plot destination in mind, although sometimes that will change — if the story wants to go someplace other than what I planned I’m happy to take that detour. But the upshot is I seldom start a story with no clue where I’m going, and consequently I only rarely have to make major changes to a story or novel. I do my very best to turn in clean, ready-to-publish drafts to my editors. But typos and continuity errors happen, so fixing them is part of the editorial process.
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Book View Cafe has posted the table of contents for the new anthology Beyond Grimm edited by Phyllis Irene Radford & Deborah J. Ross:

Not your grandmother’s fairy tales! From the far-ranging imaginations of Book View Cafe authors comes this delirious collection of classic tales newly twisted into dark, dangerous, and occasionally hilarious re-tellings. From the golden isles of Greece to the frozen north, from fairytale castles to urban slums, join us on an unforgettable journey!

Here’s the table of contents…
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Deborah J. Ross, as Deborah Wheeler, published two science fiction novels, Jaydium and Northlight, as well as short stories in Asimov’s, F&SF, Sisters of the Night, Star Wars: Tales From Jabba’s Palace, Realms of Fantasy, and almost all of the Sword & Sorceress and Darkover anthologies. Using her birth name, Ross, she has worked on a series of Darkover, under dual byline with the late Marion Zimmer Bradley: The Fall of Neskaya (2001), Zandru’s Forge (2003), A Flame in Hali (2004), The Alton Gift (2007), and Hastur Lord (2010, from a partial manuscript Marion produced during the last year of her life). Forthcoming from DAW are the Darkover novel, The Children of Kings, and an original fantasy series, The Seven-Petaled Shield, based on her “Azkhantian tales” from Sword & Sorceress. She’s a member of SWFA and Book View Café.

I am frequently asked how I came to work with Marion Zimmer Bradley and to continue the Darkover series after her death. Senior author-junior author dual-bylines are not unusual these days, but each partnership has its own story. In this case, the answer lies in our long-established professional relationship. That in itself would be insufficient to produce a smooth collaboration, but through working together, she knew that my natural literary voice would match hers, and she trusted my understanding and love for her special world.
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