Kelly's Books: WebMage,
Cybermancy,
CodeSpell, MythOS (forthcoming June '09).
Kelly's Opinions On Writing: Wyrdsmiths Blog. Well, and the occasional post about the writing life, my cats, or other things that are currently distracting me from writing.
Kelly's Free Short Fiction: The Uncola, When Jabberwocks Attack
Upcoming appearances: CONvergence 10–July 3-6.
Recent Interviews: SF Novelists at Tate Hallaway's blog. Penguin/Ace. The Succubus Jezebel interviews Ravirn at Jackie Kessler's website. SciFi Wire
Also, the CodeSpell reviews have started coming in:
Publishers Weekly called CodeSpell the "taut third book in the Ravirn series" and said, "A hint of cyberpunk, a dollop of Greek mythology and a sprinkle of techno-magic bake up into an airy genre mashup. Lots of fast-paced action and romantic angst up the ante as Ravirn faces down his formidable foes."
Romantic Times' four star review: "This third book featuring hacker extraordinaire Ravirn is every bit of a fast-paced, energetic, page-turner as its predecessors. Ravirn continues to be a fascinating protagonist, and the chaotic twists of the plot carry the reader through to the end.
SFRevu says
"Codespell is one long adrenalin rush, with a few small pauses for Ravirn to heal from his near-fatal brushes with the movers and shakers of the universe, all while trying to figure out how to survive the next inevitable encounter." And, "Politics takes on a whole new complexion when it's practiced by the immortals of Greek mythology who never eat breakfast without examining the pros and cons of bacon vs. sausages from all angles first."
A quick note on contacting me. You can do that via the form here and I will almost certainly respond within a week or so (I've never yet not answered a note via the form). If you do send me something and I don't get back to you, the odds are very good that it was eaten by your spam filter.
Kelly McCullough's first novel, WebMage was released by ACE books in 2006 and followed by a sequel, Cybermancy in 2007. Two more books in the series, CodeSpell, and MythOS are slated for release in May of '08 and sometime in '09.
The WebMage books are a fantasy-cyberpunk hybrid set in a universe where an ever-increasing number of life threads has forced the Greek Fates to a upgrade the great loom of Fate into a computerized system that blends magic with programming. Of course, where there are computers there are also hackers. Enter Ravirn, a hacker/sorcerer, and his laptop familiar, Melchior. Ravirn is the grandson of both the Greek Fate Lachesis and Thalia the muse of comedy and comedic poetry, making him the end product of Fate and Slapstick. Together with Melchior he takes on Fate, Hades, Nemesis, and all other comers. The results range from disastrous to catastrophic with many side trips into the sublimely silly.
WebMage has received excellent reviews from such diverse sources as:
- Publishers Weekly (
) - Booklist (via Amazon.com)
- Romantic Times
- SciFi.com
- Mel Odom (Blogcritics)
- Barnes & Noble Newsletter and VOYA (iBoth at Barnes and Noble.com)
- Romance Reviews Today
- Greenman Reviews
- Myshelf
- Huntress' Reviews
- SFRevu.com
- Fresh Fiction
- Alternative Worlds
- Rambles
In addition to his novel work Kelly is involved in using science fiction to teach science. His recently released book, Chronicles of the Wandering Star, isbn 1585914053, is an illustrated science fiction serial novel published by It's About Time as part of the InterActions in Physical Science project (formerly CIPS). InterActions is a National Science Foundation-funded middle school curriculum that uses extensive computer simulations and a research based approach to teach physical science.
Kelly's first published work, WebMage, a short story that forms the roots of the novel, appeared in Weird Tales #317, where it was chosen by readers as the best story of the issue. He has since become something of a regular there, with three past appearances and several more forthcoming. His work has appeared in Tales of the Unanticipated, and the anthologies Writers of the Future Vol XVII, and The DNA Helix, a "best of" DNA Publications collection.
Besides Weird Tales, Kelly has short fiction forthcoming or currently available in Absolute Magnitude, Cosmic SF, the chapbooks Tales From the Black Dog, and New Wyrd . A mainstream piece, A Cat Named Dilemma has been accepted for a Humane Society benefit anthology entitled Home At Last which is currently looking for a publisher. Kelly's complete bibliography contains short descriptions of all of his published and forthcoming works.
In addition to WebMage, Kelly has four other unrelated contemporary fantasy novels with his agent, Jack Byrne of Sternig Byrne. He also has a young adult fantasy out under consideration. His current projects include writing novels five and six, and blocking out novel seven, as well as writing and submitting numerous short stories. More information on the books can be found on his bibliography page. Most of the short stories listed there are available through the links below or on the bibliography page.
In the area of science education, he has also worked as a style and continuity editor for the Constructing Physics Understanding project (CPU), another physical science curriculum developed with funding from the NSF and available through the Learning Team. He got involved in curriculum development while trying to spend more time with his wife, then a graduate student in physics education. She is now a professor at UW Stout.
In fall 2006 Kelly will again be teaching a course on fantasy writing at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. He's also a regular participant in the MISFITS Authors in the Schools program. He is available to speak on topics in science fiction and fantasy with further information at About SF's speculation speakers organization.
If you're interested in meeting Kelly, look for him at the current editions of WisCon, MarsCon, CONvergence, or the American Association of Physics Teachers summer meeting, as he usually attends all four.
Kelly is a member or alum of a number of Minnesota writer's groups, who's member sales to date include more than twenty novels and a hundred and fifty short stories and poems: Guts & Rocks, Karma Weasels, and Wyrdsmiths. He is also an active life member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and a member of sfnovelists.com.
The McCullough list of recommended reading in science fiction and fantasy can be seen here.
Over the course of his writing Kelly has assembled a small collection of research links.
Many thanks to Carlos Lopez, the artist responsible for the alien and spaceship graphics. Collaborating with him on the CIPS project has been a joy. To see more of his work you can follow the CIPS website link above or check out his personal page (no link yet) when he gets it up and running.
Thanks are also owed to Ben Zvan, the host and maintainer of this webpage, who adapted Carlos' CIPS work as a background and opening graphic. And to Stephanie Zvan, without whom this webpage would be both more confusing and less grammatical.
