I meant to get news out just after the first of the year, of course. But I've been busy. Really busy. Below you will find links to all manner of madness. I hope to have a more interesting newsletter in March. (Ah, but I'd have to have a life to have an interesting newsletter, wouldn't I? Maybe we just ought to call it good...)

An Invitation

I will be the guest author at a Cybling.Com chat on Thursday, February 21st, at 10pm Eastern Time. (9pm Central, 7pm Pacific). Yes, that is the night this newlsetter goes out. Feel free to come by and lurk or join in the fun of harassing a crazed writer. If you can't be there, but have a question you'd like to ask me, drop by the link below and write the question out. There will be a transcript available of the chat afterwards.

http://www.cybling.com/artists/gifford.html


In other writing news, the big announcement is that I've made an eight book deal with Double Dragon Ebooks. They will be taking my Quest for the Dark Staff series, and the first of the series, Aubreyan, will be in their hands in a couple days. Check out their site at:

http://double-dragon-ebooks.com/

Needless to say that this is going to be taking over my life for some time to come. I'm very excited about it. The series is an odd combination of traditional quest story that veers now and then into SF worlds.


I've been a busy little writer the last few months. I've made five short story sales so far in 2002, as well as the eight book deal. There are also a few new pieces available to be read:

The Last Days of Faneh-Thenyal (http://www.eggplant-productions.com/jintsu/)

Bittersweet and poignant, Lazette Gifford's novelette "The Last Days of Faneh-Thenyal" is a highly original take on the last days of a fading empire, and the courage of one man who dares to see and act beyond the ordinary repercussions of conquest. There is the spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien here, curiously strong and true -- although this work has nothing to do with either Middle Earth or Faerie. There is the gentle pull of nostalgia, of things passing away into the mist along the temporal horizon, into history, and the quiet magic of evolutionary change.

Vera Nazarian, author of DREAMS OF THE COMPASS ROSE


The Captain's Last Orders (http://www.lunacat.net/books/webpub/writerscall/wc-captainslastorder.htm)

The story of what happens when star ship engineer finds herself kidnapped to help keep a pirated ship running...

A Ride Through Hell and Back (http://www.alternaterealitieszine.com/fan1.htm )

A jewel thief with a knack for magic finds himself caught up in a battle against evil to save more than just himself.
Into Darkness (http://www.fables.org/winter01/darkness.html )

An urban fantasy tale about trouble in the elf lands that spills over into an unsuspecting city, and draws a private detective into the midst of magic.

Would you like to read more? Check out my list of currently published material (about 16 pieces), most of it in free ezines. The list can be found on my daily journal page (complete with new photo every day) or my domain site

http://www.sscdc.net/zj

http://lazette.net

And there are even a few more stories up at my domain, material that I've had previously published including the 'infamous' alien Internet story (SUB-TEXTUAL EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF ALIEN LIFE AND THE EXTRAPOLATION OF INTERNET PROTOCOLS). Check them out at:

http://lazette.net/writing.htm

And that's it for the news today! I should be back in early March, though, with a link to the cockroach poem...

Have fun!

Zette