To this end, we devised a subtle tactic. We would try to find an author and aneditor in the same room. preferably in the same conversation. We would thenpitch the idea to the author as a potential contributor and see if the editorshowed interest.

We found such a duo and launched into our song and dance. The editor yawned, butthe author thought it was a great idea. Of course, he didn't have the time towrite anything ... Then he thought of a character! That's how John Brunner cameon board.

The next morning, the effects of our dinner wine dissipated and I began torealize what I had let myself in for. A brand-new author, barely published, andI was going to try to edit an anthology? Soliciting contributions from the bestin the field, yet! That revelation sobered me up faster than a bucket of icewater and a five-day hotel bill.

Still, the ball was already rolling, and I had story commitments from Gordy andJohn. I might as well see how far things could go.

FRIDAY: I ambushed Joe Haldeman over a glass of lunch. He thought it was aterrific idea, but he didn't have any time. Besides, he pointed out, he hadnever written heroic fantasy. I countered by reminding him of his stay inVietnam, courtesy of the US Army. Surely, I pressed, there must be one or twocharacters he had encountered who would fit into a sword-and-sorcery settingwith minimal rewriting. His eyes cleared. He had his character.

SATURDAY: I finally found out what was bothering Lynn and assured her of a placeon the Thieves' World roster. I was confident she would be 'established' beforethe anthology came-out, and even if she wasn't, I knew she could produce a solidstory. No, I don't have a crystal ball. Lynn and I both live in Ann Arbor andshare workspace when we're writing. As such, 1 had been reading the manuscriptof Daughter of the Bright Moon as she was writing it, and knew her writing styleeven before the editors saw it. (My prophecy proved correct. Ace/Sunridge boughther manuscript, and a major promo campaign is currently underway. The bookshould be on the stands when you see this anthology.)

SUNDAY: Wonder of wonders. Over cognac at the Ace dead-dog party, Jim Baenexpresses a solid interest in the anthology ... if 'I succeed in filling theremaining slots with authors of an equal quality to those already committed.Leaving the party, 1 encounter Jim Odbert in the hall and do a little bragging.He brings me down to earth by asking about the street map. I hadn't even thoughtabout it, but he was right! It would be absolutely necessary for internalcontinuity. Thinking fast, I commission him on the spot and retire, harbouring anagging hunch that this project might be a bit more involved than I hadimagined.

Back in Ann Arbor, I face the task of filling the remaining openings for theanthology. My magic wand for this feat is a telephone. Having been a fan formany years, I have had passing contact with several prominent authors, many ofwhom don't know that I'm writing now. I figure it will be easier to jog theirmemories over the phone than trying to do the same thing by letter.

The problem now is ... who? Solid authors ... that's a must. Authors who know mewell enough that they won't hang up when I call. Authors who don't know me sowell that they'll hang up when I call.

Andy! Andy Offutt. Our paths had crossed several times at cons, and I know weshare a mutual admiration of Genghis Khan.

Andy doesn't have any time, but is super enthusiastic over the idea and has hischaracter. Yes, that's all one sentence. If anything, I've condensed it. Ifyou've ever talked to Andy on the phone, you'll understand.

Next will be Poul Anderson. Poul and I know each other mostly by reputationthrough Gordy and through a medieval re-enactment organization known as theSociety for Creative Anachronism, Inc. Sir Bela of Eastmarch and Yang theNauseating. Hooboy, do we know each other. In spite of that, Poul agrees to do astory for me ... if he gets the time ... in fact, he has a character in mind.

The list is growing. Confident now that the impressive array of authorssubmitting stories will offset my own relative obscurity, 1 go for a few who maynot remember me.

Roger Zeiazny was Pro Guest of Honour at a convention in Little Rock, Arkansas,where I was Fan Guest of Honour. He remembers and listens to my pitch.

I spoke briefly with Marion Zimmer Bradley about the sword-work in Hunter of theRed Moon - when we passed in the hall at a Wester-Con in Los Angeles - two yearsago. She remembers me and listens to my pitch.

Philip Jose Farmer and I have seen each other twice: once in Milwaukee and oncein Minneapolis. Both times we were at opposite ends of a table with half a dozenpeople crowded between us. He acknowledges the memory, then listens in silencefor fifteen minutes while I do my spiel. When I finally grind to a halt, he saysokay and hangs up. I find out later that this is his way of expressingenthusiasm. If he hadn't been enthusiastic, he would have said no and hung up.

By this time it's Minicon. Jim Odbert passes me a set of maps. Then he, Gordy,Joe, Lynn, and I sit around half the night discussing the history of the cityand the surrounding continent. A set of house rules is devised and agreed upon:(1) Each contributor is to send me a brief description of the main character ofhis/her story. (2) These descriptions will be copied and distributed to theother contributors. (3) Any author can use these characters in his/her story,providing they're not killed off or noticeably reformed.

I run all this through a typewriter and mail it out to all the contributors. Itoccurs to me that this isn't nearly as difficult as I had feared. My only worryis that the mails might slow communication with John Brunner in England, causinghim to be late with his submission. Except for that everything was going fine.

Then the fun began ...

Andy, Poul, and John all send me notes in varying degrees of gentlenesscorrecting my grammar and/or word usage in the flier. They are willing to acceptwithout confirmation that my spelling was intended as a joke. These are thepeople I'm supposed to be editing! Riiiiight!

Poul sends me a copy of his essay, 'On Thud and Blunder', to ensure the realismof the setting, particularly the economic structure of the town. He also wantsto know about the judicial system in Sanctuary.

Andy wants to know about the deities worshipped, preferably broken down bynationality and economic class of worshippers. Fortunately, he includes aproposed set of gods, which I gleefully copy and send to the other contributors.He heads his ten-page letters with 'To Colossus: The Asprin Project'. It occursto me that with his own insight as an anthology editor, this could be more truththan humour.

To make my job a little easier, some of the authors start playing poker withtheir character sketches: 'I won't show you mine till you show me yours.' Theydelay submitting their sketches until they see what the other authors turn in.One of these is Gordy. Remember him? He's the one who got me into this in thefirst place. He's the one who 'had his character' before there was an anthology!Terrific!'

John Brunner submits his story - a full year before the stated deadline. So muchfor transatlantic delays. I haven't gotten all the character descriptions yet.More important, I haven't gotten the advance money yet! His agent begins to prodgently for payment.

Roger reappraises his time commitments and withdraws from the project. Oh, well.You can't win them all.

Poul wants to know about the architectural style of Sanctuary.