Cybling Store
November 12 - 14, 1999
Hyatt Regency Woodfield, Schaumburg, IL
http://www.doodler.com/windycon/ 		Cybling Contents

Linda Dunn
November 12, 1999
10 pm CT


 Linda Dunn Linda Dunn is a computer specialist at a government facility who also writes Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Short stories are her specialty, although she recently sold a novelette to Absolute Magnitude and is presently working on a novella set on Mercury.


The Windycon '99
Q&A


Cybling Live from WindyCon...we're here with Linda Dunn.
Baryon Hi Linda, hope you are enjoying the Con
Cybling Linda Dunn specializes in excellent short stories.
Techyo Hi Linda!
Baryon Hi Linda
Cybling Let me start things off with a question... I see that you've published short stories online as well as in the pulp medium. How does submitting to electronic zines differ from the more classic markets?
Linda Dunn For one thing, it's cheaper and faster. There have been times when I've tired of sending a story out via regular mail due to postage. There's a point of diminishing return. Electronic publications allow me an opportunity for some of my niche stories to find a home without spending a fortune on postage. Unfortunately, most electronic zines don't pay as well and despite being free, the readership is not as high as most print zines.
Cybling Thanks Linda! Your story Artifacts is currently online at http://www.jopoppub.com/story4.htm. In 1000 words you say some very amusing things about the battle between evolutionists and creationists and time. Do you find that it's difficult placing short-short stories? Finding good homes for them?
Linda Dunn Yes. In many ways, short-short stories are viewed as joke stories because they usually have a punch line... There seems to be a feeling that they're not very good if they're short. I find it a little more challenging to condense an idea into a small number of words.
Baryon Online readership seems to be growing and some of them are finding ways to get things into print, so this should help out some.
Cybling You're published in both Marion Zimmer Bradley's magazine as well as Analog, the bastion of Hard SF. Which genre do you prefer, or do you consider your work outside the genre labels?
Linda Dunn My personal preference is for science fiction because it's more difficult for me to write. I like the challenge. On the other hand, I have a good grounding in history and fantasy doesn't require a lot of research for me. It flows easily and I find it easier to write. I guess I feel that if it's easy, it's not good. While I recognize this isn't true, I get more satisfaction from completing a SF story.
Cybling Why have you chosen to stick with the shorter forms of SF?
Linda Dunn Time. I have short chunks of time in which to write and I find it easy to hold a short story in my mind.
Linda Dunn Novels require I sit down and plot them out and then write the stories and often I'll have a rough spot at work where I'm working long hours over an extended period of time and the enthusiasm for the story lessens. By the time I return, I've lost my place in the world. I think I started turning more towards short works when I had to write a story between dinner and picking up the kids after a school event. While it runs counter to popular opinion, my personal experience is that work which flows quickly, also flows better.
Baryon Have you tried any "alternate History" stories?
Linda Dunn Actually, I have one published in Alternate Skiffy. In this world, Fritz Leiber became an actor, not a writer. David Gerrold was his paperboy and Joe Haldeman burned his draft card. Fritz Leiber won the role of the main character in Forbidden Planet and went on to be the commanding officer in the first Star Trek.
Cybling LOL! Thanks Linda.
Baryon Fantastic, gonna have to find that one
Cybling Linda...You mention on your website that you have a hearing impairment. Do you feel that the isolation you felt as a child was one of the things that moved you towards fantastic fiction?
Linda Dunn That, and living in the country about two miles from the nearest neighbor. I found that the hearing impairment was a decided disadvantage when I first began writing because I didn't catch some of the feature of dialogue. As a result, I became more conscious of spoken speech and I also began paying more attention to possibilities. The first novel I read was A Wrinkle in Time and that opened up a whole world of possibilities for me. I was lucky and unlucky in many ways because I was mainstreamed before mainstreaming became popular. Thus, it was sink or swim and retreating into a fantasy world where I was god (small g) and could control the future was fun.
Techyo Linda do you find online communications nice after being hearing impaired? I do.
Linda Dunn Yes. I really love online communications. In fact, my mother is now online and it's brought her back into society. Mother lost her hearing when I was a teenager as she became ill and her hearing just gradually slipped away. When Father died, she was effectively cut off from all of us. With FAX and online services she is now communicating more with others than she did back in the days when she could simply pick up the phone. I love it. I think it's one of the best innovations in my lifetime.
Techyo How much hearing loss if I may ask?
Linda Dunn My hearing loss is 35% in both ears, however, it's inconsistent. I am totally deaf in the high frequencies, cannot hear a phone ring, etc. ..
Techyo About the same as mine but where it's at is pretty important too.
Linda Dunn I can, however, communicate on the telephone as long as the other person has a good, clear voice doesn't have a strong accent, and does not speak in a soft, whispery voice.
Techyo Enunciates
Linda Dunn Sometimes it takes me a while to adjust to someone's speech style.
Techyo Have you used any of this in your stories?
Linda Dunn I have, but I haven't succeeded in selling any of those. I'm not sure why.
Techyo LOL I always thought a story about a super achiever due to a hearing loss might be cool.
Linda Dunn Me too. I've tried it a few times. One I wrote in the very beginning of trying to become published which has someone undergoing a procedure which restores her hearing. However, she finds that she's hearing a whisper at the end of the speech which contains the person's thoughts. I rather liked that idea, but it didn't work.
Techyo That's kind of a scary thing.
Linda Dunn I also tried having someone with a hearing loss being a scientist, engineer, etc. and it just happened that those stories didn't sell.
Linda Dunn I don't think it was the disability, but the story.
Techyo LOL I can tell you a technician gets a lot of offers for others to buy hearing aids.
Linda Dunn BTW -- I do have a short-short coming up online soon in Planet Relish. I've also got a story coming out in Absolute Magnitude that is titled, "Virtual Daughter. And before I forget, there's my pride and joy: A story where the main character is a violist, that will be published in ON SPEC. I wanted to try the most difficult thing I could and I thought writing from the perspective of a musician would be an interesting challenge.
Techyo Thank you Linda! I've enjoyed your work in Analog.
Baryon Linda, Continued success with your work.
Techyo Keep up the great work!
Cybling Thank you so much for taking time out from the convention to join us Linda.
Linda Dunn Thanks.


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