Thursday, May 22, 2008

Gary Corby, where are you?

Your email bounced back.
Your website is gone.

I want to read pages.
You're making it hard to do so!

Last chance!

58 comments:

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Dear Janet,

If you have the state, and hopefully the city, whitepages.com may have updated information.

Travis Erwin said...

Wow! That must have been some query.

Gary, I hope you are reading and realize this is definitely going above and beyond.

Mags said...

And a million computers freeze--the Internet jammed by the unforseen occurrence of a thousand simultaneous registrations submitted for the domain GaryCorby.com.

I am Sparticus?

Janet Reid said...

Sha'el (did you hear me talking about Pixies on Tuesday??)

No city, no state.

I googled his name and came up with a lot of people but no clear way to figure out if any were he.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

you talked about pixies? And I missed it???? So what did you say about us?

Dang. I miss all the good stuff!

There are several with his name on whitepages.com . try searching the name by state.

Heidi the Hick said...

This is nightmare material...

Janet Reid said...

I don't even know if he's in the US.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

janet, if you feel comfortable with it, forward his email with headers, and I'll see what I can do.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

From his web site, which is indeed gone, but not forgotten:

Author Bio
Information about me shouldn’t matter at all, since it’s the stories about Nicomus and Diotima you’re reading, not my life story. But for those who are interested, here it is.

I have been writing for fun since I was a teenager, mostly short stories. Twenty years ago I won a short story competition, and was published. Real life intervened, but I slowly wrote two novels over many years. Those two are now safely locked away where no one will ever see them.

In the meantime I was reading a lot of history. Both interests came together to create the Nicomus stories.

I have a degree in pure mathematics, and I can modestly claim to be a pretty decent systems programmer. For the last fourteen years I worked at a small software shop called Microsoft. When I admit this at parties, invariably the first question I’m asked is, “Have you met Bill Gates?” The answer is yes. What’s worse, we look a little alike.

Despite my technical background, I am actually capable of rubbing two words together to make a sentence.

I live in Sydney, Australia with one wife, two little girls, and about four thousand books.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

You might be able to contact him through these people:

http://sydney.pmichapters-australia.org.au/programs/share/index.asp?P=31&L=2&SNID=1&ICID=44&

Didn't know pixies could do this stuff, did ya? All this and gorgeous wings and cute butts!

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Assuming he still works for Microsoft Australia:


Fax
Please include the recipient's first and last name.
612 9870 2466

Don't forget the country code too. It's +61.

I hope this works. And you never did say what you were saying about us pixies? was it nice? was it about goats? Tell me! I'll go insane from unrequited curiosity.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

oh, and when you finally do contact this guy ... who really is very good. Tell him I hope the rest is as good as the sample. That he should buy my book simply because pixies are cute, and that if you do sign with him, i get a signed copy of the book!

That all seems fair. Doesn't it?

Pixie

Kitty said...

There's always the Wayback Machine. Just plug in his site's address and you might be able to access it.

If only agents were scouring the Net for me.

...

Jessica Nelson said...

lol, wish my name was Gary! Hope you find him.

Margaret Yang said...

Anyone want to change his name to Gary Corby?

Liana Brooks said...

If I liked the name a little better I might change it...

Janet, Sha'el you are going above and beyond with this. I hope you find him and the rest of the book is equally exciting.

Gary Corby said...

I owe everyone on this blog a huge favour, and particularly Sha'el, Princess of Pixes. Sha'el, I would be delighted to buy your book (and I'm sure pixies are cute).

I'm so embarrassed! The web host switched host servers just a few days ago (at my request) and in the process things fell apart and not only did I fail to get email back, but I didn't even realise it was broken. It was only through your great efforts Janet found me. Thanks!

(BTW, no I don't work for Microsoft any more; I left a year ago. And I'm astounded that old PMI web page is still around.)

Thanks again!
Gary

Kitty said...

YEE-HAW! Glad you were located, Gary! Hope we can say we "knew" you when :)

....

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Hi Gary!!

Much success on the pages. Am I glad we found you. Or that you found Janet's blog. Or that you're not lost. (This is so confusing. It's not nice to confuse a pixie!)

I was only kidding about my book ... umm but if you really want to buy it ... Fictionwise.com or mobipocket.com ... or amazon as Kindel Reader. Pixie Warrior. Rachael de Vienne.

I am so shameless!

Nice writing Gary. I hope the rest is as good.

Rachael, AKA Sha'el, Princess of Pixies

Liana Brooks said...

Yay! You found Gary!

John said...

I'd like to query you with my new book: FINDING GARY CORBY

When Gary Corby's webhost switches servers days after he queried hotshot literary agent, Janet Reid, the most important email of his life is bounced back. Janet wants to read pages. Gary is MIA.

Then sha'el, princess of pixies, offers to help. But with Janet's patience running out and steroid-hyped hackers blocking sha'el's sleuthing at every turn, finding Gary seems impossible.

FINDING GARY CORBY is complete at 300 words. I look forward to hearing from you at 6:00pm the day after tomorrow. BYOB.

Thanks,

Bill Gates

Eileen said...

Is it just me or were other people thrilled that Gary showed up? Suddenly I am very invested in how all of this turns out.

And for the record Pixie Princess- I stand in awe.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Dear Eileen,

My wings are pretty too! Ummm Thanks.

I know how hard it is to find a publisher and an agent. Gary's writing (what I saw of it) is very good. I hope this works out well.

Rachael de Vienne
Pixie Warrior
Drollerie Press
READ IT!

Jessica Nelson said...

Me too! Now I want to read pages.

Jake Nantz said...

john c. -

Very funny, I applaud you sir. Cheers

Chiron said...

VERY funny, John C!

--Chiron

Janet said...

Sha'el, let him buy your book. He owes you. ;o)

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Okay. Buy the book! Learn what we pixies are really like! Fiesty, Hot, terribly cute butts, engaging smiles, full of adventure ... and we like goats.

JS said...

Yay, pixie princess!

Now, what have the rest of us learned?

Anyone? Bueller?


INCLUDE ALL YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IN EMAIL QUERIES.

Maria said...

Bravo!

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

You mean like this:

Contact Information:

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies
Address: Center Nest, Sha nesting ground, Pixie Home Forest.
Phone: They Don't Work Here.
Email: ThePixieShael@*****
WarDancingPixie@verizon.net

Occupation: Princess, Goat-herd, Irritant. Suzarian of Fairy, Stand in Mother for the half-fairies. (We consider the words "ursk" and its variant "urske" to be rude and racist.)

Personal Interests: A Knobby Kneed Scotsman, Dragons, Goats and Satyrs.

Favorite sayings: 1. Is that real? 2. What do you expect from a Fairy? 3. How about a nice hour’s worth of wing grooming? 4. Say, do you have a cookie? 5. Bill, if you don’t stop that this minute there will be consequences!

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

ahem ... that's "Suzerain of Fairy"

BriMaresh said...

And to think, people try to tell me that there is no romance left in reality.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

oh ... not that it is on topic at all, but I got the release as trade paper date for Pixie Warrior ... It's November 5, 2008. I see an advance copy in July.

This is more exciting than finding the missing Gary!

helgor said...

john c. *chuckle*

Go, Gary, go!

Hope we get an update.

Amie Stuart said...

I'm late to the party but GLAD to see there's a happy ending!

Robin said...

Loved this. I'm a sucker for a happy ending, too. Good luck, Gary!

Gary Corby said...

Some people try to achieve fame by publishing a book, but I seem to have achieved the same thing on this blog by so far not publishing one.

Thank you everyone for all the kind words! I appreciate it. And yes, point taken on the contact problem. :-) The wit on this blog is very funny.

To those of you who want to know what happens, I'm sort of interested to find out myself. I'll let you know.

If anyone really is curious to see some of my writing after all this fuss, I believe one of my better short stories will be up on a web site (not mine!) in the next week or so. If you want, I'll let you know.

Sha'el, you can add one to your sales. Your book description sounds great and I'll be reading it tonight.

If I ever write my memoirs, this incident will get its own chapter.

Anneke Klein said...

Gary rocks! You will all love is work, i'm sure. I'm a fan already.

Anneke

Bill Kirton said...

What a great story - and one that happened to a great writer. Yes, we'll all be able to say we knew him before he became ... etc., etc. Good luck Gary.

Kitty said...

Gary said: I believe one of my better short stories will be up on a web site (not mine!) in the next week or so. If you want, I'll let you know.

Just don't forget to include the contact info! ;~)

...

Julie Weathers said...

Hmmm, how utterly typical. I was given the opportunity of changing my name as a divorce perk and changed it to Gary Corby.

I was even working on lowering my voice in case Janet called.

Now, Gary has appeared and all my dreams haved turned to dust once again. Sigh.

Now, I have to buy a pixie book, because I am fascinated. Good job, Sha'el. I have been a fan of pixies for years. There is a lady near here, who does some amazing fantasy art with pixies. I collected them just because they were so lovely. Cute wings and butts indeed.

I also request Gary share his query when he gets his site set up again.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Hi Julie!

Gary actually bought my book! How nice. He should give us a book report. No? (Warning: This is an overly long post. Stop here.)

Julie, did you submit to Baen? (See my comment on that other blog thingie, if you haven't.)

If you do buy Pixie Warrior (Fictionwise.com, Mobipocket.com or the Drollerie Press web site are best sources. Amazon for Kindle reader.) I hope you enjoy it.

Of course, being a Pixie and having Pixie children means I tend to like the species. I keep a little pixie statue on my desk. It's a baby playing with her toes, and she puts me in the mood to write.

I'm writing a new one out of sequence. There are outlines and partials of three others in sequence. But, I found some new characters sitting at my dining room table one morning. They nagged me into telling their story.

The main characters are a Pixie and her husband who is not the usual larger human. He's a satyr. They met way back when ... WAY back when. He shape-shifts, so he can look like a goat.

I'm calling this "The Great Goat Detective." Janet, Bill E. Goat, my own hidden self, and my daughters are the inspiration.

Right now, we're off in San Francisco looking for a missing Ambassador, worrying about the missing key to something or other, and thinking about Karl Jorgensen who may be a perfect mate for the half-pixie and half-fairy niece who's been unmarried for entirely too many centuries. ....

I'm having fun! My main problem is making Karl's "voice" distinctive. He is a government agent nearing retirement and needing some “repair” before he’s good marriage material. I keep making him sound like my Pixie character. Brutal editing is helping.

I started with a clear mental picture of my characters, especially of Bill the Satyr. (He has a real name, but he is called Bill most often.) The image is my own. But since I started writing I’ve looked at numbers of illustrations and statues. I found two that come close to Bill and my Pixie. D Julian Hayes’s bronze is really naughty, but probably is a good representation of my pixie and her mate’s implied life. I don’t write erotica, so it’s only implied. (There are icky, poorly done copies out there. You’d have to search to see the original which even if more than a bit naughty is exceptionally well done.) That interesting sculpture entitled Nymph and Satyr Carousing that’s in the Met is another than fits my characters. Except my pixie wouldn’t have a goblet in her hand. She’d have a Tia Grape. They naturally ferment internally. One extra ripe one will incline you to love; two will put you to sleep.

The Adventure of the Missing Australian has been exciting. I take some nasty meds sometimes. They and the underlying health problem can leave me depressed. This adventure brought me out of that. Now, if only Nancy Drew posted on Janet’s blog, we’d really be having fun.

Someone with more talent than I have should write a book about fictional detectives brought to life and thrown together on a case. You’d have to get permissions if you used those still under copyright. My choices … umm Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Nancy Drew, and umm Philo Vance. Sherlock and Philo would spark off each other’s personalities. Nancy Drew would solve it all because she can stay focused while having fun. Anyone? Okay so it isn’t that great of an idea.

Julie Weathers said...

Sha'el,

What fun. I haven't submitted to Baen. I noticed one of their reps was at a conference recently and gnashed my teeth in frustration. I had hoped they might be at Surrey, but it doesn't look like they will be. I think it would be interesting hearing their views on fantasy.

I haven't submitted to Baen, though I do think they'd be a good match. I decided I really wanted an agent to be a buffer. I guess this sounds lazy, but I just want to write. I don't want to have to worry about contracts and mistakes and negotiations over details and all those other myriad details. Let me write and do what I can to promote and they can handle the rest.

I was in real estate for a long time and there really is a lot more to it than just writing a contract. I assume it is similar in publishing.

I jotted out (150 pages) a mystery about five years ago, involving a warrior bard and her pixie friends. I'd like to return to it someday and flesh it out.

The new project sounds really interesting.

As for your detective convention. I can toss in two womanizing Cajun rodeo cowboys, who enjoy solving mysteries. They're fun and almost housebroke.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Oh dear, Julie!

All our cowboys here are either computer science guys who want to "live the life" or old guys with grizzled hair, a criminal past and princley manners.

I've never SEEN a cajun cowboy.

I think someone at Fine Print represents fantasy. Janet mentioned her name earier on her blog. Check the older posts.

I'm great at mysteries if you think in terms of the plastic bucket full of girl's white socks with no mates. ...

Personally,I think you're doing it backwards with Baen. Just submit. You get a "ya, this is great," take it to an agent. How nice to be able to say, "Oh, Miss Agent Lady. I have this offer. I now need you."

Anneke Klein said...

@ Sha'el
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074937/
The 1976 movie 'Murder by Death' is about a bunch of fictional detective characters who have to solve a murder. So, to answer your question: yes, it's a great idea!

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Oh, Anna! I forgot about that movie. I had more in mind a science-fictiony animation right out of the pages of their books, but that works too.

Unknown said...

So, Sha'el, why do you think you don't have enough talent to write it yourself?
Maybe i should test it and order your book too. Your book will be all over the world then, from Australia to Amsterdam in Europe. That in itself should be encouraging enough i hope.

Anneke Klein said...

Oh btw, Annablume = Andromeda. I get confused about my multiple identities. So much for multiple google accounts.

Gary Corby said...

I've finished reading Sha'el's book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a must read for the pixie-at-heart.

I have a feeling the adventures of Sha'el have barely begun so I'll be interested to see what happens next.

Could I suggest the detectives Philip Marlowe, Hercule Poirot, and The Famous Five for a combination almost certain to end in a bloodbath?

It's not detection, but you might also consider The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen for a lot of fictional characters working together.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

I'm way too busy to do it, but it would be cool if someone ran a 200 word contest on the best detectives from the past come back to solve the crime.

Now that's a tortured sentence if I ever saw one. ....

Andromeda, by all means buy my book! Buy six! [Snicker] If you do buy it, I hope you thoroughly enjoy it.

"Vance turned to me and fixed me with his languid stare.

'Honestly, old boy, that Sherlock is all smoke and mirrors, don't ya know. And that insufferable pipe of his will drive Markum to madness. I'm half tempted to buy him a ticked to Dannsville and send him to the water-cure.'

I agreed readily enough. 'At least his assistant's wife is pretty and a wit,' I remarked.

He nodded. 'Tell me, van Deine, why is it you never married.'

I've dreaded this question all our working relationship. Was I to be honest or evasive? With Vance, honesty was always best.

I fixed my gaze on his watery blue eyes, paused long enough to gingerly bite off a piece of bacon and chew it thoughfully, and said as evenly as I could, 'I'm in love with a ...'

A shot echoed through the Vance estate. I dropped my fork and ran to the window. ...

Julie Weathers said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Julie Weathers said...

"I've never SEEN a cajun cowboy."

They are much fun. Who knew tying up an heiress in a hotel room and being too drunk to remember which room you left her in would lead to chaos? If she just hadn't mentioned she wanted him to "do it" with spurs on.

I've been navel gazing about that stuff lately. Cowboys, not doing it with spurs on. Kind of fun to remember stupid stuff. My father rode bulls, husband as well and two older boys are rough stock riders, so I get lots of stories to draw from.

I may think about Baen, when I get Paladin finished and polished. I'm heading into an 18-week workshop now to get it in shape for Surrey.

I'll definitely be ordering the pixie book.

Sha'el, Princess of Pixies said...

Julie,

With too many children and kids of the four legged kind to count, I never get to workshops. Email me a report!!

If you buy my book, i hope you enjoy it. it was fun to write.

Gary,

Thanks for the kind words. Best success on your submission.

This has been fun. Janet should find us another mystery to solve.

Julie Weathers said...

Sha'el,

I understand that. Surrey will be my coming out party, as it were. Kids, husband, dogs, cats, goats, chickens and horses always came first before. Now that they are all gone, I can go exploring.

I'll be blogging heavily about it when I get back, so you can go adventuring with me!

Janet Reid said...

update to this blog post:
Gary Corby's sixth book The Singer from Memphis was just published by Soho Press.

Tracking down Gary Corby is one of my very favorite publishing stories.

Donnaeve said...

I think it's one of mine now too!