Golden Reflections Origins
by
Joan Spicci Saberhagen
The origin of Golden Reflections-A Group Story
In 2008, about a year after Fred had passed, I attended Albuquerque's annual science fiction convention, Bubonicon. A small group of us, David and Sharon Weber, Jane Lindskold and her husband, Jim Moore, and I and my grandnephew John Goldberger took a break from convention activities and went out to dinner. Over some delicious barbeque we began to discuss Fred's works. Dave and Jane strongly voiced their love of Fred's short novel Mask of the Sun. As we batted around the main points of the book, Dave suggested that I might want to put together an anthology of stories set in the world of Mask. Jane chimed in that she'd like to try her hand at a story in this world. Of course, the fact that Jim is an archeologist probably adds to Jane's fascination with Mask. Dave, too, thought the world of Mask would be a fun place to play.
So was born the concept of the Mask anthology.
I asked my good friend, Robert E. Vardeman, if he would be willing to help with the editorial chores. Bob is a well-published author with quite a few anthologies to his credit. Also, he has been teaching writing for some time. In addition to the fact that Bob is a well-qualified professional, he has been a friend of Fred and
mine for over twenty years, and, not to be overlooked, he lives nearby, so we could consult over stories and the project's general progress face-to-face.
Dave approached Toni Weisskoff at Baen Books with the idea. She was willing to look at a proposal. And she agreed to support the project.
Authors were lined up. As story ideas were presented to us, Bob and I soon realized that our original requirements were a bit too narrow for the wonderfully fertile imaginations of our contributors. So, we held to the minimum requirements: use of the Mask and a background setting of future struggles between the Inca and Aztec empires.
The authors did themselves proud. To our amazement many of the stories dovetailed, leading naturally from one to the next.
Hope you are as entertained and delighted by the imaginings from a fine group of authors as we are!
The origin of Mask of the Sun-A Personal Story
Fred became interested in the Inca and Aztec cultures as a result of the sheer number of books and memorabilia brought to our joint home way back in the late ‘60s when we married. In the two years prior to our marriage, I had spent extended vacations in Mexico and Peru. So there were books, brochures, toy llamas, Bolivian wooden plaques, et cetera all around our home. About five years (and three children) into our marriage, we spent a summer in Key West. All these experiences, mixed with Fred's diligent research and fertile imagination to produce Mask of the Sun. Please enjoy.