Multiples (Introduction)

Untitled, unsigned introduction to the short story.

Essay starts: "No heartrending sagas of the torments of creation with this one. It was July of 1983; I had finished Valentine Pontifex, which had turned out to be unexpectedly difficult to write (the first half of 1983 was one of those periods of my life that I'd just as soon not repeat); a few days after the novel was done I sat down and wrote 'Multiples' in what was essentially one long take, did a little minor editing, and sent it off to Ellen Datlow of Omni, who accepted it right away."

Essay finishes: "Other writers have achieved that now and then, when some particularly strong story was picked by all three editors — but I had a different story in each book. I don't think anyone had ever managed that trick before. (I did it again in 1989. That time, though, I managed to get five stories into the three anthologies. Go ahead, top it if you can!)" [Source: PR# 834559]