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Synopsis

"Variety is the soul of pleasure," And variety is what this comprehensive new collection of Connie Willis is all about. The stories cover the entire spectrum, from sad to sparkling to terrifying, from classics to hard-to-find treasures with everything in between--orangutans, Egypt, earthworms, roast goose, college professors, mothers-in-law, aliens, secret codes, Secret Santas, tube stations, choir practice, the post office, the green light on Daisy's dock, weddings, divorces, death, and assorted plagues, from scarlet fever to "It's a Wonderful Life." And a dog.

Famous for her "sure-hand plotting, unforgettable characters, and top-notch writing," Willis has been called, "the most relentlessly delightful science fiction writer alive," and there are numerous examples here. Among them, Willis's most famous stories--the Hugo- and Nebula-Award-winning "Fire Watch" and "Even the Queen" and "The Last of the Winnebagos"--along with undiscovered gems like Willis's heartfelt homage to Jack Williamson, "Nonstop to Portales." Her magical Christmas stories are here, too, from "Newsletter" to "Just Like the Ones We Used to Know..." which last year was made into the TV movie, Snow Wonder, starring Mary Tyler Moore.

We've collected stories from throughout Willis's career, from early ones like "Cash Crop" and "Daisy, in the Sun," right up to her newest stories, including the wonderful "The Winds of Marble Arch." There's literally something for everyone here. If you're a diehard Willis fan, you'll be delighted with hard-to-find treasures like the until-now uncollected, "The Soul Selects Her Own Society..." If you've never read Connie Willis, this is your chance to discover "A Letter from the Clearys" and, well, "Chance." To say nothing of, "At the Rialto," the funniest story ever written about quantum physicists. And Willis's chilling, "All My Darling Daughters."

And...oh, there are too many great stories here to list and pleasures galore. So enjoy!

Tentative Table of Contents:

In Which May be Found Personal Correspondence, Travel Guides, References to Royalty, Weather Reports, Parking Fines, and Other Violations, including Matters of Life and Death (and Afterwards), an Epiphany or Two, and an Appendix.

Weather Reports

• The Winds of Marble Arch (*)
• Blued Moon
• Just Like the Ones We Used to Know (*)

Personal Correspondence

• A Letter from the Clearys
• Newsletter

Travel Guides

• Fire Watch
• Nonstop to Portales (*)

Parking Fines and Other Violations

• Ado
• All My Darling Daughters
• In the Late Cretaceous

Royalty

• The Curse of Kings (*)
• Even the Queen
• Inn

Matters of Life and Death

• Samaritan
• Cash Crop (*)
• Jack
• The Last of the Winnebagos

And Afterwards

• Service for the Burial of the Dead
• The Soul Selects Her Own Society... (*)

Epiphanies

• Chance
• At the Rialto
• Epiphany

Exclusive to the Limited/Lettered Editions

• Capra Corn (*)--the first screwball comedy Connie published
• Substitution Trick (*)--a haunting uncollected tale
• Bibliography (*)--including, for the first time a list of all of Connie's science fiction short stories, and her now legendary "confessions" stories

* previously uncollected

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