Robert L. Slater
Science Fiction Author
ABOUT ROB
Like some of his characters, he has a propensity for speaking in lines from 80s movies, drinking Mountain Dew and eating pizza. He loves music as a listener, a zealous fan, a guitar player, and a singer/songwriter.
After nearly 20 years as a schoolteacher, he is beginning to have a hint of insight into young-adulthood. He has been in that hood a long time!
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Connect With Me
Third Generation Writer
At first, I focused on short fiction, writing about one story a month. Between 1996 and 1998 I made over 100 submissions to various publications. Then in 1998, submission #141, I made my first sale: Shooting Star sold to Millennium SF&F. I made a total of $30 and earned myself the title of “Published Author.”
Getting My First Sale
Science Fiction and Fantasy have been a huge part of my life since the golden age of 10, but I hadn’t considered writing it. At the age of 23 in 1990, during an all-night study session, I started my first novel, while I should have been writing a Research Paper for my Russian Literature in Translation class. The paper got a D. The novel probably deserves a similar grade. Not long after I read a Spider Robinson novel, Time Pressure, and I sat down the next day and wrote my first speculative fiction story.
Roberts’ Rules of wRiting
- Rule One: You Must Write “Regularly. It is a job, even if you are not getting paid yet.”
- Rule Two: Finish What You Start or “Don’t start something you don’t know how to finish.”
- Rule Three: You Must Refrain From Rewriting, Except to Editorial Order or “Don’t tinker endlessly with your story.”
- Rule Four: You Must Put Your Story on the Market “until you are certain it is crap and you will be embarrassed to see it published.”
- Rule Five: You Must Keep it on the Market until it has Sold or “You run out of markets.”
- Rule Six: Start Working on Something Else or “Always be working on other ideas, stories, characters.”
The Fruits of my Labors
Straight Into Darkness: A Deserted Lands Novel. Rocket Tears Press. September 2015.
Toils and Snares: A Deserted Lands Novel. Rocket Tears Press. February 2015.
“One Tin Soldier” Rocket Tears Press. October 2014.
“Just Desert” Rocket Tears Press. August 2014.
All is Silence: A Deserted Lands Novel. Rocket Tears Press. February 2014.
Outward Bound: Collected Fiction & Poetry. Rocket Tears Press. August 2013.
“In Formation” Whispers in the Wind print anthology. Windward Media. 2013.
Assorted Poems. Blue Deer: Four generations of poetry, 1945-2010. Plicata Press. 2010.
“Regression Therapy” Aoife’s Kiss. June 2008.
“Commuter Interface” Sounds of the Night. August 2007.
“Shooting Star” Chaos Theory: Tales Askew. 2005.
“Outward Bound” Continuum SF. Winter 2004.
“Regression Therapy” Wild Child. 2003.
“In Formation” SBD SF&F print anthology. 2002.
“Only Human” The Martian Wave. July 2000.
“Shooting Star” Goblin Muse. 2000.
“Free to Fall” PBS’ Earthscape. 2000.
“The Starrior” Poem. Millennium SF&F. 2000.
“In Formation” Millennium SF&F. 1999.
“Highway Rider” Poem. Jackhammer. 1999.
“Shooting Star” Millennium SF&F. 1998.
“Highway Rider” Poem. The Galactic Citizen # 5, Spring 1994.
“The Starrior” Poem. Galactic Citizen # 2, Winter 1993.