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The Hardwood Pile
"The Hardwood Pile" is a contemporary fantasy story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine ''Unknown'' for September, 1940.Laughlin, Charlotte, and Levack, Daniel J. H. ''De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography''. San Francisco, Underwood/Miller, 1983, page 176. It first appeared in book form in the collection ''The Reluctant Shaman and Other Fantastic Tales'' (Pyramid, 1970); it later appeared in the collection ''The Best of L. Sprague de Camp'' ( Doubleday, 1978), and the anthology ''Bestiary!'' (Ace Books, 1985) The story has been translated into French and German. Plot summary Folklorist R. B. Wilcox, collecting material for a book on the legends of upstate New York, queries Aceria Jones, a Gahato tea room hostess, regarding the village's rumored haunted woodpile. Aceria dismisses the story, but suggestively tells him she would be extremely grateful if he could point her to a job in the vicinity of a Norway maple (''Acer platanoides'' ...
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WikiProject Novels
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. For e ...
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French Language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is an official language in 29 countries across multiple continents, most of which are members of the ''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie'' ...
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Short Stories By L
Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as the Short Arts, entertainment, and media * Short film, a cinema format (also called film short or short subject) * Short story, prose generally readable in one sitting * ''The Short-Timers'', a 1979 semi-autobiographical novel by Gustav Hasford, about military short-timers in Vietnam Brands and enterprises * Short Brothers, a British aerospace company * Short Brothers of Sunderland, former English shipbuilder Computing and technology * Short circuit, an accidental connection between two nodes of an electrical circuit * Short integer, a computer datatype Finance * Short (finance), stock-trading position * Short snorter, a banknote signed by fellow travelers, common during World War II Foodstuffs * Short pastry, one which is rich in butte ...
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Fantasy Short Stories
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga, animations and video games. Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the respective absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these genres overlap. In popular culture, the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that emulate Earth, but with a sense of otherness. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy consists of works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works. Traits Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Magic, magic practitio ...
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The Purple Pterodactyls
''The Purple Pterodactyls'' is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. The collection was first published in hardcover by Phantasia Press in January, 1980, and in paperback by Ace Books in April of the same year. It has also been translated into German. An e-book edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. The pieces were originally published between 1975 and 1979 in the magazines ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', ''Fantastic'', ''Escape!'', and '' Fantasy Crossroads''. Summary The book collects the author's fifteen tales of ensorcelled financier W. Wilson Newbury, an ordinary man continually encountering extraordinary situations. His French wife Denise also appears in most of the tales. Two stories ("Balsamo's Mirror" and "Far Babylon") feature characters recognizable as real-life authors H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, tho ...
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Thrilling Wonder Stories
''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stories'', when his media company Experimenter Publishing went bankrupt. Within a few months of the bankruptcy, Gernsback launched three new magazines: ''Air Wonder Stories'', ''Science Wonder Stories'', and ''Science Wonder Quarterly''. ''Air Wonder Stories'' and ''Science Wonder Stories'' were merged in 1930 as ''Wonder Stories'', and the quarterly was renamed ''Wonder Stories Quarterly''. The magazines were not financially successful, and in 1936 Gernsback sold ''Wonder Stories'' to Ned Pines at Beacon Publications, where, retitled ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', it continued for nearly 20 years. The last issue was dated Winter 1955, and the title was then merged with ''Startling Stories'', another of Pines' science fiction magazines. ...
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The Reluctant Shaman
"The Reluctant Shaman" is a contemporary fantasy story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' for April 1947.Laughlin, Charlotte, and Levack, Daniel J. H. ''De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography''. San Francisco, Underwood/Miller, 1983, page 231. It first appeared in book form in the collection ''The Reluctant Shaman and Other Fantastic Tales'' (Pyramid, 1970); it later appeared in the magazine '' Science Fiction Yearbook'' no. 5 (Popular Library, Inc., 1971) and the collection '' The Best of L. Sprague de Camp'' ( Doubleday, 1978). The story has been translated into French and German. Plot summary Virgil Hathaway, a Penobscot Indian shopkeeper in Gahato, New York, receives an odd visitor, Charlie Catfish of the Senecas. The fast-talking Catfish, caretaker to eight ''Gahunga'', quickly pawns his charges off on Hathaway before leaving. "You can handle 'em even though you're Algonquin," he says, "being as y ...
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Don D'Ammassa
Donald Eugene D'Ammassa (born April 24, 1946) is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror critic and author.Clute, John. "Don D'Ammassaa."
Article in ''SFE: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''.
He is chiefly known for his numerous reviews, written over a period of more than thirty years. He writes as Don D'Ammassa.


Writing career

D'Ammassa first made a name for himself as a fan writer in the 1970s; he was nominated for the for 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1986, and his

Dryad
A dryad (; el, Δρυάδες, ''sing''.: ) is a tree nymph or tree spirit in Greek mythology. ''Drys'' (δρῦς) signifies "oak" in Greek, and dryads were originally considered the nymphs of oak trees specifically, but the term has evolved towards tree nymphs in general,Graves, ch. 86.2; p. 289 or human-tree hybrids in fantasy. Often their life force was connected to the tree in which they resided and they were usually found in sacred groves of the gods. They were considered to be very shy creatures except around the goddess Artemis, who was known to be a friend to most nymphs. Types Daphnaie These were nymphs of the laurel trees. Epimelides The Maliades, Meliades or Epimelides were nymphs of apple and other fruit trees and the protectors of sheep. The Greek word ''melas'', from which their name derives, means both apple and sheep. Hesperides, the guardians of the golden apples were regarded as this type of dryad. Hamadryad Dryads, like all nymphs, were supernaturally ...
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Acer Platanoides
''Acer platanoides'', commonly known as the Norway maple, is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia, from Spain east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It was introduced to North America in the mid-1700s as a shade tree. It is a member of the family Sapindaceae. Description ''Acer platanoides'' is a deciduous tree, growing to tall with a trunk up to in diameter, and a broad, rounded crown. The bark is grey-brown and shallowly grooved. Unlike many other maples, mature trees do not tend to develop a shaggy bark. The shoots are green at first, soon becoming pale brown. The winter buds are shiny red-brown. The leaves are opposite, palmately lobed with five lobes, long and across; the lobes each bear one to three side teeth, and an otherwise smooth margin. The leaf petiole is long, and secretes a milky juice when broken. The autumn colour is usually yellow, occasionally orange-red. The flowers are in ...
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German Language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italy, Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a co-official language of Luxembourg and German-speaking Community of Belgium, Belgium, as well as a national language in Namibia. Outside Germany, it is also spoken by German communities in France (Bas-Rhin), Czech Republic (North Bohemia), Poland (Upper Silesia), Slovakia (Bratislava Region), and Hungary (Sopron). German is most similar to other languages within the West Germanic language branch, including Afrikaans, Dutch language, Dutch, English language, English, the Frisian languages, Low German, Luxembourgish, Scots language, Scots, and Yiddish. It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic languages, North Germanic group, such as Danish lan ...
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Ace Books
Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first science fiction title in 1953. This was successful, and science fiction titles outnumbered both mysteries and westerns within a few years. Other genres also made an appearance, including nonfiction, gothic novels, media tie-in novelizations, and romances. Ace became known for the ''tête-bêche'' binding format used for many of its early books, although it did not originate the format. Most of the early titles were published in this "Ace Double" format, and Ace continued to issue books in varied genres, bound ''tête-bêche'', until 1973. Ace, along with Ballantine Books, was one of the leading science fiction publishers for its first ten years of operation. The death of owner A. A. Wyn in 1967 set the stage for a later decline in the publishe ...
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