Nick DiChario and I have written 11 collaborative stories, which were published as THE MIKE AND NICK SHOW back in 2000. For the other 10, he wrote the first draft, I wrote the final draft/polish. But for
this story...
I'd written the first 1000 words of "Fred and Wilma" back in the late 1980s, right up through the
description of Wilma. Then I had to set it aside for a bunch of better-paying novel deadlines, and
I never thought of it again until the mid-1990s, when Nick and I had already sold four or five stories.
I sent it to him to see if he wanted to collaborate, he sent back a finished draft a couple of days
later, I polished it, and we sent it to Science Fiction Age, which was the top-paying market at that
time. Scott Edelman sent it back, saying he'd take it if we took most of the sex out, and we did (which
is why Escape Pod's X rating surprised me. I mean, hell, it wasn't pornographic to begin with, and we
toned it down plenty.)
As for those who find traces of "Travels With My Cats", which I wrote a decade later, or
"my" approach...all I can say is that the first 1000 words were mine, but the plot and approach
thereafter were Nick's. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was Nick who submitted this one to Escape
Pod; I'd all but forgotten it.
On the other hand, it's a pleasant change not to have to explain that it really and truly -is-
science fiction. <g>
-- Mike