AUTHOR'S NOTE ON "SWAN'S BRAID"
I'm pretty sure that it was at the Gaylaxicon in Philadelphia in 1993 when Jewel Gomez asked if I might have a sword and sorcery type story that would work for Swords of the Rainbow, an anthology she was editing with Eric Garber. Now I don't specifically remember bouncing, but I suspect there was bouncing involved because I'd had the ending of “Swan's Braid” in my head for some time with no idea where I could possibly sell the story it ended. These days, an LGBT protagonist wouldn't necessarily limit your market, but back in the early '90s things, while on the cusp of change, were still a bit ... difficult. And even if I hadn't had a story in mind, I suspect I'd have come up with one for Jewel anyway because she's just one of those very cool and amazingly talented people you want to do things for – at least partially in the hope that some of that cool and amazing rubs off.