First of all, I’m featured over at “The Page 69 Test” (here and here), talking about page 69 of With Fate Conspire, and whether it’s a good sample of what the book is like or not.
And second, the Intergalactic Awards Anthology is out, containing my Driftwood story “A Heretic by Degrees” — as well as stories by a couple of friends of mine, aliettedb‘s “Horus Ascending” and Von Carr’s absolutely fabulous “Sister Jasmine Brings the Pain.”
And now, back to cleaning my living room.
I had it firmly fixed in my head that Running With the Pack was coming out in May. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered it’s been on sale since some time in April.
So if you were interested in reading “Comparison of Efficacy Rates for Seven Antipathetics as Employed Against Lycanthropes” (the Fake Werewolf Paper), or generally like stories about werewolves, you’re in luck! The anthology is out. I’ve linked to Powell’s, but it’s available from other fine bookselling establishments, at least of the online sort; I don’t know for sure about physical bookstores. Anyway, enjoy!
The small neatness is that “A Mask of Flesh has apparently earned an Honorable Mention in the twenty-sixth Year’s Best Science Fiction, edited by Gardner Dozois. (I had no idea he also recced fantasy; that story is definitely not science-y in its speculation.)
The much bigger neatness is that I’m one of NINE Clockwork Phoenix authors so honored — which, for an anthology with eighteen stories in it, is a damned impressive success rate. Congrats not only to my fellow authors, but most especially to Mike, for putting together such a great volume!
(Now might be a good time to mention that you can buy the second volume in the series . . . or the first, if you haven’t already. I’ve got stories in both.)
I’m sad to see that Paradox Magazine is closing down, after thirteen issues. Word is that they may try to do anthology projects in the future — I hope so.
They published my short story “The Deaths of Christopher Marlowe” last year, and my flash piece “Salt Feels No Pain” is in this final issue. Christopher Cevasco was a pleasure to work with, and I wish him luck with any future incarnations of the publication.
I’ve been looking forward to this. Today, “Driftwood” went live at Beneath Ceaseless Skies, as part of their fourteenth issue. This is in the same setting as “A Heretic by Degrees,” and it’s my hope that I’ll get another Driftwood story completed (I have several in various stages of started-ness) some time this year, preferably sooner rather than later.
Somewhere — I forget where — I came across a review of “Heretic” that said the reviewer would love to see me do a novel in the setting. I don’t think I could ever write one; it would run too strongly counter to the entire concept of Driftwood, which is about fragmentation. But a story collection? That, I could do. At least in theory. I need a lot more stories before I can think about it, though.
Maybe I’ll try to work on one today.
If you’re a reviewer and would like an advance copy of Clockwork Phoenix 2 (containing, among other things, my story “Once a Goddess”), contact Mike Allen.
VeriCon was lovely as always, with a smattering of enjoyable panels and many fine meals with many fine friends. I could, however, have done without the precipitous drop in temperature halfway through; I remember our discussions back in the day about whether to hold the con during intersession or spring break, and I still think the arguments for intersession are good ones . . . but man, late January is a brutal time to hold a con, especially in a building like Sever, where (despite years of our best efforts) people blithely ignore the “airlock” signs on the front doors and pass through them in such a fashion as to release gusts of freezing air upon the reg desk.
But I am, after all, a delicate southern flower.
I got to read “The Last Wendy” at Milk and Cookies, though, which pleased me immensely. I do so love stomping on people’s childhoods . . . .
***
While I was away, the ninja editors of Abyss & Apex put up their new issue, which includes the most melodramatic (and melodramatically-titled) story I have ever written: “Letter Found in a Chest Belonging to the Marquis de Montseraille Following the Death of That Worthy Individual.” It’s posted in its entirety for free, so enjoy.
When it rains, it pours. But this time you get to listen to my fiction instead of reading it!
Yes, folks, it’s my very first story podcast. I’ve got two others on the way — Pseudopod will be doing “Shadows’ Bride,” and Beneath Ceaseless Skies has got “Kingspeaker” — but Podcastle hit the finish line first, with my exceedingly silly flash story “The Princess and the . . .”
I’ve been meaning to post about Escape Artists — the umbrella name for a trio of podcasts, dedicated to science fiction (Escape Pod), horror (Pseudopod), and fantasy (Podcastle). Of the three, I don’t generally listen to Pseudopod (since I’m not a big horror person, my sale to them notwithstanding), and my personal tastes generally mean that about half the Escape Pod stories are up my alley, but I adore Podcastle, and all three of them are very well done indeed. Ever since my trip to London last year, when traveling light meant I packed no leisure reading with me, I’ve become quite fond of being able to carry fiction around on my iPod. Short stories are perfect for sitting around in airports or on planes, since I don’t have to commit ten hours of my life to listening. If you’ve got an mp3 player and need to entertain yourself for half an hour or forty-five minutes, the Escape Artists productions are a good way to go.
This story, though, won’t eat up that much time. When I say it’s flash, I mean it; I don’t remember how many words “The Princess and the . . .” is, but the entire episode, including intro and outro, is about two minutes. You can subscribe to the podcast in the usual way, or download it from a link at the bottom of the story post over on their website. Enjoy!
(Having linked to this, now I’m afraid what kind of answers I’ll get on the comparison post . . . .)
Many of you are no doubt making one of two transitions: either you’re cautiously venturing back onto the Internet, having temporarily exiled yourself to avoid all the political talk, or you’re trying to fill the empty hours now that you no longer need to obsessively check all your favorite political websites. Either way, I have something for you!
The new online magazine Beneath Ceaseless Skies has just put up my short story “Kingspeaker.” This is a Nine Lands piece, and the brainchild of something I read about in one of my folklore classes — surprise!
BCS is publishing two pieces every two weeks; my companion this week is the first part of Charles Coleman Finlay and Rae Carson Finlay’s “The Crystal Stair,” which will continue in the next issue. You can also read David Levine’s “Sun Magic, Earth Magic,” Yoon Ha Lee’s “Architectural Constants,” and Chris Willrich’s amusing “The Sword of Loving Kindness,” likewise delivered in two parts. But wait, there’s more! “Architectural Constants” is also being podcasted, and “Kingspeaker” is slated for a later episode. So if you don’t have much time to read, but you do have time to listen, check those out on the website.
I know a lot of you don’t necessarily go out and buy an issue of a magazine just because I have a story in it, but in this case, it’s very easy. “Lost Soul” is posted now at the Intergalactic Medicine Show, which means it’s online. You can access the whole issue for only $2.50, and it provides quite a substantial amount of content for that price.
My backlog of sold-but-not-yet-published stories is finally shrinking back down to a reasonable size. Mind you, that means I should sell more stories. Which means I should submit more. Which means I should write more.
Maybe tonight. First, I’m going to go have dinner and watch some TV.
