“Lace, Comb, Apple” – Spanish Translation and Interview

January 24, 2024

My short story “Lace, Comb, Apple”, originally published in The Dark, has been translated into Spanish by Voces de lo insólito. Huge thanks to Aitana Vega Casiano and Carla B. Estruch for the translation!

Alongside the translation, I also had the opportunity to conduct an interview. The Spanish version of the interview is available on the Voces de lo insólito Patreon. I have included the English version below:

 

What was the inspiration for Lace, Comb, Apple?

It was August 16, 2020. For a dream-like six months, I lived in a small town in rural Ontario. Back in Toronto—my once and future home—the Toronto Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers was hosting our annual one-shot anthology challenge: a day when writers are asked to complete a short story within 24 hours, to be compiled in a themed anthology.

The theme that year was Outsiders. My temporary absence from Toronto—my own status as an outsider, if you will—posed no challenge at all. The global pandemic had swept many in-person activities onto the shores of the internet. For the first time, our one-shot anthology had gone fully virtual.

And the theme? When I heard the word Outsiders, my thoughts immediately strayed to the mirror in Snow White. The world behind a mirror is, in some ways, another universe. Who was this mirror? Who were they to judge, regarding the fairest woman of the land? And if they were capable of passing judgement, surely they had other thoughts, emotions, desires. So how did they feel about being only a mirror, of having only a singular portal into the queen’s world?

In the end, I never published “Lace, Comb, Apple” in the Outsiders anthology. I wrote a second story that day (still within the 24-hour limit), called “The Last Leviathan,” which was included in Outsiders. For “Lace, Comb, Apple,” I decided to take a little more time with it, to polish it into its final form, which is the one that was published in The Dark.

 

Fairytales are originally dark, despite Disney’s efforts to convince us of the opposite. Are there any other classic stories that you would like to give a new twist?

I would like to give Sleeping Beauty another go. I tried to write a retelling a few years ago, but it grew into a novel-length monster sitting at the crossroads of three different genres—not at all the short story I set out to write. Perhaps I’ll try again from a different angle. Or perhaps I will finish the triple-genre novel.

Another thing I want to work on would be retellings of eastern legends, mythology, and folk tales—something outside of the classic western fairy tales (as much as I enjoy them!).

 

Nowadays, retellings are everywhere. Why do you feel classic fairy tales attract contemporary writers so much?

I think it’s the combination of the familiar with the strange. The shape of the original fairy tale is familiar to us, while the retelling adds in something different: a fresh perspective, a deeper or different exploration of a character, or even just bringing out little-known parts of the original fairy tale (e.g. some of the darker and more gruesome parts that are sanitized in adaptations).

 

Are you working on something right now? Are there any new stories coming out soon?

I am working on two fantasy novels: one is court drama meets revenge tale, and another is a coming-of-age story set in the same universe as two of my short stories (“The Lady of Butterflies” and “Dress of Ash”).

I still write short stories in between working on the novels. I don’t have any current announcements, but I hope to have something soon!

 

What have you been reading, watching, listening to recently? Something interesting to recommend to our readers?

I’ve been listening to a lot of audiobooks lately; they keep me company on my commute to work.

In terms of a recommendation: for anyone who enjoyed “Lace, Comb, Apple” and would like to read another Snow White retelling, I recommend Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust. It is an engaging novel filled with both heartwarming moments and painful ones, centred around the strong bond between two women—and how that bond is challenged amidst tragedy.

NaNoWriMo, personalized

November 1, 2019

It’s November 1st, the first day of National Novel Writing Month, AKA NaNoWriMo, AKA when writers around the world scramble to write 50,000 words in a month. I’ll be participating, but in a limited way.

I’ve done NaNoWriMo three times. I succeeded in writing 50,000 words twice, and got at least 30,000 words the other time. I say “at least,” because I don’t actually remember how many words I wrote.

Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that 50,000 words doesn’t equal a novel for me. It doesn’t even equal half a novel. If I were dividing my novels into three acts—and I often don’t, but many do—50,000 (rushed, poorly chosen) words have never gotten me past Act 1.

My first NaNoWriMo novel is of a story I have no plans on returning to. My second is sitting as a giant stack of loose-leaf paper, and I’m not entirely certain I’ve typed it all. My third, the closest 50,000 words to being “usable,” is part of a novel that I last worked on in 2017. (I was, however, shocked to open the document and find I had 85,000 words for that novel. So I can’t exactly call it a write off.)

My point? It’s not to refuse the call of NaNoWriMo. If you’re a writer who hasn’t tried it before, I encourage you to try at least once, circumstances permitting. For some writers, it is one of the most productive and inspiring times. For some, just being able to say, “I wrote 50,000 words in a month” is a hugely beneficial confidence boost.

For me, however, a writer who can produce a lot of words but cover little story, I need to think of NaNoWriMo in a new way. Not the classic “start a new novel, with no outline, write 50,000 words” way. Been there, done that. Succeeded, but during the subsequent months of burnout—which other writers may not experience, so don’t let this scare you off—just 50,000 words alone didn’t feel much like success.

Instead, I’m going to set my own goals this year. I used to complete NaNoWriMo by writing 3,000 words a day, which would give me some leeway in reaching 50,000 words in 30 days. It would take me about 3 hours to write those words NaNo-style. (It probably takes longer these days, when I worry about writing suitable words and not just… words.)

This year, I will commit to 3 hours of writing-related work every day. That could be writing, editing, outlining, even writing this blog post, because god knows I don’t update this thing nearly as much as I’d like to. I will focus on two projects—editing my visual novel and editing/rewriting my fairytale novel—but if a deadline for a short story submission approaches, I will happily work on that.

With these personalized rules, can I actually call myself a NaNoWriMo participant? I don’t know. I do know I’m not alone. Many of my writer friends have expressed the intent to use NaNoWriMo as a month of editing. At first I worried about the logistics—how would you count words in editing? Is it based on number of words you started with, or number of words you ended with? But then I realized it didn’t matter. The key goal is being productive and trying something new. Writing 50,000 words of a fresh work and adding to my pile of unfinished novels isn’t new for me.

I don’t know how my plan will pan out. However, I’ve challenged (and “succeeded”) at classic NaNoWriMo enough times to know that it may not be the best option for me. So I’m going to try something different. Maybe my November productivity will go nowhere, and I’ll join the ranks of classic NaNo again next year. But this year is reserved for experimentation, and I’m not going to beat myself up if the results aren’t what I desired.

(I’ll try not to, in any case. Because a writer who doesn’t beat themselves up is as rare as a dog that meows.)

Good luck to everyone this November. If you’re committed to classic NaNoWriMo, go for it! However, if that hasn’t worked for you in the past, don’t hesitate to find your own format. The goal of NaNoWriMo is not merely to hammer out words, but to foster productivity, confidence, and community. How each writer finds those things may be different, and I encourage all of us to walk whatever path that makes us better writers.

Year in Review & Award Eligibility 2018

February 5, 2019
Nothing like good ol’ paper.
Alternate heading: I have 2 seconds before The Razor’s Edge falls over. 0.5 seconds before F&SF follows suit.

2018 was a dreamily wonderful year for me in terms of publication. So dreamy, in fact, that I’m apparently still asleep. Hence why I’m writing this now when everyone else has made their award eligibility posts a month ago.

But nominations are still open for the major SF/F awards. So I’ve listed my 2018 publications below, aided by attempts at pithy, funny summaries. Attempts, I say, because this might get long and not so pithy. If brevity is the soul of wit, then I have none of it. Sorry, Shakes.

Some of the awards I’m eligible for include:

  • The Hugo Awards: Nominations are open until March 16 at 11:59 Pacific Daylight Time. Nominating can be done by current Worldcon members, members of last year’s Worldcon, or members of next year’s Worldcon.
  • The Nebula Awards: Nominations are open until February 15 for Active and Associate members of SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America).
  • The Aurora Awards: For the best Canadian SF/F of the year. Nominations are open from March 1 to May 21. Members of the
    Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Association are allowed to nominate and vote.
  • I’m also in my first year of eligibility for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. It is not technically a Hugo, but it follows the same nomination and voting process. Nominations are open until March 15 at 11:59 Pacific Daylight Time.

And here are the individual stories I’ve published this year, and what they are eligible for. Stories marked with a * are available to read for free.

Eligible for Best Short Story (Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards):

*“The Mooncakes of My Childhood” (330 words) in PodCastle. A short piece on the rock-hard, northern version of mooncakes, and how they could be weaponized.

“A Place Without Seasons” (1,370 words) in Factor Four Magazine. Sentient snowbunnies can stick around after winter rather than going the way of Frosty the Snowman… if you stick them in the freezer, of course.

*“Subtle Ways Each Time” (2,100 words) in Escape Pod. A man loses a woman, and decides time travel is the solution. He might be wrong.

“Final Flight of the PhoenixWing” (3,760 words) in The Razor’s Edge. Gundam, but with time dilation and an old lady protagonist.

*“Glass Heart Giant” (3,850 words) in Sanctuary. What if you were trapped inside someone’s literal heart? Written in a day.

Eligible for Best Novelette (Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards):

*“The Palace of the Silver Dragon” (7,820 words) in Strange Horizons. No one who hears the Silver Dragon’s song and jumps into the sea ever returns alive. Aliah knows this, as she takes the leap.

*“The Girl with the Frozen Heart” (8,300 words) in Awakenings from Book Smugglers Publishing. The story of a dying girl, a god who tries to save her, and a boy who falls in love with her.

“The Lady of Butterflies” (8,970 words) in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. A foreign girl with no memories appears in the Kejalin court, and the First Sword of the Empire is forced to be her caretaker.

All the above stories are also eligible for the Aurora Award for Best Short Fiction.

I’ve also published two poems, which are eligible for the Rhysling Award (nominations by members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association) and the Aurora Award for Best Poem or Song.

*“The Cosmos Chronicler” in Polar Borealis #6. Astronomy-inspired freeverse.

*“Death’s Knotted Circle” in Polar Borealis #8. Iambic pentametre published in 2018. About as gloomy as the title suggests.

Concluding Thoughts: I’m quite proud of the amount of stories I’ve published this year. Less proud of my inability to blog consistently, and to write my detailed thoughts about every story (as I’ve promised).

I’m still in the wide-eyed honeymoon phase of publishing, so I read reviews. They have been quite positive and even heartwarming (I am writing that down here, so that one day, buried beneath scathing reviews, I can look back and laugh at myself. That’s when I’ll know I’ll have become a “real writer”). “The Lady of Butterflies” and “The Palace of the Silver Dragon,” in particular, have garnered a number of positive reviews (which I, of course, retweeted gleefully). Those two happen to be my personal favourites as well. “The Lady of Butterflies” is more classic secondary-world fantasy, and I planned it out scene by scene, while “The Palace of the Silver Dragon” is darker and I myself took half the story to figure out the main character’s actual deal.

For anyone who read anything I published this year, I would love to hear your thoughts below, positive or negative.

Current Projects: I have two stories and a poem forthcoming in 2019. One will be in Clarkesworld, and the other two I cannot announce yet.

I am also slogging through the third act of a fantasy time travel novel set in the same world as “The Lady of Butterflies.” I’ve finally restarted development on a visual novel I wrote three years ago; I thought I was done the writing part, but apparently three-year-old prose is kinda yucky, who would’ve thought? I am still working on short stories, though more in terms of editing existing ones rather than writing new ones. For now, at least.

This was supposed to be an awards eligibility post. It seems to have veered off-track. Attempt #8923476 at being pithy. Result: not achieved.

“The Lady of Butterflies” in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

November 1, 2018

My contributor’s copy of F&SF. Underneath: letters holding… you guessed it, my old paper rejection letters before electronic submissions were a thing.

Today marks the release of the November/December 2018 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. This is not particularly special, as F&SF has been going strong since 1949. But it is special to me, as my story “The Lady of Butterflies” is featured in this issue. Reviews are coming in, including this one from Tangent which gave “The Lady of Butterflies” a recommended rating.

(They say not to read reviews, but I’m still in the honeymoon period where any review delights me, good or bad.)

Everything you need to know about the issue, including how to buy it, can be found on F&SF‘s Editor’s Note. If you live in the US, you can find the issue in most Barnes & Noble stores. If you’re based outside the US, you can buy the issue from F&SF‘s website, or get a digital copy via Amazon or Weightless Books.

I’ve already waxed lyrical about what this means to me over on another post. In short, it’s my dream market. Back in high school, I mailed paper subs to F&SF, stuffing pricey International Reply Coupons into the envelopes.

About the most interesting part of the submission process was the long (but understandable) wait, during which I penned a bemused poem about response times. (Is there a more writerly way to vent frustration?) After 200+ days, I saw the acceptance while committing a minor student felony: checking my email during class.

The Story’s Inspiration: Malls, Butterflies, and Reusable Empires

It’s early January 2017. I walk through the poshest mall in Toronto; I have a seasonal job there, though the commute takes me an hour and a half. I write on the subway rides, and that winter I finish “The Palace of the Silver Dragon,” a story I’ll eventually sell to Strange Horizons.

In that mall corridor an image comes to me: a woman, her body disintegrating into butterflies. She mouths six words: “You think you can save me?”

Those words never make it into the story, but that’s not the point.

A few weeks later, I watch a video about how caterpillars become butterflies. I’ll leave the description to Morieth, the titular “Lady of Butterflies”:

“It’s not a simple matter of growing wings. A curious man once poked open a chrysalis, and out spilled green and white liquid. The caterpillar’s tissues had melted, disintegrated—but from that broth eventually emerges a butterfly.”

The plot begins to form. As it does, I realize the conflicts, atmosphere, and imagery of the story fit quite well with a pre-existing land I’ve built: the Empire of Keja, home to a powerful warrior class called the Swordbearers. I initially crafted this world for an incredibly complicated visual novel that is nowhere near completion, but realized it serves as the perfect setting for “The Lady of Butterflies.”

An image, a piece of science, a pre-built world. I guess this is what many writers would call combining different ideas. This is unusual for me, as most of my ideas come to me whole, plot-first, often with built-in ending.

What did you think about the issue, and the story? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!

The Razor’s Edge available worldwide

July 9, 2018

Contributor copies of The Razor’s Edge. Trade paperback to the left, limited Kickstarter edition to the right.

The Razor’s Edge anthology, featuring my story “Final Flight of the PhoenixWing,” is now available in print and ebook! Originally slated for a September release, the new Zombies Need Brains anthologies were released early on June 15th. To get your copy:

From the publisher: Limited Edition Paperback, Trade Paperback, Ebook

Amazon: US, Canada, UK (and in various other countries–I located the Amazon Spain one, for instance)

Ebook: Kobo, Kindle, Nook

The Razor’s Edge, as described by the publisher:

From The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress to The Hunger Games, everyone enjoys a good rebellion. There is something compelling about a group (or individual) who throws caution to the wind and rises up in armed defiance against oppression, tyranny, religion, the government—you name it. No matter the cause, or how small the chance, it’s the courage to fight against overwhelming odds that grabs our hearts and has us pumping our fists in the air. 

Win or lose, it’s the righteous struggle we cherish, and those who take up arms for a cause must walk The Razor’s Edge between liberator and extremist.

The line-up is pretty awesome, with headlining authors such as Seanan McGuire and L.E. Modesitt, Jr. See the full table of contents here. My story’s running the anchor leg.

“Final Flight of the PhoenixWing” is a mix of giant robot fight, time dilation, and friends-turned-rivals-turned-enemies. Ever watched Gundam Wing, Neon Genesis Evangelion, or some other mecha show and thought, “Man, instead of these whiny teenagers, I wish there was an older person in the cockpit?” That’s my story—mecha with old lady protagonist.

If you prefer rogues skulking in dark alleys or time-travelling bars with drinks served by Gilgamesh, check out the other new ZNB anthologies: Guilds & Glaives and Second Round: A Return to the Ur-Bar. And browse their shop for the editor plushies. Always the editor plushies.

Will update soon with more details about the writing process behind “Final Flight of the PhoenixWing.” Once upon a time, I wanted to write a whole saga about mecha pilots.

Storming the EA podcasts!

June 1, 2018

You’ve heard of the EA podcasts–

Wait, you haven’t? Escape Artists (EA) is a publishing company that operates four fiction podcasts. They have a sizable audience, are an SFWA-qualified venue, and provide a great way to experience fiction amidst busy modern life (I tend to listen to them on the subway; if you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably seen me give shout-outs to particular episodes I’ve enjoyed). Their podcasts are:

Alright, so you’re wondering why I’m posting about this now. Well, because…

I have not one, but two stories coming out with the EA podcasts!

  • “Subtle Ways Each Time” will be appearing in Escape Pod.
  • “The Mooncakes of My Childhood” will be appearing in PodCastle.

Escape Pod and PodCastle have top-notch narration, so I’m excited for the audio versions of these stories. The EA podcasts publish both originals and reprints; in this case, neither of these stories have been published before. When released, they will be available for free on their respective podcast websites, to both read and listen to (EA is donation-supported).

It is an honour for my stories to be selected. Hopefully I will be able to storm a couple more EA podcasts in the future, if they don’t slam their shutters on me quick enough.

“The Cosmos Chronicler” out now in Polar Borealis

April 7, 2018

Polar Borealis #6 available now! (Art by Jean-Pierre Normand)

My SFF poem “The Cosmos Chronicler” is out now in Polar Borealis #6 (April/May 2018 issue). This is, to sound all pretentious, my first piece of published creative writing. (Seriously, never even published in a school journal before.) Issue #6 is available as a free PDF download. And you can find all Polar Borealis issues here.

When I wrote it during undergrad, “The Cosmos Chronicler” started as a rhyming poem. My alma mater offered two astronomy classes for math-challenged art students: one about the sun and solar system, the other about galaxies and the universe. Being a big dreamer, a fantasy writer, and–most importantly–a full-time student who must consider how courses fit into her schedule, I chose the latter.

I discovered my poem actually aligned nicely with some images and concepts from astronomy. And to squeeze them in, I would not be able to keep the rhyme scheme. So I rewrote the poem as freeverse. I didn’t submit it anywhere though–back then I only submitted short stories. Though I’ve been writing poetry since forever, I only recently started submitting it. Thankfully, this poem found a home.

A cursory look through the Polar Borealis website will tell you that editor R. Graeme Cameron is very passionate about promoting new Canadian authors of science fiction and fantasy. If you like the magazine, the issue, or the stories or poems in the other issues, you can donate to Polar Borealis to contribute to future issues. Graeme explains it much better there than I can possibly do here.

Finally, before I end this too-long-for-a-short-poem blog post: I want to give a shout-out to Lena Ng, my friend, writing group buddy, and sparring-partner-in-vicious-critique. She has a story in the same issue, and I highly recommend it. It’s called “Kittens Crawling.” Sounds adorable, doesn’t it…?

 

I sold a story to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

March 29, 2018

I sold a story to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I celebrated by taking a picture of some issues on a mooncake box.

I wanted to write a proper blog post about this. A post stitched up in gold silk. A post arranged carefully as ikebana. But screw it, I need to stop fiddling with the announcement and just go ahead with celebrations. Because:

I sold a story to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

I repeat: I sold a story to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

I sold a story to The Magazine—okay, I’ll stop now. Because even amateur writers know lists should come in three’s, and cutting off before the end isn’t such a bad idea. You’re supposed to leave ’em wanting more, right?

Back on track, back on track… I hardly need to say that The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is special. It is the grande dame of the SF/F field. It has been—and continues to be—one of the most influential magazines around. It was the original publisher for stories like Daniel Keyes’s “Flowers for Algernon” and Stephen King’s The Gunslinger (extra special to me because The Dark Tower is one of my favourites series). And it is one of the few magazines that continues to publish in print, which means something to members of the Dead Tree Worshipper Society like myself.

I’ve dreamed of being published in it ever since I figured out I wrote fantasy. (That did take an embarrassingly long time—I was about to start high school. “Fantasy” wasn’t a genre my household–it was just part of the culture and stories). I made my first submission to Fantasy & Science Fiction in 2009, back when I was a teenager and submissions were snail mail. I wrangled with International Reply Coupons. I received rejections letters from John Joseph Adams (of Lightspeed fame—he was assistant editor of F&SF at the time); I still keep those letters. None of my stories made it up to Gordon Van Gelder, which—considering the state of my writing back then—was probably a blessing for both his sanity and mine.

I made four submissions in 2009 and 2010. Life blew up in my face soon after, and I did not make another submission until 2016. By then F&SF had a new editor in C.C. Finlay and an online submissions system. In total, I made eight submissions to F&SF before receiving an acceptance for my ninth one. I know I am not exceptional in this regard. Many authors—more experienced, prolific authors—have received many more rejections than I have.

But for any writers reading this right now: Please do not give up after three or four submissions. Please remember that, for all the big names and iconic stories F&SF has published, there is still room in its pages for new writers. At the time I submitted my story, I had no credentials whatsoever.

For any readers out there: I hope you will subscribe to F&SF (and here’s the digital option for those not part of the Dead Tree Worshipper Society). Not just because my story will be appearing there, and I darn well want you to read it! But because it is an important magazine, and within its pages you will find a great stories from both big names and new writers.

Oh, and my story? It is a fantasy novelette called “The Lady of Butterflies.” It’s set in a fantasy world that I’m currently writing a novel within—but that, as they say, is a tale for another day…

“Final Flight of the PhoenixWing” coming in The Razor’s Edge

March 24, 2018

Cover art of The Razor’s Edge, by Justin Adams of Varia Studios

Two months ago, I made a sale. It’s finally time to let the cat—or rather, the giant mecha—out of the bag.

My story “Final Flight of the PhoenixWing” will appear in The Razor’s Edge, a military SF/F anthology from Zombies Need Brains, edited by Troy Bucher and Joshua Palmatier. The anthology will explore rebellion, insurgency, and the line between a liberator and an extremist. You can pre-order it as an ebook or a limited edition mass market paperback. It will also have a trade paperback edition upon release (Estimated release date: August 2018).

Now, a little more about my story. It has two origins: a writing prompt from nine months ago, and an old idea from… more than nine years ago.

Last summer, my writing group held a social gathering. Dinner at a restaurant, bring a piece of writing. The organizer gave us a writing prompt: use these four words in a one-page piece of writing.

Strangely, writing prompts rarely inspire brand new ideas out of me. Instead, they often incite me to dust off old ideas I’d wanted to write since forever. In this case, it was a giant mecha story I first conceived of as a teenager. (Must’ve been all that Gundam Wing I watched.)

As usual, I overshot the word limit and wrote two pages instead of one. The restaurant we selected turned out to be noisy and not exactly well-lit—hardly an ideal setting for reading a far-future science fiction story crammed onto single-spaced pages (printed at the public library, so I skimped on printing fees). I had to shout to be heard, and my writing group was probably just confused. But I had the beginnings of a story.

Fast forward a few months. Zombies Need Brains had three new anthologies in the works. I knew I had to submit something. Second Round intrigued me, but I didn’t know if I could write for it (See my comment about writing prompts. I usually find ideas that suit submission calls, rather than use submission calls to come up with ideas). I had several ideas that might fit the tone of Guilds & Glaives, but they weren’t about guilds per se. I could tweak them, of course.

Then there was The Razor’s Edge. Insurgency, rebellion, military SF/F. I opened old Word documents. Exhibit A: A novelette about rebellion and betrayal … but too long, and in very rough shape. Exhibit B: More military focused, more likely to land within word limit… but half-finished, and written years ago. I could barely remember what I’d intended to write.

Then I looked at the two pages I wrote for that writing group social. They were recently written, and required less clean-up than Exhibits A and B. I still needed to write the other half of the story, but that was easier than tackling those older stories. Between school, work, and other deadlines, I had to pick my battles.

I scribbled. I edited. I scrapped two of those “writing prompt words,” though I kept the other two. I sent my story at the last moment and thought I’d probably flown too close to the sun/insert-your-star-of-choice. I breathed a sigh of relief when I received the acknowledgement email. I was grateful that the story will be considered. I didn’t think for one second that it would be accepted.

When I received the acceptance email on January 29th, I leapt out of my chair and went dancing in the hallway. It’s not technically my first sale, but emotionally it felt like it. I’d sold a story a few months before, but the magazine went on hiatus without publishing my story. I also had a unique tentative acceptance situation going on elsewhere, but because of the uniqueness of the situation, my brain couldn’t quite remember how to shift into celebration mode. That email from Joshua and Troy made everything concrete, true. I’d made a sale. I’d made a sale to a professional market whose headliners have included people like David Farland and Seanan McGuire. Sometimes, refusing to self-reject does pay off.

I hope you will check out The Razor’s Edge when it comes out. And my story, “Final Flight of the PhoenixWing.” For extra authenticity, you may or may not wish to read it in a noisy restaurant.

“The Girl with the Frozen Heart” coming soon from The Book Smugglers

March 20, 2018

Book Smugglers Publishing: Awakenings

My short story* “The Girl with the Frozen Heart” will be released by Book Smugglers Publishing in summer 2018. It will available on The Book Smugglers website and as an ebook.

Book Smugglers Publishing is the publishing venture of The Book Smugglers, a book review site run by two awesome people, Ana Grilo and Thea James. They have published writers such as Octavia Cade, Tonya Liburd, and José Iriarte. My story “The Girl with the Frozen Heart” will be one of six stories in their 2018 season, “Awakenings.”

(Dramatic voice) So, after slogging away in the rejection pile for ten years with nary a token-paying publication to my name,** I have finally sold a short story. And it’s to The Book Smugglers, who have a sizable audience and several years of impressive line-ups. And did I mention their awesome cover art?

Give the story a read when it comes out! I hope you will enjoy it.

 

*Long enough to be called a “novelette” in F/SF circles but for simplicity’s sake I will refer to stories below novella length as a short story.

**Admittedly, I didn’t submit to a lot of token-paying markets. Not because I thought myself above them—oh no—but because I’d get displeased with a story and retire it before I get that far down the list.