Tag: short story

“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.

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.

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.