My story “Sons of God, Daughters of Men” is now online at e-zine Strange, Weird, and Wonderful. It’s kind of creepy, and some people might find it disturbing. Reader discretion, etc etc.
People who’ve read my blog in the past might have noticed that I’ve been really, really bad about blogging the last few months. This is because I’m getting married in about a month’s time. Hopefully I can start blogging more after we get back from the honeymoon!
My story “Woman Moving to the Country” is in the current issue of Prairie Fire, a Canadian literary magazine. Although I do write mostly fantasy and science fiction, I decided to venture into the mysterious realm of literary fiction for this one. Which I forgot to warn my mom about when she read an early draft: “I liked it, but I kept expecting something strange to happen.”
Those of you who live in Canada will have the easiest time finding this magazine. A friend of mine mentioned that she’s seen it at Chapters in Toronto. Libraries (especially university libraries) may also be good bets. It’s published in Winnipeg, so that’s probably the best city in which to find copies. (What? Not planning a trip to Winnipeg in February? For shame!)
It’s also possible to subscribe to Prairie Fire, saving 50% off the newstand price, and helping them to support more authors in the future.
Unfortunately I cannot yet comment on the other stories and poems in the issue, as I’m still waiting for my contributor’s copy (thank you, Canada Post and United States Postal System!). But I look forward to reading the work of all the other authors.
“Woman Moving to the Country” was originally written at Clarion West in 2008, and my workshop classmates had a lot of great suggestions for improving the story, as did that week’s instructor, Chuck Palahniuk. So, thanks! Also to my local writers group, BRAWL, who all insisted with one voice that I really needed to fix the ending. (I fixed it.)
Okay, this is starting to sound like a really dull Academy Awards acceptance speech. Enough of that!
I won’t say too much about the actual story, except that it has some funny bits, and a lot of avocados. And that there’s a sequel, of sorts, coming out in Aoife’s Kiss in December. (I’m back to fantasy with the sequel; that literary fiction stuff is just too weird!)
I just found out that my short story “Sons of God, Daughters of Men” has been accepted for publication by the online magazine Strange, Weird, & Wonderful. It’s currently slated for publication in their April 2011 issue. They’re a free PDF publication, in case you’d like to check out some of the stories they’ve already published, in the meantime.
I’m not a horror writer, but “Sons of God, Daughters of Men” is probably one of my creepiest stories, about a young woman and her demon lover, and the man who tries to come between them. Unless it’s all in the woman’s head….
I’ll let everyone know once it’s published!
I just wanted to put in a plug for Ralan.com, seeing as how September is Ralan’s annual fundraising month. This is mostly for those of you who are fantasy or science fiction writers (though I’m sure Ralan wouldn’t turn away donations from anyone). Ralan.com is an incredibly useful site for finding information on magazines and book publishers that might publish your stories. It’s all entirely free, and he only asks for money once a year. So, if you’ve used his site in the past to find information about new places to send your fiction, and if you can afford to contribute even a small amount, please at least consider donating.
Duotrope is another good free site for fiction market listings, and they also rely on listener–er, user support.
Yes, I recognize the irony in posting this immediately after my last post. (“Have you ever held court at a party because you were a published author?”) But I’m pretty sure you won’t get any letters from Ralan or Duotrope, offering to put your name on a plaque (Actual size shown!) in exchange for a $1000 donation.
I just finished reading the latest issue of On Spec magazine (I often have a magazine going at the same time as whatever book I’m reading.). On Spec is probably Canada’s best-known speculative fiction magazine (edit: Actually, Chizine might be better known, being a SFWA-qualifying publication and all; unfortunately I tend to forget about Chizine because I’m not sure I’ll ever write a horror story under 4000 words – they also publish good stories, though!). It’s mostly a print magazine, but you can also buy a slightly cheaper electronic subscription, or single issue. The website is here. If you live in Canada, I think they have some newstand distribution; if you live in the US, you might be able to find copies at a convention.
I guess I should tell you why you’d want to buy copies or even a subscription to On Spec before telling you how! I’m always impressed by the quality and diversity of the stories they publish, and the Summer 2010 issue is no exception. (Did I say the same thing about Sybil’s Garage? Well, it’s true about On Spec, too. Just because I repeat myself doesn’t mean I’m not sincere.)
My favorite story was Greg Wilson’s “Still”. It wouldn’t do the story justice to say simply that it’s about a young wooden puppet who runs away from home after being molested by her music teacher. It is about that, yes, but it doesn’t try so hard to be an allegory of real abused children that it loses sight of the puppets whose story its telling; nor does it trivialize the suffering of real children. And it manages to find a happy ending, albeit a bittersweet one.
I also really liked Rob Engen’s “Thanks for the Game,” about interstellar aliens who land in Manitoba and learn to play hockey. It’s a much more interesting story than you might think, based on that one-sentence description, even if you’re not a Canadian or a hockey fan!
And, being a chemist, I couldn’t help but love Susan Forest’s “The Right Chemistry”, about the stormy relationship of the two bonded atoms in a molecule of oxygen. It’s full of chemistry puns that are so bad they’re good.
One thing I noticed, looking at the cover: some magazines put the names of the best-known authors appearing in that issue in big print, whereas lesser-known writers might not have their names appear on the cover at all. Not so with On Spec! Everyone’s name is the same size, and all the authors are listed in strict alphabetical order. I like that.
My own story, “The Observation Deck” (a flash fiction space opera–or, as someone from my writers group put it, a space aria) should be coming out in On Spec sometime next year. I’m looking forward to it; I’m sure I’ll be published alongside some really great authors.
American and international authors will be pleased to hear that, although the three authors I’ve mentioned are all either Canadian or live in Canada (as far as I can tell from their bios), and On Spec does make a point of publishing at least 80% Canadian content, there were some Americans in this issue, as well. And they just started accepting online submissions, so you no longer have to try to find IRCs, or have your friends in Canada mail you Canadian postage.
Get published in Canada, eh?
I just finished reading the latest issue of the magazine Sybil’s Garage. I can’t claim to be unbiased in my recommendation, since the editor, Matt Kressel, is a friend of mine. But I’ve been reading Sybil’s Garage almost from the beginning (I think I did miss #1), and I’ve always found great stories there. I think #7 is the best issue yet.
I particularly liked Amy Sisson’s “Suicide Club” and Tom Crosshill’s “Thinking Woman’s Crop of Fools”, two short and somewhat chilling glimpses of the future; among the poetry, I was struck by Jaqueline West’s “One October Night in Baltimore.” One thing that I’m really impressed by, looking at the whole issue, is the diversity of content: stories and poems; flash fiction and longer short stories (though they don’t really publish anything over 5000 words); traditional narratives and more experimental approaches to storytelling; science fiction and fantasy; settings past, present and future; North American and international. I like not knowing what to expect next when I turn the page.
I don’t know what to expect from Sybil’s Garage no. 8, but I’m sure it will be worth waiting for!
I’ve been reading the August issue of Realms of Fantasy, and I really liked Sara Genge’s story, “Seagull Girl’s Butterfly Tongue.” It’s a zombie story with an unusual take on zombies (they’re a little like a fantastical version of the Borg).
I might be reading too much into it, but I thought the story also hinted at a parallel with the way western culture often attempts to experience other cultures, stealing bits of the other cultures and incorporating them into their own in a misguided attempt to understand them, perhaps ruining or at least diminishing the original culture as part of the process. “… that was the zombie way. Forever to yearn for new things. Forever to absorb them and turn them into the same old McHuman.”
Of course, this tendency is hardly unique to American, Canadian and modern European culture. I think of the ancient Romans borrowing from Greek culture. Or the Mughal conquerers of northern India (especially Akbar) borrowing from Hindu culture. And I’d also question whether it’s entirely bad.
But I liked the thought-provoking way in which Genge’s story raised some of these questions. Also, the zombies were really creepy.
Two of my Clarion West classmates have stories out online: Rajan Khanna at Basement Stories, and An Owomoyela at Fantasy Magazine. An’s story has already been positively reviewed in Locus Magazine!’
Another classmate, Pamela Rentz, has a story “The Battle of Little Big Science” in the current issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction, but unfortunately you can’t get it online! There might still be a few floating around at newsstands.
Two of my Clarion West classmates, An Owomoyela and Pam Rentz, have stories out right now in online magazines, so if you’re looking for something to read, check them out!
An’s story, “Jessamine”, is in Reflection’s Edge. Pam’s story, “Estelle Makes the Casino Run” is in Innsmouth Free Press.