(no subject)

I hate this time of year. OK, so I actually only strongly dislike it, but still. In my psychic world, snow falls where it ought to -- on ski slopes -- and maybe falls elsewhere on Christmas Eve to make everything look pretty. I don't like this "snow falls when / where it damn well likes" policy. What I dislike most about it is that it makes plans difficult: dinners, birthdays, exercise classes get canceled because of bad weather, leaving me cooped up indoors with my face pressed to the glass, shaking my fist at the sky.

Like this guy:

Watch on YouTube

Writing News

The wonderful oktober_ghost has a new story up at Clarkesworld. I had the pleasure of reading Three Oranges in draft, and I'm excited to see how it's turned out.

In other writing news, my Lovecraft in the Basement story, aka "The Strange Case of Madeleine H. Marsh (Aged 14 ¼)" has sold to the reanimated Realms of Fantasy. It'll be appearing in the April issue. I'm very happy to be working with Realms again: they always do such a great job with editing and art. I'm glad they're still with us.

Award Season

(You can tell I'm trying to make up for lost time with lj posts today, right?)

I've been seeing people advertising the stories they wrote that are eligible for this year's Hugo and Nebula awards. I figure my output is too small to stand a chance of either, but I thought I'd mention a few works written by people I know that are worth seeking out:

1) Kris Millering's The Isthmus Variation is available for free at BCS. Remember the creepy statue story I've kept going on about? This is it. "Isthmus" has already gathered a lot of critical attention and made it on to people's "best of the year" lists, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it get some love this year.

2) J.M. Sidorova's "The Witch, The Tinman, The Flies" (Asimov's 2010) is another story I've raved about on this lj. Alas, it's not available for free online, but Asimov's is fairly easy to come by. To quote Tangent Online, this story is "the Russian native’s first pro sale in her adopted tongue, and it’s an auspicious debut."

3) William T. Vandemark's "Forcing Coin" (IGMS August/September 2010) is another CW alum. Tangent Online calls it an "atmospheric fantasy" with appealing characterization.

4)Rochita Roenen-Luiz's "Alternate Girl’s Expatriate Life" (Interzone Jul/Aug 2010) is a good example of outside-the-box SF that has also been getting some well-deserved attention in the pre-awards season.

5)Michael Underwood's "Kachikachi Yama (Escape Pod, 2010) is a nice bit of Kabuki Cyberpunk that shows Underwood's attention to cultural detail.

6) Marie Brennan's And Blow Them at the Moon" (Aug 2010 BCS) is a short story installment in Brennan's Onyx Court series. If you like fairies and well-researched British history, you should be reading these.

And lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Amanda Downum's The Bone Palace, though it is a novel. It's a stunning sequel and an engaging fantasy mystery with intriguing characters. Don't be put off by the book jacket's reference to vampires: Downum's treading new territory here.