At ReaderCon this weekend, my writer cohorts from the Homeless Moon and I will be premiering our second chapbook of all-original short fiction. This one is called Homeless Moon: Imaginary Places.

My story, “Adrift in Ishtakar,” is about a young doctor in a medieval Arabian world who is facing a terrible plague for the first time without her mentor, who disappeared the previous summer. But she receives an indication where he might be:

“I’ve seen that pendant,” Rifiq said, “decades ago. Didn’t it belong to–”

“Yes. That bombastic traveler says Al-Atibba sent him.”

“And you believe it?”

“His account does seem outlandish. But this pendant is the only sign in the last three months. The only sign at all.”

“His Radiance will be delighted to hear of this,” Rifiq said. “He’ll have soldiers in the saddle within the hour.”

But it was her duty to do every possible thing to cure these patients. She wasn’t needed here in Samarah, yet. And Al-Atibba had sent this messenger for her. She lifted the pendant close. It even smelled of him, of that crumbly, dry-parchment scent that had always lingered behind him as he paced.

She must go herself. And without asking the caliph for soldiers, or telling him at all–he would never let his Chief Healer journey so far from his own ill daughter. She would go alone.

If you’d like to read more, including the other four stories, look for a copy of the chapbook at ReaderCon or visit Homeless Moon: Imaginary Places to learn how you can order a paper copy or download a free electronic one.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, this weekend I will be at ReaderCon, where I will plug my magazine Beneath Ceaseless Skies.   The ReaderCon program folks ahve scenduled a BCS reading, on Sunday at 1PM.  Authors who will be reading include C.C. Finlay, S.C. Butler, Saladin Ahmed, and Kris Dikeman.

Also at the con, my writer cohorts from the Homeless Moon and I will also be premiering our second chapbook of all-original short fiction, this time based around lands from Alberto Manguel’s Dictionary of Imaginary Places.

So if you’re at the con, look out for a free copy of our chapbook and/or feel free to come by the BCS reading.   Thanks.

So much stuff going on lately that I haven’t had any time to come up with a neat blog topic.

I’m wrapping up the podcast for Beneath Ceaseless Skies #20 that comes out this Thursday, which is a story by Richard Parks, and I need to start work on the next one. Issue #20 has two exciting young writers, Caroline M. Yoachim and James Lecky, and Issue #21 in mid-July will have a great novelette by award-winning author Holly Phillips.

Next week I’m headed to ReaderCon, where I will plug BCS and hopefully host a reading of authors from the magazine, including C.C. Finlay, S.C. Butler, Margaret Ronald, Saladin Ahmed, and Kris Dikeman. Also at the con, my writer cohorts from the Homeless Moon and I will also be premiering our second chapbook of all-original short fiction, this time based around lands from Alberto Manguel’s Dictionary of Imaginary Places.

Then I’ve got to critique thirty manuscripts and finish writing a lecture, both for the annual Odyssey alumni workshop. All while reading a month’s worth of slush!

Onward!

The recent closures of Lone Star Stories and Talebones have promtped more blogs posts about the current state of short fiction. Mine yesterday was more of a personal musing; these are more about the field, from writers and editors with far more experience and blogging eloquence than me.

—Tor novelist and fellow Viable Paradise grad Sandra McDonald. I agree with her general pessimism about the lack of quality markets, but my view on that is affected in large part by the even more acute lack of markets for 7000-word secondary-world fantasy stories, like I write.

—writer Michele Lee, who I don’t know, but whose frustrations I understand and in some part, share.

—Lone Star Stories Editor Eric Marin, who seems surprised to hear that there are fewer quality markets out there than he thought. With some interesting comments, including by BCS author J. Kathleen Cheney, and one that points out the specialization or niche appeal of many of the remaining markets (BCS certainly qualifies there).

—Clarkesworld Magazine Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Neil Clarke, with his comprehensive annual analysis of the field. I agree with his description of Tor.com as more an online community than a magazine, especially since their fiction is infrequent and by commission only. He also gives a nice shout-out to BCS–thanks very much.

So is short fiction thriving, like Neil Clarke asserts, in large part because of new online magazines? Or is it in peril?

I’m conflicted, perhaps because I’m both a writer and an indie publisher. BCS is doing well, and I’m grateful for the support of our writers, our readers, and especially our donors. But as a mid-level writer trying to sell 7000-word fantasy stories, the market has and continues to look bleak.