My story “Excision,” from Ann VanderMeer‘s first issue of Weird Tales, is now out as an audio podcast from the good folks at Podcastle. Read by well-known podcaster Jen Rhodes. Thank you!
Their content rating for it says “Rated R: Contains Surgery”. How can a story with that label fail to entertain!
My recent story “The Halberdier, by Moonlight,” out in the current (Fall 2011) issue of On Spec, got a great review on Locus online.
Lois Tilton, long-time short fiction reviewer, is well-known for being hard to impress and stingy with her praise. So I was delighted to see her review of “Halberdier” include comments like this:
A tragic, moving tale, an effective portrayal of the horrors of war, as well as an individual’s yearning for atonement.
The halberdier yearns for atonement for a past incident in his life. The story includes an odd concept for the afterlife, and I was quite pleased that Ms. Tilton said: “The afterlife is well-conceived.”
Not much of my fiction has gotten reviews, especially by a top-level reviewer such as Ms. Tilton. I’m delighted to be noticed and to get such good praise. Thank you!
“The Halberdier, by Moonlight,” my “slipstream plus armor” story, is now out in the Fall 2011 issue of On Spec. With my name on the cover! Pretty cool. And a gorgeous cover it is:
The story comments on death and the afterlife, and features icewine: a unique wine made using grapes that are still frozen. This removes a lot of the water, because it’s ice crystals, which leaves all the other stuff–sugars, alcohol, flavor compounds–much more concentrated. That results in a wine that is thick and syrupy and sweet.
On Spec, a long-standing literary SF/F journal out of Canada, was great to work with. And I enjoy the irony that a ‘zine from Canada, one of the biggest producers of icewine, gave the story a home. :)
(Yes, for anyone who’s wondering, I did buy a bottle of icewine as “research” for the story. :) )
I had a blast at ReaderCon last weekend. Among the many, many highlights:
-the Naked City anthology reading Thursday night in Cambridge, with readings by John Crowley, Jeffrey Ford, my buddy Matt Kressel, and post-reading beers with Jed Berry and Mike DeLuca
-panels Friday, including on anthologies
-drinking Friday with many, including Claire H., Maggie R., Jenn B., Renee B., and Mike DeLuca
-my reading Saturday morning–I read “The Very Strange Weird of Endart Sscowth” in the current Space and Time and a bit of my Homeless Moon chapbook 4 story. A nice crowd, who were treated to back-issue copies of Space and Time #108 and #114 and Weird Tales 347, all containing stories by me.
-the BCS reading Saturday afternoon, with Matt Kressel, Margaret Ronald, Marko Kloos, and Mike DeLuca
-dinner and more drinking with many, including Marko, Chang T., Abby, Dave B., Claire H., Maggie, Jenn, Renee, and Mike DeLuca (anyone detecting a theme? :) )
-chats with and meeting of cool people, like Leah Bobet, Ellen Datlow, and Ellen Kusher
-drinking Sunday and Monday with Mike DeLuca (that theme again…)
It was awesome, all of it–fascinating discussion and delightful fellowship. Woo!
