A.C. Wise

I lust after these sculptures by Jessica Joslin and a library crammed full of books to keep them in. But then again, if I had such a room, I don’t think I would ever leave it.

Some short-shorts for your reading pleasure.

A Short Encyclopedia of Lunar Seas by Ekaterina Sedia

Issue #15 of Behind the Wainscot, the Tarot Issue, guest edited by Jonathan Wood.

A young woman approached me in the park at lunch today, and invited me to a Christian music concert, presumably with the ultimate goal of saving my soul. I listened politely, with no real intention of engaging her in conversation, but she had other ideas. She asked me if I went to church around here, and I told her I wasn’t from here (technically true). I told her I was from Montreal (which she had never heard of). I explained it was in Canada, to which she astonishedly (if that isn’t a word, it should be) replied “Oh, wow, so you’re like from a whole other country!” (Not the brightest bulb in the bunch). After that, she immediately lost interest and wandered away.

All around me her fellow youth-groupers were engaging people in fifteen to twenty minute conversations. To be fair, one of the women was already reading a bible ( preaching to the choir) but it made me wonder, is there something fundamentally un-saveable about Canadians? Does our chilly northern blood automatically damn us? Is it the whole “standing on God for thee” thing that we do? Or does Jesus just hate maple syrup?

Just prior to WorldCon, Weird Tales held a flash fiction contest to write a story based on the fake news headline spam that seems to be the latest trend in spamming. During the run of the contest, my inbox remained stubbornly empty of any remotely inspiring spam. But just this week, now that it’s far too late, I learned that Switzerland is About to Be Swallowed by a Black Hole, Britney Spears Blows Her Nose on Designer Dresses, and Barack Obama May Be a Secret Hippopotamus. Yes, that’s right, a hippopotamus. Oh spammers, where were you when I needed you?

One aspect of the Strange Horizons Fund Drive that I had completely forgotten about was that everyone who donated was entered in a random drawing for leet prizes. So I was very pleasantly surprised to learn today that I had won a prize, and not just any prize, but a preview brochure for Anansi Boys signed by Neil Gaiman! Now, I’m not totally up on the hep, modern internet language that kids are using these days, but I believe the appropriate response is *SQUEE!*

And as if that wasn’t enough, Paradox #12 and ‘Strange Fruit’ received another positive review today from Suite 101.

We went to the Philadelphia Folk Festival this past weekend, which is a great event for people watching, not to mention a place to hear some pretty good music too. Great Big Sea headlined the Sunday night concert (a Canadian band, for the uninitiated among you) and though I knew this going in, I was reminded once again just how good they are live. They are ridiculously multi-talented, each playing multiple instruments, singing and writing songs, plus they seem like the kind of guys who would legitimately enjoy hanging out with their fans at a bar after the show, or possibly attending a post-concert kitchen party. Their music is a wonderful mix of modern stuff, traditional Canadian-Maritime music (mostly drinking songs and working songs as they put it) and sea shanties, with a couple of wake songs and funeral dirges thrown in for good measure. If you’re not familiar with them, it just so happens that they have a new album out. I would highly recommend checking them out, and if you ever get the chance to see them live, take it!

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Elizabeth Bear’s Tideline, this year’s Hugo winner in the short story category, is available for free online at her website. Go read it! She’s also got a lot of other great free fiction up there, including novel excerpts. Speaking of novel excerpts, if you haven’t read her Promethean Age novels you really should. I recently picked up Ink and Steel but I haven’t read it yet, because I’m waiting to pick up Hell and Earth so I can devour them back to back. Tasty!

My short story, ‘The Children of Ramah’, will appear in the print version of Dark Recesses Press - issue #11. I’ll post more details as I learn them.

The Internet Review of Science Fiction has a review of Paradox #12 in their current issue. Lois Tilton was fairly neutral on Strange Fruit (it didn’t get a “recommended” tag, but she didn’t seem to actively dislike it either) and the issue overall was named as one of the three most notable for the review period. Go Paradox!

And speaking of recommended reading, go check out:

The Number of Angels in Hell by Joanne Steinwachs

and

The Behold of the Eye by Hal Duncan

While I’m on the subject of kickass bookstores in Philadelphia, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Robin’s Bookstore, Philadelphia’s oldest independant bookstore (on 13th between Chestnut and Samson). Let’s start with the outside - it’s literally covered in shiny. Next, check out Robin’s “mission statement” on the welcome page of the website - good stuff.

They sell new and used books and host great author events and readings. They have a great mythology section, a great African-American section, and a prominent shelf devoted entirely to Edward Gorey and Neil Gaiman. What more could you ask for? They don’t have a cat, but they are across the street from a gelato shop and a great Mexican restaurant.