Sad things have to happen, sometimes. So says Emiliana Torrini, whose song Dead Things is the suggested musical accompaniment to my story Under the Leaves in the current issue of Sybil’s Garage.
I’m in pretty damned good company, too. You can check out the full table of contents, and even purchase a copy of your very own here.
Readercon starts tomorrow. I will not be there, at least not in person, but my words will be going on my behalf. The latest issue of Sybil’s Garage, which contains my short story, “Under the Leaves” will be making it’s unofficial debut at Readercon. If you do happen to be going, you should pick up one of the limited number of copies that will be available. Editor Matt Kressel has been working incredibly hard to get issue #7 ready in time, and though I won’t tell you the TOC (it hasn’t officially been announced yet), I can tell you that it is awesome. The issue will have it’s official debut on July 21st as part of the KBG Fantastic Fiction Reading Series. I’m also not going to be there, though I really wish I was. To make up for all the places I’m not going to be, I will be at Victory Brewery this weekend with an awesome bunch of writer-type folks, sucking back Golden Monkeys, so that makes it okay.
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I have it on good authority that Sybil’s Garage is where she keeps all her personalities. It’s also where she keeps her fiction, including my short story, Under the Leaves, which I just learned will appear in Sybil’s Garage #7! It should be out sometime later this year. I’ll post more details when I know them.
…and get your very own genuine, bonafide, electrified velocipede! Electric Velocipede #19 is now available for sale. Thanks to Jeff for pointing this out to me!
If you still need convincing (say, for some reason, my string of random adjectives did not seal the deal), you can read reviews of the issue here and here.
The vow of secrecy surrounding Nemonymous Nine: Cern Zoo has officially been lifted. The full TOC will be revealed in March, but in the meantime you can check out the authors who have revealed their stories here on the official Cern Zoo page. And in the spirit of telling all, let it henceforth be known that my contribution to the anthology was Mellie’s Zoo. There. Don’t say I never tell you anything.
Speaking of Cern Zoo, congratulations to Steve Duffy, whose story from the anthology The Lion’s Den, was selected for The Year’s Best Horror #2.
So far, 2010 is starting out right. I just learned that my short story The Poet’s Child will be included in the fifth Jabberwocky anthology, due out from Prime Books in July 2010. Suh-weet!
And, yes, I realize that the mome raths actually outgrabe, but they probably also practice feng shui, too. You can’t prove that they don’t!
Rich Horton posted his year-end summary of Electric Velocipede yesterday, and he picked A Mouse Ran Up the Clock as one of his favorites of 2009. Woohoo!
In my totally unscientific observation of things, years that end in an odd number tend to be worse for me in terms of publishing than years ending in an even number. 2009 was no exception. My submission stats for this year:
47 stories submitted
42 stories rejected
5 stories pending
1 story accepted (submitted in 2008)
I was pickier about which markets I submitted to this year, I spent more time editing and re-writing than in previous years, and overall my output was lower. (For comparison purposes, last year I had 72 submissions and 6 acceptances). I’m hoping that the odd-even pattern will hold true for 2010, making it a successful publishing year.
If you’re a member of the SFWA, John Klima, with the help of Mary Robinette Kowal, is making issues 17/18 and 19 of Electric Velocipede available for your reading (and Nebula Award consideration) pleasure. Details are available on John’s blog. Even if you’re not a member, and you just want a taste of what’s offered in the current issue (#19) or any of the past issues, you can read excepts of each story on the Electric Velocipede website. Regardless of your membership in any organization, if you have a particular fondness for clockwork and alternate history, may I humbly suggest checking out my own offering in Electric Velocipede 19, A Mouse Ran Up the Clock? But remember, only the first taste is free…
Since I haven’t updated in a while, here are some things and stuff, in no particular order.
This is over a month old at this point, but I absolutely loved this installment of Tor.com’s Saturday Morning Cartoons: “The Cat Piano” and “The Lighthouse Keeper”. One is beautifully noirish and dark, the other is light and whimsical, both are worth watching.
For those who are Active or Associate Members of the SFWA, and who are in to voting for things, the nomination period for this year’s Nebula Awards are officially open.
My short story, Fortune, which appeared in Fictitious Force #6 received an honorable mention (for lack of a better word) from Rich Horton in his year end summary of the magazine.