Cait Gordon's Blog, page 6
September 14, 2023
Fun Fact #10 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There is one more sleep until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER TEN:
Cait Gordon
There will be a season two! I’ve already drafted a maybe-sorta episode list for it. Right now, I want to enjoy the release of this season and maybe have a little nap. But I will make sure to accidentally pitch it and let you know when it’s coming up on the horizon! I even have the title for it:
Season Two: Iris and the Crew Verb the Noun!
As if I would tell you what the title is. Because that would be spoilery!
I hope you enjoy Season One and spread the world. Thanks for supporting the work of this
disabled and autistic creative!
I even have some episode writing prompts for Season Two! But after two solid years of book production, I want to slow everything down and just enjoy getting out in the world to be on panels, sign books, and converse with lovely author and reader humans!
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
September 13, 2023
Fun Fact #9 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There are two more sleeps until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER NINE:
Cait Gordon
What’s a disability-hopepunk space opera without ableist adversaries? The Piranha Pirate Brigade are the baddies who despise “weakness.” The top pirates even kicked out their own sibling. (Was that ever a mistake. You’ll find out all about that in “Episode 6: That’s Admiral-able of You.”)
I sometimes feel surrounded by ableism in our society, hence the “being attacked by a school,” like a piranha school. These pirates are bullies who need to be taught a lesson or two.
Especially about what happens when people live in an accepting community that cares about their accommodation needs.
Outwitting ableists is kinda *chef’s kiss* for me, to be honest. It’s not that difficult when people are constantly underestimating us…
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
September 12, 2023
Fun Fact #8 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There are three more sleeps until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER EIGHT:
Cait Gordon
Only one of the episodes is written from a first-person perspective and that’s “Episode 10:
Clarence has a POV.” Clarence is Iris’s guidebot, who seems pushy and overprotective in other episodes, but we find out why xey behave way.
It was really fun for me to show how artificial sentients and artificial intelligence have their own social culture on the ship. Accessibility devices and aids communicate with each other. Sometimes chairs race each other to unwind.
And it was important for me to have Clarence and Iris talk about their relationship because they have a history and are a team!
Sometimes I feel like a Clarence, trying to understand the world around me and questioning my usefulness. It was great to try to discover things from xeir point of view!
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
September 11, 2023
Fun Fact #7 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There are four more sleeps until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER SEVEN:
Cait Gordon
Herb might not understand how to flirt, but I have no idea how to book-flirt. Let me explain.
It seems I have a habit of accidentally pitching books to Nathan from Presses Renaissance Press. It happened with Life in the ‘Cosm, Nothing Without Us, and then Iris and the Crew.
I literally thought he was just being nice when he kept saying he can’t wait to publish it. I’d not even finish drafting it yet.
So, the book was accepted months before I understood it was accepted. I even sent a submission letter and everything! Ooops.
We still laugh about this today. I super really had no clue!
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
September 10, 2023
Fun Fact #6 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There are five more sleeps until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER SIX:
Cait Gordon
Sensitivity editors are worth their weight in gold.
I was super lucky to have Robert Kingett, Eman Rimawi-Doster, and Christopher Jon Heuer work on this project with me. Their feedback was not only helpful but taught me things, too! It’s so great to learn from the perspectives of folks whose lived experience isn’t the same as mine. There is so much diversity among disabled, Deaf, and Blind folks too. All of our bodyminds are amazing.
While the characters in Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! don’t reflect every single experience, I wanted to show what a supportive, accepting community is like!
I was so encouraged by the feedback of my beta readers and sensitivity editors. And it feels good to know that people want to live in Iris’s world and that they relate to the characters.
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
September 9, 2023
Fun Fact #5 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There are six more sleeps until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER FIVE:
Cait Gordon
The ship in Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! is called the S.S. SpoonZ. It’s inspired by how I am a Spoonie. (Check out Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino to learn more about the concept of managing spoons.)
I wanted the ship to look like a giant spoon, so I literally taped a massive serving spoon and two side spoons together, to understand its basic shape. Then I sketched and coloured the illustration.
Btw, it was Nathan who wanted a ship on the cover, which was a good idea. So, my spoon-looking science vessel came to be!
I really did tape spoons together. That was a moment.
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
September 8, 2023
Fun Fact #4 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There are seven more sleeps until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER FOUR:
Cait Gordon
I used to doodle and sketch a ton, ever since I was a wee thing. I was always drawing.
But my disability makes it difficult for my fingers to fing, and I had a notion that I wanted illustrations for every episode of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
So, I bought a tablet with a pencil and did my best. I assumed Nathan from Renaissance would redraw them, but he was so encouraging!
The figures and ship on the cover and all the episode sketches were drawn by me!
For me, the Apple Pencil is like accessible tech because I don’t have to press as hard to draw. It’s been fun to create illustrations again. I even did the cover of Captain Maven and the Shadow Man, by Jamieson Wolf! And I have a draft cover for Hot Wings and Sauciness (my upcoming awkward space opera romance nobody asked for.)
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
September 7, 2023
Fun Fact #3 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There are eight more sleeps until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER THREE:
Cait Gordon
Although I am an advocate in literary spaces whose goal is to promote the works of disabled creatives, I didn’t write Iris and the Crew as an act of advocacy. I wrote it because I needed to soothe my overwhelmed soul during the pandemic.
So, I decided I wanted it to be like a streaming series but in book form. I created 12 writing
prompts under “episode” names, and had no idea what they would become. I had only one episode completely written–the first one.
Then I dove in, using Camp NaNoWriMo as a way to push myself to write. It worked!
I really do like the NaNoWriMos. They have helped me complete works a few times!
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
September 6, 2023
Fun Fact #2 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There are nine more sleeps until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER TWO:
Cait Gordon
When I decided to turn a short story into a novel, I was stuck. Then the pandemic came, and I
couldn’t write. But the constant eugenics-based messaging pushed me to want to escape in 2021,
so I dove into writing.
I needed to live in a world where accessibility and accommodations were so much the norm, the
characters wouldn’t even know what a disabled person was. They just are part of the adventures
and live their best lives on a massively accessible ship within a bodymind-celebrating galactic
network.
Writing this book saved my mental health.
It’s true, I had gone from writing barely anything in 2020 to blazing away on my keyboard in 2021. Thank goodness for writing. It has been a life-saver for me.
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
September 5, 2023
Fun Fact #1 about Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space!
There are ten more sleeps until the official release date of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! This is the first book in my new disability hopepunk space opera series! Learn more about it on the book description page!
As I count down, I thought it would be fun to share one fact a day about the book and my journey writing it!
FUN FACT NUMBER ONE:
Cait Gordon
Years ago, I wrote a short story called “Wendell and the Crew of the S.S. SpoonZ.” I submitted it without having it thoroughly sensitivity edited and received an immediate
rejection. (Dear Past Me, what the heck?!)
After a year or so, I read it to someone who saw its promise and they said, “You know this
has to be a book, right?”
No, I didn’t! Thanks, Derek Newman-Stille!
So, I reworked that short story (researched and listened to folks’ lived experiences), and it became
the draft of “Episode One: The Intergalactic Janitor.”
The Yeah, Past Me always cared about sensitivity editors but got overly enthusiastic to submit, and thought the story was ready. NOPE! But that’s okay. Lesson learned, and I did way more research and hired great sensitivity editors for this book. I’m very proud of it and can’t wait to share it with the world!
The official release date is September 15, but you can pre-order the paperback today from many booksellers (and ask indie bookshops near you) and pre-order the paperback and ebook right from Renaissance, my publisher!
Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space (2023). Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).
