L.S. Johnson's Blog, page 12

I see you, Mark Strand: On “Space”

In this year of writing questions I’ve been looking back, the better to (hopefully) move forward. I’ve reread early loves with new eyes; I’ve cracked open shoeboxes of old scribblings that a past me thought worth keeping; I’ve hopscotched through a dozen texts from old workshops. There were more such books lurking on my shelves than I realized – not just instructional books and famous authors’ noodlings on craft, but several anthologies from some continuing ed workshops I took in the late ‘90...

happy birthday books

we went away for the weekend, I turned another year older, and when I returned these were waiting:

paperback and hardcovers of Year’s Best Weird Fiction (reprinting “Julie”); Mantid (reprinting “Pursuit of the Whole”); Spin (with the Finnish translation of “Vacui Magia”)

so an unexpected, and wonderful, birthday present: having to make more room on the contributor copy shelf.

Year’s Best Weird Fiction is out in the world

When all your projects are long and sprawling and often getting away from you, these milestones become like resting-places during a marathon. It is out in the world and my “Julie” is in it. Ten years ago I quit writing. Six years ago this month I was trying to get up the courage to start writing again, to start finding myself again. And now this.

I don’t yet have my copy so I am rather like a child waiting for Santa Claus. You can acquire it through all the usual channels and even spring for...

Foz Meadows on Lionel Shriver

This is a thoughtful, well-written response to Shriver’s Brisbane speech. Says a lot of things far, far better than I ever could. This is the work of writing, full stop.

Identity & Narrative: A Response to LionelShriver

Reprints out in the world

Two reprints went live today: “Germinant” in the Autumn issue of Mirror Dance, edited by the fabulous Megan Arkenberg; and “The Pursuit of the Whole Is Called Love” in Mantid. I’m quite pleased to be in the latter; not only is Mantid dedicated to diverse voices, but this issue was focused on women and weird fiction. Very happy to have my work in such a project. Be sure to check them both out!

The Future Fire

Writing is a career of long, long plateaus where there is only the work, punctuated by the flurry of peaks and valleys that come when the work goes out into the world. And every now and then you get a peak …

I’m not saying this right.

When I started writing again, this time, Djibril al-Ayad was one of the first people I crossed paths with online, and The Future Fire was one of the first publications that made me hopeful that this genre scene (as opposed to the one I left circa 1990) was in fa...

returned

I’m back from WWC and still churning a few things over but it was a great experience – interesting panels (and I might have even said something useful on one or two!), a good reading for the Sirens launch, and some useful tips for everything from marketing to depicting gunshot wounds. Plus meeting lovely people and sampling Canadian beer. Which is pretty much all you can ask for from a con, and way more than I expected, especially with my particular cocktail of introversion and anxiety.

I als...

When Words Collide

This weekend is When Words Collide! I’m soooo looking forward to it. New city, new con, lots of writer-talk and a chance to relax. Everything I need at the moment.

If you’re there, come say hello! Here’s my schedule:

Friday, August 12
2:00 – Blending Genres
4:00 – Alternating History with Story Take 1

Saturday, August 13
10:00 – I’ll be working the shared author table in the Dealer’s room, where there will be many wonderful books, including signed copies of Vacui Magia!
1:00 – Structure in St...

email trouble

For some reason, my host service has had a ridiculous amount of trouble with an email server—which of course happens to be my server. I’ve had spotty emails for three days now. If you need to get in touch with me, you can leave a comment on this post, or message me on Facebook or Twitter. They’re promising everything sorted by end of day today, but I’m not holding my breath.

moretas

Il rinoceronte, Pietro Longhi (detail)

Rewriting Venice today, at what should be (roughly) the halfway point of the novel, the scene where I indulge in my uneasy fascination with the moreta. It’s the black mask above, which hides the woman’s face completely, and keeps her from speaking—it’s held in place by a bit or a button clasped between the teeth, so speakingmeans revealing your identity. There’s been hints in the research about the kinds of situations such a thing creates, especially du...