Deborah J. Ross's Blog, page 121

New Collection: Transfusion and Other Tales of Hope

I have a new collection of short fantasy fiction, just out from Book View Cafe. And am quietly, quiveringly proud of it. I hope you'll enjoy it, too. You can download a free sample from the BVC site.


Here's the skinny:

The vampire has known only evil since he was made, until an unlikely friendship reconnects him with life… Two women mourning two dead mothers tread the boundaries between grief and obsession… A ghoulish spirit haunts a refugee in Renaissance Venice… A healer discovers a dying man with the heart of a dragon on her doorstep… Two boys travel back in time to discover the true nature of Tyrannosaurus rex… A mother vampire, struggling to raise two vampire children in Hollywood, encounters her biggest challenge yet: the PTA.

From the ancient Indus Valley to post-apocalyptic California come fourteen tales of love, redemption, and hope…and occasional humor.

Marella Sands on "Stonefell Gift" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed.

Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.
Here is Marella Sands on her story, "Stonefell Gift."

What was your introduction to Darkover?

I believe it was the novel Hawkmistress.  I was fascinated with the world and with the magic and started reading all the Darkover novels I could find.  While I liked them, the later time periods didn’t quite capture my imagination as much as the earlier Hundred Kingdoms era. But what I really wanted to read about was even earlier, during the Ages of Chaos. What were the breeding programs? What disasters led them to be abandoned? What were clingfire and bonedust? Who founded the Towers? Stormqueen! assuaged my curiosity a bit, but I wanted more. So when the invitation came to write a story for Gifts of Darkover, I knew instantly what time period I wanted to write about, and what the subject would be.

“Stonefell Gift” takes place as the Comyn are starting to exert control and eliminate the breeding programs. Three of them come to Stonefell and discover how tragic the consequences of lethal genes can be.

If I have the opportunity to write again in the world of Darkover, I am sure I will revisit the Ages of Chaos. There must be untold numbers of stories of that time that would lay bare the reasons the Compact was deemed necessary for the survival of everyone on Darkover.

What have you written recently?

I have tried my hand at different things, such as a fiction novel called Snows of Kansas. It’s about a young man who returns home to take care of his dying mother after many years away, only to discover that the truths he always believed about his small town upbringing aren’t very true after all.

And I am shopping around a horror story called Night Shift, With Music, which is set in one of the Munich Leichenhauser (waiting mortuaries), where the citizens of the city left their dead for several days before burying them. They did this because people feared being buried alive and wanted to ensure no one would suffer that fate. Living people could tour a Leichenhaus for a small fee; Mark Twain was one of the more famous people to do so. My story tells of an attendant who falls in love with a visitor to the Leichenhaus, and the consequences to both of them when the object of his love catches the plague.
What else are you doing with your writing?

I am part of a local writers group called the Alternate Historians. Our group was founded in 1988; I joined in 1991. Overall, though we’ve each achieved at least some success through traditional publishers, we’ve decided to see what we can do to take advantage of the changes in the industry. To that end, we’ve formed our own book imprint, Word Posse. We published three books in 2014 and are planning to release six more in 2015. We are still pursuing more traditional publishing venues, but these days, it seems important to develop our careers in as many directions as we can.  Our website can be found at www.wordposse.com.

My book Pandora’s Mirror was one of the 2014 Word Posse releases. It’s a paranormal fantasy set in modern day St. Louis, and follows a professor of parapsychology who discovers a woman who is more haunted than the house she lives in.

In May 2015, my fantasy novel Fortune’s Daughter was published by Word Posse. In it, a woman who is sold to the king to pay her father’s debts discovers that the world is changing and she is prophesied to play a large part in the upheaval, whether she wants to or not.

In November 2015, Word Posse will be publishing a collection of my dark fantasy and horror stories, tentatively (very tentatively) titled Crowning Darkness.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

One of my favorite things to do is to travel. I’ve been to many wonderful places, like the glow worm caves in New Zealand, the Rock of Gibraltar, the pyramids of Giza, Volcanoes National Park, Maes Howe, Newgrange, the sites of the First and Second Defenstrations of Prague, Qumran, Chichen Itza, Hadrian’s Wall, Meteor Crater, Hell (the version on Grand Cayman), and so much more. London is my favorite place in the entire world.


After being raised in St. Louis by a family of African pygmy hedgehogs, Marella Sands went off to school to study anthropology and earned two degrees in the subject, even though neither institution she attended makes accommodations for insectivore-Americans. She sold two books to Tor that were set in 4th century Mesoamerica, and most recently has published a paranormal fantasy/romance, Pandora's Mirror, from Word Posse. When she is not writing or doing volunteer work such as sitting on the Board of Directors of a cemetery, Marella teaches at Webster University, where her classes have discussed issues such as cannibalism, the origins of vampires, and the bloodthirsty creatures like the Kinderfresser who have, over time, morphed into today's jolly Santa Claus. Marella has encouraged her classes to eat her—assuming she is already dead—should she and the students ever find themselves in dire straits.

[links] The vampire squid and other cool things

Yes, there really is such a thing as a vampire squid, and it's even cooler than the name suggests.

A ‘living fossil,’ the vampire squid inhabits the deep waters of all the world’s ocean basins at depths from 500 to 3,000 m. The species is a soft-bodied, passive creature, about the size, shape, and color of a football. It has a dark red body, huge blue eyes, and a cloak-like web that stretches between its eight arms. When threatened, the squid turns inside out, exposing rows of wicked-looking ‘cirri.’
Bats are pollinators, too. And a lot more cuddly than bees.

The birds and the bees may rule the daytime, but as soon as the sun sets, it is the bats that get to work pollinating. Worldwide, over 500 species of flowers in at least 67 plant families rely on bats as their major or exclusive pollinators.

For Doctor Who fans: an amazing woman pianist plays theme music from the series, filmed wearing costumes from all twelve Doctors. Just a delight (unless, of course, you're immune to The Doctor's charms).









Last but not least...DINOSAUR FEATHERS!

Today a group of paleontologists announced the results of an extensive study of several well-preserved dinosaur feathers encased in amber. Their work, which included samples from many stages in the evolution of feathers, bolstered the findings of other scientists who've suggested that dinosaurs (winged and otherwise) had multicolored and transparent feathers of the sort you might see on birds today. The researchers also presented evidence, based on the feathers' pigmentation and structures, that today's bird feathers could have evolved from dinosaur feathers.

Thunderlord snippet - A Ball At Scathfell

Please remember that this is a work in progress and drafts have a habit of changing drastically from inception to finished book.

From Thunderlord Chapter 14

“Damisela Alayna?” Lord Scathfell rose to his feet and faced her, one hand extended. “Will you accord me the privilege of the first dance?”
Even if she had not been delighted with the opportunity to dance, she could not have refused. Such an honor – to be selected by the lord of the castle himself for the first dance! Ellimira would have been beside herself. And with such an introduction, it would not be improper for any of his guests to follow suit, would it?
Alayna placed her hand in his and followed him to the center of the dancing area. His fingers closed around hers, exerting pressure to conduct her to where she was to stand. She had heard of how a skillful male dancer could guide even the most inexperienced lady through complicated patterns, but never before had she had the sensation of moving effortlessly in time with the music. She’d attended dances enough at home, crude, rollick affairs compared to a ball like this. They could all dance, of course, simple reels for the young folk and promenadasfor the elders. These movements were like the finest spidersilk to their homespun.
Oh no, now the musicians were playing the final cadence. The lines of dancers paused, men and women facing each other. Lord Scathfell bowed, but not so low that she could not see his smile or the brightness in his eyes, surely mirroring her own. She recovered enough to execute a curtsy that would have done Ellimira proud, and masked her disappointment as he escorted her back to her seat.
She did not remain there for long before one of the courtiers approached her for the next dance. He was as old and as richly dressed as Dom Ruyven, but nowhere near as stout. The dance was one she knew, or near enough that no one noticed if she stepped wrong, for most of it was executed in nearly the same place, and her skirts hid her feet quite nicely. Even if her partner were inclined to conversation, the liveliness of the dance made more than a few words here and there impossible. She herself was not disappointed at having to think of charming things to say. All the topic of conversation that would have been suitable at home seemed intolerably countrified here. She thought wistfully that if Francisco were here, she would have no difficulty – or reluctance – to talk with him.
Alayna had scarcely two moments’ rest when Dom Ruyven came to claim her for the next dance. At this rate, she would be engaged for every dance, and it would be a close thing which would give out the sooner, her feet or the musicians. This one was slower, the dancers interweaving and occasionally exchanging partners but always coming back to the ones they began with. Then another pair of dancers, or two pairs, would execute the next figure, and she had a few moments to regain her bearings.
“Are you enjoying the evening?” Dom Ruyven asked. Although a bit red-faced, he proved to be light on his feet, and Alayna found it was no trouble at all to dance with him.

“I am, thank you for asking.” At the same time, he reminded her of the ordeal of the trail and she could help but wonder if it were seemly to be engaging in such revels – planned for her sister’s arrival – when Kyria still languished in the hands of those horrible men.

[poetry] Jim C. Hines rhapsodizes the Hugo Awards

From Jim C. Hines's excellent LJ comes this reflection on this year's Hugo Awards kerfuffle. Enjoy!

Three Hugos for Mil-SF and their space marines;
Seven for the grimdark-lords in their halls of blood;
Nine for mortal fans doomed to blog;
One for Neil Gaiman on his dark throne
In the Land of Worldcon where the Shadows lie.

Dinosaur Feathers Discovered in Canadian Amber

Dinosaur Feathers Discovered in Canadian Amber



Today a group of paleontologists announced the results of an extensive study of several well-preserved dinosaur feathers encased in amber. Their work, which included samples from many stages in the evolution of feathers, bolstered the findings of other scientists who've suggested that dinosaurs (winged and otherwise) had multicolored and transparent feathers of the sort you might see on birds today. The researchers also presented evidence, based on the feathers' pigmentation and structures, that today's bird feathers could have evolved from dinosaur feathers.

A Ring of Stars

The astronomical discoveries since the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope (and similar instruments) never cease to amaze me. I have a pretty good imagination, but I never expected a breathtakingly gorgeous ring-shaped galaxy.

 When galaxies collide, they pass through each other -- their individual stars rarely come into contact. The ring-like shape is the result of the gravitational disruption caused by an entire small intruder galaxy passing through a large one. When this happens, interstellar gas and dust become condensed, causing a wave of star formation to move out from the impact point like a ripple across the surface of a pond. 

Image Credit: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA / STScI), J. Higdon (Cornell) ESA, NASA 

Diana L. Paxson on "Blood-kin" in GIFTS OF DARKOVER

On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, nonhumans and ancient mysteries, a technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction. Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed. 

Gifts of Darkover will be released May 5, 2015, and is now available for pre-order.
Diana L. Paxson talks with editor Deborah J. Ross about her story, "Blood-kin."
Tell us about your introduction to Darkover. What about the world drew
you in? What do you see as the future of Darkover? Is there another
story you would particularly like to write?
I first heard about the Darkover books when I discovered fandom as a grad student at Berkeley in 1965. That was also when I first met Marion. I invited her to the first tournament of what became the SCA [Society for Creative Anachronism],  but I didn't get to know her or the books well until I married Jon DeCles. As a major in Medieval literature, I really appreciated Darkover's society and I was intrigued by the way she dealt with psychic powers. As Darkover fandom developed in the 70s, and I talked to more fans,  I realized that Marion was using the fantastic setting to explore some important issues, starting with psychic abilities and continuing to explore gay issues and eventually, feminism.
For the future, I think the challenge will be to continue to break new ground while retaining the qualities that attracted us in the first place.
What inspired your story in Gifts of Darkover? In "Evanda's Mirror" (in Stars of Darkover) I asked what might happen if a transwoman an tried to join the Free Amazons. It seemed like the kind of issue Marion might have tackled if she were writing today. In "Blood-kin" the characters from the first story face the consequences of their actions, as Thendara suffers an Ebola-like plague.


What have you written recently? What lies ahead? My non-fiction book on possessory trance is coming out in March, and I will have a novelette, "Deor" in S.M. Stirling's Change anthology this June. Some other short stories are in the pipeline, and I am working on a proposal for a historical fantasy about the Seeress Veleda.

A Note of Warning

Google Alerts has informed me of a spate of pirate sites containing my work. Obviously, as an author I would much prefer my readers to obtain my books through legitimate sources. I like to be paid, like everyone else. But these sites pose hazards for the unsuspecting visitor. They can be laden with viruses and malware. Some require a credit card number in order to register, which means they are actually not pirated book sites but credit card number harvesters.

I do my best to price my self-published work in a way that is fair but affordable. (Alas, I have no control over what my publishers charge.) I participate in Book View Cafe sales that occur a couple of times a year. I want to make my stories available to everyone who wants to read them. Many are available at your library, either in paper editions or through one of the library ebook vendors that Book View Cafe contracts with. I donate autographed copies, usually of hardback editions, for various fundraisers. For the last two winters, I have offered free copies as holiday gifts. And finally, I do my best to arrange for review copies to be made available.

We are part of a community of readers and writers. Let's support one another and leave the pirates to sink under the weight of their own unscrupulous tactics!



The painting is by Howard Pyle, public domain.

Thunderlord snippet -Beauty

Please remember that this is a work in progress and drafts have a habit of changing drastically from inception to finished book.

From Thunderlord Chapter 13

 “Damisela.” Dom Ruyven took her by the arm with such firmness that she had no choice but to come away with him. “We must proceed with all haste to Castle Scathfell, there to await the bandits’ ransom demand.”
Alayna suppressed an involuntary shudder at his unctuous manner. At first, she’d attributed it to unfamiliarity with unmarried young women, and beautiful ones at that. Kyria might not be conventionally pretty, but had a striking vitality that transformed her regular features into a luminous beauty, or so Alayna thought, although Kyria might well accuse her of seeing through the heart instead of the eyes. As for Alayna herself, everyone said she was the beauty of the family. She had long known this to be true, from her first memories of being petted and indulged as a young child, the darling of the household. As she grew into womanhood, she saw the effect she had on men, the way even the strongest blushed and stammered.

But not so with DomRuyven. He had treated her with distant politeness, when he had bothered to address himself to her at all, thinking first of his own comfort and safety, then of Kyria’s. The bandit attack had changed that. All of a sudden, this lord – who had never spared more than a passing glance at her, and never a word as to how she fared – treated her in the most solicitous manner. What did he want?