Kelly McCullough's Blog, page 53

Two bits of writing news

1. My short story "What Happened at Blessing Creek" is in this month's issue of InterGalactic Medicine Show. You may need a subscription to get in and read it. I also wrote a "story behind the story" essay for the IGMS blog, which is not yet up. I'll mention it again when it goes live (or maybe I won't, and eventually Lyda will mention it for me...)



"Blessing Creek" is the story I wrote in response to the discussions surrounding mammothfail. It came out of me pondering what an honest story about the frontier from the white perspective might look like. The blog post talks about this in a lot more detail.



2. My short story "Isabella's Garden" is in this month's issue of Realms of Fantasy and I got my copies today. I really love the illustration they gave me. Isabella is based on my older daughter Molly at age two, but the mother is not at all based on me.

Friday Cat Blogging

What makes you think we're interested in your dinner?







Bette Davis Eyes, I've got 'em.







Not plotting. Nope not at all…

How do you spell defenestrate?

Oh, no reason.







Don't make Mr Goat and me kick your ass.







Fly my pretties, fly!

Happy Birthday, Kelly!!

Since Kelly is obviously too busy celebrating his birthday to post Friday Cats, I bring you this LOL cat in his honor!

More Mars!

Discovery News reports that Mars rover "Opportunity" has arrived at Endeavor Crater!

You Say That Like it's a Bad Thing...

The headline says it all: "BBC Talk Radio Show BORES Predatory Foxes into Submission.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

... still shoots a gorgel-blaster!



A while back I posted links to SF Signal's two-part article about the "death of science fiction." Today, I point you to Philip Palmer's thoughtful response "Fantastic Fiction: Science Fiction Rebranded."

Mars!!!

What is causing these dark streaks on Mars? A leading hypothesis is flowing -- but quickly evaporating -- water. The streaks, visible in dark brown near the image center, appear in the Martian spring and summer but fade in the winter months, only to reappear again the next summer. These are not the first markings on Mars that have been interpreted as showing the effects of running water, but they are the first to add the clue of a seasonal dependence. The above picture, taken in May, digitally combines several images from the the HiRISE instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The image is color-enhanced and depicts a slope inside Newton crater in a mid-southern region of Mars. The streaks bolster evidence that water exists just below the Martian surface in several locations, and therefore fuels speculation that Mars might harbor some sort of water-dependent life. Future observations with robotic spacecraft orbiting Mars, such as MRO, Mars Express, and Mars Odyssey will continue to monitor the situation and possibly confirm -- or refute -- the exciting flowing water hypothesis.

Friday Cat Blogging

Kitties!



I feel fiiiine. Pour me another drink.



I am a wild jungle cat. Deal.



We're listing to starboard, Cap'n.



I am the saddest cat in the whole world.



Noble cat is noble.



Yes, you may adore me.



Yodelayheehoo!

Super Science

Discover Magazine reviews Captain America in terms of its science. Or, perhaps more accurately, in terms of how it treats science. I had not considered before that it's true the most of the time superheroes get their powers through their own hubris or that of of "mad" scientists (Bruce Banner/Hulk and Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic)), or because of accidents (ala Peter Parker/Spider-Man).

Being on Panels

I've decided to take a break from reading political news, because I find it depressing. But I still want to begin my day by reading on the Internet. So I've read a mixture of stuff, including Michelle Sagara's post on how panels are not about you, the individual, maybe-not-so-famous author.

I did a little cringing, because I was on a panel at Convergence on the short fiction of Eleanor Arnason, and I took the panel over. I don't know what came over me: a brief fit of madness, maybe. Anyway, I talked about current writing and future plans for writing and actually described plots. I don't usually do this, and I wish I had kept quiet and let the other panelists talk about me.

In any case, Michelle Sagara is right: telling the plots of your fiction is a no-no, though I have always done it. But not usually on panels.

But I'm still inclined to think the panels I'm on are about me and my ideas. I don't do panels unless I have something to say about the topic, and then I really want to say it. If I am lucky, the other panelists will be equally interested in the topic and eager to talk.

I should add that I spent years learning how to talk intelligently in front of an audience, and I usually do not walk into panels cold. I have thought about the topic and sometimes have notes.