Tansy Rayner Roberts's Blog, page 27

Smuggling Superheroes

Hey, let’s talk about the Book Smugglers Almanac!

This is a new quarterly journal from the Book Smugglers, featuring fiction, essays and reviews. I’m really excited that they are reprinting my “Cookie Cutter Superhero” story from Kaleidoscope, but it’s actually wall to wall cool content. The theme for this issue is superheroes, given that it is Year of the Superhero over at Book Smugglers, and I’m reading through it voraciously. Essays on superheroes by Genevieve Valentine, Jay Edidin and Sunil Patel? YES PLEASE

(also I have just read “How To Piss Off A Failed Super-Soldier by John Chu and it is AMAZING, everyone should read this story right away!!! it’s so heartbreaking and angsty and funny and it has wall climbing and attractive men in tuxedos)

Check out the Table of Contents:

THE BOOK SMUGGLERS’ QUARTERLY ALMANAC: VOLUME I – THE TOC

Introduction – The Book Smugglers • Essay

Cookie Cutter Superhero – Tansy Rayner Roberts • Story

Ninefox Gambit – Thea James • Review

How to Piss Off A Failed Super-Soldier – John Chu • Story

The Invisible Woman – Genevieve Valentine • Essay

Medium – Charles Payseur • Story

Where To Start With The X-Men – Jay Edidin • Essay

Crimson Cadet – Susan Jane Bigelow • Story

Captain America vs. Iron Man vs. Batman vs. Superman – Sunil Patel • Essay

The Geek Feminist Revolution – Ana Grilo • Review

On the Smugglers’ Radar – The Book Smugglers • List

The Vishakanya’s Choice – Roshani Chokshi • Story

Learn to Love Your Mary Sue – Carlie St. George • Essay

“Cookie Cutter Superhero” established the universe in which I set my new story “Kid Dark Against the Machine,” also recently published at Book Smugglers. If you like one of these stories, you’ll probably like the other one as they are both full of crunchy thoughts about gender, superheroes and comics tropes, plus banter and teen(ish) angst.

I’ve had some great reviews of Kid Dark already: Quick Sip Reviews, A Fantastical Librarian, and I’m completely blown away by how many people have said lovely things about it on GoodReads.

Sheep Might Fly: Julia Agrippina Part 5

New Sheep Might Fly episode update! Listen now on iTunes (or your own favourite podcast app). You can stream, download & follow Sheep Might Fly on Podbean.

Our current serial is “Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary” from my Twelve Planets collection Love and Romanpunk, a story suite about a universe where the Ancient Romans fought (and occasionally married) outlandish magical creatures, some of which survived to the present day and beyond. You can get a copy of the whole book over at the Twelfth Planet Press website.

“Agrippina” is a story about sex, death, domestic violence, emotional abuse, the erasure of women in history, and manticores. It features some surprising facts about Roman Emperors, only some of which are made up.

PART FIVE: Sphynx, Triton, Vampire

Need to catch up on the previous episode?

PART ONE: Basilisk, Centaur, Dragon, Eagle

PART TWO: Griffin, Harpy

PART THREE: Lamia, Manticore

PART FOUR: Naiad, Peacock

Sheep Might Fly now has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.

Galactic Suburbia Episode 145 Show Notes

New episode available to stream or download!

In which we all had a very exciting weekend

Launched & pre-launched at Continuum: Defying Doomsday and Something New Can Come Into This World

(Tansy & the Silent Producer totally got married!)

British Fantasy Award shortlist

CULTURE CONSUMED:

Alisa: The Martian, Trepalium

Tansy: The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley, Cleverman, UnReal, Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson

Alex: Angela Slatter binge: Vigil, Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, Sourdough and Other Stories, Black-Winged Angels. Revolution School (ep 1 until July 6)

Alex’s new podcast! Acts of Kitchen

Tansy’s new superhero story at The Book Smugglers: Kid Dark Against the Machine

On superheroes, kids, gender and role models: Tansy’s Inspiration & Influences

Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

Sheep Might Fly: Julia Agrippina Part 4

New Sheep Might Fly episode update! Listen now on iTunes (or your own favourite podcast app). You can stream, download & follow Sheep Might Fly on Podbean.

Our current serial is “Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary” from my Twelve Planets collection Love and Romanpunk, a story suite about a universe where the Ancient Romans fought (and occasionally married) outlandish magical creatures, some of which survived to the present day and beyond. You can get a copy of the whole book over at the Twelfth Planet Press website.

“Agrippina” is a story about sex, death, domestic violence, emotional abuse, the erasure of women in history, and manticores. It features some surprising facts about Roman Emperors, only some of which are made up.

PART FOUR: Naiad, Peacock

Need to catch up on the previous episode?

PART ONE: Basilisk, Centaur, Dragon, Eagle

PART TWO: Griffin, Harpy

PART THREE: Lamia, Manticore

Sheep Might Fly now has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.

Sheep Might Fly: Julia Agrippina Part 3

New Sheep Might Fly episode update! Listen now on iTunes (or your own favourite podcast app). You can stream, download & follow Sheep Might Fly on Podbean.

Our current serial is “Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary” from my Twelve Planets collection Love and Romanpunk, a story suite about a universe where the Ancient Romans fought (and occasionally married) outlandish magical creatures, some of which survived to the present day and beyond. If you like your stories in dead tree or undead pixel format, you can get a copy of the whole book over at the Twelfth Planet Press website.

“Agrippina” is a story about sex, death, domestic violence, emotional abuse, the erasure of women in history, and manticores. It features some surprising facts about Roman Emperors, only some of which are made up.

PART THREE: Lamia, Manticore

Need to catch up on the previous episode?

PART ONE: Basilisk, Centaur, Dragon, Eagle

PART TWO: Griffin, Harpy

Sheep Might Fly now has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.

Sheep Might Fly: Julia Agrippina Part 2

New Sheep Might Fly episode update! Listen now on iTunes (or your own favourite podcast app). You can stream, download & follow Sheep Might Fly on Podbean.

Our current serial is “Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary” from my Twelve Planets collection Love and Romanpunk, a story suite about a universe where the Ancient Romans fought (and occasionally married) outlandish magical creatures, some of which survived to the present day and beyond. If you like your stories in dead tree or undead pixel format, you can get a copy of the whole book over at the Twelfth Planet Press website.

“Agrippina” is a story about sex, death, domestic violence, emotional abuse, the erasure of women in history, and manticores. It features some surprising facts about Roman Emperors, only some of which are made up.

PART TWO: Griffin, Harpy

Need to catch up on the previous episode?

PART ONE: Basilisk, Centaur, Dragon, Eagle

Sheep Might Fly now has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.

This Month on the Blog: May 2016

Not if You Were the Last Short Story on Earth: May 2016 DOOM EDITION

On the Sheep Might Fly podcast, I finished up my original serial “Glass Slipper Scandal” and started a new one, adapting the story “Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary” from Love and Romanpunk.

Glass Slipper Scandal Part 5

Glass Slipper Scandal Part 6

Glass Slipper Scandal Part 7

Glass Slipper Scandal Part 8

Julia Agrippina Part 1

Over at Tor.com, I’m blogging The Cheysuli Reread, revisiting a classic fantasy series from the 80’s by Jennifer Roberson. The posts so far:

Introducing the Cheysuli Reread

Book 1: Shapechangers

Book 2: The Song of Homana

Galactic Suburbia:

Episode 142 – In which the Hugo shortlist is more controversial as ever, but in the mean time we’ve been reading & watching some great things.

Episode 143 – In which we talk reviews and gender balance thanks to the Strange Horizons SF count, and Alisa makes books while Tansy & Alex visit the theatre!

Episode 144 – In which books take longer to make than they do to read

Sheep Might Fly: Julia Agrippina Part 1

New Sheep Might Fly episode update! Listen now on iTunes (or your own favourite podcast app). You can stream, download & follow Sheep Might Fly on Podbean.

Thanks for everyone who tuned in to “Glass Slipper Scandal” hang around for more Castle Charming stories later in the year.

Our new serial is “Julia Agrippina’s Secret Family Bestiary” from my Twelve Planets collection Love and Romanpunk, a story suite about a universe where the Ancient Romans fought (and occasionally married) outlandish magical creatures, some of which survived to the present day and beyond. If you like your stories in dead tree or undead pixel format, you can get a copy of the whole book over at the Twelfth Planet Press website.

“Agrippina” is a story about sex, death, domestic violence, emotional abuse, the erasure of women in history, and manticores. It features some surprising facts about Roman Emperors, only some of which are made up.

PART ONE: Basilisk, Centaur, Dragon, Eagle

Sheep Might Fly now has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.

Galactic Suburbia Episode 144 Show Notes

Brand new episode of the podcast up now for download or streaming!

In which books take longer to make than they do to read

What’s New on the Internet?

Nebula Awards given

CJ CHerryh

SF Signal closing – farewell to our friends and thanks for all the links!

Get in your nominations to us for the GS AWard: for activism and/ or communication that advances the feminist conversation in the field of speculative fiction in 2015.

CULTURE CONSUMED

Alex: The Expanse Season 1; The Medusa Chronicles, Stephen Baxter and Alastair Reynolds; The Philosopher Kings, Jo Walton

Alisa: books released & in progress: Defying Doomsday, Sharp Shooter, Grant Watson’s upcoming collection of film essays – see her Friday night at Continuum!

Tansy: Finished writing a book! My research reading list over the last several years includes: Orlando Furioso (Ludovico Ariosto/Slavitt translation), Thomas Bulfinch’s The Age of Chivalry & Charlemagne, E Nesbit’s entire backlist, Christina Rossetti, George McDonald, etc.

Also: Tansy’s serial Glass Slipper Scandal is now complete at the Sheep Might Fly podcast.

Skype number: 03 90164171 (within Australia) +613 90164171 (from overseas)

Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!

Sheep Might Fly: Glass Slipper Scandal Part 8

New Sheep Might Fly episode update! Listen now on iTunes (or your own favourite podcast app). You can stream, download & follow Sheep Might Fly on Podbean.

This is the last episode of “Glass Slipper Scandal,” though there will be future Castle Charming stories on the podcast, continuing the tabloid-worthy adventures of the royals, hounds and quills. I’ll be releasing an ebook version of this story some time in the next month or so, and all Patreon supporters will receive it for free.

Next week, brand new (retro) serial – I’ll be dipping into my own archives to bring the romanpunk.

GLASS SLIPPER SCANDAL

PART 8: WAR AVERTED – CRUMPETS IMPLICATED!

The young royals stage an impromptu summit to solve all their problems, but Dennis’ problems are just beginning.

Missed an episode? Catch up:

PART 1: CASTLE CHARMING AFLUTTER FOR AUTUMNAL FLING! (WHO WILL MARRY OUR PRINCES GONE WILD?)

PART 2: PART 2: SMASHING PRINCESSES PARADE IN PUMPKINS!

PART 3: DRUNK PRINCE IN GAZEBO SHOCK

PART 4: WHO IS THE MIDNIGHT PRINCESS? Your most popular guesses, inside!

PART 5: FAIRY GODMOTHER SPOTTED IN GROTTO

PART 6: MIDNIGHT PRINCESS EXPOSED! Rookie Reporter Gets More Than He Bargained For With Unofficial Royal Interview.

PART 7: FAIRY GODMOTHERS FIGHT DIRTY.

Sheep Might Fly now has its own Twitter account: @sheepmightfly

and its own Tumblr account: Sheep Might Fly

Follow along for updates, previews and other Sheep Might Fly specific chatter!

Master list of Sheep Might Fly serials.

Support Tansy & Sheep Might Fly at Patreon.