Katherine Villyard's Blog, page 12
February 28, 2023
Novel update
So, based on feedback, it’s basically not possible to withhold information from my first person main character narrator and tell the reader. I mean, I feel like it should be! but no matter how sledgehammery I think I’m being, people just don’t get it.
So, enter more POV characters. Ludwig is returning to explain it all to you–you know he loves it–and Abraham’s wife is also a POV character because this way she’s a character and not a MacGuffin and can help me pass the Bechdel test. 😉 She didn’t have enough to do in the previous draft, and this answers some questions someone had, so.
I’m actually super frustrated about the whole People Not Getting It thing, but I really like the new material! so I think it’ll be for the best. I mean, who doesn’t love more Ludwig? 😀
February 13, 2023
I’m in Publisher’s Weekly!
I hear I’m in Publisher’s Weekly today! 😀 I… haven’t seen it, though.
Coincidentally, the ebook of the title in question is 99 cents right now most places ebooks are sold. So if you’d like to read it, now is the time to buy it, while it’s cheap!
February 1, 2023
Hardware update
So, when talking about the Librem 5, I mentioned that I had a really old Librem 13 that I wasn’t using as much as I would like.
Since then, the laptop that I was running Qubes on seized up and died, so… I’m once again running Qubes on my beautiful Librem 13.
Apparently, this laptop, in addition to being pretty, is darned near indestructible. I bought it in 2017! I stopped using it for Qubes because I had an issue with Qubes freezing randomly, but it’s stopped doing that for the most part. It’s an older machine, but it’s an older machine that I put a larger, better hard drive and more RAM into.
In short: Go, Purism, go!
(I’m less particular about the Windows laptop and got a Dell refurb.)
Also, restoring Qubes onto new hardware is a “like nothing ever happened” experience–my favorite!
January 18, 2023
Kirkus likes my book…
“An imaginative collection that puts a modern spin on beloved fairy tales and myths.” — Kirkus Reviews
You can see more of the review here.
January 14, 2023
“Becoming,” a newsletter exclusive short story
Do you like vampires? Do you like 18th and 19th century Prussian vampires with a crush? Do you like music, religion, betrayal, sweet first love, and terrible mistakes made? Do you like 18th century philosophy, and boys having crushes on boys?
If so, I might have something for you! Learn how Ludwig became a vampire, and met Abraham here.
January 13, 2023
I’m all over IndieReader!
I’m listed in the Best Reviewed Books for December and, because they gave me 4+ stars, they interviewed me for their site.
An excerpt:
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Oh, it’s hard to answer this question because it’s a short fiction collection! A lot of things inspired me. “Book of Shadows” and “In the Water” were both inspired by incredibly vivid dreams. “Grandfather Paradox” was inspired by the classic Time Travel paradox and my wondering why someone would want to kill their own grandfather. “Saving Alan Idle” and “In Sickness and in Health” are both me wondering at what point does a program or construct transcend their programming and become a person. “La Divina Commedia” was inspired by a friend undergoing some personal difficulties, and how surprisingly painful I found his problems, and my feeling like the only thing that might make it worse would be if I were dating him. And “Underworld” is about my mother’s death. I can keep going, but there are a lot of stories here…
Oh, and in “Toads and Roses,” I’m the toad sister and I got the better end of the bargain. Go, Toads!
ANYWAY, you should check it out!
January 12, 2023
Holy, uh…
I’m a Booklife Editor’s Pick!
While Villyard has titled her collection of speculative fictions Love Stories, the theme that binds together these stories—which include elements of fantasy, fairy tale, myth, as well as science fiction—is deeply connected relationships, with the title challenging readers to think of them in the light of love. Villyard’s range, like that of the magazines she publishes in, ranges widely, from the fabulist to explorations of near- and far- future existence. One sharply told standout riffs on the darker side of an old fairy tale of two sisters: from the lips of one falls flowers and gemstones, from the other comes snakes and scorpions. The ending is a satisfying jolt.
January 11, 2023
Free .99!
Want a free ebook copy of Love Stories? For a limited time (like, sometime Friday) you can get a free copy here! for the low, low cost of your email address. (Yes, it signs you up for my mailing list.)
If, instead, you’d rather pay $.99, you can get a copy from most places that sell ebooks.
Tell your friends. 😉
January 7, 2023
Psst!
Hey! want to buy a really cheap book?
The ebook of Love Stories will be on sale for $0.99 next week (but I’ve set it cheaper on Amazon early.) Tell your friends!
December 9, 2022
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