Martha Wells's Blog, page 42
January 19, 2020
Museum trip
A few photos from a daytrip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science yesterday: https://twitter.com/marthawells1/status/1218616298021756928
The giant moon model was my favorite.
***
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The giant moon model was my favorite.
***
Can You Vote? Check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
comments
January 17, 2020
A few links
* The New Rude Masters of Science Fiction by Cat Rambo
http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/2019/12/31/the-new-rude-masters-of-science-fiction/
You cannot trust a system like that to account for the people who are not represented in daily speech, who are discouraged by a thousand tiny things from speaking. You cannot trust it to let them speak when they need to or when they have value to add. If we are to build a society that accommodates those folk, they must be part of the conversation. If we are to create a literature in which every reader can find a place, the underrepresented writers must be part of that conversation as well. We do not ask for a system where privileged authors are using that privilege to speak for those groups, but one where members of those groups get to speak for themselves. That is at the core of #ownvoices.
Lots of generalizations are made about millennials. Here’s mine: they rub older people the wrong way sometimes because they won’t put up with the bullshit acceptable in the past. Personally, I dig that. I hit the fact that society uses politeness and the expectation that I be “nice” against me on a daily basis, and so the way I see these fierce young folks say “ok boomer” and move on is a revelation and a joy to me. Day by day, I get a little ruder to the people who think nothing of demanding that I cater to their time and energy rather than mine, and it’s the millennials rolling their eyes at the clueless that egg me on.
* Your Heart is a Moving Target by Kali Wallace
http://www.kaliwallace.com/news/2020/1/12/your-heart-is-a-moving-target
Part of it, I know, is that the world is terrifying right now, so planning for the future on the scale of "submit stories! write another novel!" can often feel like sticking your fingers in your ears to ignore widespread apocalyptic collapse of both natural and human systems all around the globe. Part of it is run-of-the-mill work and money stress that makes it hard to think about anything beyond what the new few weeks and months will bring. Part of it is, hello, lifelong chronically depressed and anxious person here, reporting for duty, if by duty we mean eating pancakes on a Sunday morning while writing a blog post.
But I don't think that's all it is. I think there's something else going on. I had a lovely conversation with friend and fellow writer Adriana Mather the other day about various challenges we're dealing with in our writing lives. Nothing unusual or extraordinary for authors five books into our publishing careers, but the one thing that we both kept coming back to was the wide disconnect between the mental space needed to tell the stories we want to tell, and the persistent knowledge that both the publishing community and the publishing industry are really good at completely eradicating that mental space for writers.
* Whatever Happened to ____ by Anonymous (Warning for abuse)
https://longreads.com/2020/01/15/whatever-happened-to-______/
The truth is, writing takes time. Much of the labor is done in private. I’ve worked on books for a decade each, though simultaneously. I’m a steady multitasker, always parenting. I teach college too, because writing is a gambler’s income while teaching runs closer to steady, and if you’re lucky, it comes with health insurance. There was a time when I had 185 students per semester. That meant almost 1,000 essays every 10 weeks — 5000 pages of reading, editing and comments. Even then, I kept writing. My strategy is to let ideas sift, settle and reconfigure. I work in bursts when time allows, instead of adhering to the write-every-day adage. I’ve published three books while serving as primary parent, learning to care for an infant, then catching up on caring for a toddler, then navigating sending the same child to grade school, forever trying to stay just ahead of the learning curve as our child grows, in an ever-evolving job.
***
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comments
http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/2019/12/31/the-new-rude-masters-of-science-fiction/
You cannot trust a system like that to account for the people who are not represented in daily speech, who are discouraged by a thousand tiny things from speaking. You cannot trust it to let them speak when they need to or when they have value to add. If we are to build a society that accommodates those folk, they must be part of the conversation. If we are to create a literature in which every reader can find a place, the underrepresented writers must be part of that conversation as well. We do not ask for a system where privileged authors are using that privilege to speak for those groups, but one where members of those groups get to speak for themselves. That is at the core of #ownvoices.
Lots of generalizations are made about millennials. Here’s mine: they rub older people the wrong way sometimes because they won’t put up with the bullshit acceptable in the past. Personally, I dig that. I hit the fact that society uses politeness and the expectation that I be “nice” against me on a daily basis, and so the way I see these fierce young folks say “ok boomer” and move on is a revelation and a joy to me. Day by day, I get a little ruder to the people who think nothing of demanding that I cater to their time and energy rather than mine, and it’s the millennials rolling their eyes at the clueless that egg me on.
* Your Heart is a Moving Target by Kali Wallace
http://www.kaliwallace.com/news/2020/1/12/your-heart-is-a-moving-target
Part of it, I know, is that the world is terrifying right now, so planning for the future on the scale of "submit stories! write another novel!" can often feel like sticking your fingers in your ears to ignore widespread apocalyptic collapse of both natural and human systems all around the globe. Part of it is run-of-the-mill work and money stress that makes it hard to think about anything beyond what the new few weeks and months will bring. Part of it is, hello, lifelong chronically depressed and anxious person here, reporting for duty, if by duty we mean eating pancakes on a Sunday morning while writing a blog post.
But I don't think that's all it is. I think there's something else going on. I had a lovely conversation with friend and fellow writer Adriana Mather the other day about various challenges we're dealing with in our writing lives. Nothing unusual or extraordinary for authors five books into our publishing careers, but the one thing that we both kept coming back to was the wide disconnect between the mental space needed to tell the stories we want to tell, and the persistent knowledge that both the publishing community and the publishing industry are really good at completely eradicating that mental space for writers.
* Whatever Happened to ____ by Anonymous (Warning for abuse)
https://longreads.com/2020/01/15/whatever-happened-to-______/
The truth is, writing takes time. Much of the labor is done in private. I’ve worked on books for a decade each, though simultaneously. I’m a steady multitasker, always parenting. I teach college too, because writing is a gambler’s income while teaching runs closer to steady, and if you’re lucky, it comes with health insurance. There was a time when I had 185 students per semester. That meant almost 1,000 essays every 10 weeks — 5000 pages of reading, editing and comments. Even then, I kept writing. My strategy is to let ideas sift, settle and reconfigure. I work in bursts when time allows, instead of adhering to the write-every-day adage. I’ve published three books while serving as primary parent, learning to care for an infant, then catching up on caring for a toddler, then navigating sending the same child to grade school, forever trying to stay just ahead of the learning curve as our child grows, in an ever-evolving job.
***
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comments
January 16, 2020
Rec
I got asked to recommend a new author on the Amazon Book Review!
https://www.amazonbookreview.com/post/4ea61bb5-5fce-47f2-afca-e04f151db892/new-year-new-fantasy-read-6-top-authors-recommend-talented-newcomers
comments
https://www.amazonbookreview.com/post/4ea61bb5-5fce-47f2-afca-e04f151db892/new-year-new-fantasy-read-6-top-authors-recommend-talented-newcomers
comments
January 14, 2020
Book Rec Tuesday
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Short Story You Perfect, Broken Thing by C.L. Clark
* Preorder Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar
* Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland
After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother. But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodemus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880s America. What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears—as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her. But she won’t be in it alone. Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by—and that Jane needs her too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.
* Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he's a threat, but her father won't believe her. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Diné Holy People, all disguised as quirky characters. Their aid will come at a price: the kids must pass a series of trials in which it seems like nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the House of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be . . .
* The Broken Heavens by Kameron Hurley
The Dhai nation has broken apart under the onslaught of the Tai Kao, invaders from a parallel world. With the Dhai in retreat, Kirana, leader of the Tai Kao, establishes a base in Oma’s temple and instructs her astrologers to discover how they can use the ancient holy place to close the way between worlds. With all the connected worlds ravaged by war and Oma failing, only one world can survive. Who will be sacrificed, and what will the desperate people of these worlds do to protect themselves?
* A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen
In postapocalyptic San Francisco, former pop star Moira has created a new identity to finally escape her past—until her domineering father launches a sweeping public search to track her down. Desperate for a fresh start herself, jaded event planner Krista navigates the world on behalf of those too traumatized to go outside, determined to help everyone move on—even if they don’t want to. Rob survived the catastrophe with his daughter, Sunny, but lost his wife. When strict government rules threaten to separate parent and child, Rob needs to prove himself worthy in the city’s eyes by connecting with people again. Krista, Moira, Rob and Sunny are brought together by circumstance, and their lives begin to twine together. When reports of another outbreak throw the fragile society into panic, the friends are forced to finally face everything that came before—and everything they still stand to lose. Because sometimes having one person is enough to keep the world going.
* Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves. Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.
* Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Captain Eva Innocente and the crew of La Sirena Negra cruise the galaxy delivering small cargo for even smaller profits. When her sister Mari is kidnapped by The Fridge, a shadowy syndicate that holds people hostage in cryostasis, Eva must undergo a series of unpleasant, dangerous missions to pay the ransom. But Eva may lose her mind before she can raise the money. The ship’s hold is full of psychic cats, an amorous fish-faced emperor wants her dead after she rejects his advances, and her sweet engineer is giving her a pesky case of feelings. The worse things get, the more she lies, raising suspicions and testing her loyalty to her found family. To free her sister, Eva will risk everything: her crew, her ship, and the life she’s built on the ashes of her past misdeeds. But when the dominoes start to fall and she finds the real threat is greater than she imagined, she must decide whether to play it cool or burn it all down.
* Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.
* audiobook Make Mine Magic by Shanna Swendson
Jilted at the altar, small-town librarian Claire is forced to go on her romantic honeymoon in New York City alone. After enduring one too many meals for two as one, Claire invites a seemingly harmless little old lady to join her for afternoon tea at the Plaza. Unbeknownst to Claire, said little old lady is actually a grand wizard, who bestows Claire with a magical amulet that makes her the sitting queen of the magical community. Claire is swept into the gilded world of New York City wizards - and a bitter power struggle for the throne. With the help of a cursed former prince, Claire must untangle this web of deception and find the magical community’s rightful leader before her "honeymoon" is over.
* Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed
It’s August in Paris and 17-year-old Khayyam Maquet—American, French, Indian, Muslim—is at a crossroads. This holiday with her parents should be a dream trip for the budding art historian. But her maybe-ex-boyfriend is probably ghosting her, she might have just blown her chance at getting into her dream college, and now all she really wants is to be back home in Chicago figuring out her messy life instead of brooding in the City of Light. Two hundred years before Khayyam’s summer of discontent, Leila is struggling to survive and keep her true love hidden from the Pasha who has “gifted” her with favored status in his harem. In the present day—and with the company of a descendant of Alexandre Dumas—Khayyam begins to connect allusions to an enigmatic 19th-century Muslim woman whose path may have intersected with Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix, and Lord Byron.
Congrats to the nominees of the Philip K. Dick Award!
https://www.philipkdickaward.org/2020/01/2020-philip-k-dick-award-nominees-announced.html
- THE OUTSIDE by Ada Hoffmann (Angry Robot)
- VELOCITY WEAPON by Megan E. O'Keefe (Orbit)
- ALL WORLDS ARE REAL: SHORT FICTIONS by Susan Palwick (Fairwood Press)
- SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA: STORIES by Sarah Pinsker (Small Beer Press)
- THE LITTLE ANIMALS by Sarah Tolmie (Aqueduct Press)
- THE ROSEWATER REDEMPTION by Tade Thompson (Orbit)
***
Can You Vote? Check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
comments
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Short Story You Perfect, Broken Thing by C.L. Clark
* Preorder Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar
* Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland
After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother. But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodemus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880s America. What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears—as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her. But she won’t be in it alone. Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by—and that Jane needs her too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.
* Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he's a threat, but her father won't believe her. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Diné Holy People, all disguised as quirky characters. Their aid will come at a price: the kids must pass a series of trials in which it seems like nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the House of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be . . .
* The Broken Heavens by Kameron Hurley
The Dhai nation has broken apart under the onslaught of the Tai Kao, invaders from a parallel world. With the Dhai in retreat, Kirana, leader of the Tai Kao, establishes a base in Oma’s temple and instructs her astrologers to discover how they can use the ancient holy place to close the way between worlds. With all the connected worlds ravaged by war and Oma failing, only one world can survive. Who will be sacrificed, and what will the desperate people of these worlds do to protect themselves?
* A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen
In postapocalyptic San Francisco, former pop star Moira has created a new identity to finally escape her past—until her domineering father launches a sweeping public search to track her down. Desperate for a fresh start herself, jaded event planner Krista navigates the world on behalf of those too traumatized to go outside, determined to help everyone move on—even if they don’t want to. Rob survived the catastrophe with his daughter, Sunny, but lost his wife. When strict government rules threaten to separate parent and child, Rob needs to prove himself worthy in the city’s eyes by connecting with people again. Krista, Moira, Rob and Sunny are brought together by circumstance, and their lives begin to twine together. When reports of another outbreak throw the fragile society into panic, the friends are forced to finally face everything that came before—and everything they still stand to lose. Because sometimes having one person is enough to keep the world going.
* Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
Summer, 1518. A strange sickness sweeps through Strasbourg: women dance in the streets, some until they fall down dead. As rumors of witchcraft spread, suspicion turns toward Lavinia and her family, and Lavinia may have to do the unimaginable to save herself and everyone she loves. Five centuries later, a pair of red shoes seal to Rosella Oliva’s feet, making her dance uncontrollably. They draw her toward a boy who knows the dancing fever’s history better than anyone: Emil, whose family was blamed for the fever five hundred years ago. But there’s more to what happened in 1518 than even Emil knows, and discovering the truth may decide whether Rosella survives the red shoes.
* Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
Captain Eva Innocente and the crew of La Sirena Negra cruise the galaxy delivering small cargo for even smaller profits. When her sister Mari is kidnapped by The Fridge, a shadowy syndicate that holds people hostage in cryostasis, Eva must undergo a series of unpleasant, dangerous missions to pay the ransom. But Eva may lose her mind before she can raise the money. The ship’s hold is full of psychic cats, an amorous fish-faced emperor wants her dead after she rejects his advances, and her sweet engineer is giving her a pesky case of feelings. The worse things get, the more she lies, raising suspicions and testing her loyalty to her found family. To free her sister, Eva will risk everything: her crew, her ship, and the life she’s built on the ashes of her past misdeeds. But when the dominoes start to fall and she finds the real threat is greater than she imagined, she must decide whether to play it cool or burn it all down.
* Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.
* audiobook Make Mine Magic by Shanna Swendson
Jilted at the altar, small-town librarian Claire is forced to go on her romantic honeymoon in New York City alone. After enduring one too many meals for two as one, Claire invites a seemingly harmless little old lady to join her for afternoon tea at the Plaza. Unbeknownst to Claire, said little old lady is actually a grand wizard, who bestows Claire with a magical amulet that makes her the sitting queen of the magical community. Claire is swept into the gilded world of New York City wizards - and a bitter power struggle for the throne. With the help of a cursed former prince, Claire must untangle this web of deception and find the magical community’s rightful leader before her "honeymoon" is over.
* Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed
It’s August in Paris and 17-year-old Khayyam Maquet—American, French, Indian, Muslim—is at a crossroads. This holiday with her parents should be a dream trip for the budding art historian. But her maybe-ex-boyfriend is probably ghosting her, she might have just blown her chance at getting into her dream college, and now all she really wants is to be back home in Chicago figuring out her messy life instead of brooding in the City of Light. Two hundred years before Khayyam’s summer of discontent, Leila is struggling to survive and keep her true love hidden from the Pasha who has “gifted” her with favored status in his harem. In the present day—and with the company of a descendant of Alexandre Dumas—Khayyam begins to connect allusions to an enigmatic 19th-century Muslim woman whose path may have intersected with Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix, and Lord Byron.
Congrats to the nominees of the Philip K. Dick Award!
https://www.philipkdickaward.org/2020/01/2020-philip-k-dick-award-nominees-announced.html
- THE OUTSIDE by Ada Hoffmann (Angry Robot)
- VELOCITY WEAPON by Megan E. O'Keefe (Orbit)
- ALL WORLDS ARE REAL: SHORT FICTIONS by Susan Palwick (Fairwood Press)
- SOONER OR LATER EVERYTHING FALLS INTO THE SEA: STORIES by Sarah Pinsker (Small Beer Press)
- THE LITTLE ANIMALS by Sarah Tolmie (Aqueduct Press)
- THE ROSEWATER REDEMPTION by Tade Thompson (Orbit)
***
Can You Vote? Check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
comments
January 9, 2020
The Serpent Sea in mass market paperback
The Serpent Sea, the second in the Books of the Raksura series (finalist for the Best Series Hugo in 2018), is being re-released on Jan 21 in mass market paperback:
at an independent bookstore near you: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781949102291
https://barnesandnoble.com/w/the-serpent-sea-martha-wells/1132405442?ean=9781949102291
https://www.amazon.com/Serpent-Sea-Two-Books-Raksura/dp/1949102297/
It's already available in ebook and audiobook. Cover art by Steve Argyle
comments
at an independent bookstore near you: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781949102291
https://barnesandnoble.com/w/the-serpent-sea-martha-wells/1132405442?ean=9781949102291
https://www.amazon.com/Serpent-Sea-Two-Books-Raksura/dp/1949102297/
It's already available in ebook and audiobook. Cover art by Steve Argyle
comments
January 8, 2020
Book Rec Wednesday
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez
Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.
* The Iron Will of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee
Genie Lo thought she was busy last year, juggling her academic career with protecting the Bay Area from demons. But now, as the Heaven-appointed Guardian of California, she’s responsible for the well-being of all yaoguai and spirits on Earth. Even the ones who interrupt her long-weekend visit to a prestigious college, bearing terrible news about a cosmos-threatening force of destruction in a nearby alternate dimension.
* Strange Love by Ann Aguirre
He's awkward. He's adorable. He's alien as hell. Zylar of Kith B'alak is a four-time loser in the annual Choosing. If he fails to find a nest guardian this time, he'll lose his chance to have a mate for all time. Desperation drives him to try a matching service but due to a freak solar flare and a severely malfunctioning ship AI, things go way off course. This 'human being' is not the Tiralan match he was looking for.
* Short Story Wild Things by A.M. Dellamonica
* The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg
Two transgender elders must learn to weave from Death in order to defeat an evil ruler—in the first novella set in Lemberg’s award-winning queer fantasy Birdverse universe.
* Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton
This is the motto of the Lady Knights—sworn to fealty under a struggling kingdom, promised to defend the prospective heir, Banna Mora. But when a fearsome rebellion overthrows the throne, Mora is faced with an agonizing choice: give up everything she's been raised to love, and allow a king-killer to be rewarded—or retake the throne, and take up arms against the newest heir, Hal Bolingbrooke, Mora's own childhood best friend and sworn head of the Lady Knights.
* Shadowshaper Legacy by Daniel Jose Older
Sierra and the shadowshapers have been split apart. Juan, Anthony, and Izzy are in jail, anxiously waiting to find out what will become of them. Back in Brooklyn, the other shadowshapers have been getting threatening messages from whisper wraiths, catching strangely shaped figures stalking them, and fending off random spirits. A war is brewing among the houses, and the very magic of the shadowshapers is at stake.
* Even When the World Has Told Us We Have Ended by Cat Hellisen
A Muse and its client reinvent the story of Rapunzel after their death.
* Short Story Confession by Tochi Onyebuchi
***
Can You Vote? Check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
comments
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez
Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.
* The Iron Will of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee
Genie Lo thought she was busy last year, juggling her academic career with protecting the Bay Area from demons. But now, as the Heaven-appointed Guardian of California, she’s responsible for the well-being of all yaoguai and spirits on Earth. Even the ones who interrupt her long-weekend visit to a prestigious college, bearing terrible news about a cosmos-threatening force of destruction in a nearby alternate dimension.
* Strange Love by Ann Aguirre
He's awkward. He's adorable. He's alien as hell. Zylar of Kith B'alak is a four-time loser in the annual Choosing. If he fails to find a nest guardian this time, he'll lose his chance to have a mate for all time. Desperation drives him to try a matching service but due to a freak solar flare and a severely malfunctioning ship AI, things go way off course. This 'human being' is not the Tiralan match he was looking for.
* Short Story Wild Things by A.M. Dellamonica
* The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg
Two transgender elders must learn to weave from Death in order to defeat an evil ruler—in the first novella set in Lemberg’s award-winning queer fantasy Birdverse universe.
* Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton
This is the motto of the Lady Knights—sworn to fealty under a struggling kingdom, promised to defend the prospective heir, Banna Mora. But when a fearsome rebellion overthrows the throne, Mora is faced with an agonizing choice: give up everything she's been raised to love, and allow a king-killer to be rewarded—or retake the throne, and take up arms against the newest heir, Hal Bolingbrooke, Mora's own childhood best friend and sworn head of the Lady Knights.
* Shadowshaper Legacy by Daniel Jose Older
Sierra and the shadowshapers have been split apart. Juan, Anthony, and Izzy are in jail, anxiously waiting to find out what will become of them. Back in Brooklyn, the other shadowshapers have been getting threatening messages from whisper wraiths, catching strangely shaped figures stalking them, and fending off random spirits. A war is brewing among the houses, and the very magic of the shadowshapers is at stake.
* Even When the World Has Told Us We Have Ended by Cat Hellisen
A Muse and its client reinvent the story of Rapunzel after their death.
* Short Story Confession by Tochi Onyebuchi
***
Can You Vote? Check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
comments
January 7, 2020
Ways to help
A few places to donate to Australian wildfire relief:
The New South Wales Fire Brigade: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/volunteer/support-your-local-brigade
Fire Relief Fund for First Nations: https://www.gofundme.com/f/fire-relief-fund-for-first-nations-communities
Australian Wildlife Rescue: https://www.wires.org.au/
Global Giving Australian Wildfire Relief Fund: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/australian-wildfire-relief-fund/
Also, Puerto Rico was just hit by two back to back earthquakes: https://hispanicfederation.org/unidos/
comments
The New South Wales Fire Brigade: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/volunteer/support-your-local-brigade
Fire Relief Fund for First Nations: https://www.gofundme.com/f/fire-relief-fund-for-first-nations-communities
Australian Wildlife Rescue: https://www.wires.org.au/
Global Giving Australian Wildfire Relief Fund: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/australian-wildfire-relief-fund/
Also, Puerto Rico was just hit by two back to back earthquakes: https://hispanicfederation.org/unidos/
comments
January 6, 2020
Quick Update - Machina
On January 29, the first episode of Machina will be available on Serial Box in text and audio. It's by Fran Wilde, Malka Older, Curtis C. Chen, with a guest chapter by me.
https://www.serialbox.com/serials/machina
With Earth becoming increasingly uninhabitable, humanity looks to space for salvation. In the arid California desert, two companies compete for the opportunity to send their AI robots to colonize Mars. Scientists and staff mingle at Moonshot Bar and, as personal tensions build and business practices get shady, there might be more than scientific discovery at stake.
The first episode is free, a subscription to the whole story is now $9.99 See How it Works here: https://www.serialbox.com/how-it-works
More serials and shorts are available now, including Thor: Metal Gods and Orphan Black: the Next Chapter https://www.serialbox.com/serials
***
Can You Vote? Check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
comments
https://www.serialbox.com/serials/machina
With Earth becoming increasingly uninhabitable, humanity looks to space for salvation. In the arid California desert, two companies compete for the opportunity to send their AI robots to colonize Mars. Scientists and staff mingle at Moonshot Bar and, as personal tensions build and business practices get shady, there might be more than scientific discovery at stake.
The first episode is free, a subscription to the whole story is now $9.99 See How it Works here: https://www.serialbox.com/how-it-works
More serials and shorts are available now, including Thor: Metal Gods and Orphan Black: the Next Chapter https://www.serialbox.com/serials
***
Can You Vote? Check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
comments
January 4, 2020
Saturday
* Link: This is Jim Hines' annual writing income post for the year: http://www.jimchines.com/2020/01/2019-writing-income/
I’ve been doing an annual write-up of my author income each year since 2007, as a kind of reality-check against the myth that we’re all super-wealthy and earning Stephen King-level royalty checks.
So things are pretty terrible in the world now and getting worse, and it's depressing and anxiety-producing, even in people who don't normally have chronic anxiety issues. I feel helpless, but I try to remember that sometimes the job of the writer (or artist or any kind of entertainer) is to be the band on the Titanic, trying to keep everybody else calm so they can act if they get the chance.
(UrsulaV talks about this in the context of Watership Down here: https://twitter.com/UrsulaV/status/1213273984030138374)
I'm going to be adding the below to my posts a lot from now on. If anyone else wants to grab it and copy it, please do:
***
Can You Vote? Check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
comments
I’ve been doing an annual write-up of my author income each year since 2007, as a kind of reality-check against the myth that we’re all super-wealthy and earning Stephen King-level royalty checks.
So things are pretty terrible in the world now and getting worse, and it's depressing and anxiety-producing, even in people who don't normally have chronic anxiety issues. I feel helpless, but I try to remember that sometimes the job of the writer (or artist or any kind of entertainer) is to be the band on the Titanic, trying to keep everybody else calm so they can act if they get the chance.
(UrsulaV talks about this in the context of Watership Down here: https://twitter.com/UrsulaV/status/1213273984030138374)
I'm going to be adding the below to my posts a lot from now on. If anyone else wants to grab it and copy it, please do:
***
Can You Vote? Check your voter registration here: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote
comments
January 2, 2020
New Year Upcoming Books
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Goldilocks by Laura Lam
Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation. It's humanity's last hope for survival, and Naomi, Valerie's surrogate daughter and the ship's botanist, has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity like this - to step out of Valerie's shadow and really make a difference. But when things start going wrong on the ship, Naomi begins to suspect that someone on board is concealing a terrible secret - and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . .
* Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
Nnamdi's father was a good chief of police, perhaps the best Kalaria had ever had. He was determined to root out the criminals that had invaded the town. But then he was murdered, and most people believed the Chief of Chiefs, most powerful of the criminals, was responsible. Nnamdi has vowed to avenge his father, but he wonders what a twelve-year-old boy can do. Until a mysterious nighttime meeting, the gift of a magical object that enables super powers, and a charge to use those powers for good changes his life forever. How can he fulfill his mission? How will he learn to control his newfound powers?
* Seven Devils by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May
When Eris faked her death, she thought she had left her old life as the heir to the galaxy's most ruthless empire behind. But her recruitment by the Novantaen Resistance, an organization opposed to the empire's voracious expansion, throws her right back into the fray. Eris has been assigned a new mission: to infiltrate a spaceship ferrying deadly cargo and return the intelligence gathered to the Resistance. But her partner for the mission, mechanic and hotshot pilot Cloelia, bears an old grudge against Eris, making an already difficult infiltration even more complicated. When they find the ship, they discover more than they bargained for: three fugitives with firsthand knowledge of the corrupt empire's inner workings.
* Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbor's son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven't happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated, Ella must decide what it means to watch her brother suffer while holding the ability to wreck cities in her hands.
* The Lights Go Out in Lychford by Paul Cornell
The borders of Lychford are crumbling. Other realities threaten to seep into the otherwise quiet village, and the resident wise woman is struggling to remain wise. The local magic shop owner and the local priest are having troubles of their own.
* Of Wars, Memories, and Starlight by Aliette de Bodard
A major first collection from a writer fast becoming one of the stars of the genre... Aliette de Bodard, multiple award winner and author of The Tea Master and the Detective, now brings readers fourteen dazzling tales that showcase the richly textured worldbuilding and beloved characters that have brought her so much acclaim.
* Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu
This genre-bending novel is set on Earth in the wake of a second civil war...not between two factions in one nation, but two factions in one solar system: Mars and Earth. In an attempt to repair increasing tensions, the colonies of Mars send a group of young people to live on Earth to help reconcile humanity. But the group finds itself with no real home, no friends, and fractured allegiances as they struggle to find a sense of community and identity, trapped between two worlds.
* Short Story The Secret Life of the Unclaimed by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
* Cries From the Lost Island by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
Sixteen-year-old Hal Stevens is a budding historical scholar from a small town in Colorado. A virtual outcast at high school, he has only two friends: Roberto the Biker Witch and Cleo Mallawi. Cleo claims to be the reincarnation of Queen Cleopatra. She also believes she's being stalked by an ancient Egyptian demon, Ammut, the Devourer of the Dead.
* The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.
* Non-fiction Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists by Mikki Kendall illustrated by A. D'Amico
* Short Story Black Flowers Blossom by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
* Essay As You Know, Bob by Jeannette Ng
There are many more book lists on my book rec tag https://marthawells.dreamwidth.org/tag/book+rec
comments
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Goldilocks by Laura Lam
Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation. It's humanity's last hope for survival, and Naomi, Valerie's surrogate daughter and the ship's botanist, has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity like this - to step out of Valerie's shadow and really make a difference. But when things start going wrong on the ship, Naomi begins to suspect that someone on board is concealing a terrible secret - and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . .
* Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
Nnamdi's father was a good chief of police, perhaps the best Kalaria had ever had. He was determined to root out the criminals that had invaded the town. But then he was murdered, and most people believed the Chief of Chiefs, most powerful of the criminals, was responsible. Nnamdi has vowed to avenge his father, but he wonders what a twelve-year-old boy can do. Until a mysterious nighttime meeting, the gift of a magical object that enables super powers, and a charge to use those powers for good changes his life forever. How can he fulfill his mission? How will he learn to control his newfound powers?
* Seven Devils by Laura Lam and Elizabeth May
When Eris faked her death, she thought she had left her old life as the heir to the galaxy's most ruthless empire behind. But her recruitment by the Novantaen Resistance, an organization opposed to the empire's voracious expansion, throws her right back into the fray. Eris has been assigned a new mission: to infiltrate a spaceship ferrying deadly cargo and return the intelligence gathered to the Resistance. But her partner for the mission, mechanic and hotshot pilot Cloelia, bears an old grudge against Eris, making an already difficult infiltration even more complicated. When they find the ship, they discover more than they bargained for: three fugitives with firsthand knowledge of the corrupt empire's inner workings.
* Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbor's son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven't happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated, Ella must decide what it means to watch her brother suffer while holding the ability to wreck cities in her hands.
* The Lights Go Out in Lychford by Paul Cornell
The borders of Lychford are crumbling. Other realities threaten to seep into the otherwise quiet village, and the resident wise woman is struggling to remain wise. The local magic shop owner and the local priest are having troubles of their own.
* Of Wars, Memories, and Starlight by Aliette de Bodard
A major first collection from a writer fast becoming one of the stars of the genre... Aliette de Bodard, multiple award winner and author of The Tea Master and the Detective, now brings readers fourteen dazzling tales that showcase the richly textured worldbuilding and beloved characters that have brought her so much acclaim.
* Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu
This genre-bending novel is set on Earth in the wake of a second civil war...not between two factions in one nation, but two factions in one solar system: Mars and Earth. In an attempt to repair increasing tensions, the colonies of Mars send a group of young people to live on Earth to help reconcile humanity. But the group finds itself with no real home, no friends, and fractured allegiances as they struggle to find a sense of community and identity, trapped between two worlds.
* Short Story The Secret Life of the Unclaimed by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
* Cries From the Lost Island by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
Sixteen-year-old Hal Stevens is a budding historical scholar from a small town in Colorado. A virtual outcast at high school, he has only two friends: Roberto the Biker Witch and Cleo Mallawi. Cleo claims to be the reincarnation of Queen Cleopatra. She also believes she's being stalked by an ancient Egyptian demon, Ammut, the Devourer of the Dead.
* The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.
* Non-fiction Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists by Mikki Kendall illustrated by A. D'Amico
* Short Story Black Flowers Blossom by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
* Essay As You Know, Bob by Jeannette Ng
There are many more book lists on my book rec tag https://marthawells.dreamwidth.org/tag/book+rec
comments
