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Posts Tagged ‘science fiction’

High Spirits

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 11, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Hooray, my space pirate draft is complete! At almost 18,000 words, it’s the longest “short” story I’ve written to date. Ok, fine, it’s a novella and I’m ok with that.

I’ll need to go back over it, check a few things, get a degree in orbital mechanics (not really) and answer that age-old question, “Do donuts stay fresh longer in space?” Inquiring minds want to know! In the meantime, the draft is on its way to beta readers.

I like it, hope they do too!

 

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

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The 2018 Nebula Award Finalists

Posted in Entertainment, Likes, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Looking for new reading material? Good news! The Nebula Award finalists have been announced, so it’s time to pad those To Read lists, people. Here is the complete list, some with links to reviews, previews, and full text where available (and I felt like it:).

What looks interesting to you?

***

2018 Nebula Award Finalists
Novel
The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor) [review]
The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)
Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller (Ecco; Orbit UK)
Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik (Del Rey; Macmillan)
Witchmark, C.L. Polk (Tor.com Publishing)
Trail of Lightning, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga) [review]

Novella
Fire Ant, Jonathan P. Brazee (Semper Fi) [preview]
The Black God’s Drums, P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing) [review]
The Tea Master and the Detective, Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean) [preview and review]
Alice Payne Arrives, Kate Heartfield (Tor.com Publishing) [excerpt]
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, Kelly Robson (Tor.com Publishing) [review and review]
Artificial Condition, Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing) [excerpt]

Novelette
“The Only Harmless Great Thing”, Brooke Bolander (Tor.com Publishing)
“The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections”, Tina Connolly (Tor.com 7/11/18)
“An Agent of Utopia”, Andy Duncan (An Agent of Utopia)
“The Substance of My Lives, the Accidents of Our Births”, José Pablo Iriarte (Lightspeed 1/18)
“The Rule of Three”, Lawrence M. Schoen (Future Science Fiction Digest 12/18)
“Messenger”, Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and R.R. Virdi (Expanding Universe, Volume 4)

Short Story
“Interview for the End of the World”, Rhett C. Bruno (Bridge Across the Stars)
“The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington”, Phenderson Djèlí Clark (Fireside 2/18)
“Going Dark”, Richard Fox (Backblast Area Clear)
“And Yet”, A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 3-4/18)
“A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies”, Alix E. Harrow (Apex 2/6/18)
“The Court Magician”, Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed 1/18)

Game Writing
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Charlie Brooker (House of Tomorrow & Netflix)
The Road to Canterbury, Kate Heartfield (Choice of Games)
God of War, Matt Sophos, Richard Zangrande Gaubert, Cory Barlog, Orion Walker, and Adam Dolin (Santa Monica Studio/Sony/Interactive Entertainment)
Rent-A-Vice, Natalia Theodoridou (Choice of Games)
The Martian Job, M. Darusha Wehm (Choice of Games)

The Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy”, Written by: Megan Amram
Black Panther, Written by: Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole
A Quiet Place, Screenplay by: John Krasinski and Bryan Woods & Scott Beck
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Screenplay by: Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman
Dirty Computer, Written by: Janelle Monáe and Chuck Lightning
Sorry to Bother You, Written by: Boots Riley

The Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book
Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt; Macmillan)
Aru Shah and the End of Time, Roshani Chokshi (Rick Riordan Presents)
A Light in the Dark, A.K. DuBoff (BDL)
Tess of the Road, Rachel Hartman (Random House)
Dread Nation, Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray)
Peasprout Chen: Future Legend of Skate and Sword, Henry Lien (Henry Holt)

***

Let’s see if embedding my Goodreads list works here… Why yes, I believe it does. If the list isn’t showing for you, find it here.

***

2018 Nebula Finalists (Many, Anyway!)

Interview for the End of the World: A Children of Titan Universe Short Story
Interview for the End of the World: A Children of Titan Universe Short Story
by Rhett C. Bruno
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
The Rule of Three
The Rule of Three
by Lawrence M. Schoen
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington
by P. Djèlí Clark
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
A Light in the Dark
A Light in the Dark
by A.K. DuBoff
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
Fire Ant
Fire Ant
by Jonathan P. Brazee
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
And Yet
And Yet
by A. T. Greenblatt
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
A Witch’s Guide To Escape: A Practical Compendium Of Portal Fantasies
A Witch’s Guide To Escape: A Practical Compendium Of Portal Fantasies
by Alix E. Harrow
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
Alice Payne Arrives
Alice Payne Arrives
by Kate Heartfield
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
The Only Harmless Great Thing
The Only Harmless Great Thing
by Brooke Bolander
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
Tess of the Road
Tess of the Road
by Rachel Hartman
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
Children of Blood and Bone
Children of Blood and Bone
by Tomi Adeyemi
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach
by Kelly Robson
tagged:
to-read and 2018-nebula-finalists
Aru Shah and the End of Time
Aru Shah and the End of Time
by Roshani Chokshi
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
The Tea Master and the Detective
The Tea Master and the Detective
by Aliette de Bodard
tagged:
to-read, in-progress, on-hiatus, and 2018-nebula-finalists
Dread Nation
Dread Nation
by Justina Ireland
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword
Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword
by Henry Lien
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
Blackfish City
Blackfish City
by Sam J. Miller
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists and to-read
The Poppy War
The Poppy War
by R.F. Kuang
tagged:
to-read and 2018-nebula-finalists
Artificial Condition
it was amazing
Artificial Condition
by Martha Wells
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists
Witchmark
Witchmark
by C.L. Polk
tagged:
2018-nebula-finalists

 

goodreads.com

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From Symphony to Story

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 23, 2018| Leave a Comment »

It may be Monday but here’s a bit of good news: I’ve got a new story out, yay! Inspired by a trip to the Montreal Symphony at the Maison symphonique, “A Needle Pulling Thread” is free to read and available now from the excellent (and Canadian) Agnes & True.

Enjoy!

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Bye Bye Birdies?

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 12, 2018| 1 Comment »

My bird feeder is half full.

It’s an extra large “squirrel proof” version that almost lives up to its name. It’s tall and has a red metal cap and four weight-sensitive perches designed to give smaller birds a chance against the jays and cardinals and squirrels in the neighborhood, and mostly it works. Watching birds come into the yard is fun and satisfying for both humans and felines. Except that there’s a lot less to watch these days.

I haven’t refilled the feeder since last year. And it’s still half full. Where are the birds?

I’ve been wondering this every time Mr. Man and I are out and about. We live in an established suburb and when we first moved into our house the yard hosted raccoons and rabbits and groundhogs and once, a fluffy orange fox. Now only the squirrels and a few birds remain. The city is going through a burst of expansion, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the decline in surrounding farmland is taking a toll on the wildlife. Still, this shift feels new.

* * *

A New York Times article* brought this to a head for me. It’s not the first report I’ve seen on the topic, unfortunately, but we do (with apologies to The Day After Tomorrow) appear to be reaching a critical de-avian-ization point. Agricultural practices in particular have done a number on the insect population. Is it any surprise that birds will follow?

Insects and birds are all part of that delightful staple of elementary school classrooms, the food web. The next obvious questions are, “What’s next?” and “How long until it affects us?”

Public policy is one way to improve the situation. For example, the Farm Bill helps preserve habitat on private lands and provides an often much-needed economic buffer for farmers and other land owners. Don’t have acreage at your disposal? You can still make a difference by creating bird-friendly (and pollinator-friendly) yards.

But before we can make a better world, we need to envision that world.

* * *

“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”
― J.K. Rowling

One of the best things about speculative fiction is that it allows us to test drive ideas, to spin them into the future, to weigh the potential positives and negatives without actually having to live through that AI or medical or environmental apocalypse.

It reminds me of something I said to a friend facing a life-changing decision: “Whatever you decide, do it on purpose.”

* * *

“We are our choices.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre

Some of the most terrifying words in the English language are “unintended consequences.” Fiction, particularly of the speculative variety, can help steer us through those dangerous waters, between Scylla and Charybdis.

Have a goal, consider the consequences. Then act on purpose.

Making sure that we aren’t on the list of species in decline by protecting the species around us? That seems like a terrific goal.

And maybe next year I’ll have to refill my bird feeder more often.

. . . . .
* tl;dr: Bird populations in France are experiencing “precipitous declines in agricultural regions, even among common birds well adapted to human activity” and scientists point to “the loss of insects, the major food source for many birds, as a likely result of pesticide use.” And before American and Canadian readers breathe a sigh of relief, “A report two years ago said that the problems for about a third of North American birds were urgent.” Ruh-ro!

 

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2018 Nebulas & A Free eBook

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2018| Leave a Comment »

I’m a little late to the party on this but here’s the list of Nebula Award nominations for 2018, with links for novel reviews and online reading where available.

I mention it because (perhaps not coincidentally) Tor’s eBook Club is giving out free copies of All Systems Red (Murderbot #1) by Martha Wells with sign-up.* My only complaint about this book was that it was too short, and we have to wait for the sequel. Recommended!

Other nominees are available via free online ‘zines like the excellent Uncanny, Clarkesworld, Tor.com, Strange Horizons (Utopia, LOL?, by Jamie Wahls is deceptively light but packs a punch, in a good way), and Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Happy reading!

* Through April 10th, though the fine print says US/Canada only. Sorry, rest of the world!

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Brief Note of Awesomeness

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Good news alert, I’ve just had a story accepted! It’s been a while since my last acceptance. That’s not surprising since my blogging slump has been mirrored by a submission slump, but I’m still pretty excited. It’s for a piece I wrote as a tribute to the Montreal Symphony and the persistence of the human spirit.

I’ll take that as a sign to persist:)

 

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Here’s to November!

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

It’s November. Days are cold and nights are frosty. The cat wants in. And out. And back in again. It’s also the time of year for NaNoWriMo.

Yep, I’m doing it! My plan is to win (because of course) but most importantly, my goal is to get back on the regular-everyday-seriously-stop messing around writing train, and to practice a select number of specific writing skills. I haven’t gotten around to updating my official NaNo information, but I am working industriously away, so double handful of yay there.

Right now it looks as though the story I’m working on will involve superheroes and science fiction, but you just never know when a story will take a left turn. Will there be elves in the closet? Magic cotton candy machines? Or a secret bio lab planning to doom us all?!? One never knows:)

As I’ve mentioned in years past, I tend to be a pantser who heads to the keyboard and tackles the project head on, but I’m mixing it up this year.

Now I’m off to do some planning, some pantsing, and lots of writing:)

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