This may hold the record for the shortest interval between acceptance and publication for any of my stories: “In the Bunker, the Last Day” went live today at Phantasmacore.
It’s free to read, so get on over there and take a look. I hope you enjoy it.
Just learned today that Phantasmacore is going to publish a somewhat satirical, post-apocalyptic flash piece of mine called “In the Bunker, the Last Day.”
It’s a weird little story with a very unusual, somewhat experimental structure. As the mother of this precocious little one, I’ve always had a soft spot for it. Particularly when I haven’t read it in a while, the last line makes me laugh. I probably shouldn’t admit that my own work makes me laugh or cry, but there you have it. I’m delighted it has found a home.
I don’t yet know exactly when it will appear, but don’t worry. I’ll post here when I know.
I had something of a lull in my novel-reading extravaganza while in Scotland. One would think that being on vacation would mean more reading rather than less, but I suppose it can only be a good thing that we were so busy having new experiences during the day that I had no reading time, and I was too exhausted to do anything but fall into bed when we got back to the hotel at night. I did read a bit on the plane. Also did some reading last weekend on the plane to and from Boston (we went to a family wedding).
Since my last novel-reading report, I have finished works by Le Guin, Haldeman, Heinlein, Herbert (a Dune sequel I’d never read before), Farland, H.G. Wells, Anne McCaffrey, Shirley Jackson (I’d never read The Haunting of Hill House, somehow), and Keyes (ditto Flowers for Algernon). I’m now reading Bujold (the third Vorkosigan).
I also finally read Mark Helprin’s collection of short stories, Ellis Island, and Karin Tidbeck’s collection, Jagganath, both of which I loved and are high up on the “I want to write stories like this” list. Tidbeck’s stories are, for the most part, of the same variety I associate with many “interstitial” writers I admire. Except for a couple of stories, like the title story, her worlds are pretty much realistic except for one or two things that aren’t. It’s those things that give a wonderfully uncanny mood, which is something I’d love to be able to capture in my own work. As for Helprin, I’ve loved his work since I read Winter’s Tale back in the day. As I read his collection, I kept wondering how it was I’d never gotten around to it before. Some of the stories in Ellis Island are more realistic than others, but I admire most his magical pieces, which are simply transporting. His voice sometimes feels out of time, like from the 19th century, but without archaic language. I really love that effect and would love to try to channel his voice in something of my own.
Now that I’ve sold another flash piece, I really need to polish up the two I have in the works and start them circulating.
Soon.
I haven’t been identifying my honorable mentions and semi-finalists in the Writers of the Future Contest by name in case a potential publisher is evaluating one of my submissions and visits my site. I don’t know whether a given publisher will consider a contest shortlisting a good thing or a bad thing. In the “literary fiction” arena, from whence I hail, shortlistings are generally a good thing. But I’m still learning the mores of genre submitting, and to make things more complicated, there seems to be conflicting information on just about everything having to do with submitting to genre publications. As a lawyer, I’ve learned the value of keeping one’s mouth shut when in doubt and it seems silly to take the risk of prejudicing a decision, so I’ve kept mum on the subject.
Now that one of my honorable mentions has appeared in print (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine Issue 59), I feel I can make the following revelation. Drum roll, if you please:
I’m eagerly awaiting my contributor copy of ASIM 59, which I’m told will be winging its way to me shortly.
In other news, I just got back from two weeks in Scotland. I’ve been before, but never for this long, and never as a tourist. I’d forgotten how much I love the UK in general and Scotland in particular. Everyone I ran into was extremely friendly and there’s a joie de vivre about the place that is contagious. Loads of fun, and now I just wish I could win the lottery (or at least make a living as a writer rather than a lawyer with that pesky bar admission issue) so that I can buy a little cottage in the highlands and live in a place full of history, magic and wonder. Here’s a taste:
Stirling Castle, one of several castles we visited. I have many, many pictures of this one, as it’s a large complex of buildings, almost all of which are accessible to visitors. The day we were there, the tapestry weaving demonstration was closed, but other than that we saw all there was to see, including the kitchens, the prison cells, the great hall, and the royal bedrooms.
Doune Castle, famous as a movie location, among other things. You may recognize it from any number of films and television programs, including Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Game of Thrones, and the new Outlander series. We only saw this one from the outside because we were running off to Loch Lomond.
Edinburgh Castle. A striking building from the outside, perched as it is atop volcanic rock at the end of the Royal Mile, seen here from the top of a double decker city tour bus. Interesting, especially for us history buffs, but small, on the inside. There’s much more to see at Stirling in terms of square footage, but as this is one of Edinburgh’s main attractions, it’s worth a visit.
The bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. A gorgeous, peaceful lake in an idyllic wooded setting.
The dark waters of Loch Ness. Nessie did not make an appearance during our boat ride on the loch, but I had a beer called Nessie’s Monster Mash from the bar on board. Enough of those and you’ll see her doing the Macarena in a polka dot chiffon dress.
I could go on, but I’ll quit while I’m ahead and close with a few for the Harry Potter fans:
The Jacobite Steam Train, aka Hogwarts Express, which you can ride on a route that travels over the viaduct pictured above. Poor train. It was photobombed by my no. 2 son’s replica of itself.
Ah Scotland, I miss you and I’ve only just left. Cheers.
I just checked the Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine web site and was delighted to learn that Issue 59 containing my story, “Across the Fourth Sea,” is now available for purchase here. I hope you’ll check it out. It looks like a great issue!
“Going Under,” my flash fiction piece mentioned in this previous post, is now available to read for free in the May 2014 issue of Liquid Imagination. You can find it here.
I love seeing how zines that illustrate fiction interpret my pieces. It’s an unusual opportunity to see how the thoughts and emotions I sought to communicate came through to an artist in another medium. I’ve linked to the illustration for “Going Under” below:
The picture combines the frayed corner of the place mat with some cut flowers in sunset colors — a lovely interpretation that takes the place mat and sunset images directly from the piece and adds a third element, the flowers. I really admired this impressionistic interpretation of a rather darkly themed piece.
I’m continuing on my novel reading binge but have added some short stories back into the mix. Since my last post, I’ve completed novels by Dellamonica (the second and final Astrid Lethewood), Ahmed, Sturgeon, Abbott and some literary novels. Amusingly, I read Jo Walton’s Among Others right after Hans Keilson’s Comedy in a Minor Key: A Novel — both books, which couldn’t be more different from each other, featured characters named Wim. What are the odds? I quite enjoyed Among Others and its continuing homage to science fiction and fantasy. I have a number of new books on my reading list as a result of reading Mori’s reviews in-novel.
I’m also almost through Ted Chiang’s collection Stories of Your Life and Others. I’ll be miserable when I’m finished, as I think that will mean I’ve read all of his stories currently available in print. He’s long been in my pantheon of favorites, a frequent inducer of the “I want to write stories like that” feeling.
I should have some news to report about the long awaited Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine Issue 59 soon. I hope so, anyway. Meanwhile, enjoy “Going Under.”
I’ve just returned the contract for my flash fiction piece, “Going Under,” which will appear in Liquid Imagination at the end of this month.
It’s a strange little story that is hard to classify, though I think of it as dark fantasy or slipstream. Or perhaps absurdist horror. It was one of the first new stories I wrote after coming off my writing hiatus in 2012 and it took a while to get it right. I’m glad the folks at Liquid Imagination liked it and gave it a home. I hope you’ll like it, too.
I have several new flash pieces in the works. One is already making the rounds.
In other news, I’ve been on a reading tear of late. About a week ago, I had a sudden, powerful urge to dive into a novel rather than read short stories. I’ve been finishing one every two days or so (one a day on weekends) ever since. I’ve been enjoying Scalzi, Willis, Butcher and Dellamonica as well as a couple of literary novels I’d started but never got around to finishing.
I also read Osama by Lavie Tidhar and thought it was stunning. You know that feeling you get while reading, the one that says, I-want-to-write-something-like-this? That’s how I felt while reading Osama. Highly recommended for those who don’t mind their speculative element subtle and mysterious (which is often how I like it best), who appreciate language that is beautiful without being overly lyrical, who find genre mixes intriguing, and who like emotional impact with their fiction. Osama is atmospheric and full of mood, but its emotional impact goes far deeper than that — and it lasts.
The fifth and final installment of “Legacy of the Fallen Stars” is up today. Read it for free in Issue 570 of Bewildering Stories. Enjoy!
The third installment of “Legacy of the Fallen Stars” is up this week in issue 568 of Bewildering Stories. It’s free to read online, so check it out.
The second installment of “Legacy of the Fallen Stars” is up this week in issue 567 of Bewildering Stories. It’s available to read for free, so enjoy!
J.J. Roth 