Long Hidden nominated for World Fantasy Award

LongHiddenWoot! Always an honour to be nominated, as they say, and Long Hidden has already been nominated for a prestigious award (Sofia Samatar’s “Ogres of East Africa” was nominated for a Locus Award, and so was Long Hidden) — but this feels especially “big”: Long Hidden has made the shortlist for the World Fantasy Award.

Full props to publishers Crossed Genres and editors Rose Fox and Daniel José Older for making the anthology happen, and to all the artists and authors who contributed. Yes, I’m biased! So what. If there was any anthology in English that strove to put the “world” in world fantasy in 2014, Long Hidden was it.

‘Black Smoke and Water Lilies’ in Chinese Fantasy Stories

INSlogo2015-PNGIt’s official: my short story, “Black Smoke and Water Lilies,” is in the new edition of Insignia Volume 2: Chinese Fantasy Stories, edited by Kelly Matsuura.

If you’re not familiar with the Insignia series of anthologies, each one groups stories set or inspired by a different region in Asia. Volume 1 features Japanese fantasy stories and the upcoming Volume 3 features stories of Southeast Asia (submissions for that one are still open, by the way; the deadline is August 31).

Accessing the Future: exploring in many senses

Accessin the Future image 2

When it comes to future tech, variations on a phrase in a roleplaying game sourcebook always stuck with me: “POOF: YOU’RE HEALED.”

That was the description for the top-level, beyond super-science medical technology of the far future. (For weaponry of that advanced era, it was “POOF: YOU’RE DEAD”; for transportation it was “POOF: YOU’RE THERE.” You get the idea. Also, possibly, I played far too much G.U.R.P.S. if its metaphors remain fixed in my head.)

One thing unquestioned, of course, and not within the scope of RPG rules, is the question: “for whom?”

Wrestling With Gods early release and cover reveal

Although Tesseracts Eighteen: Wresting with Gods won’t be officially released in print until March 2015, you can buy it for your Kindle on Amazon as of today.

T-18-Cover-110x170-100dpi-C8If your thoughts are taking on a spiritual bent at this time of year — or if they do as a matter of course, anyway — take a look at this anthology of speculative fiction that explores belief, faith and religion.

The beautiful cover was also revealed today. Fantastic stuff.

There will be more to come on the Tesseracts Eighteen: Wrestling With Gods anthology in the new year, with interviews and more. Stay tuned for more details. But if you can’t wait to read the stories and (unlike me) have a Kindle , you’re in luck.

Guest post: Julianne Snow, author of Days With the Undead

Today, hot on the heels of my interview with Julianne Snow on her new zombie novel, Days with the Undead, Julianne has kindly agreed to write a guest post for As You Were.  She touches on a subject near and dear to my heart, the influence of music on an author’s writing. Without further ado, take it away Julianne…

Canadians don’t spook the same way Americans do

It’s always interesting to talk to writers about their craft, but it’s just as interesting to talk to editors — who are far less often interviewed about what goes into making a good book. So it was with great pleasure a few years ago that I talked to Nancy Kilpatrick and David Morrell, who put together the first horror anthology in the venerable Tesseracts series.