“In Open Air” to be published in Leadership Gone Right

Some publishing news: my short story “In Open Air” will be published in the upcoming anthology Leadership Gone Right.

Leadership Gone Right, edited by D. A. D’Amico and published by Farthest Star Publishing, aims to tell stories that “envision a world where leadership takes a different path, where heroes and anti-heroes emerge in unexpected ways,” according to the initial announcement.

I was happy to find a home for “In Open Air,” which originally appeared in Accessing the Future, in this anthology. Part of the story hinges on the rotating leadership structure of a generation ship that has finally made it to its destination planet — but an unexpected arrival forces a crisis and the right course of action is anything but clear.

The full lineup of authors and stories for the anthology can be found here. The book is set for release in April 2024. I’ll be sure to announce it here when it’s available!

Up and Coming: free stories!  Download while you can

Up and ComingSo, I am a bit late on writing a this-is-some-stuff-I-wrote-that’s-eligible-for-awards post, but that was on purpose: I was waiting for Up And Coming: Works by the 2016 Campbell-Eligible Authors to be available.  And it is, now. For FREE. You can download it until March 31.

By the way, if you just want to read a huge collection of short stories and don’t care about awards, this is the anthology for you.  There are more than 200 stories in it, written by writers who are in either their first or second year of eligibility for Campbell Award for Best New Writer, which is typically awarded at the same time as the Hugo Awards, though it’s not technically one  of the Hugo Awards. Up and Coming is one million words of prose in a single book. That’s like 10 doorstopper-length fantasy or sci-fi epics right there. And it’s free, to make it easier for potential Campbell voters track down work by eligible writers.

‘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?”

Story on board: Accessing the Future

Accessing the FutureIn case you haven’t heard about this book, Accessing the Future is a new SFF anthology that explores “issues of disability (invisible and visible, physical and mental), and the intersectionality of race, nationality, gender, sexuality, and class—in both physical and virtual spaces.” The table of contents has just been announced, and I’m thrilled my short story “In Open Air” will be included.