Seeing as it marked the end of Spring Break, freedom, writing, and even the sunshine we'd been experiencing for a few days, I wasn't all that excited about Easter in the days leading up to it. Then, on Saturday, my car decided to approach death's door as I drove to work. Meaning that I had to wait for my family to get out of church (after I was done working) so they could drive behind me just in case the poor thing breathed its last on the way home.
It did stall a few times, but we made it home. A veritable Easter miracle!
Once home, we all sat down and had some Easter candy--you know, taste-testing to make sure it was good for the next day. And that's when my brother said, "Oh, and this came for you in the mail today," and gave me a package.
Which turned out to be this:
My copy of Daughters of Icarus--my first publication! Woohoo! Best Easter present ever!
Naturally I've read about half of the book since then--and it's all pretty awesome! I'm surprised at the wide array of stories, settings, and themes; but then, that's what they were going for in this anthology, I do believe. You should get a copy. Which you can, here: http://pinknarc.com/books.htm.
Reading my own story again, which I originally wrote 3-4 years ago and haven't reread since sending it out 8 months ago, I'm sort of surprised at how good it sounds. And, also, at how much my writing has changed, even in subtle things like sentence structure, since this. And yet, somehow, it was likable enough to go in the anthology alongside previously published authors. Which makes for a good bit of encouragement to keep on writing and improving all the time.
Huzzah! Cheers! Now, on to the next publication!
And in the meantime, I'll read the rest of this and get down to some homework. Yes indeedy, school is back in session!
So aside from living under a rock recently, cool and exciting things have been happening to me. I had two stories accepted for publication last year, meaning that they'll soon be coming to a bookstore/e-Reader near you! Whether or not this is exciting to anyone else, it's a huge step toward authorship for this little green bean. Details shall be forthcoming as I obtain them, but this is what I can share now:
The awesomeness that is Narcissus Press will be publishing "Ancestors Enthroned" soon--this SPRING, I do believe, in an anthology entitled Daughters of Icarus. The blurb on the website explains the theme thusly:
"What can women tell us about the world? In this new collection of science fiction, a stunning assembly of authors explore the work laid before the daughters of Icarus, left behind after the prideful fall. Whether the worlds they imagine are hopeful or desolate, each sheds new light on the possibilities of feminism. Daughters of Icarus is a bold exploration of the present, past and future."
http://pinknarc.com/books.htm
Did you see that? Whether or not they meant to, Pink Narcissus called me "stunning" (You can tell we haven't met in person). Knowing my own story backward and forward, I'm curious about what the other writers contributed. And I love the cover art.
Maybe I shouldn't admit it but this is one of those stories I sent out on a lark, my overall thinking being: "What the hey, it's gathering dust, I'll throw it at somebody's wall and see if it sticks!" Which it did, crazy enough.
If the idea of feminist SF gives you pause, I can promise you there are mummies. Trust me, mummies.
My second acceptance was from the lovely folks over at Crossed Genres Press, who picked up my novella (short novel) "The Second Wife" for a collection called Winter Well. Here is their stunning cover art:
http://crossedgenres.com/titles/winter-well/
They summarize "The Second Wife" thusly: Enslaved by a monstrous lord, a sage seeks answers in the stars and finds more… desirable problems.
Coming in MAY!!!
I can also promise Mayanesque bloodshed and awesomeness, though if I say anything else it'll probably be a spoiler.
I banged this story out solely for the anthology, just barely scraping by the deadline. Happy that it found a home because I got quite attached to Lady Akam as I wrote her. Hopefully you'll come to like her, too.
It comes as a surprise to me (maybe to no one else in the world) that my two acceptances thus far have been of stories featuring female protagonists although I'm a writer who feels uncomfortable writing women. Does this just mean I subconsciously try harder to make them believable? Or, does it mean that I shouldn't be so uncomfortable with female characters and should just embrace my inner warrior woman/sorceress/mummification artist? After all, it's not like there's some trick to being a woman in a world where I make up all the rules.
Never mind all that--just get ready for these awesome anthologies to become available soon, so you can tell me how many typos you found! Enjoy!
Winter Well: Speculative Novellas About Older Women (Coming Soon)
Here is the link back to the site for anyone who wants to take a look!
