What's New in Your Corner of the World?

original cover art copyright Veris Maya

original cover art copyright Chris Howard

This Spring, I have two new projects in the production pipeline. A collection of short stories, "Stranger Worlds Than These," and an SF novel, DERELICT.

I'm very excited about them both, and I'm especially pleased to be moving forward on new things after what felt like a very long and difficult Winter.

The story collection (look for it end of April or early May) includes the SF story I contributed to our charity anthology, PEN-ULTIMATE, along with 6 others that have not been published elsewhere. Some have been included in my occasional newsletter, others are brand new. I used to think I didn't like short stories - not reading them and not writing them, but I realized that this wasn't true. My frustration with short stories is that they are hard. In some ways, they are far harder to write than novels, where the author has all kinds of wiggle room to explore and define character, setting, and conflict. With short stories, you have to punch it and hit your mark right away. There is no meandering around. Every word must count.

Short stories are much closer to poetry than they are to novels. But poetry is something I'm at home writing and once I realized this kinship, it became much easier to work with small narratives.

Another lovely thing about short stories is I can reward myself with one every night before I go to bed, with less of a risk of staying up way past my bedtime because I can't put the book down. :) I'm working my way through the Tor 5 years of story anthology this way and discovering several authors whose work is now on my TBR list.

I can't wait until I can release DERELICT (late spring or early summer, 2014) into the world! It's a story I love, with complex and diverse characters, an insane AI controlling a broken ship, and a chase through space. What's not to love? I have plans for multiple novels in this universe, so if you like space opera, stay tuned.

I'll be announcing the release dates on my newsletter, so please subscribe for the latest news and a sneak peek at one of the stories in the collection.

And I'm still working on TIME AND TITHE, the sequel to THE BETWEEN. My target date for publication is late Fall 2014.

Lots happening here at "Chez LJ". What's going on in your part of the universe?

Because Libraries

This rusting beauty is very much like the bookmobile I remember.
Photo by Sam Beebe, used with attribution.

I have a great love of libraries. When I was a kid, our public library even had a bookmobile during the summer and every week, I would be waiting at the corner up the street for the converted RV to show up. I was always first in line. The bookmobile was run by a husband and wife. She was the librarian, he the driver and every week during the summer, she would have a stack of books she pulled out especially for me.

I spent much of my childhood inside the welcoming and magical space of libraries; the public library of our town, and the libraries of my elementary, junior, and senior high schools.

My father, not a formally educated man, taught me from an early age that the only things you needed to succeed was the ability to read and a library card.

I still strongly believe this. Libraries can help level the playing field for kids and adults, no matter where they live.

For the month of March, I'm promoting library love:

If you purchase a print copy of either of my novels or the SF&F short story anthology I co-edited for a school or public library, I will pay the shipping (if you get it directly from me rather than amazon) and either way, gift you with an eBook copy.

THE BETWEEN is suitable for a middle school and up readership, FUTURE TENSE for high school and up. Though I've had younger readers read and enjoy both stories. (And adults, too. No need to be shy about enjoying YA books.)

The PENULTIMATE ANTHOLOGY is suitable for all ages.

You can see the covers, read the blurbs, and see the links to purchasing venues here: If you do buy from Amazon or CreateSpace, send me an email with a copy of your receipt and the name of the library of your choice. If you buy directly from me, send me the address of the library and I'll ship it for you. Either way, I'll send a note to the library acknowledging your donation and I'll send you the eBook copy in your choice of formats.

Good for libraries, good for you!

2013 - The Year that Was

So it's that time, again. Time to take stock of what I accomplished in the past twelve months in relation to what I had hoped to accomplish. Time to look ahead to the New Year and anticipate what it will bring.

I have made these year end round-up posts every year since 2007. ( 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. God-willing and the river don't rise, I will continue to make them, moving forward into the future.

When I look back at my yearly reviews, I am humbled by my ambitions. I very rarely accomplish everything I set out to do, but I don't consider that a failure. Instead, I also look at what I have accomplished and find cause for celebration.

These were my plans for 2013:

• Revise/edit the ghost story (which really, really needs a title) and DERELICT
• Brainstorm with Nephele regarding what to write next/continue to align goals with the aim of publication
• Complete and publish the Ultimate SF&F Workshop Anthology
• Write 4-6 new short stories

 So, dear readers, how did I do?

1. Revised and edited DERELICT, and it is currently now on submission through Nephele Tempest, my agent.
   
2. Along with my co-editor, Talib Hussain, I released PEN-ULTIMATE: A SPECULATIVE FICTION ANTHOLOGY at Readercon 2013. As this was conceived as a charity project, we are thrilled to have already made our first donation to the SFWA emergency medical fund.
   
3. One of my short stories was included in the THEME-THOLOGY: INVASION anthology.
   
4. Wrote 1 new short story and revised three others. (Short stories are hard!)
   
5. Working with a developmental editor, finished a complete 'renovation' of a trunked novel, now named OATHBREAKER'S PRICE, an alternate-world fantasy. It is now being read by an acquiring editor of a small press.
   
6. First draft: I am approximately 2/3 to 3/4 through the first draft of the as-yet unnamed sequel to THE BETWEEN.
   
7. Close to 80  blog posts between Once in a Blue Muse Blog and guest posts for other writing sites.
   
8. Poetry: a dozen or so poems
   
9. Enjoyed being part of the programs for both Boskone and Readercon in 2013 and am looking forward to my participation in 2014.

So, all in all, this was a very productive year. I have a lot planned for 2014 and it has the possibility of being a very exciting year!

• Forging ahead in a hybrid path to publication, while my agent is actively submitting DERELICT, I will be independently publishing several novels, including a YA fantasy, FUTURE TENSE in early 2014 and readying THE BETWEEN's sequel by the end of 2014.
  
• I look forward to the chance to experience working with a small press on OATHBREAKER'S PRICE. If the manuscript is not picked up by the press, I will publish it under Interrobang Books sometime mid-year.
  
• I will be joining a group writing blog with several amazing and talented ladies, but I can't tell you about it yet. :) But don't worry, Once in a Blue Muse Blog will still be my main blogging home.
  
•  I am dipping my toes into a collaborative middle grade project with a writer I've worked with from Google+. Again, I can't divulge the details yet, but I'm excited about working on something so different from my usual writing fare.
  
• With the skills I have developed in full-contact revision, I will be assessing one of my early high fantasy novels for its resurrection potential while the next novel finds me.

Have a great 2014, one and all.

Readercon 2013: A Round-up

A lovely and unexpected acknowledgement

I've been to Readercon for several years now, but this year was the first time I've been on the program. It was an outstanding weekend and I am extremely grateful to the programming committee for giving me this opportunity. Over the course of the con, I participated in 3 panels, a reading, and a signing, including one where I was moderator.

I've done tons of public speaking before; in my capacity as a physical therapist, I've spoken in front of national conferences with an auditorium full of medical people without blinking an eye. While I have also done some other cons as well as bookstore readings and open mic nights, this felt different. I definitely had the pre-con jitters Friday morning as I got ready to drive to Burlington.

Predictably, my first panel was the one I needed to moderate. Nothing like diving into the deep end of the pool, right?

The Chair Became the Suit: Expressions of Disability in Speculative Fiction. Gwendolyn Clare, Lisa Janice (LJ) Cohen (leader), Shira Lipkin. Disabled characters have gradually become more common in SF/F, including entities as different as Batgirl/Oracle, Nahadoth, Toothless, and Hodor. In genres that offer the possibility of writing out or eliding disability using technology or magic, what do we see when authors choose to feature it prominently instead? How do authors and characters handle questions of access—to physical spaces, to assistive devices, to therapeutic treatment, or to participation in the community?
Suggested by Sarah Pinsker.

My panelists, Gwendolyn Clare and Shira Lipkin couldn't have been more gracious and helpful. We pulled in Sarah Pinsker and our unofficial/stealth third panelist because she had suggested the panel and had helped us brainstorm for it.  The conversation was wide ranging and thoughtful, as were the audience questions. It's an important subject and one I'm thrilled got presented at Readercon. We could have talked for at least another hour and I hope this is something we can revisit in future years.

A little later Friday, I reprised the eBook formatting panel I had done for Boskone and had a ton of folks come find me afterwards to thank me for demystifying the process.

On Saturday, I gave a 30 minute reading of about 2 chapters from DERELICT, my SF novel currently on submission. Apparently, I did not stumble or mumble excessively. :)

On the advice of my writing mentor and friend, Jeff Carver, I put out a bowl of dark chocolate as 'con-bait' for my signing Sunday morning. At 9 am. I was certain I would sit stiffly for a very lonely hour. Fortunately, I was paired with the interesting Ben Loory (we did a book trade and I'm looking forward to reading his short story collection, "Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day") and (huzzah!) folks did wander over for interesting chats and to buy my YA Fantasy title. :) I blame the chocolate.

I participated in one final panel on Sunday--writing for the YA and MG audience.

Writing for Younger Readers. Lisa Janice (LJ) Cohen, Jordan Hamessley, Alaya Dawn Johnson, E.C. Myers (leader), Phoebe North, Shveta Thakrar. How do middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) authors and editors write for children and teen readers? How do they make science fiction more accessible for kids, build complex fantasy worlds, and 

develop authentic characters with diverse backgrounds? This panel is ideal for anyone writing MG or YA or interested in finding books with plots as rich and complex as any novel targeted to adult readers.

Eugene Myers did a fabulous job of moderating, posing interesting questions to us and keeping the conversation flowing. It was an odd moment, as I looked at my fellow panelists, when I realized I was old enough to be any of their mothers! It gave me an interesting perspective on how YA/MG has changed in a generation.

So that's the 'official' Readercon stuff. The unofficial part of the con was in connecting with old friends and new, and in the book launch of an anthology of short stories, written by graduates of the Ultimate Science Fiction Writing workshop. 

One of the most proud moments of this past year was when I handed each of the contributors, my co-editor, and our writing mentors, Jeff Carver and Craig Shaw Gardner, their copies. Seeing the excitement and pride in their eyes made the last weeks of insanity completely worth it.

Thank you to Prime Books and Paula Guran and Sean Wallace for agreeing to place Pen-Ultimate on their table in the dealer's room and then to donate the full purchase price to the cause. (All proceeds are being donated to the SFWA Medical Emergency Fund)

And that bring me to the screen shot at the top of this page. The talented and gracious Chuck Wendig wrote a blog post about the anthology that he tweeted about. That tweet was then re-tweeted by THE Margaret Atwood. :swoon:  I found this out Friday--just before my first panel.

If you want to see the famous cover she admired, or want to have 11 great stories to read while supporting a great cause, purchase links and info are here.

Community Ties

This morning, I completed a whole novel critique for one of the members of a small writing/support group I belong to on Facebook (shoutout to the lovely ladies of the #SFWG!) and it occurred to me what a wonderful opportunity the internet has given me.

I'm currently part of several writing communities, some virtual, some physical, and all important to my development as a writer.

For many, many years, I was an active moderator at Wild Poetry Forum. I found WPF when I was the young mother of 2, working full time, and trying to write something--anything--in the margins of my life. I had no flexibility to look for a local writing group and having access to a community of poets from across the globe and a place to post work for review meant I could participate in the time I could carve from my crazy life.

When I started to work on novel-length fiction, I stumbled into Forward Motion for Writers and quickly found a critique group there. It lasted for several years and I am still in contact with many of the members of the group. In fact, the artist (Jade Zivanovic) who designed and created the cover for THE BETWEEN was originally a member of that writing group. She is from Australia. I live in the US. Without FMWriters, I would never have had the great good fortune to work with her.

Another one of my communities emerged from a local workshop I took about 6 years ago. The Ultimate Science Fiction Writing Workshop introduced me to a group of local writers and after the formal workshop was over, we've stayed in touch using a combination of real-life meetups and an internet message board. In fact, it is from that group that the PEN-ULTIMATE anthology emerged from.

The #SFWG is a small community of writers--most of whom write historical fiction, though they let me play in their sandbox. :) #SFWG (and what it stands for is a secret!) is as much a private space to gripe, a place to share sorrows and triumphs, as it is a critique group. The wonderful ladies who make up this group know how much I appreciate their support this past year.

Another kind of community is what I call my 'water cooler': Google Plus. Over the past 2 years, I have grown to really appreciate the ability to hang out and talk 'shop' with a community of writers and artists there. When you work from home, alone, but for the company of two shelter dogs, it becomes crucial to have other folks to talk to.

I feel extremely fortunate to very literally have the world at my fingertips. Writing can be a very lonely endeavor. My myriad communities make my life so much more vibrant.

Today's blogpost is part of FMWriter's Merry-Go-Round Blog tour. To see what dozens of other writers from one of my communities have to say about their communities, this month's topic, check out the blog tour hub. 

Odds and Ends: Early Summer Edition

Cicada wing, photo by elizartyrrell, used with attribution, cc license

This morning, I heard the first of the summer cicadas. It's a sound that brings me back to childhood and the seemingly endless summers that stretched in glorious unscripted time between July and September.

As I travel through the years of my adulthood, it gets harder and harder to remember when days felt long and unhurried. My only deadline was to be home at dusk. There were no cell phones or wifi, so that meant long stretches where no one was able to find me.

There is a freedom in that.

I've recently started to take Yoga classes at a studio near my home. One of the things I love about Yoga class, is the studio has a no cell phone policy. For a glorious 90 minutes, twice a week, I escape the tyranny of outside influence and spend time in movement and reflection.

Summer is traditionally a time to slow down. Certainly the heat and humidity of the past few weeks is an external force, reminding us that we are not always in control. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though it can be stressful when there are deadlines and responsibilities looming.

I am trying to remember to pause often and breathe.

On the writing front, DERELICT is currently with 4 editors of SF publishing houses. Just as I cannot control the weather, I have no influence on when they will read it and if they will love it well enough to offer to buy it. So another thing to let go.

My current serial, OATHBREAKER'S PRICE is about 2/3 through its run. If you want to read it, links are on the right hand sidebar. It's an alternate-world fantasy novel.

PEN-ULTIMATE: A SPECULATIVE FICTION ANTHOLOGY is out in the world, in trade paperback and ebook editions. Purchase links and more about the anthology can be found here. It was an honor and a privilege to edit such fine writers. If you enjoy short stories, this is your chance to read eleven original pieces, written by graduates of the Boston area Ultimate Science Fiction Writing Workshop and support a great cause at the same time. All proceeds are being donated to the SFWA Emergency Medical Fund.

Readercon 24 starts this Thursday evening. If you're attending, look for me. I'm on the program for the first time with three panels, a reading, and a signing. I'd love to see you there!

Pen-Ultimate!

Original artwork for the Pen-Ultimate cover by Chris Howard

 

A year ago at Readercon 2012, I was sitting in a hotel restaurant with several years of my fellow graduates of the Ultimate SF Workshop taught in the Boston area by Jeff Carver and Craig Shaw Gardner. As I looked around the large table, it struck me how talented a group of writers we were and I mumbled something about how we really should put together an anthology.

So I guess that meant I volunteered myself and along with my partner-in-anthology, Talib Hussain, (another hapless volunteer!) began to organize what would, a year later, become PEN-ULTIMATE: A SPECULATIVE FICTION ANTHOLOGY.

After a several month submission/reading period, the eleven stories that make up this anthology went through a cross-critique and revision process that very much honored the workshop model that we practiced with Jeff and Craig.

The project is coming together because of the work of many talented and hard-working individuals and I am proud to have my name associated with it. We are working towards a July 11th official publication date, to correspond with the start of Readercon 2013 and all proceeds from the anthology sale (both print and eBook) will be donated to the SFWA emergency medical fund.

Stay tuned for links and more information!