New Story and Interview

Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night (via Wikimedia Commons)

Just a note to say the September 2012 Asimov's is out now, including my new story "Star Soup," a new Great Ship series tale from Robert Reed, a time-travel character drama by Dale Bailey, and many other cool-looking things.

There is also a short interview with me at the F&SF blog about my story "Grand Tour." The questions were asked by Stephen Mazur.

Knights and Tourists

Some good writing news... First, the May/June 2012 Fantasy and Science Fiction has appeared, and includes my science fiction story "Grand Tour," along with a lot of very cool-looking stuff, including a new novella by author and poet Fred Chappell.

"Grand Tour," like "The Mote-Dancer and the Firelife" (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #90) and the upcoming "Star Soup," share a universe I figure I'll call the "Nightgift" universe, after the starship many of the characters will serve aboard at some point in their lives. I'm not sure how extensive the series will eventually be, but I like the idea of telling the tales of various people who cross paths aboard a starship, including aspects of their lives before and after their stints on board.

The second bit of good news is that Beneath Ceaseless Skies has accepted a new fantasy story, "How the Wicker Knight Would Not Move," which, like "The Lions of Karthagar" from Black Gate 15, is a standalone story set in the world of Persimmon Gaunt and Imago Bone. Needless to say, I am a very happy camper.

Under Strange Skies

The current issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies has something by me, alongside the intriguing-sounding story "Scry" by Anne Ivy, as part of their special science-fantasy month. I hope you'll check them out. (Plus, next issue, there'll be even more science-fantasy, courtesy of Yoon Ha Lee and Megan Arkenberg.)

I also got the great news recently that my story "Grand Tour," featuring a younger version of the protagonist of the BCS story, is slated for the May/June 2012 Fantasy & Science Fiction. And just to make me downright giddy, a third story in that universe (though not featuring that particular character) is in inventory at Asimov's.

More Microstories

My experiment with posting ten tiny "stories" on Twitter the 10th of each month has fizzled, but because it's 10/10, here's the set from last month. I made a few small edits.

In the firelight the shaman told of lost Atlantis: "It fell, but one day we will rise." He raised an ancient plastic toy, winged and white.

We shattered the Moon to make the LuneNet that enmeshes us, giving up tides for technology. Silver songs we sing, in our cage.

Jesus: "Love thy neighbor."

Humans: "Eh? Speak up."

Jesus: "Love thy enemies."

Humans: "Ah, our neighbors are enemies."

Jesus: [facepalm]

Ours and myriad other universes flew into existence like bubbles. The Children who made us now reach out their hyperspatial fingers...

The horde torched the civilized lands. Dying metropolises whispered, "Revenge." Now nomads' children are born with the souls of cities.

The Teddy bear AI comforted generations, wore out a thousand plush skins. It knew the family secrets, where the bodies lay. It spoke softly.

On a bet I wrote Finnegans Wake and Zombies. I had to burn the manuscript to save the world.

2011: Lost my contacts, so I can't drive. 2021: Lost my contacts, so I can't signal my car to come get me.

Under the swollen red Sun, the last descendant of trees produced the last fruit. To the alien visitors it whispered Earth's last word: Eat.

Phaeton leaned from the sun-chariot and snagged Icarus, who joined the struggle with the reins. They lived to surpass their sires.

Tweetable Tales

Snowflake via electron microscope. Source: USDA via Wikimedia Commons

Last month I fired off ten fiction snippets via Twitter. It was a fun exercise and I think I'll try it again this month. I don't think I can manage anything like a "story" at this length, but I hope these amuse. Here's the August set. The first one originally appeared at @outshine, edited by Jetse De Vries, a Twitter-zine of optimistic near-future science fiction.

The Lunarcade! For shiny full-moon quarters you remote-drive lunar rovers. Can you master 1.28 second delay? Tag lunar ore, get high score.

The ad men tested DreamTouch with the meat campaign. All NYC woke from red dreams hissing, "It's what's for dinner." And so we have zombies.

My augmented toddler grabbed my credit stick and ran into the public teleport booth. I hate hide and seek.

A lonely ghost tried to keep us inside with scary "street" noise. Didn't work. It entered our tv, inventing its own local news. That worked.

In Universe1, time travel is impossible.

possible. In Universe2, time travel is

.sdrawkcab snur emit 3esrevinU nI

inUniverse4alltimeisone

But, officer, I have sentient AI installed in this car. Surely I can drive in the high-occupancy lane.

The liner returned before it left. I asked myself about the trip. "Terrible," I told me. I let myself get bumped for credit. I love FTL.

The supers defeated Lord Retcon. In a flash it was 1938. The First smiled. "One life, one chance, is all I ask." He ran to block the train.

The alien conquerers made us choose a King from Earth's history to rule over us. But we shall overcome. We picked MLK.

After centuries Cupid reemerged over Toronto. Startled, he shot wild at the biplane and hit a young woman watching the show. Fly on, Amelia.

John Joseph Adams Interview

Over at the Santa Clara County Library blog, there's the text of an interview I did by email with Hugo-nominated editor John Joseph Adams. He edits the online fiction magazines Lightspeed and Fantasy, and was an assistant editor at Fantasy and Science Fiction for many years, but mainly the discussion's about his themed anthology series, beginning with Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse. I hope you'll take a look.

From a Work in Progress

Image credit: Jahn Henne, from Wikimedia Commons

(I finished a novel draft last week, so I'm working on a short story. This one is not part of my "Gaunt and Bone" series but belongs to the same world. Here's the opening.)

Shadowdrop wasn't afraid of the hellsnout that chased her down Statuary Avenue past the hundred marble emperors glaring beneath pigeons' feet. She didn't trouble about its spittle-flecked fangs chomping the air behind her leaping legs as she cleared the iron fence of the Western Gravegarden. Nor was she overly concerned about its frantic howling as it summoned a half dozen four-legged friends for a chase up the Stairway of Time, up the stone stretch, the bronze stretch, the iron and orichalkum stretches shining near the hilltop.

No, what the black cat feared as she raced toward the Tower of the Infraseers was that she'd shed her natural bad luck upon all the innocents in the forum. Again.

The Tower pretended to lack a first story, with only scaffolding, pipes, and gutters connecting it to the ground. The Infraseers were proud of their bond with the guts of the city. It wasn't until she'd clawed her way up the the second story and its gargoyle-covered facade that Shadowdrop turned and saw her fears were justified.

As she gasped between the stone monstrosities, the mutated hounds baying beneath her, she looked down the hill, past the gardens, and along the avenue. The street was now a trail of misfortune.

Overturned fruit carts spilled pink wondermelons and purple squirtbursts onto the stone emperors' feet... A carriage sprawled within the Fountain of Empress Zayne, and silken-clad nobles fled the spray spurting from every gilded window... A throng emerging from the Zodiac Arena was spattered by the water and like angry bees it convulsed in battle between the partisans of Glorg Headsmasher and Snarl Biteblood.

"It is all my fault," Shadowdrop moaned. For she had crossed their path.

On the Road to Karthagar

Image credit: Jim and Ruth Keegan

Black Gate 15 is set to appear in the near future, stuffed full of fantasy adventure, and I wanted to share the amazing illustration created by Jim and Ruth Keegan for my story "The Lions of Karthagar." (See more of their great artwork at their site.) The gentleman on the left is known as a parchman, just one of the dangers the guy on the right will encounter on his journey to the mysterious desert city of Karthagar.

Black Gate is a fiction magazine focusing on fantasy, and with special attention to action and adventure. Check out their website for more information, as well as a lively blog covering books, movies, writing, comics, games, and more.