Cake!

I wish it was mine. Glorious, yes? (see how it was made here)

Everyone is allowed a big hunk of big ol' gay rainbow cake, just coz.

And what do you get a feminist geek for their birthday?

THIS!

Wonder Woman backpack with attached CAPE! And it IS mine!

365 Project: Stories Read as of 26/5/2013

This week's stories are by James Patrick Kelly, Daniel Jose Older, E. Catherine Tobler, Julie C. Day, and Marissa Lingen.

Week 19 and 20 Update

Captain Picklesworth, reporting in! *salute*

The HMS Pickle has been steaming along at a steady rate, hitting the 5000 word target with days and brain cells to spare. I'm currently writing a new epic fantasy set in a matriarchal world (quelle surprise!) which is well on it's way to novella territory. I'm enjoying the world building, and liking where it's leading me - magic books and dying nano-technology for the win!

I've also been editing my zombie piece "Mostly Dead". Well, it's not zombie, because there's no brain eating or even gore of any type, but there are plenty of undead. Probably more creepy. I'm being very picky about it, because there's some imagery I want to get perfect.

Books I've been reading lately include Catherine Lundoff's "Silver Moon", Janet Edwards "Earth Girl", and "The Other Half of the Sky" and "Daughters of Icarus" anthologies. I'm super pleased to have just received a copy of the 1995 anthology "She's Fantastical" edited by Lucy Sussex, featuring feminist fantasy stories by Australian authors.

It was great to get an acceptance in the last week. But (there's always a but with impatient old me) I wish they were coming quicker. I'm not sure whether it's because I'm not fast enough with my writing, I'm stagnant in some part of it, or my patience is pushing me about. It's going to be nice to have releases in June and July so I'll have something more to talk about! Plus, Au Contraire is coming up mid-July, so that will be an interesting weekend to look forward to - plenty of networking, and book talk and silliness to be had, oh my!

So, life in Pickle land trundles on. Not very exciting, I know. But there are always plenty of cups of tea to be had.



dis poor subztidute fur DisneyWorld

365 Project: Stories Read as of 19/5/2013

Stores ingested this week include Alex Shvartsman (times two), Damien Walters Grintalis, Andrew S. Fuller, Anna Caro, Garth Nix, and Emily Jiang.

Achievement Unlocked!: Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine

I have a list.

It's a list of markets I would like to see my work published. It's morphed a bit over the years, but there are definitely some magazines I see as touchstones, names I'm really happy to put into my bibliography.

One of those magazines is Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. One could almost say it's a rite of passage for a kiwi specfic writer, you know you're getting somewhere in the local industry (to the South Pacific region), when you're published in ASIM (as we fondly refer to it).

Count me in.

I'm extremely proud that "Long's Confandabulous Clockwork Circus and Carnival, and Cats of Many Persuasions" has been chosen to appear in the April 2014 issue of ASIM. It's a story of firsts: my first serious attempt at writing longer fiction (it's a novella), my first try at writing steampunk (I dubbed it Alt History Animagus Steampunk, if that's a thing!), and after three years of nail biting persistence my first break through of the slushpile at ASIM. Yay me!

Nothing left but the waiting. And dreaming of clockwork kittehs.

I'm in yur airship, waring yur gogglez

Why I Removed A Story From Publication in 'Aoife's Kiss'

Exactly a year ago, I had a story accepted for publication in 'Aoife's Kiss'. I was excited and proud because it was the first story I wrote when I started this journey, and I was happy to see it get a home. The editor at the time, one Tyree Campbell, informed me it would appear in the June 2013 edition. I signed the contract, and waited.

And waited.
(Trigger Warning for discussion of abuse after the fold)

365 Project: Stories Read as of 12/5/2013

Stories this week include E. Catherine Tobler, Maria Dahvana Headley, Alexander Jablokov, Kenneth Schneyer, and Erica Lianne Inglett.

"Here's SpecFicNZ-Christchurch" - a blog interview by Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe, the author of the "Wall of Night" series, Gemmell Morningstar and Sir Julius Vogel Award winner, is currently running a blog series featuring Christchurch based speculative fiction writers.

This week it's my turn!

When I first started my tentative steps into the industry, I was surprised and intrigued how many specfic writers made New Zealand home. Even more surprising was how big my local community of writers was, including worldly published types like Helen Lowe and Jennifer Fallon. My local team has been a great help in boosting my self esteem, cheering me on, giving me promotional boosts, and in general being good friends.

It's good to feel not so alone any more.

Thanks to Helen for the massive signal boost.

Update Weeks 17 and 18

Hellooo brain. Anybody home?

Week 17 was a shocker. I barely scraped out 3000 words...then completely scrapped it all on the Sunday night. Post Disney blues? Lingering jetlag? Who knows. All I know that it was one of the worse writing weeks of this year that didn't warrant a blog post all of it's own.

Week 18 on the other hand was much better. I resolved to make a fresh start last Monday, and made steady progress on a brand new story which bordered on the witty and interesting. I hit my word target by Friday night, so gave myself the weekend off to allow my brain a little recharging. I have to keep reminding myself: be kinder on yourself.

No news on any sales this time, though I received some encouraging news on one thing, so fingers crossed.

There's also a few things on the calendar in the next month or so. This week I will be blog interviewed on Helen Lowe's "Here's SpecFicNZ-Christchurch" series. I'm not a charisma machine, but I think I said some reasonably amusing and intelligent things. June will see the release of my story "Second Skin" in Crossed Genres Magazine 6, under the theme of "She". There is also the expectation my story "Through the Open Door" will be released in next month's Aoife's Kiss (just waiting on info back about that). And I'm hoping "In Bloom" will be released in the delayed Fantastique Unfettered soon.

I've been reading a lot of short fiction lately, and not just in aid of my 365 Project. I've got some great anthologies that I'm dipping into like "Daughters of Icarus" (well, yeah), "The Other Half of the Sky", Cat Rambo's "Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight", and "Bloodchildren" edited by Nisi Shawl (for the Carl Brandon Society) among others. I'm thinking this year will be more short fiction than novels, coz it's taken me ages to pick through longer forms at the moment. I'm annoyed I'm still a I'm a slow reader even after all these years.

Kitten Sez: Reading Rainbow

365 Project: Stories read as of 5/5/2013

Stories read this week include Kathryn Yelinek, Sylvia Spruck Wrigley, Zachary Jernigan, Lucy Sussex, and Melissa Scott (only 5, since I ran out of brainage).

ARC Giveaway: Crossed Genres Magazine 2.0 Book One

It seems a bit strange to be promoting a collection containing my second pro sale story even before it's released, but here it is!

Crossed Genres Magazine will be releasing a collection of it's first six issues of 2013 in July, and that will include June's "She", where my story "Second Skin" will be released.

If you'd like an Advanced Reading Copy of Crossed Genres Magazine 2.0 Book One, head on over to Good Reads and sign up.

And while you're at it, check out the sweet sweet cover art by Julie Dillon:

Crossed Genres Magazine 2.0 Book One:
Cover Art of a dark skinned young woman with an artificial leg,
gazing in wonder at a glowing podium

Just. No.

Sometimes one gets so exhausted, one starts having to make arbitrary choices on reading material. Trigger Warning for talk of uncomfortable topics below the cut.