Nettles

My flash fiction piece, Nettles, has gone up at Scheherezade’s Bequest/Cabinet des Fees today.

“Nettles” is part of a longer series of very short fairy tale pieces; previous ones have included Glass Dancing and Remembering Fur. It’s been three years since the last one appeared, and I’m very glad to get back to them.

And if anyone reading this is looking for a bit of inspiration — Demeter’s Spicebox is still looking for stories for its third issue. Please let me know what happened to the teapot I created in this tale.

Why I write fairy tales

Pulled from an essay of mine elsewhere:

I write fairy tales because they can be dangerous, because they can allow us to explore truths and deceptions we would often prefer to ignore. That even in a place of seeming safely, you can find yourself trapped in a crystal coffin. That you can lose your eyesight thanks to forces beyond your control. That you may leave bloodstains as you walk before you reach the end of your quest. That sometimes, love may be tangled with the secrets of the past; that opening doors can be dangerous, or can bring you freedom. The original tale of Bluebeard is all about this. I don’t argue that you should believe in all parts of fairy tales. But I do believe you should listen. It’s less dangerous that way.

So there you go.

Million Writers Award/Here, We Cross

Couple of small bits of news this morning:

1) The Million Writers Award notable stories list was just released, and among the notables was my story, “Love in the Absence of Mosquitoes.” You can see the full list here.

2) Here, We Cross, a chapbook from Stone Telling, containing my poem “Encantada,” is now available for sale at Amazon.com, or, as some of you might prefer, Wiscon.

Freddy the Pig continues…plus some snarking on the Avengers

The Freddy the Pig reread continues over at Tor.com. Also, over at my other blog, I snark about the Avengers.

New Freddy the Pig post and new issue of the Baum Bugle

1) The weekly Tor.com post, about the next book in the Freddy series, The Story of Freginald, has popped up on Tor.com.

2) And as long as I’m chatting about Tor.com, also appearing on the site today is a preview of the cover for A Memory of Light, the last of the Wheel of Time books. The double decade tradition of “And this is showing us what, exactly” continues apace!

3) My contributor’s copy of The Baum Bugle also arrived today, along with the notice that The Baum Bugle is looking for a new editor. That editor will not be me, nor will I have any involvement in the hiring process, but if you are interested in Oz and editing stuff, I have the contact info.