New publications: Carnival Ever After, Notes on the Seventh Battle of the Queen of the Ruby Mists, and Green Leaves Against the Wind

So 2023 has started out with a bit of a publishing bang, with not one but two new stories, plus a poem:

Carnival Ever After, in Apex, is a fairy tale about what happened after the end of Charles Perrault’s “Diamonds and Toads,” both to the beautiful sister who married a prince, and the ugly sister who did not.

Notes on the Seventh Battle of the Queen of the Ruby Mists, in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, collects the footnotes of a detailed research study on this fabulous battle. Still kinda sad that the footnote citing an article from First in Fae had to be eliminated, but sacrifices must be made in the name of scholarship.

This story is closely related to my earlier story in Reckoning, Footnotes on Phosphates, Nitrates and the Lake A Incident: a Review.

And speaking of Reckoning, I also have a new poem there this month: Green Leaves Against the Wind.

Enjoy!

And the Green Water Waiting

A new story from me out today at Fusion Fragment,“And the Green Water Waiting.”

This was an interesting one to place – largely because nearly everyone I sent it to had a different reaction. Some editors hated the ambiguity. Some editors thought it had a bit too much sex for their particular zines. Some editors thought it was too long. Other editors felt it was far too short and needed to be expanded into a novella.

So I’m glad it found a home at last – with an editor who loved the ambiguity.

Enjoy!

The Ruby of the Summer King, and The Shifting Cafe

A rare dual publication day for me.

In Daily Science Fiction, The Shifting Cafe, a story inspired by Coffeehouse AUs, about a rather different kind of coffee shop.

And in Uncanny Magazine, The Ruby of the Summer King, a mythic tale about, well. A ruby, and a summer king.

Enjoy!

2019 Publication Round-up

It’s mid-December, which seems a decent time for participating in this annual ritual:

Short fiction:

The Girl and the House, in Nightmare, April 2019, a story of, well, a girl, a house, and Gothic tropes. It received a number of very kind reviews and appeared on some recommended reading lists.

Gorilla in the Streets, in Diabolical Plots, Year Five. This also made its first appearance in April, but so far, hasn’t received as much attention – quite possibly because it’s only been in the anthology so far, not online. It will be available online starting in January. Update: Now available to read online!

Flash fiction:

Feather Ties, in Daily Science Fiction, March 2019. A little look at what happened after the events of the fairy tale of the golden goose.

Breaking the Enchantment, Daily Science Fiction, July 2019. Probably my most popular flash fiction story of the year, a little gender bent story about – what else – breaking an enchantment.

The Wolf, Daily Science Fiction, August 2019. A tale of Little Red Riding Hood. The overtones – disturbing, sexual and otherwise – are deliberate.

Sunflowers and Blood, in Automata Review, August 2019. This had the misfortune to be published while I was in Ireland this summer, in the middle of all of the excitement with my broken wheelchair, Aer Lingus and Worldcon, and thus, ended up getting overlooked by pretty much everyone, including me, alas.

Transformation, Afterwards, in Daily Science Fiction, November 2019. A little look at what happened after the princess kissed the frog.

Poetry:

Just one poem this year, the late entry Gretel’s Bones, out in Strange Horizons, December 2019.

Nonfiction:

On Fairy Tales, the other most popular thing I did this year: finishing up a two year essay series Tor.com, which covered everything from the surprisingly incestuous history of well-known fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk to the less well known, elaborate, intricate tales penned by the French salon fairy tale writers to occasional detours into the history of animation and the Technicolor process. And some poetry.

Dragonriders of Pern reread for Tor.com. A look back at the first three Pern books by Anne McCaffrey.

So, less than in previous years – which happens after a year spent largely sick. But next year sees some new stuff in Uncanny, Lightspeed, Syntax and Salt, Kaleidotrope, Mithila Review, Wizards in Space, The Baum Bugle and possibly more, as well as poetry and (hopefully) snippets of works in progress on my Patreon.  Stay tuned!

Gretel’s Bones and Transformation, Afterwards

I love the happy endings of fairy tales. But they always leave me wondering: what happened after this? Oh, sure, the story says they lived happily ever after, but is that true? Were they really able to forget everything – and laugh? Or did that laughter – that joy – that happiness – have a bitter edge?

Coincidentally, two of my small works inspired by those endings just went up over the last couple of days:  Gretel’s Bones, about – wait for it – Gretel and bones, and Transformation, Afterwards, about what happens after the princess kisses the frog.

Enjoy!

 

 

The Wolf

Little Red Riding Hood has never been one of my favorite fairy tales. When I was a small kid, I much preferred the stories of the princesses with the beautiful dresses (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty) or the tales of the girls who went out on adventures and rescued their brothers or princes (East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon, The Seven Swans, though calling “weaving together nettle shirts” an adventure of any sort is probably a bit much). Little Red Riding Hood had a bright red hood, but that was about it for the clothing, and then a wolf ate her, and then someone else shot the wolf. Not really my sort of story.

As a grownup, I could appreciate the warning in the tale from Perrault and the Grimms. But appreciating the warning didn’t necessarily make me value the tale all that much.

Still, something about the story nagged at me – enough that I’ve ended up using it as inspiration for a poem or short story or two. This is the latest, The Wolf, up at Daily Science Fiction today. Enjoy!

“Gorilla in the Streets” and “The Girl and the House” now available!

Double publication day for me, with two stories now available for purchase. They’ll both be up on the web eventually, but I thought people might want an early look.

First up, “Gorilla in the Streets,” in Diabolical Plots, Year Five, with stories from me, Beth Cato, Nin Harris and more, available from Amazon and Kobo. This story is one of my personal favorites – it deals with some accessibility issues, but also, and this is very important, it’s about a gorilla.

Second, “The Girl and the House, in Nightmare, my personal response to reading waaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too many of those Gothic novels featuring, well, a Girl and a House. My ending is just a touch darker than some of those novels. The individual issue can be purchased here, but I strongly recommend subscribing to Nightmare if you’re into horror at all – it’s a much better deal than buying individual issues. If like me you’re toting along a Samsung Galaxy, the Weightless Books subscription seemed to be the easiest format.

Enjoy!

The Ceremony/The Water Beating Against Your Skin

A rare double publication day for me. First up, The Ceremony, a gender-bent Sleeping Beauty tale of ritual and regime, up at Fireside Fiction. Second, The Water Beating Against Your Skin, in Twisted Moon Magazine, a poem about water and springs and what can be found there.

Enjoy!

Shadows and Bells

To start off 2018, a little tale from me about the underworld and journeys there, Shadows and Bells, in Kaleidotrope.

This story was rather difficult to place, so I’m delighted to see it out in the world at last.

Enjoy!

 

 

2017 Roundup

Time for the obligatory end of year round up of Various Things I Published/Was Involved in During 2017, a year where we learned that if you don’t write all that much in 2016, you won’t publish all that much in 2017.

I know. Who would have thunk?

But it wasn’t a completely empty year either, including, as it did:

One novella:

Probably the publication I was proudest of this year, an epic, novella length poem (yes, about 28,000 words), Through Immortal Shadows Singing, published by Papaveria Press.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and multiple other outlets. The SFPA reviewed it here, and a few Goodreads readers chimed in here.

One short story:

You Will Never Know What Opens, in Lightspeed Magazine, December 2017. Portal fantasy. Hasn’t been out long enough to garner that many responses, but Charles Payseur was kind enough to give a thoughtful review here.

Six flash fiction pieces – not all of them in Daily Science Fiction!

The Lion, in Daily Science Fiction, March 2017.  A little fairy tale.

We Need to Talk About the Unicorn in Your Back Yard, Daily Science Fiction, April 2017.  Humor. Possibly my most popular short fiction piece from last year. An audio version is coming up from Toasted Cake, but in the meantime, if you missed it, it’s a short read. I promise.

The Witch in the Tower, Fireside, July 2017. One of my personal favorites from the year. Another little fairy tale.

Stealing Tales, Daily Science Fiction, November 2017. Another little fairy tale.

“Gingerbread Smoke,” in Typhon: A Monster Anthology Vol 2., by Pantheon Magazine. This was probably the hands down hardest piece of mine to find this year, bar none, but I promise: the anthology really truly is available through Amazon now, and is forthcoming from other outlets shortly, and the anthology overall is well worth the hunt.

Pipers Piping, Daily Science Fiction, December 2017. A little Christmas story.

Five poems:

The Study, in Mithila Review: The Journal of International Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Stained Oak Leaves, in Umbel & Panicle.

Euryale at the Shore, in Polu Texni

Hunter, in Mythic Delirium

Burning, in Wild Musette (this one is literary/non-speculative)

Related Work:

On Fairy Tales: A weekly essay series on Tor.com discussing fairy tales and various works inspired by fairy tales.

The Pixar Rewatch. A sequel to the 2015-2016 Disney Read-watch, this monthly essay series on Tor.com explored the Pixar movies – discussing development and financial details, animation, other tidbits and of course the films themselves.

The Secret of NIMH.  Another add-on to the Disney Read-watch, this essay appeared over at Uncanny, and focused on Don Bluth and his first animated picture.

And speaking of the Disney Read-watch, the very last post in that series – a wrap-up post – appeared in January 2017, making the entire series – technically – still eligible for Best Related Work awards.

And one more essay: Where Should You Start Reading the Chronicles of Narnia, which generated several comments.

Dramatic Presentation (short)

Deathlight, which originally appeared in Lightspeed back in 2016, was turned into an audio play this year by Fancy Pants Gangsters.

Onwards to 2018!