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Writerly updates

Posted on November 3, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’m planning to actually do a Sunday linkdump later this evening – shock! – but for the moment here’s a roundup of some stuff that’s been going on in the writing area of my life recently:

I’m writing yet another novel. More specifically, I’m over 45k words into another novel after less than two weeks of working on it. I have never worked this fast on anything except maybe my comprehensive exams. I’ve been yelling about it a lot on Twitter, and I worry that it comes off as bragging, and maybe it is a tiny bit, but my primary reasons are two-fold:
A) I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN ANYTHING THIS FAST BEFORE WHAT IS HAPPENING
B) I REALLY REALLY LOVE THIS BOOK

It is, essentially, a book I decided I wanted to write in between the completing the second book in the Casting the Bones trilogy and beginning work on the third. I didn’t even originally intend for it to be novel-length; I thought it might be a novella, something easy and light and vaguely trashy based on an idea I had years ago and put aside until I could figure out how to approach it, namely: A (very) loose retelling of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, only gay, and in space. Where Theseus is a bounty hunter and the Minotaur is the genetically engineered rogue supersoldier that he’s hired to hunt down. Working title is Labyrinthian.

Having written three novels in very rapid succession that ended up having Serious Points, I wanted to write something for therapy, something fun and silly that might also, frankly, move some inventory. But it’s become a lot more than that. Honestly, I’m working so fast because it’s very hard right now to not work on it. I’m enjoying it that much. I aim to be done sometime in the next two weeks.

I had a story come out in Strange Horizons, “Event Horizon.” So far the critical response has been pretty great. Tangent sez: “This is a very self-aware piece, asking why people do awful things even as it tells a gripping story…the subtext is powerful and shocking.” Lois Tilton at Locus gave it a coveted “recommended”: “Of all the horror stories I’ve read this season, this one evokes the strongest sense of malevolence.”

“Across the Seam”, a story I wrote – in large part inspired by Rob’s own family history – about a Rusyn immigrant coal miner caught up in both gender troubles and a (true life) massacre of striking workers will be appearing in Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History in early 2014. I’m beyond excited about this.

Think that’s everything.

It’s been a majorly chaotic October and a lot about it has been difficult, but I realized a while ago that while I might get frustrated about things (agent-hunting has so far turned up nothing) and while I might experience doubt regarding specific projects, on the whole I don’t worry about whether I’m a good writer anymore. I know, objectively, that I’m good. Whatever else is going on, it feels pretty wonderful to finally be sure of that much.

Line and Orbit: Roundup thingy/linkspam

Posted on February 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

So a bunch has happened with Line and Orbit in the last couple of weeks (aside from just it being released). Here are a few of the highlights:

It got 5/5 stars from Reviews by Jessewave. “This book was a revelation of beauty and a delight to read for me on so many levels, I don’t even know where to start…Easy fare this book is not, but if you’re willing to let yourself sink into its magic, you’re in for an amazing reading experience.”
My good buddy Natalie over at Radish Reviews liked it enough to write two posts about it, one a review and one a post on the ecological themes in the book, that I swear I actually didn’t catch while it was being written. Always fun when that happens.
USA Today gave it a positive mention. That’s awfully fun.
And then there’s the fact that, again, a sequel (actually two sequels) is in the works, which is going very well and which we’re really excited about.

And just a reminder: Since I’ve seen a couple of people be all like I WANT MORE IN THIS ‘VERSE there are actually two short stories in existence that provide some backstory for a couple of the characters.

“Thin Spun”, which was featured in the (fantastic) anthology Hellebore and Rue: Tales of Queer Women and Magic, and which deals with Kae as a child and a meeting with an Aalim in exile.
“Starcrossed”, which was published in Help: Twelve Tales of Healing (a benefit anthology for Doctors Without Borders), which concerns Ying the healer and a difficult confrontation with a Protectorate Peacekeeper.

And watch this space for some freebie shorts, which I and my co-author will be posting soon.

And again, to everyone who’s read it and talked it up: Thank you so much. We’re not big names, either of us, so we’re really depending on word-of-mouth to make people aware of this book. And to the people who haven’t read it yet and intend to: The single best thing you can do if you like it is the above. It’s like presents.