Publication News

Little Letters on the Skin Reading: Friday, 8/11!

This is essentially a repost of info from when this reading was originally scheduled, but it was moved to do publication issues. Well…it’s happening tomorrow! Time has flown by, and I am very excited to finally share “What Scattered in the Wind” tomorrow night in person and into posterity for anyone who orders this chapbook! Please come celebrate the launch for the anthology/chapbook it will appear in: Little Letters on the Skin.

little letters on the skin

What? The Cleave: Bay Area Women Writers and the Liminal Center Release of the Little Letters on the Skin

When? Friday, June 9, 2017   Friday, August 11, 2017

Where? The Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster St, Oakland.

Time? 7 pm.

Eight other writers and myself, who have been involved with Oakland’s amazing creative space for feminists and womanists, the Liminal Center, will be taking part in the reading and small group Q & A afterward. The anthology will be available for purchase, with all profits going to help support the work of the Liminal Center, which I’ve written about before here and here. I will also bring along a few copies to sell of Typehouse Literary Magazine #9, which featured my humorous sci-fi story, “Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak,” last September.

“What Scattered in the Wind” is not humorous sci-fi, that’s for sure. Rather, it’s horror flash fiction done in a poetic prose style, and it’s the first story I wrote upon moving to the Bay Area. I love the mood of it, and the angst within it, that of a woman struggling with her biggest regret in life and sentenced to forever re-remember it. The first lines?

Hollow rasps of laughter pestered her to wakefulness. Any noise would have done the same, though she clamped her eyelids together in protest. For years, Ruth had heard nothing but the teakettle’s hiss or the slow scrape of her cane against the camper’s floor panels. The creaking sound of her voice rarely interrupted the silence. Unlike the other wayfarers, Ruth had never developed the habit of talking to herself. She didn’t care to hear what she’d have to say.

“Hee-hee, hee-he-heee!

What I am most excited about for this event, however, is the exceptional list of fellow writers reading with me, at least half of whom I’ve read with before and they are STELLAR:

Christine No is a writer, filmmaker and pitbull enthusiast based in Oakland, CA. She is a Pushcart Prize Nominee and the 2016 First Place Poetry Winner of the Litquake Writing Contest. Say hello at  www.christineno.com

Gina Goldblatt is the founder of Liminal, a writing center for women, in Oakland California. She is a writer, an educator and an aerialist.

Hannah Rubin is a writer and artist based in Oakland, CA.

Heather Schubert is a published author, visual artist, teacher, Priestess and mother of four.

Jasmine Wade is obsessed with the tumultuous, hilarious, heartbreaking, and never-ending process of growing up. Find a list of her short stories at www.jasminehwade.com.

Jeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist, public speaker, mental health advocate and proud Oakland native. Visit her podcast and blog CocoaFly.com where she covers issues related to women, race, wellness and sex.

Norma Smith was born in Detroit, grew up in Fresno, California, and has lived and worked in Oakland since the late 1960s. In  support of her writing, she has worked as a ward clerk in hospitals, as a radio producer, as a translator and interpreter, as an educator, and as an editor and writing coach.

Rebecca Gomez Farrell writes all the speculative fiction genres she can conjure up. Find a list of her published shorter works at RebeccaGomezFarrell.com, and find her debut fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, in August 2017 from Meerkat Press.

Ruth Crossman was born and raised in Berkeley and currently lives in Oakland. She is a poet and a songwriter who teaches ESL to support her writing habit.

Additionally, the anthology is edited by Dr. Raina J. León, who’s an associate professor at Saint Mary’s College and the founder of the Cleave reading series along with numerous other accolades. That’s a stellar line-up that I’m glad to be a part of! I do hope you’ll come out and join us, celebrating what women are doing in the literary arts in Oakland. Here’s the Facebook event page, if you’d like to RSVP. I always like to know what friendly faces I’ll see in the crowd!

“Treasure” to appear in Dark Luminous Wings

For the first time ever, I will have a short story included in an anthology! In fact, I will have *two* stories in anthologies in the coming months, in addition, of course, to the publication and book tour for Wings Unseen, my first novel. “Treasure,” a fantasy fable appearing in Dark Luminous Wings from Pole to Pole Publishing, shares quite a lot in common with Wings Unseen, actually. Here’s the early anthology cover art that co-editor Vonnie Winslow Crist revealed in May:

dark luminous wings anthology rebecca gomez farrell treasure

“Treasure” is one of my oldest short stories — I began Draft #1 in 2007, and my filename at that time was “black and white.” That name reflects what I wanted to accomplish in writing this story — I wanted to play with the idea of a female thief being thrust into a culture very different from the more violent, selfish one in which she’d been raised, so different that she has a difficult time believing such a culture is real. Can someone raised to distrust everyone around her accept grace and love when freely given it? Is it truly given freely? You’ll have to read “Treasure” to find out what Enkid, the story’s protoganist, makes of these questions…under threat of a flying sea monster called the Laklor and the lure of a rock pillar that manifests jewels and….

And, I think that’s enough info on “Treasure” for now. 😉 If you’ve read an early ARC of Wings Unseen already, then you know those same questions are ones that factor heavily into Vesperi’s point of view in the book, though I might argue that figuring out how to deal with a culture so foreign to one’s own is also a hurdle for Janto and Serra, the two other main POV characters. Challenging our perspectives of how the world works can be one of the hardest quests there is. Obviously, the concept was strongly on my mind then; I began writing Wings Unseen in earnest around the same time I drafted “Treasure.” Both tales also heavily feature creatures with menacing wings. So does my horror short “Thlush-A-Lum” now that I think of it…

city of frogs paperhand puppet intervention

I guess I have a thing for spooky wings.

Before Pole to Pole’s acceptance of “Treasure,” I submitted it out a total of 18 times, resulting in 1 author withdrawal, 7 form rejections, and 9 personal rejections, including 2 from pro-level speculative fiction markets that got THISCLOSE to publishing the story — and I mean that! The editors of both mags told me they held onto it for so long because they’d been hoping to find a place for it but ultimately could not. I also significantly rewrote the story at least twice in the six years since I first sent it out. After all that, I think Dark Luminous Wings is truly where this story was destined to go as I can’t imagine a more perfect fit for it than what their call for submissions detailed:

The volume draws inspiration from Richard Henry Stoddard’s poem, Mors et Vita, particularly stanza two:

Under the awful wings
Which brood over land and sea,
And whose shadows nor lift nor flee—
This is the order of things,
And hath been from of old:
First production,
And last destruction;
So the pendulum swings,
While cradles are rocked and bells are tolled.

Send us your stories about angels and demons, dragons and fairies, airplanes and ornathopters—and more. Let your imaginations soar, but let your stories be found in the darkest of places.

Late October is Dark Luminous Wings’ planned publication date, and I’ll let you know where to order once I have that information. Until then, may your dreams be free of dark wings, but your mind prepared to tangle with them.

What lurks in the wild?

What lurks in the wild?

Goodreads Giveaway of Wings Unseen through June 24!

The LibraryThings giveaway of Wings Unseen is now complete! But do not lose hope, dear readers. There are other ways to get your hands on an early copy of my book….

…Like on Goodreads!

goodreads_f

Through June 24, you can enter to win one of five print copies of Wings Unseen through Goodreads. Yes, that’s right! I said print! How exciting is that?! They are advanced reading copies, which means some important details have not yet made it into the book design, like that dedication and acknowledgment I still need to write….but the story is all there and the book is 90% what it will be in the final version.

The odds are not as much in your favor this time around, with 235 people already entered in the giveaway, but you should totally try. Why? Because I’m proud of this book and I hope you will be proud of it too, enough to leave a review and rating after you get a sneak peek at it.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wings Unseen by Rebecca Gomez Farrell

Wings Unseen

by Rebecca Gomez Farrell

Giveaway ends June 24, 2017.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

To enter, you can either click the link in that widget right above this or head to the website to enter directly there – the result will be the same either way! And you may be among the first to hold a copy of Wings Unseen in your hands! Heck, I haven’t done that yet.

To encourage you to enter the Goodreads giveaway, I am giving away a sneak peak myself of one of the four character sigils that Meerkat Press has commissioned for the book! These sigils appear on the chapter title pages for each of my point-of-view characters – or at least the four of them that matter most. The first one is…

Serrafina Gavenstone

wings unseen gavenstone sigil serra

Serra is the daughter of Midra and Goning Gavenstone, the liege-lords of Meditlan, a land of spices and wine – thus the grapevines of her sigil. Both her parents tragically drowned when Serrra was a child. As the book opens, her older brother, Agler, is on a quest for the Ravens, the spies of her home country, Lansera. Serra is engaged to Janto Albrecht, the prince of Lansera, and will wed him in a month. Being a part of the Albrecht family and the someday queen of Lansera is all that Serra has ever wanted, since she moved into their home after her parents’ death. But at 18, Serra has much to learn of wants and what the future holds.

Get your chance to follow Serra’s journey to her own future with an ARC of Wings Unseen from Goodreads! Enter here.

My Next Reading & Story: “What Scattered in the Wind”

Update! This reading and publication has been postponed until 8/11. All other details remain the same. Join me in August instead!

My next short story publication is coming up soon! And I will soon be taking part in a reading to celebrate the launch for the anthology/chapbook it will appear in: Little Letters on the Skin. I do hope you’ll join me.

little letters on the skin

What? The Cleave: Bay Area Women Writers and the Liminal Center Release of the Little Letters on the Skin

When? Friday, June 9, 2017   Friday, August 11, 2017

Where? The Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster St, Oakland.

Time? 7 pm.

Eight other writers and myself, who have been involved with Oakland’s amazing creative space for feminists and womanists, the Liminal Center, will be taking part in the reading and small group Q & A afterward. The anthology will be available for purchase, with all profits going to help support the work of the Liminal Center, which I’ve written about before here and here. I will also bring along a few copies to sell of Typehouse Literary Magazine #9, which featured my humorous sci-fi story, “Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak,” last September.

“What Scattered in the Wind” is not humorous sci-fi, that’s for sure. Rather, it’s horror flash fiction done in a poetic prose style, and it’s the first story I wrote upon moving to the Bay Area. I love the mood of it, and the angst within it, that of a woman struggling with her biggest regret in life and sentenced to forever re-remember it. The first lines?

Hollow rasps of laughter pestered her to wakefulness. Any noise would have done the same, though she clamped her eyelids together in protest. For years, Ruth had heard nothing but the teakettle’s hiss or the slow scrape of her cane against the camper’s floor panels. The creaking sound of her voice rarely interrupted the silence. Unlike the other wayfarers, Ruth had never developed the habit of talking to herself. She didn’t care to hear what she’d have to say.

“Hee-hee, hee-he-heee!

What I am most excited about for this event, however, is the exceptional list of fellow writers reading with me, at least half of whom I’ve read with before and they are STELLAR:

Christine No is a writer, filmmaker and pitbull enthusiast based in Oakland, CA. She is a Pushcart Prize Nominee and the 2016 First Place Poetry Winner of the Litquake Writing Contest. Say hello at  www.christineno.com

Gina Goldblatt is the founder of Liminal, a writing center for women, in Oakland California. She is a writer, an educator and an aerialist.

Hannah Rubin is a writer and artist based in Oakland, CA.

Heather Schubert is a published author, visual artist, teacher, Priestess and mother of four.

Jasmine Wade is obsessed with the tumultuous, hilarious, heartbreaking, and never-ending process of growing up. Find a list of her short stories at www.jasminehwade.com.

Jeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist, public speaker, mental health advocate and proud Oakland native. Visit her podcast and blog CocoaFly.com where she covers issues related to women, race, wellness and sex.

Norma Smith was born in Detroit, grew up in Fresno, California, and has lived and worked in Oakland since the late 1960s. In  support of her writing, she has worked as a ward clerk in hospitals, as a radio producer, as a translator and interpreter, as an educator, and as an editor and writing coach.

Rebecca Gomez Farrell writes all the speculative fiction genres she can conjure up. Find a list of her published shorter works at RebeccaGomezFarrell.com, and find her debut fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, in August 2017 from Meerkat Press.

Ruth Crossman was born and raised in Berkeley and currently lives in Oakland. She is a poet and a songwriter who teaches ESL to support her writing habit.

Additionally, the anthology is edited by Dr. Raina J. León, who’s an associate professor at Saint Mary’s College and the founder of the Cleave reading series along with numerous other accolades. That’s a stellar line-up that I’m glad to be a part of! I do hope you’ll come out and join us, celebrating what women are doing in the literary arts in Oakland. Here’s the Facebook event page, if you’d like to RSVP. I always like to know what friendly faces I’ll see in the crowd!

Wings Unseen available for Pre-Order!!

Sound the horns!

bucci snake brass instrument barcelona

Ooh, maybe not that one. That looks dangerous. Regardless, it’s time to celebrate because my YA/New Adult epic fantasy, Wings Unseen, is now available for pre-order!

You can order it from Amazon or from Barnes & Nobles for now, and you bet I’ll announce when it’s available from other sources. The official release date is August 22, 2017! Did I not mention that before? *browses website* Wow, I really did not mention that before. Apparently, getting your tonsils removed puts you off your promotional game. Luckily, Meerkat Press is continuing to be a phenomenal small press, so word is getting out about this book, and ARCs go out this month. So exciting! Stay tuned for giveaway info, but also go ahead and click on one of those pre-order links if you can…what, you want more enticement? How about an excerpt from the book? Here’s one of my photos to conjure your imagination:

And here’s the excerpt. In it, Vesperi, a main point-of-view character who lives on the Meduan side of the mountains, where a highly questionable moral code reigns, makes a visit to an herbalist:

“Vesperi Sellwyn! It has been ages since I saw you last. You have been too busy with those fancy lordlings to come visit old Graw.” His voice scratched like the black scruff on his chin. “Though I have noticed fewer coteries riding through of late.” He cocked his head. “Did those suitors find the merchandise too used?”

She glared. “None of them were suited to my needs.”

“Oh, I am certain I have something that would suit your needs.” He grabbed at the sagging bulge beneath his belt.

She ignored him. “You do, actually. I have need of fallowent. Do you know of it?”

“Fallowent, aye, I may have some of that, though it’s scarce these days. The plants grow best by the river, and they disappear as fast as the Sell’s waters.” His face lit up as he spoke, confirming what Vesperi had pieced together years ago—this man loved his craft more than his pleasures. He was harmless, as far as men went.

Each hobbled step he took drew forth a curse. After some shuffling and banging, he returned with a pot in hand. Cloying scents of honey and musk rose up as he lifted the lid. She dipped a finger and it came out coated in black, sticky seeds no bigger than a flea.

“I will need more of it.” She had no idea how long it would last. “So you had best figure out how to get some or my father will hear of it.”

His face paled. “I will. There is no need to tell your father. I will have the guards take me foraging tomorrow.”

“Good. I will return for more next week.”

He raised his elbows as she made to leave but stopped her at the door. “You were right­—”

She narrowed her eyes.

“—about those men, your suitors? To reject them.”

Vesperi had little patience for stammering, but this was an unexpected compliment.

“I know you are a woman and Saeth teaches that women are prized only for their cunts and the kitchens, but fallowent won’t do anything to make that brother of yours a man. He would let us all fall into the hands of Durn, or Saeth forbid, the cow lords of Yarowen.”

Graw shuddered, and Vesperi gave him a brilliant smile, encouraging him to continue. “I would—I would rather you take over than him someday, and you can’t do that if you get married. I am very attached to my store, you see—” he petted the padded arm of his chair, “—and I would prefer things stay this way.”

“If we are lucky, my father will live many more years.”

“Of course,” he said hurriedly. “I did not mean to suggest—”

“You didn’t,” she assured him. “And Saeth may yet give my mother another son Lord Sellwyn can be proud of. We must pray for that.”

He nodded, eyes downcast. But his head lifted when she placed an extra pile of souzers on the table.

“Your loyalty is noted by House Sellwyn.” It was all she could say safely. She exited without another word, but the hood did not feel quite as binding when she pulled it over her head.

Wings Unseen coming from Meerkat Press in August 2017!

Wow. I signed a contract to publish my first book, Wings Unseen, an epic fantasy. With a traditional press. And a print run. And an advance. Folks, I’m still amazed this is happening, and five months in, and I am so happy with my choice to entrust Meerkat Press with this book.

wings unseen rebecca gomez farrell meerkat press cover fantasy

And there it is. The cover reveal officially went down today at 7pm/4pm at the Meerkat Press website. And I LOVE it. I especially love the more modern style, which is one of the reasons I trust this publisher.

How could you not trust this logo? <3

How could you not trust this logo? <3

We looked at a traditional fantasy design, but it didn’t feel right at all. This design stands out to me — the artist rocked it! A three-headed bird stares straight at you, claiming you, perhaps inspiring you to flip the pages. And when you peer closer, something else comes into focus: other winged creatures fluttering around the title letters, blinking into your sight, and giving you an instinctual shiver.

And then there’s the color blue behind it all. I don’t know if Meerkat Press chose blue with intention, but no other color would fit quite as well for this book. Beneath much of Wing Unseen’s action is a force whose presence is signified by blue, so it’s beautifully appropriate that blue is the background for the cover as well. That it is there is enough, quietly holding together what can be more obviously seen.

It’ll be out in August! *leaps for joy*

I’ve talked with friends many times about how I’m one of those writers who achieve something on their goal list then immediately feel as though I’m not a real writer yet, that there is a higher hurdle to jump and only when that happens will I feel I can say it. Place in a contest – nope, not good enough. Have short stories published — nope, doesn’t count until I get paid for one. Have a novella published — well, it’s not a whole book, is it? Sell enough pro-level short stories to join SFWA – but an associate doesn’t count as much as a full member. Sign a traditional book contract – well, I certainly never expected to clear that hurdle before achieving the full SFWA membership goal! Yet here I am, and I’m pretty sure I can call myself a real writer now.

rebecca gomez farrell mazu writer

The cat obsession probably qualified me on its own years ago. 😉 I look forward to the next few months of the whirlwind that is publishing, and I’m going to share that experience here with you. For now, here’s the first paragraph of my Wings Unseen query that earned me two separate contract offers after three years of submitting the manuscript out:

The Meduan and Lanserim ways of life are as compatible as oil and water. But when an invisible threat consumes both countries, leaving husks of human skin in its wake, Lansera’s Prince Janto and his fiancé, Serra, must learn to work together with Vesperi, a Meduan who possesses the only weapon that can save them.

And I’m off to stare at my cover dreamily for the rest of the night….or actually, to share in a virtual wine tasting at Wine Antics, starting at 9 EST/6 PST! This real writer keeps herself busy juggling her spheres of writing influence! Fiction writer mode on SLEEP. Food blogger mode: ENGAGE!

Good Genes published at the Future Fire!

“Good Genes,” is now available to read at the Future Fire as part of their 38th issue, or Issue 2016.38 in the magazine’s parlance.

the Future Fire issue 2006.38

I am super glad it was published just in time for Halloween as it’s a spooky story, and a bit of an epic one, combining a modern-day tale with a narrative from the Wild West stage of American history. Sometimes, a place a refuge may bring more horror than the past left behind…

Good Genes Artist Pear Nuallak

Artwork by Pear Nuallak

The illustration posted above is one of two that accompany “Good Genes” in the Future Fire. Both are done by Pear Nuallak, and I love when my stories get a little pictorial boost! Read the magazine online to see the second one! Here’s the link directly to the story. And here’s a new teaser for you:

The noise of the carnival had died down as the ceremonial hour approached and the townspeople made their way to the gathering place in a trickle. Clumps of dry needles covered brittle pine cones hanging from a handful of trees. The great lawn was a patchwork of mud-filled trenches, struggling green grasses, and yellowed squares that had given up the fight. A faded wicker pavilion rose up at the park’s eastern edge, in front of a free-standing wall of cement—handball courts? Two banners strung across the stage declared “Heritage Festival” and “May Our Founders Live Forever.”

There are other great reasons to tune in to Issue 2016.38 — free short stories by authors Ola Al-Fateh, Petra Kuppers, Kelly Rose Pflug-Back, and Damien Krsteski, and poetry by F. J. Bergmann! I look forward to reading them all. As Editor Djibril al-Ayad describes the collection:

“Not everything is what it seems—sometimes unseen terrors lurk in every shadow, around every corner, beneath an unassuming countenance or behind unthreatening doors. We might be pleasantly surprised by the resilience of a people we expected to collapse in defeat, and we could be equally shocked by the creeping bigotry and xenophobia of our smiling neighbors. Surprises are at the heart of dramatic tension, and hidden depths and dark secrets are a recurring theme in the stories in this month’s issue.”

Feel free to leave me your reactions to “Good Genes” or comment on it at the Future Fire blog. Whatever you do, try not to take your next next cough too seriously…

 

 

“Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak” Now Available!

“Mixed Signals,” or, “Learning How to Speak” Published!

“Mixed Signals, or Learning How to Speak,” a short story I wrote last summer, is now available in PDF or print as part of Typehouse Literary Magazine’s Issue 9. You can head to their webpage to download the PDF for FREE – ABSOLUTELY FREE – and it’s chockful of what’s sure to be an amazing mix of literary and genre fiction, poetry, and photography. Just click on the cover image below.

Typehouse Issue 9 Mixed Signals Rebecca Gomez Farrell

There should be a link to the PDF on that page, or you can download it directly right here. The print version of the magazine is not free, but at only $8 for 150 pages of brand-new fiction and poetry, it’s a pretty good deal. Order it directly from CreateSpace here or from Amazon here. I’ll be picking up a couple copies myself!

Mini-Synopsis

“Mixed Signals” is a humorous sci-fi tale about someone down on their luck, romantically and economically. He soon discovers he has a whole lot more he should be concerned about when a crosswalk signal sends him on a convoluted scavenger hunt through the city. Yes, a crosswalk signal.

Miami University Crosswalk Signal

 

I borrowed that photo from Miami University — surprisingly, even though I’m writing stories about them, I do not have a photo of a crosswalk signal on hand! The short story hinges on a speech from which I took inspiration from that television masterpiece, Mork and Mindy. I, indeed, was revising that particular scene around the time of Robin Williams’ death, and that encouraged me to go all in, embracing the potentially cheesy, but ideally moving, moment. Here’s the first paragraph:

Ka-kink. Ka-kink. Ka-kink.

Some guy’s hand flew to the crosswalk button as though a magnetic force drew him, a few feet from
where I sat at a sidewalk café table. Dressed like a hippie and smelling like it too, he spit out
the words, “Callin’ in, Cap’n. Callin’ in.” The syncopated rapidity interfered with the vibe of
melancholic freedom I’d been cultivating. That morning, Alvarado Construction had pink-slipped me.
Three weeks earlier, my girlfriend, Jolanda, had broken up with me, screamed me out of her place
with complaints I didn’t understand her love language, and no, she didn’t mean Spanish.

But I was over it. Completely.

Go read! And please share with me your thoughts on the story. Or better yet, review Typehouse Literary Magazine Issue #9 on Goodreads or Amazon!

And the Next One is…

“Mixed Signals,” while I hope it entertains all you lovely readers, is not all I have coming up the pipeline for you. Stay tuned for more announcements throughout September! In the meantime, have another picture of an important piece of the “Mixed Signals” narrative.

Image from the World Scout Shop

Image from the World Scout Shop

New Short Story Publication Forthcoming!

I am thrilled to announce that my next science fiction short story will be published my Typehouse Literary Magazine! Typehouse is put out by the People’s Ink, a writers’ community based in Portland, Oregon, and it’s been published three times a year since 2014.

Typehouse Issue 8

The short story that Typehouse accepted is “Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak,” which is a humorous but poignant tale that first dawned in my imagination from years of observing all the different ways in which people approach crosswalk signals. Yep, you read that right. Crosswalk signals.

Here are the first few lines:

Ka-kink. Ka-kink. Ka-kink.

Some guy’s hand flew to the crosswalk button as though a magnetic force drew him, a few feet from where I sat at a sidewalk café table. Dressed like a hippie and smelling like it too, he spit out the words, “Callin’ in, Cap’n. Callin’ in.” The syncopated rapidity interfered with the vibe of melancholic freedom I’d been cultivating…

I will, of course, update this post when publication information is available, which won’t be until close to September. In the meantime, let me leave you with a photo to stimulate your own imagination as to what this short story may contain:

Mixed Signals intersection fiction

 

Need Gift Ideas? Give the gift of (my) fiction!

Hey, it’s not a holiday season without an obligatory “Buy My Work!” post from an author. I swear it’s in the contracts we sign in blood with our publishers…somewhere…I seem to have misplaced them.

Oh, I think I remember how...

Oh, I think I remember where…

In 2015, I added two new opportunities to purchase my work, which is one way of saying some very lovely people agreed to include me in their collections — some even paid me for it! One is a short story in a magazine and one is a contribution to a cookbook…a cookbook with quite illustrious co-contributors from the Speculative Fiction galaxy. Being a member of a professional organization comes with some perks, just sayin’.

Consider this my purchasable compendium, reverse chronological order! Collect all five! And come this time next year, there will be a novel to add to this list, one way or another…

1. Ad Astra: The 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook

Fran Wilde and Cat Rambo edited this collection of 150+ recipes from speculative fiction authors of the past, present, and maybe even future. In it, you can find my Seared Peaches with Prosciutto and Basil; it comes with high acclaim from the NC Research Triangle area spec fic community. Purchase the cookbook from the SFWA website here or from Amazon.

2. “Thlush-A-Lum” in PULP Literature Issue #5

“Thlush-A-Lum” is pure horror that would qualify as flash fiction in most markets. The story came about when I challenged myself to write something more focused on the sense of sound than the other four I more commonly use in my writing. Many of those sounds are inspired by what I could hear from my own Southern bedroom window…and a few sounds that I swear I’ve been able to hear no matter where I’ve lived.

Purchase Issue #5 from the PULP Literature website or from Amazon.

3. “Blow ‘Em Down” from Beneath Ceaseless Skies Double Anniversary Issue #131

beneath ceaseless skies

“Blow ‘Em Down” is the story I describe as a steampunk retelling of the Battle of Jericho with a jazzy feel circa Harlem Renaissance. It’s been taught in a college class and brought me some of my highest compliments, so I certainly think it’s worth the read. Beneath Ceaseless Skies is not available in print, but the e-magazine can be purchased through Weightless Books or on Amazon.

4. “Bother” in Bull Spec #5

“Bother” was the cover story for Bull Spec #5, and I’m honored to this day that the highly regarded Richard Case chose to illustrate it. It’s urban fantasy about how a couple survives, or doesn’t, when a dragon comes to roost on their city block. Luckily, there appears to still be back issues of Bull Spec available, although the magazine has shifted to a web-only presence. Order Issue #5 here or an e-version from Weightless Books here.

5. Maya’s Vacation

The contemporary romance novella I never expected write, Maya’s Vacation came to be in a dream about frying chicken, and I fleshed that dream out into the story of a woman in her fifties rediscovering herself after a divorce and relearning what she used to love through food, paint, and an old flame returned. Maya’s Vacation, published by Clean Reads, is available on Amazon. Warning: No sex scenes in this romance! Just unrequited longing. Or is it requited? I’ll never tell.

I may also mention that anything you buy that features my work is a gift to me as well — word of tongue can only spread after eyes on the page have done their business. Of course, I also have plenty of fiction free to read online as well — just click over to the Creative section to find it. Thank you for your support, and I hope to keep entertaining you in the future. I’m pretty sure I’ll have some snippets to share by the end of next week as well…

Happy holidays, from me and Ben!

Happy holidays, from me and Ben!