Sci Fi Writing Month 2015, Update #1

 

So the first week of SciFiWriMo is over, and I thought I'd post some personal updates.

I have a couple of sf stories that need finishing, but I didn't work on those. However, I'm about a thousand words into a new story. And that is it, at least as far as science fiction goes.

I've been working on some other things too, and there has been some good news this week (really EXCITING news actually) which I can't quite share yet, but the point is there is some editing and rewriting to be done. It's just not anything sf themed. What I want to say I suppose is I haven't been slacking off, just otherwise occupied, however, I'll still have at least one sf story done by the end of this month; weekly progress updates will be my own personal reminder.

February, or Sci Fi Writing Month

 

For no other reason than having a handful of unfinished sci fi stories sitting around, I'll just declare February Sci Fi Writing Month from here on out.

I also like the idea of having to dedicate some of my time specifically to sf, because fantasy has always come more easily to me. At the same time, sf certainly offers a whole other range of interesting possibilities, and it would be a shame to not dabble a little (and particularly female/QUILTBAG writers should definitely do more dabbling in sf.)

So, anyone feels like joining me in exploring possible futures? Lemme know your thoughts!

2014 Awards Eligibility Post

Well, to make it short, here's the list:


Short Fiction:

• A Quest for Fire, Lackington's Magazine
• "G is for..." , A is for Apocalypse (anthology edited by Rhonda Parrish)

Poetry:

• Ice Child, Superpow (anthology edited by KV Taylor)
• Lightning Time and the Time of Thunder, Superpow (anthology edited by KV Taylor)
• The Star Reader's Almanac, Ideomancer
• The Glass Men, Ideomancer,
• Moon Crop, Goblin Fruit (Spring 2014)
• Hearing the Language of the Universe, Astropoetica
• The Love Note That Was Called A Different Name, inkscrawl
• The Vow of Frozen Time, Goblin Fruit (Winter 2014)

~~~

2015 starts with good news!

Hello 2015!  And thank you, New Year, for having the decency to bring good news with you!!

To wit: my very serious poem "The Hippolimerick" sold to the dreaded JOKE issue of Stone Telling (ST13). I consider this a wonderful decision from the editorial duet of this mermaid-loving, hippopotamoi-adoring market.

I'd also like to thank the editors for beating the poem's title into proper shape. I'm not good with titles, and I appreciate the editors' keener eyes! Thank you, Rose and Shweta!!

Dear 2015, it's all right with me if you stay a while, just keep the good news coming!

From the Vaults: Puppet Minds

By Alexandra Seidel

The master puppeteer

who makes the clockworks of his puppets’ minds

toggles gently just

that cogwheel filigree

as it clinks and cracks

with puppet thought

he’s used to that and also

to the tremble movements

of their wooden limbs

the spinning of their eyes of glass

the puppets’ clockwork minds

shift on their own once they’ve been wound

and the master puppeteer

ties long strings to their little

puppet bodies

strings that are soft

as whispers in your ears

the master puppeteer keeps the key

that clockwork winds the puppets’ minds

and only he knows how to untie his knots

and key and knot are surely his

until the cogwheels

set themselves to

making scissors

for their strings

and lock picks

to unwind their hearts

Poem first published in Star*Line.

Niteblade #30

It is not quite December yet, so it will be just a little longer before this issue of Niteblade is live, but all the same, I thought I'd give the poetry a little head start.

This issue comes with five poems and four poets. Some of the authors are not new to the zine.

[ETA 12/01: I have linked to all poems, but please note that the issue will only be partially available to visitors until we have reached this month's goal of $50 in sales and donations. Of course, for only $2.99 you can own a PDF copy of Niteblade and show your support for everyone involved in the making of the zine.]

Let me start with Abominable Snowman by Ada Hoffmann (we've published her work before, please check out the gorgeous The Mermaid at at Sea World). This one is a haiku (ETA 12/02: no, it is not intended as one, see the author's post here), and one that gets it just right, you will enjoy this wintry morsel.

(Perhaps of particular interest to potential submitters: Personally, I think haiku are hard to get exactly right, it's not enough to put words into the correct form after all. A haiku, especially because it is short, needs to be eloquent content-wise, that is there has to be an entire story behind just three lines. Actually, let me give you an example of how this can be done with even less, just six words to be precise.)

Vampyrics by John Philip Johnson is next. Yes, it's a vampire poem, but no, not your average vampire poem:

"You look so pretty

in that red woolen cap.

Our bundled arms

are touching."

What I like about Vampyrics is that it is very immersive and manages to touch you deeply in just three stanzas.

Poet Anne Carly Abad has two poems in this issue (she's also not new to Niteblade, check out The Bitter Gourd's Fate <-- a="" been="" has="" href="http://www.rhondaparrish.com/this-years-pushcart-nominations?fb_action_ids=10153042953525579&fb_action_types=news.publishes&fb_ref=pub-standard" incidentally="" poem="" this=""> nominated for the Pushcart Prize

, ETA 11/30), Nameday and Ghost Engine Updates an Ad for Angry Spirits.
Nameday begins by telling us that

"Woman wears many selves,"

and from there takes us along on its thoughtful path at the end of which the reader might want to question given circumstances and histories, possibly even the names we choose or don't choose but are carrying anyway.

Ghost Engine Updates an Ad for Angry Spirits should best be savored as a whole, just like Abominable Snowman. It is just one of the many examples of how versatile poetry can be, how versatile indeed language can be.

The last poem in the issue is The Art by notorious Niteblade poet Sandi Leibowitz (go read Awakened, Braiding, and Labyrinth of Sand). This poem starts out just a little bit like a dance:

"He leads, you follow,

[...]

your footsteps predicting

his stride’s rhyme."

And maybe it even ends like some balls do or some proms (but do remember, we publish horror too, not just fantasy).

I hope you'll check out Niteblade #30 once it's here. Enjoy!

Devil Rhymes #4

A Riddle

By Alexandra Seidel

When I was going to chop chives

I met a man who had no wives;

(He had no wives but in his bag

he kept a rope and chlor'form rag.)

He said: "The first was much too boring,

and number two was always snoring."

His third was rather like a dragon

so he fed her something sweet to gag on;

and when she'd gagged and died--how poor!--

he threw her corpse right in the moor!

Now he is looking to remarry,

I guess he just ain't one to tarry.

Do you think he made it home alive,

that man who riled me

chopping chives?

~ 

 Devil Rhymes, Devil Rhymes #2, Devil Rhymes #3