A writer and editor's blog about writing, fiction, publishing, tips & advice. I am also the author of sci-fi novel WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE and fantasy interactive fiction game Shepherds of Haven!
New science fiction thriller novel: WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE by Lena Nguyen
Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to announce that you can now order a copy of my debut science fiction thriller novel, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE, in hardcover, paperback, e-book, or audiobook format, available wherever books are sold!
WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE follows a WOC protagonist, misanthropic psychologist Dr. Grace Park, as she’s placed on the planetary survey ship, the Deucalion. The Deucalion is headed to an icy and unexplored planet, Eos, situated beyond the reaches of human-occupied space. The crew of the ship are all specialists of their fields and are meant to evaluate Eos for colonization purposes; Park is meant to evaluate the twelve other crewmembers’ performance and cohesion. But fractures appear long before the ship even reaches the mysterious planet: political alliances, obscured intentions, corporate surveillance, love triangles, and fraught relationships threaten to split the crew apart, and Park’s friendship with the ship’s unusual androids only comes closer to turning everyone she knows against her.
When the ship finally arrives on Eos, a radiation storm cuts off any means of communication or escape... and that’s when things really begin to fall apart. Park’s patients are falling prey to waking nightmares of helpless, tongueless insanity. The androids are behaving strangely, rejecting orders and babbling about imaginary gods. Inexplicable video tapes are being uncovered. There are no windows aboard the ship. Paranoia is closing in, and soon Park is forced to confront the fact that nothing—neither her crew, nor their mission, nor the mysterious Eos itself—is as it seems.
Inspired by the likes of Alien, I, Robot, Dead Space, Event Horizon, and Ex Machina, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE is a story about connection, consciousness, and what it means to be human. It was a finalist for the Compton Crook Award, winner of the Philip Freund Prize, and an Amazon Editors’ Pick (Best Science Fiction and Fantasy). You can read more about the book on my website or at any of the links below! And if you enjoy my writing in WHABH, be sure to also check out my indie interactive fiction game over at @shepherds-of-haven!
Thank you as always for your support! ⭐️🚀🤖
Links:
Penguin Random House
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indiebound
Bookshop.org
Hudson Booksellers
Powell’s
Audible
Other Links:
Author Website
Twitter
Facebook
Praise for WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE:
“We Have Always Been Here is an extraordinary, multifarious debut: a white-knuckle adventure, a wrenching love story, a confounding intellectual puzzle, and a masterful inquiry into the nature of consciousness. Lena Nguyen has done with her first book something that takes most writers decades. It’s all in here, and it’s all fantastic.” —J. Robert Lennon, author of Subdivision
“Nguyen’s debut seamlessly blends the nail-biting pace of a thriller with the detailed set pieces of science fiction, perfect for fans of either genre.” —ALA Booklist (starred)
“Nguyen’s is full of precise lines and icy sharpness, creating a world that is simultaneously oppressively expansive and uncommonly claustrophobic.” —Bookpage (starred)
“Nguyen’s debut is claustrophobic and dark, full of twisting ship corridors and unreliable characters…. A promising, atmospheric debut.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Nguyen immerses readers in a chilling landscape while effortlessly softening the more sinister moments with wistful, dreamlike flashbacks. This impressive sci-fi thriller marks Nguyen as a writer to watch.” —Publishers Weekly
“An exciting debut that delves into themes of corporate conscription, the definition of humanity, and the complexity of relationships. This science fiction thriller will keep readers guessing and wondering past the final page.” —Library Journal
“There’s a real palpable tension and delirium infused into Nguyen’s writing that enhances what could have been a straightforward thriller into something much deeper, sharper, and stranger.” —The Speculative Shelf
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Exciting news! EPOCH Magazine is now open for submissions!
And I'm as pleased as punch to be its first-ever guest editor in Fiction! 📚 Please spread the word that we are now open for submissions, and don't forget to send in your stories, poetry, or art!
What is EPOCH?
EPOCH is one of the most prestigious and widely anthologized literary magazines in America. Under the helm of its most recent-editor-in-chief, the late (and dearly beloved) Michael Koch, EPOCH won the first ever O. Henry Prize for best publisher of fiction and best literary magazine in America, an award given in later years to publications such as The New Yorker; it has had its work reproduced in every major literary anthology in the United States. EPOCH featured the first published fiction of many noteworthy writers, including Thomas Pynchon and Don DeLillo, as well as early stories from emerging writers like Philip Roth and Joyce Carol Oates.
EPOCH is published biannually and is currently seeking works of fiction, poetry, essays, comics, and graphic art.
How do I submit?
Full submission guidelines can be found here. EPOCH accepts both electronic submissions via Submittable (August and January only) as well as mail submissions (August through March).
EPOCH also pays its contributors! Payment is currently from $100 to $500 for poetry, prose, or comics, depending on length, and 350$ for cover art!
As the guest editor this year and assistant editor in the past, I can attest that every submission sent to EPOCH is read and considered extremely carefully. Please, send in your works of fiction, poetry, and art!!! I am personally especially excited to see works of speculative fiction, weird or magical realist fiction, and anything else that sparks the imagination, but all genres and styles are welcome! 👀
And if you've never submitted your work to a literary publication and don't know where to start, feel free to check out this blog! I originally started it to answer people's questions about the writing and/or publication process, and to give them tips on things I had insight on as an editor. These posts here, here, and here are good places to start if you need help! I'm rooting for you! ⭐️
Sorry if it's a weird question but....i never written in my entire life (i mean like writing a story, fics etc etc) and i really like how you write..and i kinda want to start to write but i really don't know..how? sorry if my english is weird haha i just don't know how to start..
Hi, it’s not a weird question at all! If you want help or advice, you should check out my other blog, @strangevoyages! I have loads of tips and advice for writers (especially beginning or new) there, and even resources and books for those who want to start learning how to write stories! In addition, please check out my writing or writing advice tags here!
Without knowing much about you or whatever you might plan to write, the only advice I can give is:
1) Just start! Don’t put pressure on yourself by thinking about how you’re going to publish it or who’s going to see your writing. I started out by writing dozens of novels on my computer that will never be seen by anyone but me! But they were invaluable for me to build experience and explore what I like in writing and hone my skills! Even if it’s not published or shared with anyone, all writing is incredibly valuable and precious, and that’s the best place to start!
2) Read, read, read! Read pieces and stories from your favorite authors, or from the genres or mediums you want to write in! If you want to write science fiction, make a resolution to read X science fiction novels every few months. It will really help you hone an eye for what kind of writing you like and how to emulate it!
If you have no idea whatsoever where to start, I suggest checking out the writing books on my list here!
It’s been one year since the release of my debut science fiction thriller novel, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE–and what better way to celebrate than with the brand-new paperback edition of the book? 😉🚀
And even better, let’s do a small giveaway to commemorate the occasion! The prize is a free signed paperback copy of WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE, a WHABH bookplate, and a Shepherds of Haven bookmark of your choice!
Rules:
1) Be a follower of my author blog, @strangevoyages, and like and reblog this post with the hashtag #we have always been here! You get an additional entry if you leave a comment about your favorite moment or character from the book in your reblog as well! :-)
2) The deadline is August 31st, 2022 (11 PM MST).
3) Entrants will be assigned a number, and the winner be selected via random number generator. The winner will be messaged for their preferred shipping address here on Tumblr, and a new winner will be selected if there’s no response within 72 hours.
Additional guidelines: Entrants must be 18 years or older to be eligible. The signed book can only be mailed to a US address, but should an international follower win, they’ll be sent a swag pack of both WHABH and Shepherds of Haven stickers and bookmark merch instead! This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with Tumblr or any entity other than myself.
That’s all! I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the one-year anniversary of my debut novel and the release of its paperback version! Thank you so much for your support! ⭐️
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Heya!! LOVED your book!!!!!!! I know you’re quite busy, but (if/when you have time ofc) I wanted to ask if you had any advice for how to get a short story published?? Especially if you’ve never had anything published before??? Or if you’re too busy are there any particularly good sources that give an overview of the process??
I hope you have a wonderful day!!! 💖
Hi there, thanks so much for your question and for the kind words; I’m so glad you enjoyed the book! It's been a while since I gave writing advice on this blog, but I figured I'd give a quick rundown on the short story process while I can!
So, in the briefest terms, the road to publishing short stories usually goes like this:
Write your story.
Edit your story.
Pick 5-10 prospective publications you'd want your story to be published in, ordering them by preference.
Write a cover letter template for your story: there's lots of advice for this online, and I wrote up a "best practices" for writing cover letters and submitting stories here.
Review the submission guidelines for the first 1-3 publications on your list. They'll always be found somewhere on the website for that publication; if you can't find it by navigating their site, just Google "______ submissions," "New Yorker submissions," "Atlantic submissions," etc.
Follow those submission guidelines to the letter. If one publication asks for your manuscript in 12-point Times New Roman font and the other one only accepts 10-point Courier, follow those instructions exactly. If their page limit of up to 20 pages doesn't work for your story, you can either decide to tweak a version of your story for that specific publication (have a master original copy and a "New Yorker" copy) or just save that pub for another story that fits their requirements better down the road. Take it from someone who worked for a lit pub, editors and readers don't play around when it comes to these rules!
Submission guidelines sometimes include what kind or style of fiction the publication is looking for. These aren't exactly hard rules, but just be aware that your rate of success will increase the more your story falls in line with these guidelines. If a publication says they're looking for stories that subvert traditional or expected endings, that's something to consider. It doesn't usually hurt to send in your story, anyway, but publications where your story may not fit exactly what they're looking for should be placed lower on your priority list.
Important: also check to make sure what each publication says about simultaneous submissions, if anything at all. If they say no simultaneous submissions, that means they want to be the only publication you send your story to until they give you a definitive yes or a no; then you can move on to submitting to other publications. The reason why publications do this is because it takes a lot of time for a story to make it through the editorial ladder: five, ten, or a dozen people or more could end up reading your story, arguing passionately for it with their coworkers, fighting for it during meetings, and finally getting it through the slush pile and onto the final desk it needs to be on to be published in their prestigious magazine. They don't want to call you with the good news and find out that, oops, sorry, the story's actually been taken by someone else in the meantime! That's a lot of time and manpower wasted when it could have been spent on a story that will actually be published by them, so for the publications that specify no simultaneous submissions, they really mean it. In theory, no one will probably find out if you do it anyway, but if/when you do happen to get caught, it's extremely awkward and can be damaging for your reputation when it comes to publishing in the future. You certainly will be blacklisted at that particular publication, and it's just considered bad practice throughout the industry, so I'd advise against it.
Depending on how your list is ordered, you can either choose to wait for that one top publication to get back to you (if they don't allow simultaneous submissions), or you can just pick out all the ones that do allow simultaneous submissions and send out your story to those first. This second option usually saves time, so it just depends on how strongly you feel about each individual publication! If you really have your heart set on a top-tier publication that doesn't accept simultaneous submissions, you should do that one first before working your way down the list; or if you'd be happy to see your story anywhere and don't have a strong preference, focus on the simultaneous submissions first!
Edit your story one last time. Make sure it's pristine!
Tweak or customize your cover letter accordingly for each publication. Usually this just involves changing the names and addresses, but if you're particularly familiar with any pub in particular, drop a line about a story from a previous edition or an editor whose work you really enjoyed.
Send your work out with its cover letter and wait for a response!
Rinse and repeat until you get a yes!
That's the rough process of how getting short stories published goes. As for advice for unpublished or new writers, I'd say:
Start with smaller or indie publications and presses. It is possible to be published in places like the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and others as a first-timer, but having credentials under your belt (writing awards, previous publications) gets you a lot farther, especially because their "slush piles" are so much larger than other presses. So, publishing with smaller indie mags first and building up your portfolio will increase your chances when it comes to eventually publishing with the big guys, if that's your aim.
Especially look for publications that are seeking "emerging writers" and "new voices"--these are specifically for writers who haven't had their stories or poetry published before, so these are great platforms and opportunities to use while you can!
Local publications in your area are great too! Check out prominent coffee shops that host things like open mic nights and poetry slams; they'll sometimes have a few booklets of locally-printed fiction or poetry collections from right in your area! Also check the universities and colleges in your hometown: although a few are for student submissions only, a surprising number are open to all and will read work from all over the world! Don't let their affiliation with a university intimidate you from submitting: many well-known presses and lauded fiction publications (even the ones that don't have 'So-and-so University' in their titles) actually come from academic circles, and many don't even realize it! For example, EPOCH is actually run by Cornell University faculty and grad students, and The Antioch Review (one of the 8 hardest-to-get-in fiction journals in the US!) is run out of Antioch College, Ohio, though many people never make the connection! Student-run or university-run presses are a fantastic and accessible resource to publish with!
You can also submit to writing contests, whether local or national! Even placing as a finalist, semi-finalist, or honorable mention is an incredible achievement and definitely worth putting in your cover letters, so this is a great way to build experience and sometimes even receive feedback from experienced judges, depending on the contest!
Start reading short fiction publications and magazines if you don't already, especially the ones you might want to submit to. This will give you a great feel for what kinds of stories are getting published, and it will polish and sharpen your own skills and creative senses. If you're not sure where to start, libraries usually have a good section for fiction anthologies and reviews, even if they're from years past! Online presses and reviews are great for this, too, though some require paid subscriptions!
Many literary reviews are genre-specific, so do your research! If you're a horror writer, LampLight Magazine is a big name in that field, and probably more valuable for you to submit to than something that does more general fiction like The Paris Review. For sci-fi or fantasy writers, Strange Horizons or Fantasy and Science Fiction are like the Academy Awards for those specific genres--so don't feel the need to be boxed into any one thing, there's something out there for every type of story!
Use submittable.com. This is probably the biggest, most valuable tool for writers submitting stories in the world, and it's very easy to use. You just create an account, upload your story, and then use the "Discover" tool to find publications with "open calls" for submissions that fit your criteria. It looks like this!
As you can see, these publications are organized by deadline, using the search word "fiction" (or try "horror," "poetry," "romance," "queer writers," what have you), and you can use additional filters like "no deadlines," etc. On the right side, you can save the publications you want to look at later as bookmarks. Also note that some publications have reading fees, as you can also see on the right side! This is becoming increasingly more normalized for print publications as the cost of print rises and the number of people paying print subscriptions declines. It's up to you if you want to want to take that out as a criterion: online magazines and pubs shouldn't usually charge reading fees, but things may have changed as a result of COVID! Showing publications with "no reading fees" is also an option on Submittable, too!
Also note that some publications will also pay you for your story, usually by word, by page, or as a flat fee! That's a whole other thing to get into in another post, but be aware that the more handsome the stipend, the harder that magazine is to get into!
Last but not least, be aware that the submission process takes both patience and grit. Some magazines will take months to get back to you; I once got a letter back from a lit mag I'd submitted to after two years, lol (and the letter was still a rejection, lmao! 😭). This is unfortunately a part of the process, though you can minimize your waiting time by picking magazines that specifically promise "guaranteed responses" in a week, 24 hours, what have you. But for many heavy-hitters, they are just inundated with a lot of writing daily, so it will take them a long time to get to you. Try and prepare yourself for this and sit in for the long haul, if you can!
And probably most importantly, remember this: great fiction pieces are rejected all the time simply because of the finite amount of space in each publication. Sometimes a piece can be absolutely perfect, and it still may be rejected for reasons completely out of your control. The editor who read it could have been having a crappy day. It wasn't right for that month's theme. It was absolutely amazing and agonizing to reject, but there just happened to be another story that resonated with someone just a little bit more at that time and place--and that could be a completely personal, subjective thing. Do not take rejection personally, or as a reflection of your writing skills, your future chances, who you are as a writer, or any of that. It's not a failure: it's just a natural result of the industry. Keep going and don't be discouraged! You never know when something amazing will happen!
I hope that's helpful, and not completely overwhelming to read! And good luck, if you decide to embark on the submissions journey! I'm rooting for you! ⭐️
If anyone happens to be a member of Worldcon 2021 or Worldcon 2022, my debut novel WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE is eligible for the Astounding Award at the Hugo Awards this year! Any consideration would be very much appreciated! ❤️ And if you’re not able to nominate, reblogs or shares would also be dearly appreciated! Thank you so much!
If anyone happens to be a member of Worldcon 2021 or Worldcon 2022, my debut novel WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE is eligible for the Astounding Award at the Hugo Awards this year! Any consideration would be very much appreciated! ❤️ And if you’re not able to nominate, reblogs or shares would also be dearly appreciated! Thank you so much!
WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE is a finalist for the Compton Crook Award!
My novel, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE, is one of six finalists for this year's Compton Crook Award: a literary award presented by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society since 1983 for best English novel in the fields of science fiction, horror, or fantasy. Past winners have included Paolo Bacigalupi, Naomi Novik, and Elizabeth Moon. ⭐️💫
The winner for 2022 is announced on April 10th! But it's an honor to even be a finalist in such a rich and storied field, so I just wanted to share the exciting news! 🤩
“Space was all about entropy. If a star wanted to grow, it had to feed off the energy of another star. If a ship wanted to propel itself into the next galaxy, it had to sacrifice mass, straight lines. […] There were no free rides. No spontaneous gifts. Things out here came with a price—whether you asked for them in the first place or not.”
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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I'm told that some people don't realize that I (the author of Shepherds of Haven) am also the author of the science fiction novel I keep reblogging, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE! The book's official release is today and you can get it in physical stores or at any of the links below! There are Shepherds easter eggs in the book and there will be WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE easter eggs in the game... This is my debut published novel, so I would very much appreciate your support, whether it's checking out a copy or simply spreading the word! On its release day, WHABH has already been chosen as an Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Science Fiction, a Booklist starred review, and the Freund Award for Excellence in Publishing! 🤯 And it's available in e-book, hardcover, or audiobook format!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
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Hi, everyone! Now that my personal giveaway for Shepherds and WHABH swag is closed (I will be mailing out the swag packs this week!! so excited!! this giveaway went so well and I am so happy that so many people participated, thank you! ❤), my publisher DAW Books is running their own giveaway on Goodreads: enter to win a free e-book copy of WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE!
Goodreads Giveaway
This giveaway ends on July 4th, so you only have a limited time to enter! Good luck!
