#long hidden

It's a new year and new features on the website! First up, book recommendations from our resident bookseller!

Welcome to one of our new spangly 2017 recurring features! Every month I’m going to be talking about a book (or books) that I read and loved and then will be giving recommendations based off those titles. This is something I do pretty much every day in my other career as a bookseller. These recommendations will be, by and large, science fiction, fantasy or some level of fantastical. Huge…

Being a fan of fantasy and sci-fi has meant that I must settle for a meager supply of characters I can relate to or be inspired by. Even when I find characters to love, it’s clear that they are token representations. People like me are the exception in these fantasy realms; we are not the core of the story. And what’s the fun of reading stories that take you out of this world and place you in new, exciting ones if you feel just as out of place in those worlds?

But this book, Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History, provides 27 of the fairy tales, horror stories, and legends I’ve always loved, made for and by people like me, with the purpose of partaking in the “long and honorable legacy of literary resistance to erasure.” Not only were the stories as good as any mainstream fiction I’ve had access to, but they were much more touching because of the cultural influences and rich sense of pain, strength, and survival infused into them.

I HIGHLY recommend this collection of short stories to anyone who is interested in speculative fiction, and wants to see stories not centered on white, Western, cis, straight, and mostly male protagonists.

First off, the most exciting: my dear friend, awkward robot,and Clarion 2012-er Lara Donnelley sold her first book to Tor. I feel like key smashing and shrieking every time I think about it, because when I read it last year it was already so good. I talked about it for days to anyone who would listen, or even pretend to. (I am on the edge of my seat, waiting for the cover Tor comes up with.)

I’m still plugging along in that web designer class I’m taking. It’s totally worthwhile and I’m loving it. I had completely forgotten how much I love using photo- and art-editing software (Photoshop, in this case). I’m not superb at it, but I’ve had the basics down since middle school. I had kind of also missed HTML, which is weird. It’s basic and impersonal, but I guess I just enjoy creating things. CSS comes… next week, I think, then JavaScript, then JQuery. I can’t wait to try my hand at a few side projects.

I’m also planning two convention trips—one in March, to Orlando, and one to Madison in May. Both speculative-fiction related, though the former is more academic in scope and the latter is pretty solidly feminist science fiction. Looking forward to both very much, but holy cow is it expensive to travel. Also between these two trips, two long weekends in April, and a week and long weekend in October (plus whatever else comes up?), I’m a little concerned I might be frowned at by the corporate gods of… billing, or vacation time, or whatever. If I have to take a black mark, though, all right, slap it on me.

And I’m working on a short story to submit to the Hidden Youth anthology by Crossed Genres Publications. The first anthology, Long Hidden, was just fantastic. And my story idea sprung from an article I read a few months ago for my Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion anthropology class. I am totally taken with this culture, the Nyinba of northwestern Nepal, and I’ve really got only two primary concerns: write a good story, and don’t be insensitive to the (rural, non-western) culture. Fingers crossed.

It has been really interesting to watch this story take shape, though, because I feel like for the first time in a long time I can see where certain things should happen—the tension needs to be raised here, there should be foreshadowing here, this part is important but isn’t yet carrying its weight. Editing feels a little like an out-of-body experience sometimes, and I can’t yet tell if it’s a sign of improvement or... Christ, what if I’m slipping backward?

Submissions are open for the follow-up to Long Hidden, the speculative fiction anthology co-edited by #24CC's Rose Fox! If you are interested in writing paraliterary historical fiction from the perspective of a marginalized youth, you'd best head over there before they fill up!

Readercon wrap-up: ‘You don’t look Filipino’

Me, the author, autographing my story in “Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History”

Readercon is awesome. The conference for speculative literature is always worthwhile, as it offers a deep dive into issues and concerns that are at the forefront of literature.

So I got to hear luminaries like Michael Dirda and Peter Straub talk about their development as readers and writers.…