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The annual wrap up post:
Jan. 4th, 2013 10:17 amVery sick today, if slightly better than yesterday afternoon, but I see that ah, yes, it's time for the obligatory 2012 wrap up post listing eligible stories for awards and so on. I haven't a hope of getting a nomination for anything this year, but I have sometimes found these summaries a bit helpful for me. So.
And the Hollow Space Inside (Clarkesworld, February, short story, science fiction) generated the most passionate responses, for and against, of anything I published last year. As one reviewer insightfully noted, it was in part a response to C.L. Moore's "No Woman Born," (which I didn't realize until the reviewer pointed it out), in part a response to my ongoing anger with medical issues. I'm delighted to see it popping up on some of the longer "year's best" lists here and there.
My personal favorite, however, was unquestionably Copper, Iron, Blood and Love (Apex, March, short story, fantasy), a dark fairy tale that started off as part of my flash fiction fairy tale series, and turned into something far more.
I seem to be somewhat more alone in my liking for Nameless (Daily Science Fiction, April, short story fantasy) although that might possibly be because the story was originally inspired by the in joke that I am absolutely, utterly, hideous at coming up for names for characters (this may be an understatement; it's a serious writing weakness of mine that I need to work on). Thus, an entire story about a character who doesn't have a name.
More people seem to have liked A Cellar of Terrible Things (Shimmer, July, fantasy/horror), surprising because it's a ghost story about, well, terrible things. It too has appeared on a couple of the longer year's best lists here and there.
I haven't seen any responses to "Safe," my dolphin shapechanging story, from Oceans Unleashed yet, perhaps because the book hasn't been out in print that long.
Labyrinth (Apex, December, short story, fantasy/horror), about fighters in a labyrinth, also has not been out in the world for too long yet, but has already generated some nice feedback. To answer some of this feedback, yes, "Labyrinth," is very much part of a larger world, and more of it, including just how prisoners are selected for the labyrinth, will hopefully be revealed in later stories, short and long.
So that's six short stories – fewer than last year, but, on the other hand, four of them appeared in professional publications – that is, publications that pay at least five cents a word, which is an improvement over last year.
I also published four pieces of flash fiction. Of these, my favorites were "The Agreement," and Nettles; I suspect more people read A Different Rain and Shattered Amber, which both appeared in Daily Science Fiction. And last but not least, seven poems.
Please note that I am not eligible for Best Fan Writer, since I am paid for the Tor.com posts and I don't write enough about genre stuff on this blog. Can I instead recommend Abigail Nussbaum, Bogi Takacs and Fran Wilde? Or anyone else people feel inclined to nominate in the comments.
And the Hollow Space Inside (Clarkesworld, February, short story, science fiction) generated the most passionate responses, for and against, of anything I published last year. As one reviewer insightfully noted, it was in part a response to C.L. Moore's "No Woman Born," (which I didn't realize until the reviewer pointed it out), in part a response to my ongoing anger with medical issues. I'm delighted to see it popping up on some of the longer "year's best" lists here and there.
My personal favorite, however, was unquestionably Copper, Iron, Blood and Love (Apex, March, short story, fantasy), a dark fairy tale that started off as part of my flash fiction fairy tale series, and turned into something far more.
I seem to be somewhat more alone in my liking for Nameless (Daily Science Fiction, April, short story fantasy) although that might possibly be because the story was originally inspired by the in joke that I am absolutely, utterly, hideous at coming up for names for characters (this may be an understatement; it's a serious writing weakness of mine that I need to work on). Thus, an entire story about a character who doesn't have a name.
More people seem to have liked A Cellar of Terrible Things (Shimmer, July, fantasy/horror), surprising because it's a ghost story about, well, terrible things. It too has appeared on a couple of the longer year's best lists here and there.
I haven't seen any responses to "Safe," my dolphin shapechanging story, from Oceans Unleashed yet, perhaps because the book hasn't been out in print that long.
Labyrinth (Apex, December, short story, fantasy/horror), about fighters in a labyrinth, also has not been out in the world for too long yet, but has already generated some nice feedback. To answer some of this feedback, yes, "Labyrinth," is very much part of a larger world, and more of it, including just how prisoners are selected for the labyrinth, will hopefully be revealed in later stories, short and long.
So that's six short stories – fewer than last year, but, on the other hand, four of them appeared in professional publications – that is, publications that pay at least five cents a word, which is an improvement over last year.
I also published four pieces of flash fiction. Of these, my favorites were "The Agreement," and Nettles; I suspect more people read A Different Rain and Shattered Amber, which both appeared in Daily Science Fiction. And last but not least, seven poems.
Please note that I am not eligible for Best Fan Writer, since I am paid for the Tor.com posts and I don't write enough about genre stuff on this blog. Can I instead recommend Abigail Nussbaum, Bogi Takacs and Fran Wilde? Or anyone else people feel inclined to nominate in the comments.