It's a Jumble

      "I'm not wise at all. I told you, I know nothing. I know books, and I know how to string words together--it doesn't mean I know how to speak about the things that matter most to me."      "But you're doing it now--in a way."      "Yes, in a way--that's how I always say things: in a way."                 -- from Call Me By Your Name, by Andre Aciman

Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Water Knife is a smart, fierce, propulsive thriller and an unsparing look into a future that seems all too real. In this book’s timeline, drought and climate change have devastated the American Southwest; Texas has basically gone to hell, and other states are waging something close to literal war over access to water from the Colorado River. The borders are shut down—state borders, that is. Nevada doesn’t want drought refugees from Arizona, Arizona doesn’t want refugees from Texas, and California (powerful and still water-rich) doesn’t want the poor from anywhere else. Borders are enforced with fences, checkpoints and state militias. The lucky rich live in enclosed “arcologies”—self-sustaining luxury towers with greenery and waterfalls, fed by recycled water and sealed off from the outside world. In this gritty, dust-blown future, the stories of three characters intersect. There’s Angel Velasquez, hired gun for the corrupt Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA...

So, some promo news! My latest story,  "The House of Illusionists,"  was featured in Maria Haskins'  review column on the Barnes and Noble Science Fiction and Fantasy blog!  This story means so much to me. And it's a huge honor to be featured alongside such amazing writers. Check out the whole list and all the other featured stories if you can!  And in other news… the science fiction and fantasy journal NewMyths has launched a Kickstarter to fund publication of a “Best of” anthology covering its past ten years. And my fairy tale story, “Snow’s Daughter,” has been picked for the anthology! "Snow's Daughter" was the first genre publication I ever had, and also the first paid fiction publication I ever had. Editor Scott Barnes' acceptance, and his encouraging words, meant so much to me as a beginning writer. I'm thrilled to have "Snow's Daughter" appear in this anthology. It will appear alongside work by by such wonderful...