It's a Jumble

  Well, it’s that time when writers make posts about their award eligibility for the year. I had two short stories published in 2021. I’d be honored if you took a look at either (or both!) of them. “Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe” (fantasy, 4094 words). Translunar Travelers Lounge , Issue 4, February 2021. This story is exactly what it says on the tin: it’s fanfiction for a grimdark universe. It’s about a group of world-hopping secret agent/superheroes who find out that in our universe, on Earth, they happen to be the characters in a cult-hit graphic novel series. And there’s fanfiction about them. It’s a comic sounding premise, and indeed, there’s some humor here. But there’s darkness, too. I was reading a lot of fanfic on AO3 when I started this story, and I was thinking about how the grimmest, darkest of media often have the cutest, softest of fanfics. Of how we consume and process dark stories. Of how some fans rewrite endings and scenarios, placing their beloved charac

It’s Thanksgiving holiday in America as I write this; snow is falling past my window, pies are on the table, and dinner will be ready soon. A quiet meal for just me and my husband and children. There is much to be thankful for, always. I hope that you, whoever you may be reading this, also has much to celebrate and be thankful for. Good stories are always worth celebrating, of course, and I am always thankful for them. Here are twelve that I read in September and October.  “How to Find Yourself in a Fairy Tale” by A.C. Wise in Daily Science Fiction Find clothes suitable for a fairy tale child. Stitch them from frost and leaves. Procure the skin of a donkey, or a barrel driven with rusty nails. If your child would be clothed in silver and gold, they will need to wish beneath a tree grown from your murdered bones. Plan accordingly.   It’s the beginning of many a classic fairy tale: a person (nearly always a woman) desperate for a child. Willing to do whatever it takes, whether tha