Category Archives: Fiction

Recap: ICFA, the big move, and new adventures

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Valya and I, image by Andy Duncan

Valya and me, photo by Andy Duncan

March was a month of traveling madness, first to NYC for the Armory Arts fairs and then to Orlando for the International Conference on the Fantastic in Arts. The first night there, I got to see Amanda Palmer play her ukulele and serenade the bar with Radiohead’s “Creep.” Very decent way to begin a writer’s conference.

My reading/panel “Transforming Fact into Fiction” with Greg Bechtel lost two members to the flu, but the amazing Valya Lupescu, author of The Silence of the Trees, stepped in as our third panelist. It was only on the plane to the Florida that I suddenly realized I hadn’t told her it was a reading, too. But Valya was amazing, and read from her novel, and we had a great panel, despite the unforgivable hour (8:30 a.m.) on Thursday. The wondrous Sofia Samatar even got up early to hear us talk about about the intersection of memoir/fiction/myth/and history. It was my first time reading my work at a conference, and it was my first time coming as a writer as opposed to a scholar, so it was really a rather special ICFA.

Sofia Samatar, Valya Lupescu, me and Kat Howard. Photo by Jim Kelly

Sofia Samatar, Valya Lupescu, me and Kat Howard. Photo by Jim Kelly

I also heard the lovely Kat Howard read part of the script from her collaborative project with Megan and Shannon Kurashige, “A Thousand Natural Shocks.” And then saw Dora Goss read (no! perform is a more accurate word) an excerpt from her work in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling’s anthology, Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells.

I also wore a lot of cute dresses, if you can’t already tell by the pics. I’m an academic. I’m mostly covered in chalk and hidden away in a classroom, but this conference is held in Orlando, and so I worshipped the sun gods as every writer should when they get the chance.

Sofia and me

Sofia and me

 

One of the highlights of this trip was finally meeting Sofia Samatar, author of the forthcoming A Stranger in Olondria, whom I had recently found on Facebook. But I knew I had found soul mate, when, at last call on our second night of the con, she turned to me and was like, “We need to buy a bottle of wine. What is up with this last call nonsense?” We, of course, closed down the bar that night. And the night after, and the night after. We also went to war for S’mores and bought magic rings our last night in town. Conferences such as this are made for adventures. 

Kat, Maria, me, Sofia at the Saturday night banquet. Photo by Andy Duncan

Kat, Maria, me, Sofia at the Saturday night banquet. Photo by Andy Duncan

Speaking of which, included a possible tornado our last day there. Liz Gorinsky, Maria Dahvanna Headley, Dora, Sofia, and Lara Donnelly and I hunkered down in the Tavern (not for drinks, really, but to get away from the windows). The hotel was nice enough to bring us complimentary champagne and chips while the storm blew over. But it was Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, who rescued Sofia and I since they took the Weird Fiction Review team out to dinner in Winter Park. 

Jeff VanderMeer, me, Sofia, Ann VanderMeer, Edward Gauvin

Jeff VanderMeer, me, Sofia, Ann VanderMeer, Edward Gauvin

Lovely dinner with good wine, laughter, excellent port, and snippets of conversation about a possible future conference on the Weird and Grotesque. It was so fabulous finally getting to meet Edward Gauvin, whose articles I have read over the past year. What a wonderful crew to be a part of, and I can’t wait to see what the next year for Weird Fiction Review brings. And serious kudos to Jeff for his book and movies deals!

US!

Francesca, Valya, me, and Sophia. This was pre-S’more us

Now, there were all other sorts of glorious people I got to hang out with, including Chris Barzak, who also has a new book and a movie coming out (but this gang totally rocks). It was lovely to see Liz Gorinksy, KeffyKehrli, Liza Trombi, Francesca Myman, Ellen Datlow and a whole gang of folk that I only get to visit with once or twice a year (the NYC folk, a bit more). Hearing Andy Duncan and Neil Gaiman read was nothing short of sublime (oh yeah, did I mention Neil Gaiman was guest of honor there? And that he read from his new novel? Jealous?). So, quite the trip, and I am leaving out all sorts of grotesque stories about possums and placentas. And perhaps you are being quite thankful that I have left them out. 

house in summer

One last thing is that I came home and packed up the rest of my beautiful house. I closed on Thursday, and so beautiful house is no longer mine. But I now have the means to go to NYC, starting in July, for about 8 months and write like a motherfucker. What shall I write, you ask? The sequel to Elementarí Rising, for one. A proposal to write a book on the Grotesque, too. I am hopefully going to get more stories and poems published. There are  Weird Fiction Review Articles to write, and art exhibits and KGB reading to attend. We shall then see where this path leads. All I know is that I’ve finally found the rabbit hole. And I’m ready to jump in.

Liturgy and Speculative Poetry

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While I am typing up an ICFA recap post, I wanted to spend a few minutes talking about liturgy (because this is something every writer gal likes to talk about on Friday night). Except it happens to be Good Friday. And there was a time when I wrote a weird kind of liturgy for my church. There was a year I spent pouring over the stories from the Bible, and rather than judge them or pick them rhetorically apart or start arguing with them or using them to back up my world view, I simply listened to them. I wondered what it would be like to hammer a man’s head into the ground in order to save a battle or to have ordered the killing of another human and having to live with that decision for the rest of your life. I wondered what it was like to be the outcast, the cannibal, the other, and the oppressor. And from that year came a manuscript of these monologues, some of which have recently been published, or are forthcoming. Here a few you can read online. The “PTL, circa 1981″ isn’t part of that series, but thought you might be interested since it’s the story I came from.

“Jael,” Strange Horizons

“Tamar,” Strange Horizons

“Paul: An Unpublished Letter (for Stephen),“ Liquid Imagination (link is fixed)

“On Eating a Child,” Danse Macabre

“Jericho,” Danse Macabre

“Jepthath,” Danse Macabre

“PTL, circa 1981,” storySouth

And “Magdalene” will be forthcoming from Neon soon.

A Very Dangerous Tea and Other Adventures

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December started out in fine form, since I had three poems (based on Biblical stories) published in Danse Macabre, which you can read here. I also had a poem, “Tamar“, published in Strange Horizons in November (and another will soon be published there as well). I have a full manuscript of these strange little snippets that I started while writing liturgy for a local church. Hopefully, I’ll get more of them published.

Now, about my NYC adventures! I didn’t post much last month since I got horribly sick during my Boston stay, but I will say that my lecture on Fairy Tales and Art went over swimmingly well in Dora Goss’s Fairy Tales and Literature class at Boston University. It was an excellent time, and Dora’s students had really insightful responses to the artwork. If you have not checked out Dora’s amazing short stories or novella, you need to.

dangerous tea

Rachel Boyadjis, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, me, and Rita J. King

I recovered a bit in between visits and came back to NYC this past week in order to attend one Dangerous Tea, the brainchild of Valya Dudycz Lupescu and I on a twitter exchange late one night.  We hadn’t met yet, but wanted to, and also wanted  to connect other writers and artists. On December 16th, ten women (dressed dangerously) gathered in Cynthia Von Buhler’s gorgeous home, Archipelago. It was a night of getting to know one another sharing stories, tea cups, talking about creative processes, and generally having the best time. There were live doves, of course, which added tothe doves the rather magical atmosphere–between the stories and candlelight and these beautiful creatures, I was transported out of NYC and into some mythical place of words and light. The other women there were Rita J. King, EVP of Business Development at Science House; Jennifer Summerfield (aka Trillian Stars), a wonderful actress; Janice Cable, a “wine fabulist” and writer who had me smiling throughout her entire reading; the gorgeous Katelan Foisy, who inherited my tea cup with all its dark history. Dora and Valya were there, as well as my friend Ilana Teitelbaum Reichert, fantasy writer and Huffington

Post blogger; Rachel Boyadjis, aerial performer, writer, and assistant to Cynthia; and Stefania Carrozzini, owner of I AM (International Art Media). I dressed up in dangerous heels for the night (which were also the most comfortable heels ever–go figure). For more pictures from the night, look up #dangeroustea on Twitter, and you’ll see us in masks and our dangerous dresses. Cynthia was a wonderful host, and if you’ve not checked out her Speakeasy Dollhouse, then you really should (I wrote a review of it here). We missed having Maria Dahvana Headley (who let Dora and I crash at her place while she was in Europe), but there will be more NYC gatherings in the future!

It was also a great time reconnecting with artist Carla Gannis, and meeting Art Critical editor David Cohen. Carla and I are notorious for our dancing nights during Armory Arts weeks, and I admire her work that delves into the New Aesthetic. Dora and I had fun running around NYC, having lunch with the ever delightful Ellen Datlow and other peeps. We ended our trip by going to a reading at KGB Bar to hear Mary Robinette Kowal and Ben Loory read and watch one of Mary’s puppet shows. Dinner afterwards was a hoot, as I got to sit next to the very entertaining Jennifer Jackson. I left NYC by way of Philadelphia, where I got to hang again with Jennifer Summerfield and her husband Kyle Cassidy.

And what else can I say? You can see, perhaps, why I go back to NYC as often as I can. Every trip is an adventure, an education, and re-connection to all the different, glorious tribes I belong to.

Big News

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First, the big news (why keep you all waiting?): I finally get to announce that my fantasy novel, Elementari Rising, will be published by Pink Narcissus Press in 2014. I am so excited that this manuscript I’ve worked on for so long is going to be a book! If you want to check out the prologue, go visit my website (it will be up soon). You can also see what short stories I’ve published lately under the News section (with links to the stories).

It’s been a while since I posted, I know, and that is only because of one insane semester. I traveled to NYC in September to give a talk on the grotesque at William Paterson University, and then came back and worked furiously to get Paul D. Miller to come to the CU campus in the Spring. And in a few days, I’m hopping another plane to give a lecture on fairy tales and art in Theodora Goss’s Fairytales and Literature class at Boston University. Then I’ll pop over to NYC to attend exhibits and finally go to the Quay Brothers retrospective at the MOMA.

And there’s a new issue of Origin Magazine that has my interview with China Miéville, wherein he discusses, art, politics, and of course, the fantastic in literature. You can pick up a copy at your local Whole Foods or Barnes and Noble.

And keep an eye out for two poems of mine that I believe will be appear in Strange Horizions this month.

The Monstrous in Art–and My Fiction

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This will be a shortish post, but check back more often, since I plan on changing the nature of the blog to feature more artists and not just news about my latest articles and fiction.

But first, here is my Weird Fiction Review article on the amazing sculpture artist Patricia Piccinini. Her work rides the in-between of nature and nurture and playfully questions the role of bioethics in our society. 

Also, my story, “The Mummer’s Dance,” is up at Red Fez. The last quote marks were lost, but I think you can still track with it.

I will be in NYC from September 26-October 1st to give a lecture about the grotesque in art, and also the role of social media in art today, so do contact me if you’re in the area.

The Art of Tim Noble & Sue Webster and a Great Review

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On the side of Jake Walks bar

I am typing this from a NYC coffee shop–I just got in on Sunday, July 16 after a great time at Readercon, a literary conference that features writers of speculative fiction. I’ll stay here until the 3st, before going back to Colorado. Am here to meet with my artist and writer community and just recharge a bit. Also, there is a Readercon report from me over at Fantasy Matters. If you’ve never attended this wonderful writer conference, then I think my post will give you many reasons (or at least a few) on why you should give it a try.

As for art news: check out the work of Tim Noble and Sue Webster at Weird Fiction Review. I saw their exhibit Turning the Seventh Corner last May in Berlin, and so was quite excited to finally write about their work.

Also, Carrie Ann Baade and I found out that our Cute and Creepy catalogue got a very nice review by the Art Libraries Society of North America.

And back to writerly matters: my interview with the one and only China Miéville will be published in Origin Magazine later this fall—probably the November issue. You’ll want to hear about the very cool project he’s been working on!

Creatures, Tender Morsels, & A Thousand Natural Shocks: The Interstitial Triumvirate

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If you are in NYC this week, then you still have time to catch Shane LaVanchers’ Creatures show at the Orchard Windows Gallery. You can get a little preview over at Weird Fiction Review. The show is a stunning array of a hybrid society caught in between–or perhaps created by– natural evolution and our unquenchable thirst for change and progress via technology.

Also, my latest review of Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels is up at Fantasy Matters. It’s rare when a fantasy book full of magic refuses to stay in its proper place and burrows into the realm of the grotesque, but I think this slim novel does it.

Last, but not least, I would like to bring your attention to A Thousand Natural Shocks, an interstitial production of dance and words created by fiction writer Kat Howard and choreographers Megan and Shannon Kurashige. I love productions that challenge genres and take us into the slipstream of word, image, and performance.

June News–Story Reprint and New Article

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Sparrow, Kate MacDowell

I really have to start making my titles catchier, but alas, all creative powers are going into teaching my summer class on the grotesque, and writing articles, reviews, and stories. So first, some great news: my story “Unleashed Beauty,” which was published in an art catalogue in 2009 will be reprinted next summer in Gargoyle Magazine. I love the momentum I’m building with this writing gig–even when I get rejection notices now, they are personalized, with the editors requesting to see more work.

Also, a new article up at Weird Fiction Review on the stunning sculptures of Kate MacDowell. I’ll have a review of Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels over at Fantasy Matters this Friday. And, I will be interviewing a very cool writer for a very cool magazine later in July. I’ll not say more lest I jinx it all.

Anasazi Ruins with a Speculative Edge: New Story, “Come to the Table”

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This is probably the driest blog post title ever, but I’ve been creating the syllabus for a summer class, so am a wee bit brain dead. There will be a “great NYC adventure post” coming soon, I promise.

In the meantime, if you like short, speculative stories that include the Anasazi ruins, please go read my latest piece, “Come to the Table” over at Prime Number Magazine. Am really excited to see it finally in print (online).

Also, if you have missed any of the other stories I’ve published this past year, you can check out the News page on my website.

Have Summer, Will Travel

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The semester just ended this year, and now I am in New York City to attend the Frieze Art Fair, see Cynthia Von Buhler’s wonderful Speakeasy Dollhouse immersive theatre extravaganza, and catch as many art shows and literary readings as I can fit in 10 days.  Will try to update blog with lovely pics and such but in the meantime, my latest article is up at Weird Fiction Review: “Wonders and Blunders”: The Transgressive Fantastic in Mark Hosford’s Art and my short story, “The Four Horsemen,” is live at Danse Macabre.