Sky-Tinted Waters

I may have mentioned a time or twenty that I have a story in, and also copy-edited, the new Minnesota Speculative Fiction Writers’ anthology, Sky-Tinted Waters, now available from Sam’s Dot Press.

I’m delighted to announce that STW can now be ordered online via the Sam’s Dot website. Both print and e-versions are available.

In conjunction with the release, anthology editor Michael Merriam and I will highlight the anthology’s stories in a series of posts beginning this coming Monday, May 14. At his livejournal, Michael will talk about the selection process and why he just had to have the stories he chose for the anthology. I will be the Alistair Cookie Monster to his Monsterpiece Theatre, talking about my experiences copyediting the stories and offering general observations about the pieces and the process.

We’ll begin at the beginning, with Michael’s introduction to the anthology. Hope you’ll play along!

The creative process fascinates me. Not just the finished products that artists produce, but the ways in which we go about producing them, and deciding to produce them in the first place. I especially love creative interplay between artists and forms.

One quiet evening, during a game of Wise and Otherwise, I came up with something like, “The night of Autumn walks with the morning of Winter.” Intrigued by the line, Leora drew a picture of two women walking through a forest: the night of Autumn and the morning of Winter. That drawing, in turn, led me to start writing a story about two women, the personifications of Autumn and Winter, walking through the forest of Time. The story remains unfinished, but Leora’s already said that, when I finish it, she might be inspired to add further illustrations.

I tell you all of this because of Jessica Prescott. Jessica is a North Carolina-based ecologist, crochet designer, and poet, and a reader of No Unsacred Place. A couple days ago, Jessica dropped a note to say that my most recent NUP post, “S and R Dance On”,, and the astronomical event that inspired it, have now inspired her to write the poem “Stars in Love”.

I love the dance of the creative process, and the way that artists, even without having the chance to meet in person, can inform and play off of each other, shifting and transforming an inspiration into something new at every turn, making, unmaking, and remaking. Much like the Cosmos itself.

With delight and humbled awe, I come to tell you that I have been chosen as a staff writer for No Unsacred Place, the science and nature blog of the Pagan Newswire Collective!

I will be embarking on an adventure called “Restorying the Sacred”, in which I will explore myth-making and storytelling and how the creation of new sacred stories can help modern Pagans connect to their now and here.

Neoshamanic practitioner and writer Lupa will also be joining NUP, taking over the “Earthly Rites” column.

I am more thrilled than I can say and hope you’ll join me on this new adventure!

I am honored to learn that my essay “I’m From Mattawan, MI” has been selected for inclusion in the forthcoming I’m From Driftwood book, which is being published in anticipation of IFD’s 50-State Story Tour. I don’t have a lot of details yet, but I’m so pleased to know that this book is going to exist, and I’m excited to see the Story Tour roll through Minnesota!

Oh, my! “Queen of Ships”, a steampunk story set on Mars, has won the Scott Imes award for outstanding story by a local author in the 12th annual GPS writing contest! My thanks to the judges, to amazing beta-readers Leora Effinger-Weintraub and John Moffatt, and to everyone who stopped by the contest reception at CONvergence this weekend.

I’m delighted to report that my essay “Deep Roots, Deep Magic” will appear in an upcoming issue of Witches and Pagans magazine. More details as they become available. Many thanks to W&P editor Anne Newkirk Niven, who was patience incarnate as I got this one ship-shape.

O glorious day! I have received word that my steampunkish short story “The Mezzo” will be published in an upcoming issue of the venerable Electric Velocipede. No word yet on dates; so keep your dial tuned in here for more details as they emerge!

My first piece of sold steampunk! “The Weed on the Floss” will appear in Steampunk Tales #5.

‘Round about November 9, keep your eye on the amazing LGBT life stories blog I’m From Driftwood for a short piece called “I’m From Mattawan, MI.” It is my story, a tale of Pride, buckthorn, and granola bars.