Year: 2012

I love Christmas, and I love Christmas songs…in general.  Unfortunately, by the time Christmas Day rolls around, I’m pretty sick of them. One in particular drives me insane: Feliz Navidad.  Honestly, I have nothing against Spanish/Mexican people, the Spanish language, or even their type of music.  I think it has something to do with the singer – his voice just grates on me like nails on a blackboard.  And on the station my boss has playing every day, Feliz Navidad is played at least three times.  At least — maybe more.

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Ah, December. A time of friends and family, of warm evenings curled up by the fire with a mug of cocoa while snow falls outside, of goodwill and giving, of sparkling lights and pine-scented bows. In theory. It certainly was when I was younger. My sister and I used to make chains of paper rings, enough to get us from whenever it was through Christmas, and on the inside of each ring we’d write something nice to accomplish, and we’d tear one off each day and give it a go. We’d watch holiday specials, go caroling, and spend hours decorating the tree and setting up each little Christmas thing we could find. When we finished, it looked like Christmas had thrown up all over our house. (Enthusiastic, yes. Tidy or tasteful? No.) But now…

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We’re thrilled to present our second Turtleduck Press anthology, Seasons Eternal: Stories of a World Frozen in Time. Our first anthology, Winter’s Night, came out last year. We picked the theme of winter and wrote four stories set in different worlds. For this year’s anthology, the four of us chose a shared premise to explore: a planet where the seasons stopped changing a century earlier. Each of us picked a season to write about. But we didn’t set strict parameters for the planet’s history or geography or even physics. We thought we’d end up with a more interesting variety of stories if the rules of the world were left open-ended…and we were right. One of the stories is set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world. One takes place mostly in virtual reality, but with a magical realism feel. One is set in a technologically advanced but dystopian society. And one is set in a low-tech fantasy world with magic. Our characters include a farmer’s grandson, a lonely widow, a scientist, and a tribal chief. Our themes range from hope to loss. But each story explores stasis or “stuckness” from a different angle. You get the idea. Each of us has different strengths as a writer, and we’d like to think that our anthology showcases these strengths, and delivers a seriously entertaining read to boot. And as a bonus, we’re donating most of the proceeds to UNICEF. Skeptical? Interested? Undecided? Here’s a free sample on Smashwords. Seasons Eternal is available for Kindle…

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  Are you familiar with that saying? I heard it a lot growing up. “When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.” My Spanish book has made some assumptions about me. I find it very hard to answer questions about when my favorite TV program is on, since I don’t know past tense yet. The last TV show I watched was an episode of Deep Space 9. Yes, it was two days ago, but still. Before that it would be Stargate Atlantis, about…six months ago? And do not, silly Spanish book, ask me why I like or dislike Twilight. I barely have enough vocabulary in my native language to explain all the things I dislike about Twilight. I can’t possibly answer in Spanish. Going back to school has been hard in unexpected ways. The book is written with the 20-something student in mind. While at some point I’m sure I’ll need to know how to say I want to go wind-surfing but I need a board, that day is not this day. It’s annoying, because not only is the vocabulary not the stuff I need, it’s stuff I’d really like to need. Sometimes I actually, verbally, out loud, tell my Spanish book to STFU.

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner (two days, eek!) and for me, it is a time to reflect and count my blessings. This time last year, my hubby was unemployed and we were one disaster away from being broke.  It was scary, and terrible, and even to this day I still get a knot in my gut when I think of it.  Back then, we were in crisis mode.  But we didn’t forget the things we did have — a roof over our heads, food on the table, my job and health insurance, and, most importantly, our family.  They were our strength when we had none.  They were our ray of light in the darkness.  They were what kept us afloat, kept us going.  Without them, I’m not sure how we would have done.

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Ah, titles. The first thing that introduces you to a story. A good one will lure in your reader, enticing people who otherwise would not have given you the time of day. A bad one will find you languishing on the shelves, unread and alone. I hate them a lot.

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So I completely spaced on writing my blog post yesterday. Bad senior editor! I blame the World Fantasy Convention, which I was at this past weekend. Have you ever been to an SF&F convention? There are two different kinds. World Fantasy Con is literature-focused – the panels are about books, the guests and attendees are authors and publishers and editors and aspiring authors. The other kind is all about media – the guests are actors, the panels are about TV or movies or anime, and the attendees dress up (cosplay). San Diego Comic-Con is an example of the second kind. I’ve been going to both kinds for a long time.

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For a while there, I was doing pretty well at this life thing. I got my planner out every day so I knew when things were due. I worked on my homework every night, and I started projects early so I could be sure of meeting the deadline. Then a story fought me, like no story in a very long time has. And I couldn’t do what I usually do, which is to throw my arms up and let it win, come sneaking back at it a few months or years down the road and bash it when it wasn’t looking—no, this story had to be done on deadline.

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Siri Paulson here. I’m excited to introduce you to Rabia Gale. As a fellow indie SF&F author, she’s good at thinking outside the box, and she’s here to discuss books that do exactly that…   The good-hearted farm boy (or sheep farmer’s daughter or assistant pig keeper) destined to save the world is a fantasy staple. And as much as we love these wide-eyed youngsters and enjoy their journeys, it’s nice to see a different kind of fantasy protagonist from time to time. Someone, say, who is not as much of a blank slate or fantasy trope. Luckily for us, the genre has grown enough to include a more varied cast. Let’s dig in and see what other sorts of leading men and women fantasy has to offer us.  The Older Protagonist Time was that the only role an older person could play in a fantasy was that of Wise Mentor. Now, people beyond the age of thirty can find themselves in starring roles. Such is the case with Master Li in Barry Hughart’s fantastic China-inspired Bridge of Birds and Sam Vimes, Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.

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