Beth Wodzinski

New digs!

2009-08-04T19:24:00.001-06:00

Hey, faithful readers -- just a note to let you know I've got my own domain now, and will be updating things there now. Check out http://www.bethwodzinski.com/

Thanks,

Beth

Shimmer, Issue 10 update

2009-03-29T19:51:00.002-06:00

We released Issue 10 last week.

Reaching ten issues is a huge milestone -- it takes a lot of persistence and effort to get this far, and we made it. We've had our share of rough patches, but to me, releasing this issue feels like the final step in our return. It says: we're back.

This is also my favorite issue yet. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be talking about the stories in this issue in a little more detail over at the Shimmer blog and share with people why I love these particular stories -- and I'd love to hear from readers in the comments. Everyone's going to have a different opinion about these stories, that's how fiction works -- I'm looking forward to discussing them with our readers.

We've made the electronic version free this time; download a copy today and see what we've been up to.

Finally, here's the trailer, courtesy of Mary Robinette Kowal:

Further thoughts on STFU and Do It

2009-03-08T22:21:00.002-06:00

Last week, Jason Sizemore kindly let me write guest post for Apex Online. I wrote about relaunching Shimmer, about some of the angst and despair that lead up to our hiatus and what it took to get things rolling again. The key lesson, I said, was to just shut the fuck up and do it. Set aside all the insecurities and limitations and fears and just do it. Please go read the post, if you haven't already.

The post was pretty well-received, and a number of other people posted links to it. One person said she was taping it up over her monitor. That's fantastic, right? And I'm really truly delighted if what I said helped anyone get through their own resistance to doing something awesome.

But a funny thing happened. All of a sudden, I felt this enormous pressure to live up to what I'd said. If I didn't STFU and Do It right now, the whole internet would think I was a great big hypocrite. Besides, I was right: action is the key to making things happen.

So what did I do this weekend to further Shimmer's comeback? Well, nothing. I deep-cleaned my kitchen for a few hours and then played a computer game about shooting bunnies for a few more hours, and went to bed. There might have been a drink or two involved, too.

(My favorite moment in Celebrity Apprentice:

Donald Trump, to Gene Simmons: You're the most contrary man I've ever met.
Gene Simmons: I disagree.)

So I guess what I'm saying is, if you can't STFU and act right now, I get it. You may be too contrary, or too stuck, or too whatever. I sure as hell am. Nevertheless, the simple, brutal truth is: if you want something, you have to act, and all the avoidance tactics in the world aren't going to get you there.

My real obstacle -- anyone's real obstacle, I'm convinced -- is my own limited thinking about what's possible. I need to let go of this constant conversation in my head about why some things are impossible; I need to STFU about that and get moving.

One example: in the early 90s I was in a pretty disastrous relationship, and so entangled in it that I couldn't even see other possiblities. I knew things weren't right, but I couldn't even imagine a different life. That came to a sudden and mildly violent end. I got off easy (as domestic violence goes, it was negligible; please redirect your sympathies to people who have it much worse than me), but it was enough to change everything. All of a sudden I desperately needed to leave -- and all of a sudden, I could see the thousands of other possiblities I'd always had but been blind to, and all of a sudden, I felt free to take advantage of them.

All that really changed was my sense of what was possible.

You'd think I would have learned that lesson then, but no. I keep getting entangled in my own limited view of what's possible, and I'm apparently only willing to expand my view when it simply becomes more painful to stay stuck than to change. The solutions are always so obvious (stuck on marketing? Recruit Josh Vogt to help out. Stuck on the web site? Have it redesigned, and then get James Eric Stone to help out.), but so impossible to see when you're stuck.

So, yeah. STFU and do it. Absolutely; I believe that 100%. You have to stop being stuck and act; there is no other way to make things happen.

I just don't always know how to do it.

Updatery

2009-02-18T19:13:00.002-07:00

Wow, it's been a busy few weeks!

First we went to Chattanooga for the lovely Mary Robinette Kowal's birthday/writing retreat, where we participated in Iron Chef and a steampunk photo shoot; then it was off to Radcon, in scenic Pasco, Washington. In the midst of all that, I also got Shimmer #10 off to the printers, made some progress on our site redesign, picked some new slush readers, and got a cold.

Today, in between naps, I've been working on getting my feet back on the ground. I'm looking forward to just hunkering down and getting stuff done now.

Shimmer: Help Wanted

2009-01-30T07:53:00.004-07:00

Shimmer will be relaunching soon (just a few weeks!) with a new site design, some new staff, and a fantastic new issue. We need two more staffers to help get things off the ground: a slush reader, and a web assistant.

The slush reader will read an average of 1-2 submissions per day, and either reject them, or forward them for further consideration. I'm looking for someone who can be fast, friendly, and whose approach to stories is somewhat similar to mine. Update: we have a ton of volunteers to sort through now. Thanks to everyone who expressed interest!

Web assistant: Our site is based on WordPress. Our redesign will be done shortly, and we'll need help moving our current content into the new layout, and maintaining it going forward. No programming or other heavy lifting required--just some skill with WordPress pages and posts. Update: Fast as the internet, we've found a web assistant. Thanks to everyone who expressed interest!

We're an all-volunteer staff, but fun to work with, and I'll buy drinks if we're ever at a con together. If you're interested (or want more information), e-mail beth AT shimmerzine DOT com.

End of a Crappy Week

2008-07-12T21:10:00.003-06:00

For some reason, the plumber who charged us nearly $2000 to fix a problem we didn't have isn't returning our calls. Hmmm, wonder why.

So it seems the source of our problem was a significant leak in the sprinkler system, not in the main. But even with the sprinkler turned off at the main, there's a more modest leak somewhere... so either the plumber missed a second problem, or screwed something up with the main. We shall see.

Just to make the week even more perfect, the new kitten somehow managed to sprain her fool elbow, and needs to spend a week doped up and confined to let it heal.

There have been a handful of other things go sadly wrong this week, too. It's been pretty sucky. And I think it's time for a mojito.

Well, I'm headed out of here tomorrow on a trip for work (Tampa in July, YAY!), leaving poor Sean behind to deal with all this. Lucky boy!

When I get back, I'll be busy releasing the next issue of Shimmer. Stay tuned.

Yay! Adventures in Plumbing Continue

2008-07-09T20:50:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I started hearing the sound that first alerted us to our orignal plumbing sound. It's the sound of the water meter spinning and spinning as all our water gushes away in a ginormous subterranean leak. But I thought, no, it can't be, we just had the water main replaced, at great cost, and just spent the 4th of July weekend restoring the flower bed they dug up. And it was barely audible...

But today I could still hear it, so we checked. Yup. Water out of control again.

After a lot of grumpiness, and consulting with Sean's father, we were able to determine that the leak is in our sprinkler system somewhere. So at least we were able to turn that off, and keep the water going to the house.

Still very curious to see if this was the problem all along and last week's adventure was for nothing...

Martini time.

Hot and Tired

2008-07-06T17:48:00.002-06:00

We spent many many long hot hours yesterday working on the flower bed the plumbers dug up to fix our water main. Skipper came over to help, because she is a saint. First we laid in a bunch of stone borders and paths--both to shape the space and to give us access to all of it without squashing stuff. Then Skipper and Sean worked on replanting the stuff we were trying to save, plus a few new additions, while I worked on some other stuff. It's almost done--just need to plunk down a little bit more stone, replant the last few plants, get some bark, fix the sprinklers, buy a bunch more plants--ok, I guess we're not really done at all. But we did a crapload of work yesterday.

Today we're very tired, so went to see Wall-E. It really was nice sitting in the air conditioning and eating popcorn. I don't think I'm really in the target audience for this movie, so I'm not going to say much else. But I'm damn sure that when we get our robot butler, it's not allowed to watch musicals, because apparently a little visual stimulation is all it takes to make robots whore off across the universe hoping to get laid.

Insects Are Just Like You And Me Except Some of Them Have Wings

2008-07-05T13:49:00.002-06:00

Shimmer contributor Kuzhali Manickavel's debut collection, Insects Are Just Like You And Me Except Some of Them Have Wings, is now available! I'm really excited about this, because Kuzhali's a terrific writer. Her story Sour Hands was in our debut issue, and Flying and Falling appears in the Art issue. Flying and Falling is also in this collection.

The book is currently available through Amazon and Target. Temporarily out of stock, but I'm not going to let that get in the way of ordering one. Can't wait to read it!

I give up!

2008-06-30T17:08:00.003-06:00

Here's how the past few days have gone:

Thursday, the sprinkler guy came to fix our ancient broken sprinkler system. He had to run new wires from the control panel out to the valve boxes. Fun! And the sprinklers still sucked because our water pressure's strangely low lately.

Friday, we discovered a ginormous black widow by the basement door (uh, the *broken* basement door, damn it; gotta fix that soon). It is the size of a Volvo. It is the size of Kentucky. I am pretty tolerant of bugs and such, but this monster was just wrong. It does not belong in my HOUSE.

Saturday, the nice exterminator came by and took care of it. Saturday night, as we were settling in to bed, an assassin bug bit my stomach. Argh! I know they're beneficial and chow down on lots of other bugs, but it does not belong in my BED. So that night we thought, hmm, perhaps our plan to go to Africa for a while is not going to work out so well. I hear there are bugs there.

Today, we learned that that ominous rumbling sound we'd been hearing for a few days is actually a ginormous leak in our water main. Oh, so that's why our water pressure has been low... Our water is currently shut off, and the plumber set up a temporary line to our neighbor's water. Still need to get some more opinions, but it looks like we're going to need to dig up the front yard and replace the main. Hmm, Africa is also not known for its fabulous plumbing.

So what we're going to do is just sell everything and move to Iceland. That is looking like a more and more reasonable option every day.

Skateboard update

2008-06-27T22:38:00.002-06:00

Today Sean and I went to the big parking lot by the University stadium to get in some more skateboard practice. The parking lot behind our house is pretty uneven, lots of cracks and so on, but this one's in really good shape. I'm starting to get the hang of this.

Sean sort of trots along beside me so I can grab him if I get too wobbly. I am sure that increases the dorkiness factor by about 200% but whatever works. I need training wheels for now. But I've graduated from hanging on to him tightly to just having him within grabbing distance. It's progress.

Still fun.

It's harder than it looks!

2008-06-25T23:36:00.002-06:00

Lately, I've been taking the train to work. It's actually a decent option: it's a fairly short walk, and I get to read.

But I don't like walking. It just seems so slow.... and every time I'm out walking somewhere, I see Kids These Days zipping by on their skateboards, and man, that looks like so much more fun than walking.

So Sean got me a skateboard, and I'm working on getting the hang of it. I have pretty decent balance and coordination (and good health insurance) so why not?

Because it's way harder than it looks, that's why not! Kids These Days make it look so easy! I make it look so dorky! And hard.

But it's fun; and it beats walking.

It's official...

2008-06-23T18:59:00.002-06:00

The kitten's name seems to be Princess, which makes us official crazy cat people. God. I swear it was IRONIC when we started calling her that.

New kitteh!

2008-06-14T23:46:00.004-06:00

So the other day, Sean tells me the feral cat at his school had kittens. "One has an orange face," he says. "We can call her Pumpkinface." So I knew we were getting a kitten.

In accordance with the Law of Kittens, she's adorable. She's settling in well, and has gone from being terrified (and hungry!) to being a fierce and curious little anklebiter.

I call her Pumpkinbutt.

She hasn't met the other critters yet; it'll be another week at least before we try that. The cats are pretty curious about what's going on in the spare bedroom.

Sorrowbird

2008-06-09T08:31:00.000-06:00

Sean's story Sorrowbird is up at Fantasy. Go read! It's pretty terrific.

Another acceptance!

2008-06-03T22:03:00.002-06:00

We've accepted "The Bride Price," by Richard S. Crawford. Richard was in our very first issue--I'm delighted to see him return for our 10th.

I've been ridiculously busy for the past few weeks. But now I'm as close to caught up as I've ever been, which feels great. But somehow my to-do list never gets smaller...

Recent Shimmery Acquisitions

2008-05-31T21:41:00.003-06:00

We've recently acquired three new stories:

Counting Down to the End of the Universe, by Sara Genge
Firefly Igloo, by Caroline Yoachim
Blue Joe, by Stephanie Burgis

Three very different stories, but each perfect for us!

Lazy day!

2008-04-20T20:32:00.003-06:00

As part of our week-long anniversary celebration, Sean and I declared Saturday to be Lazy Day. It was really lovely to just take some guilt-free time off. Sean made bagels (not exactly lazy, but yum!) and we had bacon sandwiches. I filled out the day with a nap and a movie. Mmmm.

Today, not so lazy, but it sure is easier to get stuff done when you come at it refreshed. I spent some time organizing files and such, wrote another 1500 words or so on The Chimpanzees of Mars, and still have enough brains to take on the flash challenge at Liberty Hall after dinner.

It's been a very good weekend.

Reviews of the Art Issue

2008-04-19T12:17:00.002-06:00

For your weekend reading pleasure, a smattering of reviews of Shimmer's Art Issue:

Sam Tomino at SFRevu gives all the stories a Very Good.

Last Short Story calls "Penny Wise," by Kurt Kirchmeier, "well-written and engaging."

And in the latest IROSF, Lois Tilton gives "Monologue with Bird and Burin" by Daniel Rabuzzi, and "Flying and Falling" by Kuzhali Manicavel her coveted "recommended." Yay!

Rearranging the house . . . again.

2008-04-06T19:14:00.002-06:00

We spent last Sunday rearranging the house. Sean and I have been sharing an office, but finally it was time for us each to get our own space. So we spent all day last Sunday rearranging things, and thought we had it worked out.

But no. It was not right.

So we spent all day Saturday trying again. This time we got smart and asked Skipper to come over and help after the first four or five hours... This is a pretty big house for two people, but there are enough architectural oddities to make it challenging.

But we did it. We found the right place for everything, and it's all flowing and clean and organized and comfortable. It was a crapload of work, but well worth it.

Today we've been busy doing almost nothing, which is lovely.

Congrats, Skipper!

2008-04-03T21:26:00.002-06:00

Big congrats to Skipper, who just sold a story to Fantasy. It's particularly cool because she wrote the story as part of a Christmas present for me! I'm just delighted to see the story find such a good home.

Speaking of Fantasy, I really enjoyed this week's story--Petrella, by Charlene Brusso. I enjoy most of the stories I read there; Cat Rambo's doing a terrific job of picking stories.

Restorative Saturday

2008-03-30T11:55:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was a good day. We slept in, then spent the afternoon wandering around at the zoo. I think my favorite this time was the Eastern Black and White Colobus monkeys--they have this lovely long hair, sort of like Afghan hounds. I also was also taken with the ginormous African porcupines.

In the evening, we had dinner with Shimmer author John Mantooth, in town for WHC. And we got to meet his writing group: Kurt, Petra, Kim, and Sam. They're sound on "all right," and are really fun; it was a terrific evening.

Today will be about being productive: cleaning the house, editing the stories, doing some writing, etc.

No World Horror for us

2008-03-27T22:55:00.002-06:00

WHC is in SLC this year, and it seems silly not to go, eh? We'd been looking into helping out as volunteers for the con, but last weekend realized that we haven't had a "normal" weekend since early February. We had our trip to Radcon, and one or the other of us has been sick every weekend since; it's just ridiculous.

So no WHC for us; we're just going to kick back and enjoy not being sick.

But I'd love to have coffee or dinner with anyone who's in town for WHC.

The Fix review of The Art Issue

2008-03-24T21:30:00.004-06:00

See what The Fix has to say about the Art issue.

J.C. Runolfson had some concerns about how we printed the art (Mary, our Art Director, has a few more thoughts about that), but mostly liked the stories. I think reviews that point out both strengths and weaknesses are more interesting to read than reviews which are either all glowing, or merely summarize a story without taking a stand.

Nevertheless, I'm very pleased by the positive comments. Overall, "this is a solid example of good fantastical short fiction, and an issue of Shimmer well worth acquiring." Runolfson compares Aliette de Bodard to Patricia McKillip, admires Michael Livingston's "lyrically understated" writing which "conjures fully realized characters and a strong sense of place." And regarding Kuzhali Manickavel's "Flying and Falling":

That extra layer of doubt takes a beautiful magic realist story and gives
it extra bite, a perfect note on which to end an issue with such strong
themes of hope and the loss of it.

Lots of other interesting comments; go read the whole thing!

So tired of being sick . . .

2008-03-22T22:55:00.002-06:00

I'm recovering from, I think, my 5th round of illness so far this year, and it's only March. WTF? We're both really ready to be healthy again.

On the plus side, I've managed to get a lot of reading done--that part, at least, is nice. But c'mon. Gimme a break. Enough with the stupid colds and flus already.

Angela Slatter on Pseudopod!

2008-03-16T13:49:00.003-06:00

Angela Slatter's story "The Little Match Girl," published in Shimmer's Spring 2006 issue, is now up on Pseudopod. It's read by Dani Cutler. Go listen!

"The Little Match Girl" is one of my favorite Slatter stories; I'm really happy to see it get a new life.

Stories That Fail

2008-03-11T22:39:00.002-06:00

I see this particular story structure fairly often, and it never works for me. Here's a completely made-up excerpt:

The demonic alien waved his tentacles at Roger. He screamed helplessly, but
there was nothing he could do: the alien's mind control held him completely
motionless. Then the alien forced him to pick up the gun and press it against
his temple. "You must die so that we can complete our plan to take over Earth,"
the alien said inside his skull. Roger wept silently as the alien made him
pull the trigger.

###

The sheriff looked down at Roger's body. "Sure is a shame when a nice young
man like that kills himself," he mused.

"Sheriff," said the young deputy. "What are these marks? It kind of looks like someone dragged a tentacle through the blood!"

"Son," said the sheriff, "you see all kinds of crazy things in this
business. Sure is a shame."

THE END

The biggest problem (among several) is that the author isn't trusting the reader. If the author has done his job in the first 4,000 words, we don't need another 500 words to let us know that Roger's dead, and that humanity has no idea about the impending alien threat. The author may think she's adding extra drama by showing the scene: but sometimes, letting us imagine the scene is even more powerful.

In other news from the slush mines, if the cover letter starts out "Dear Sir/Madam" or "To whom it may concern," the story is not going to be good.

Jane Goodall!

2008-03-04T23:13:00.002-07:00

Tonight we went to see Jane Goodall. She was speaking as part of an environmental studies lecture program at the University of Utah; Terry Tempest Williams was the other speaker.

And, well, she was pretty awesome. I've read most of her books, and am pretty familiar with her research and her more recent work with conservation and Roots and Shoots--but seeing her tell her stories in person is terrific. She has an amazing presence.

Eh, nothing I can say will convey what it was like--but if you get the chance, go see her sometime.

Sock Zombie Is My Co-pilot

2008-03-02T13:27:00.002-07:00

On the way to RadCon.

Still suffering from the devil-cold; this damn thing will not go away.

I spent a lot of time yesterday wading through Clockwork Jungle submissions. I've sent some really terrific ones on to George Mann. I can't wait to see which stories he picks, and read 'em all.

70 days of sweat: did 1000 words yesterday, despite having no brains; expect to do the same today, perhaps after a nap. So far, so good.

70 Days of Sweat

2008-03-01T11:42:00.002-07:00

So, my whole plan for February did not really work out. I did get some writing done on a few days, and managed to get exercise in on a few days, but overall: pathetic in terms of those objectives! It was a crazy month, though: dealing with the car, going to Radcon, getting sick AGAIN (I am tired of getting sick!). On the plus side, I got to go to Radcon, and Shimmer released the much-delayed Art issue, and best of all, this sucky month is OVER.

Onward, March!

I've signed up for 70 Days of Sweat, a nano-like challenge. Your objective is to write a few pages every day (with a few days off built in) for 70 days--so it's a longer course than Nano, and as far as I can see, the focus is a bit more serious (though it's hard to be less serious than the Nano folks!). I figure it'll take me at least 70k more words to finish off my Nano novel, so that's what I'm aiming for here. That means about 1,000 words a day. Perfectly possible, if I can just get off my ass and do it.

Well, that's what March is for.

Clockwork Jungle Deadline Is Here

2008-02-29T00:19:00.003-07:00

Just one more day to get your submissions in for Shimmer's Clockwork Jungle Book special issue.

We've had a good crop of submissions, with some really spectacular ones. It's been a great deal of fun seeing all the different approaches to our theme. Thanks to everyone who has submitted so far! And if you haven't sent yours in yet: get on it.

The art issue is OUT!

2008-02-25T08:21:00.002-07:00

Sock Zombie, Sean, Skipper, and I have been busy mailing out copies of the Art Issue this weekend--the last copies will go out in the mail tonight.

In other news, our congrats to Angela Slatter--she's on the short list for the Ditmar in the Best New Talent category. We're huge fans of Angela's dark and twisty stories, and are thrilled to see her starting to get more recognition.

The Art Issue Has Arrived!

2008-02-20T22:57:00.003-07:00

Three boxes full of lovely copies of the Art Issue were delivered today! The picture does not do justice to how pretty these books are--and seeing them all piled up like that, it's just a mountain of gorgeous art and fiction.

We'll start mailing them out tomorrow.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T00:37:00.002-07:00

Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like a SOCK ZOMBIE. Like a sock monkey, only undeader.

Sean's damn good at gifts.

Sock Zombie is awesome, and I think he's going to become an indispensable source of guidance and support in the days to come.

Radcon Festivities

2008-02-15T00:28:00.002-07:00

We got up early this morning (well, early for ME), hopped in the shiny new car, and headed to Washington to attend Radcon. It was a nice drive, though long. Oregon is lovely. We're tired but happy to be here, and looking forward to things getting going tomorrow.

Here's my schedule of Official Activities, if anyone's going to be there:

Friday 3:00: On Line Publishing Options
5:00: Urban Fantasy
Saturday 10:00: Manuscript formatting
11:00: The Anti-hero
2:00 Archetypes: Stereotypes or Required Tool?
4:00 Critical Elements of the FAntasy
6:00 Possum: does it really taste like chicken?
7:00 Markets

And then there's the Small Press party Saturday night, as well as the Small Press room all weekend.

Wow, that Saturday schedule is pretty packed. Should be a lot of fun.

I'm very glad to be able to take a little break to go to Radcon. It's been a chaotic year so far, with illnesses and car disasters and things getting insanely busy at work. We've still got some challenges to get through next week when we get back--I have another round of major dental work, and we still have to deal with Sean's car, and we need to get the Art issue in the mail. But I'm optimistic that things will SETTLE DOWN soon and we'll get some breathing space.

Until then, this is our breathing space, and we're going to enjoy it.

Car Drama

2008-02-07T21:35:00.001-07:00

Sean's got a nice post with all the details and lots of pictures; check it out! But the short version is: at about 1:00 in the morning on Wednesday, as we were settling in to go to sleep, someone plowed into my parked car. It's pretty spectacular, in a bad way. The car is totaled; it got shoved right into my neighbor's car, which is pretty messed up, too. The driver was moderately injured and was taken off to the hospital. He's getting cited for driving with a suspended license, and failure to avoid running into shit.

But everything is working out well so far. Of course it's a hassle to deal with everything, but everyone at the insurance company and etc has been really helpful and things have gone smoothly so far.

The fun part, though, is that we chose to obey Mary Robinette's command and buy a Prius. (It is always wise to do what Mary says.) Our rental car is a Prius, so we've been giving it a nice long test drive--that worked out well. I'll go pick it up as soon as I know how much I'm going to get for my old car. I'd really liked not having a car payment--but on the other hand, Oooh! Shiny!

In other news, BIG CONGRATS to Lisa Mantchev, who's sold a pile of novels. Rock on, Lis.

Announcing the Art Issue!

2008-02-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

For this issue, the art comes first. We selected art, and then invited some Shimmery favorites to write stories inspired by the images. Our cover image is Penny’s Grave, by award-winning artist John Picacio; we used it as the trigger for a contest at the Liberty Hall Writer’s Workshop. The winning story is Penny Wise, by Kurt Kirchmeier.

Read all about it.

Table of Contents * Author Bios * PreOrders

I love this issue, and I am so pleased to start presenting it to the world.

January Roundup

2008-02-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

In January, Nancy Fulda at Anthology Builder accepted two of my stories: The Minotaur's Rabbit, published in Apex; and Flight, published in Quantum Muse. Nancy particularly liked Flight, a retelling of the Icarus myth. If you're looking for some short pieces to round out your anthology, maybe one of these will suit you!

Rich Horton's 2007 roundup of Shimmer: "On the whole, quite a nice little magazine!", with particular mentions of stories by Amal El-Mohtar, Jeremiah Tolbert, Michael Livingston, James Cambias, and other luminaries.

The Art issue is off to the printers and should be in our hands mid-February. We'll be announcing the TOC and generally starting to make a fuss about it over the next few days - stay tuned!

And, the obligatory month-end goal summary. This year, instead of focusing on any grand goals, I'm focusing on building small habits that will support larger goals. So instead of having a goal of "write a novel," my goal is "develop a habit of writing every day." I had 4 goals to focus on this month--perhaps too many, but whatever.

Goal 1: Read a short story every day. Only missed 3 days; on most days, I read 4 or 5 stories. So I'm calling this one a habit successfully formed, and taking it off the list of things to focus on.

Goal 2: eat vegetables every day. I managed to cram in some vegetables on 19 days, which is a good start--but this one stays on the focus list for February.

Goal 3: exercise daily. Only 14 days of this--so it stays on the list.

Goal 4: write daily. Only 12 days. I've realized that I don't have any strong "start writing" triggers. I mean, I read short stories on my breaks at work and in the bath at night; I know I need to exercise before dinner; but I don't have anything that says "write now." So probably in February I will be experimenting with different triggers. If, say, I condition myself to bang out my words right when I get home from work, there's a better chance of it happening than if it's just an unspecified "sometime" that I end up forgetting about most of the time. We'll see.

Two periods of being sick this month, which sucks; here's hoping February doesn't knock me on my ass as much as January did.

And now, on to February.

WANT.

2008-01-29T00:17:00.000-07:00

"Like sock monkeys . . . but more undead." Of course you already saw this on BoingBoing but indulge me.

Word to the wise: Shimmer's web host is moving servers around on Friday night, Feb. 8. Or, as they didn't exactly put it, "The Randy cluster is going down; want to join us?"

Perhaps we're a little giddy tonight; the long-awaited Art Issue is going to the printer TOMORROW. For Reals.

20th Century Ghosts

2008-01-25T01:30:00.000-07:00

Have you read this yet? 20th Century Ghosts, by Joe Hill - through all of 2007, it seems, everyone was saying how terrific this collection is. I'm just getting around to reading it now, and it's knocking me on my ass. It's so much better than you've heard.

The best of the lot is "Pop Art," I think. In the introduction, Christopher Golden says "'Pop Art' is transcendent. The single best short story I have read in years, it brings all of Joe Hill's abilities to bear in a few short pages--the weirdness, the tenderness, the complicity." And that's exactly right.

It's the tenderness that gets me, and that makes these stories so remarkable.

Stop whatever you're doing and go read this book already.

Proofreading the Art Issue

2008-01-20T23:43:00.001-07:00

Here at the Shimmer factory, we're busy proofreading the Art issue. It'll go to the printers early next week, and be in our hands a few weeks after that.

It's been months since I read any of these stories--long enough that I've forgotten a lot about each one. So it's a real treat to get to read these again, with almost fresh eyes. They are delightful, and varied, and I am falling in love with each of them all over again.

So excited to see this issue finally approach release!

Tales from the Slush Mines

2008-01-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Today I read a submission which said that, if the author didn't get a reply by a certain date, he'd assume the story had been rejected and would start sending it to other markets. It's my understanding that some agents work on a "no reply unless we're interested" basis, but I'm not aware of any spec fic short story markets that do (please enlighten me in comments if you do!).

And I think it's a really bad idea to put a statement like that in your cover letter. Even aside from any nuances of tone, the bottom line practical reason is that e-mail goes astray all the time. I get several queries a week, and yeah, 90% of the time, it's a rejection letter that never reached the author -- but the other 10% of the time is what makes it worth querying. If the e-mail never reached us, we haven't even had a chance to read it.

Two incidents: I found one author's story in the spam folder when she queried. I read it, adored it, and you'll be reading it in our Summer 2008 issue. And another author wasn't receiving my acceptance letters -- I had to use one of my personal e-mail addresses to get in touch with him once it became clear that something wasn't working.

I'm very glad that both these authors didn't just give up and move on when they didn't hear anything.

So don't assume you've been rejected -- query. You might get good news.

Last Day of the Shimmer Sub Drive

2008-01-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Today's the last day of Shimmer's subscription drive. Head on over now and grab a subscription - and get a signed chapbook of "What Child Is This I Ask The Midnight Clear," by Ken Scholes as a special bonus. Last chance to subscribe at the current rates!

Darling Little Folded Books

2008-01-08T20:57:00.001-07:00

Lately, I've been getting interested in making my own books.

We started with simple folded books. They're very easy to do. You can read some directions here. I'd try to explain but it's way easier to just point you at someone else. Fold, fold, fold, cut, fold, book!

Here's one folded and cut:

And here it is folded into a book:

This one got a purple cover, and gold foil endpapers and decoration.

A collection of several books:

Betcha didn't know I was so crafty, did you? Either did I - but I've had my eye on making books for a long time. One obstacle is that I can't cut straight: so I finally got a decent paper cutter, as well as an Exacto knife and a cutting matt. I still tend to be a little crooked, but at least now, the stuff doesn't look like it was cut by a drunk monkey.

The next step was to figure out how to print text onto a page that would fold into one of these books - that was harder. Maybe if I knew my way around desktop publishing software it would have been easier, but I triumphed using columns in MS Word and running stuff through the printer twice. Of course you can't fit many words in a wee book like this, but that was just fine for my purposes.

The little books are fast and easy, and fun to decorate. Give it a try sometime.

Not so much.

2008-01-07T00:20:00.001-07:00

Remember what I said earlier about feeling better? Scratch that.

Ugh.

Slowly recovering

2008-01-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a really gross weekend, but we're both on the mend. I suspect we'll both be back at work and school tomorrow, though we'll be moving at a much slower pace than usual. Ugh, glad this weekend is over!

We did laundry today and it took all of our energy. It always amazes me how things we take for granted normally seem like huge undertakings when we're sick. And it makes me glad that we've done a pretty good job of keeping the house tidy most of the time - so taking a few days off to be sick doesn't mean the whole place is in irreparable chaos.

One of my goals for the new year was to develop the habit of writing. So I'm trying to do 100 words a day. It's hardly any words, I know - but the point is not to lay down a big word count, but to develop the habit. Most days I've gone on to do more than my 100 words, and I'm planning on upping that count once the habit gets entrenched. So far, 5/6 days, and plodding ahead.

Poor us!

2008-01-04T19:13:00.000-07:00

We're sick.

Sean came down with it yesterday; today it started for me. I woke up with a horrible headache and body aches, the beginnings of a cough and sore throat. It was about all I could do to get up long enough to call in sick at work - then it was back to bed for the rest of the day. Sean's in a little better shape. But we're both pretty pathetic.

Gonna head off and watch Stardust in a few minutes, and then I will probably go to bed early.

It's up!

2007-12-31T22:51:00.000-07:00

Already!
Check it out: http://www.flashfictiononline.com/

Happy New Year, y'all.

Sale to Flash Fiction Online

2007-12-30T19:03:00.001-07:00

I've gotten word that my story "The Human Clockwork" will appear in the January Flash Fiction Online, a new pro-paying flash market. I'm really fond of this story, but it's been tricky to place it; I'm thrilled to have it go to a good home.

Slowly easing myself back into being productive after the holidays. Last night we thoroughly cleaned the office, which was dusty and full of crap; today we tackled the rest of the house. It's been a few weeks since we cleaned, and while it was a lot of work today, it is lovely to have the house back in shape, and makes me feel much more willing to take on the rest of my life!

Sean made salt bagels this morning. They were really good, and I think we have a lot more homemade bagels looming in our future.

The Holiday Report

2007-12-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely lazy weekend, and it's been really hard for me to get back into being productive; I just want to laze around for a few more days.

The best present: Sean convinced some of my favorite writer friends to write short stories about birds. Then, he had his second grade class draw a bunch of bird pictures to illustrate the stories - and put it all together into a charming little book. The authors, so you can be totally jealous: Amal El-Mohtar, Ken Scholes, Joy Marchand, Sean Markey, Sara Genge, Ken Rand, Christie Skipper Ritchotte, and Michael Livingston. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

High tea at the Beehive Tea Room, many inches of snow on Christmas Eve, a gorgeous quillwork cardinal from my parents, and lots and lots of time just napping.

How were your holidays?

Happy Holidays from Shimmer!

2007-12-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Stop by the Shimmer site and read our free holiday story: What Child is This I Asked the Midnight Clear, by Ken Scholes.

I hope everyone's having a delightful holiday season!

Recent Acquisitions

2007-12-20T10:49:00.001-07:00

Had a busy day of accepting the other day!

In 2008, look for new fiction by:

Becca De La Rosa: Becca's had stories in Strange Horizons, LCRW, Ideomancer, and other fabulous places.

Jessica Wick - Jess is an editor at Goblin Fruit; this is her first appearance with us.

And welcome back to two authors who appeared in our Autumn 2006 issue:

Nir Yaniv - his first story with us, A Wizard On the Road, got an honorable mention in the Datlow/Link Year's Best!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia - Her first story with us was King of Sand and Stormy Seas. Look for her other stories in Fantasy, Reflection's Edge, and upcoming in Coyote Wild.

Shimmer Subscription Drive

2007-12-19T22:56:00.000-07:00

And now it's Shimmer's turn to have a subscription drive.

From now until January 10, anyone who subscribes (or renews!) will get a special limited-edition chapbook of "What Child Is This I Ask The Midnight Clear," by Ken Scholes. We're raising our prices in January, so this is your last chance to subscribe at the current rate.

Won't you consider subscribing today?

The Clockwork Jungle Book

2007-12-14T00:57:00.000-07:00

Shimmer is pleased to announce the Clockwork Jungle Book: a special double-length issue of steampunk animal parables, guest-edited by George Mann of Solaris Books. It's scheduled for release in Autumn 2008 - and we're now open for submissions. (And yes, we'll continue reading stories for our regular issues.) Check out the guidelines, and then send us your most fantastic steampunk animal tales.

Fingers crossed for a terrific evil robot monkey story! I can't wait to start reading the submissions.

John Joseph Adams did such a great job with guest-editing the Pirate issue (thanks, John!); we were really interested in exploring another guest edited issue. I learned so much by turning over the reins to Cap'n Adams. Really looking forward to the opportunities this project will present!

Ahoy! Another Pirate Review

2007-12-11T14:18:00.001-07:00

Grasping for the Wind has a detailed review of the Pirate issue.

These ten stories and 1 interview are well written, and were good choices
for a speculative fiction magazine’s issue on pirates. The fantasy, horror
and/or sci-fi elements were neatly incorporated into the pirate stories.

Read the whole thing for details.

An Aurealis Finalist!

2007-12-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Angela Slatter's "The Angel Wood," published in Shimmer's Autumn 2006 issue, has made the short list for the Aurealis Award! The winner will be announced January 26, 2008; fingers crossed!

Congrats, Angela!

Two Acquisitions

2007-12-04T19:55:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend, we purchased two stories:

"What to Do with the Dead," by Claude Lalumière
"One for Sorrow," by Shweta Narayan

I'm so pleased.

In other news, the second printing of Shimmer's pirate issue has arrived, and copies will go out in the next day or two. Some people have been very patient . . . but your wait is nearly over.

The Finish Line!

2007-12-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I woke up with a cold and took the day off from work. I sneezed and coughed my way to 50,000 words for nano (finishing with half an hour to spare!) and got a bunch of Shimmer work done, as well.

Today was going to be a relaxing day off - I had nothing more planned than a nap. But I've found myself doing dozens of tiny domestic and administrative tasks - none very important, but getting a big stack of them done is satisfying, and clears the decks for getting down to more important work in the next day or so.

I still have another 50,000 words or so to do on the novel. My plan is to work in 20-minute sprints - they were very effective during Nano, and I see no reason to change now. So every day (except Saturdays) I'll do one sprint with Skipper and/or Sean. And I suspect there will be plenty of days when I'll just keep rolling - but my target is to do some writing just about every day.

New way to procrastinate: I'm volunteering at Distributed Proofreaders - which proofs scanned text for Project Gutenberg. They have a wide variety of texts to proof - right now I'm poking at a book called "Christian Phrenology," which is pretty fascinating.

And if you would like to see lots of pictures of our snowy world, check out Sean's blog.

Ahoy! Pirate Reviews!

2007-12-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Check out what Sam Tomino of SF Review has to say about the Pirate Issue.

I'm sick of pirates. I was never a big fan of them and this wave of pirate stuff in pop culture has not endeared them to me. When I saw that the Shimmer Vol. 2, Issue 3 was "The Pirate Issue", I groaned. What would I encounter here? I needn't have worried. I enjoyed all the stories.

The MSS Shimmer: Converting the pirate-haters, one reader at a time! Thanks, Sam!

And Cap'n Adams has a swell reader review on his blog:

Finished reading the issue […] this weekend…really enjoyed it! Overall, the presentation was excellent, and your brief intro set the tone perfectly. I liked how there was a wide range of stories, touching on different aspects of the appeal of the pirate and the various forms of piracy.

I think it’s a great idea for a little magazine to do a special issue like this. I would like to see more small press magazines doing it. The focus on one theme/topic seems much more interesting than a magazine of general spec fic stories. It felt more like an anthology, but at an affordable price.

She goes on to offer capsule reviews of each story.

Looking forward to hearing what more of our readers think. Speak up!

Another lesson learned . . .

2007-11-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

This one's about backstory.

Writing a choose your own adventure novel gives me the opportunity to give my heroine a different backstory in each thread. The basic backstory is that she was raised in Africa on a chimpanzee refuge, but fled at age 15; our story starts 15 years later. The reason she fled can totally change, though, which is fun. So far I've had her flee a homicidal insane father, and flee to establish her independence from her radical chimp activist parents, and there will be several other reasons, too.

So it's fun to consider radically different backstory possibilities, and see the impact of motivations (she fled b/c of fear) vs the primary facts (she started a new life as a private investigator).

But the main thing about backstory? Most of the threads don't need it at all, beyond brief references to the basic facts. I've been avoiding backstory in a lot of threads because it just adds to the complexity (is it this thread where she killed her mother? or was she kidnapped by the religious cult in this one?) - so I've only gone into the deep backstory when it's absolutely necessary. And 90% of the time, it is not necessary. People want to read story, not backstory.

Just two things to keep in mind when you're launching into a 5,000 word flashback about your heroine's childhood - consider a bunch of backstories before settling on the best one; and whenever possible, just skip the backstory altogether.

About 3k words to go on the nano novel, and then I'll be an official winner.

Nanowrimo 2007

2007-11-25T03:48:00.000-07:00

So I'm about 35,000 words into my nano novel, and it's going really well. This is my seventh time (hit 50k four of those times, and surely will this time, too), and I'm really pleased with it. It's just falling into place, without the glaring structural problems I've had in previous attempts. I've learned a ton from all the other ones, and it's always worth doing, for me - but this time it's just working; I think I'm actually going to have something worth editing once this is all over.

It's a choose your own adventure novel, which is a crapload of fun. The format presents its own challenges - it's tricky to work in all the information I need in all the various downstream scenes, and tricky to keep everything straight (did I maim the antagonist in this thread? or was it the other one?). But it's fun to see how my protagonist's choices play out, and liberating to be able to just kill her off whenever I want.

It also forces me to have a very active protagonist. Something *has* to happen in every scene - no sitting around navel-gazing, no long pointless scenes that go nowhere. Every scene *has* to lead to others. She *has* to choose something in every scene - things can't just happen while she reacts. And the choices have to be significant enough, and distinctive enough, to spawn different threads that can carry their own weight. A lot of times I've thought, let's have her do A or B, only to realize that B is a really boring choice, or too similar to something I've already done - so I've had to rethink things to consistently make the choices more significant.

And that's a good thing - who wants to read about a character who never does anything, never makes any real choices, never has to deal with the consequences of her actions? I hope I'll be able to remember this lesson next time I'm writing a regular story.

Tools of the trade:

I'm mapping out the options with bubbl.us, a free online mind-mapping application. It's very simple and easy to use, and when you delete a bubble, there's a little explosion, which I like, because I am three.

I'm writing in yWriter, which lets me work on each scene as an individual unit - this would be a nightmare in a single text document, or even a collection of them. yWriter keeps it all together for me.

And I'm listening to Pandora.

Happy Halloween from Shimmer!

2007-10-29T22:04:00.000-06:00

As a special Halloween treat, we're delighted to present a brand-new story from Vylar Kaftan, free and online. Grab some candy and settle in to read Something Wicked This Way Comes today.

Congrats to Ken Scholes!

2007-10-12T18:56:00.000-06:00

He's just sold his first novel (and 4 sequels!) to Tor. It's a really good novel, and Ken's a really great guy. Huzzah!

http://kenscholes.livejournal.com/31745.html for details.

The Pirate Keyboard

2007-10-06T11:45:00.000-06:00

Avast! Check out this fine piratical keyboard.

(Thanks to Mike Munsil for drawing it to my attention!)

More Year's Best Honorable Mentions

2007-10-02T23:20:00.000-06:00

Woo-hoo! There are more! Here's the full list:

Aliette de Bodard, "Through the Obsidian Gates," autumn
Samantha Henderson, "Route Nine," winter
Matthew Mantooth, "Litany," spring
Tom Pendergrass, "Sell Your Soul to the Devil Blues," winter
Angela Slatter, "Bluebeard," summer
Angela Slatter, "The Angel Wood," autumn
Angela Slatter, "The Little Match Girl," spring
Nir Yaniv (translated by Lavie Tidhar), "A Wizard on the Road," autumn

And my story, "The Minotaur's Rabbit," published in Apex #7, made the list, too! What a lovely surprise.

In further "today's been a great day" developments, we got Shimmer's pirate issue off to the printers today.

I also went to my first yoga class in months; it was great (though very challenging in spots!). Aha, I thought after the class, I am full of energy - so THAT'S how I used to get stuff done, before I got distracted by other things and got way behind. Clearly I need to find a way to work yoga back into the schedule.

Aliette de Bodard's Honorable Mention

2007-10-01T19:13:00.000-06:00

Aliette reports that her story, Through the Obsidian Gates, received an Honorable Mention in the Datlow/Link/Grant Year's Best! Her story appeared in our Autumn 2006 issue. (We've still got a few copies left - if you want one, snag it on our Back Issues page.)

I think Obsidian Gates was the first Aliette story I read, back before Shimmer ever existed. I was really glad to see the story show up in my slush pile one day (and Aliette was a delight to work with through the revisions!). It makes me very happy to see this story get some recognition.

Congrats, Aliette!

Day Three. . .

2007-09-29T12:27:00.000-06:00

So I'm on Day Three of being sick. I'm exhausted, my brain is full of pudding, I'm achey, and my throat is raspy. I spend most of my time reading or napping or just sitting stupidly and watching TV.

I think it's the pudding-head that bothers me the most. I'm happy to spend the weekend curled up in bed with a book - I just wish I had the brains available to enjoy it.

Yarr! A Piratical Cover!

2007-09-27T23:02:00.000-06:00

Check out the lovely cover to Shimmer's Pirate issue (release date: Nov. 1).

James Owen, the very talented artist, also did the interior art for the issue, which really ties everything together beautifully. Head on over to his LiveJournal, where he's posted images of the cover as it came together, from initial sketch to final image.

Better than a bucket o' chum!

It's not a blog without a cat post

2007-09-23T12:33:00.000-06:00

Abby (short for Anklebiter) spent this summer sleeping curled around the base of the toilet. But check out her new fall sleeping space. It's just the right size for her.

Today will be spent proofing the Pirate Issue so that we can get it out to the printers next week. It's amazing how many typos you find. This issue has been edited, copy edited, had the edited text approved by authors, had the galley proofs approved by authors - and still, there's a ton of stuff to catch. Moral of the story: proof early and often - but accept that despite your best efforts, errors will slip through.

And check out Apex's Halloween raffle.

Yarr! The Pirate Issue!

2007-09-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

Avast! It's International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

We be celebrating by sharing our Shimmery treasure with ye landlubbers. Set your sails for http://www.shimmerzine.com/ and watch our trailer. Then pour yerself a fresh mug o' grog and settle down to read a story from the issue: The Sweet Realm, by Jill Snider Lum.

You can also pre-order the pirate issue: a special double-length issue, guest-edited by Cap'n John Joseph Adams of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Release date: November 1, 2007.

Busy weekend!

2007-09-16T23:54:00.000-06:00

We've had a nice productive weekend here. Sean's busy working on the music for the trailer for Shimmer's Pirate issue (you should be able to see something fabulous on Talk Like A Pirate Day, Sept. 19th). It's lovely to see him so engaged in something. He's enthusiastic about his writing and about his classes and about his future in teaching - but none of those things absorbs him quite the way music does.

And I've gotten a lot done this weekend, too. It's good to be productive instead of overwhelmed. I continue to put a lot of energy towards figuring out the best way for me to work; I think this is highly individual. Everyone has overcrowded lives; everyone needs to balance their home and their day job and their relationships and their creative life and their other interests and their recreation activities. It takes some experimenting to find the best approach. For me, it seems that breaking every activity into bite-sized tasks ("read 1 chapter of 'War and Peace'" vs "read 'War and Peace'"), combined with limiting each day's To Do list to a manageable size, is the way to go.

I'm also focusing on one area of my life at a time. For a while, it seemed like the aspect that had most of my attention was my house: creating new systems to keep us clean and fed was more consuming than I expected it would be. But that phase is settling down, and the house stays clean and we have yummy meals every night and life is good. It's remarkable how happy it makes me to have a clean and organized home; it just seems to make everything else flow better. (Time committment: 5 minutes/day to pick up crap, 10 minutes to deal with dishes and etc after dinner, 45 minutes a week to do a thorough cleaning of the whole house, 2 hrs per month on special cleaning/decluttering projects.) But now, finally, that's almost under control, and I can focus more on Shimmer and my own writing.

btw, if you have any interest in the workings of a small press magazine, read John Klima's series on starting a zine. He's the editor of Electric Velocipede, one of my favorites, and he's offering lots of good information; read it!

He does mention how much effort goes into a magazine, but I don't think you can really understand it until you're waist-deep in it. And for me, more than the sheer amount of work, it's the relentlessness of it: today I can read 10 slush stories and get caught up; tomorrow there will be another 10. And that's just the slush pile: every other aspect is just as continual. The work never stops.

Which brings me back to figuring out how you work. How much can you do in a day, realistically? Where's the boundary between "protecting your free time" and "procrastinating"? What's the most effective way to get magazine work done, get the day job done, keep your life running, and be with your loved ones?

It evolves slowly, this productivity thing; but I know this: I'm happy when I've had a full and productive day, doing work I love. It really makes me feel I've earned my olivetini.

The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

2007-09-06T21:15:00.001-06:00

Over the holiday weekend, Sean and I took a mini-vacation. We headed to Brigham City, about an hour north of Salt Lake, and checked out the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Verdict: neat.

To reach the refuge, you drive about 10 miles down a dirt road out in the middle of nowhere. There's an Education Center just off the highway, but it was closed for the holiday, so we weren't all that sure we were headed in the right direction. Soon enough we started seeing bird refuge signs, though, so we figured we were ok.

Once you reach the refuge, there's a 12-mile car path with frequent parking spots to stop and look at the birds (and those wacky carp). We weren't smart enough to bring a book to help us identify all the birds we saw, but I know we saw white pelicans, ibises, cranes, herons, and other shore birds. We took a lot of pictures, but none that do it justice. It's a lovely and remote area, full of birds. Check it out if you're in the area.

Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest, #10

2007-09-05T18:53:00.000-06:00

Have you been reading Apex? If not, you're missing out. I've been reading Apex since the first issue, and it's been really interesting to watch the magazine grow and improve. It seems to me that there's been a particularly noticable shift in quality in the last two issues: the stories are more mature, more subtle, more challenging; the horror is less intestine-based, and more deeply creepy. Editor Jason Sizemore is exploring a more nuanced approach, and I'm enjoying it.

Bad Sushi, by Cherie Priest, is a nicely atmospheric Lovcraftian sushi story. It's a solid start to the issue: Priest's skill at evoking her characters and world bodes well for the rest of Issue 10.

Daydreams, by Lavie Tidhar, perhaps best represents the direction Apex is going now. It's smart and challenging. The story takes a bit more work than the rest of the pieces in this issue, but for many readers, it is sure to be a favorite. Fans of Tidhar will also want to grab a copy of Hebrew Punk, his short story collection, published by Apex.

Memories of the Knacker's Yard, by Ian Creasey, is perhaps my favorite in this issue. It's a delightfully noir ghost story which completely lives up to the promise of its opening.

If a ghost complains that it's just been murdered, it can help us by describing the killer, or at least telling us about its enemies. Investigating a murder without a ghost is much harder. the slashing was the third this month, all without ghosts, and the eight this year. Or was it the ninth?

Hell, when you lose count of the corpses, you know you're losing.

It's got some neat worldbuilding, a familiar but fresh protagonist, and a satisfying conclusion.

Pigs and Feaches, by Patrice Sarath, is another favorite; it's an emotionally horrifying story that remained with me long after I read it. I love short-short stories that are done well.

Cain Xp11, by Geoffrey Girard, continues Girard's cloned serial killer serial. I know I've read a cloned serial killer story or two, but I'm really enjoying Girard's take on it, and looking forward to the other installments.

Monument, by Nancy Fulda, this issue's Parting Shot, is a wistful elegy that ends the issue on a strong and intelligent note.

Dust stirs around my tennis shoes as I walk. I realize with sudden vertigo that I am tramping through their ashes, disturbing a crematorium, traversing a mass grave. I step carefully.

Well done, Apex. I can't wait for #11.

Aliette de Bodard at WOTF

2007-08-30T21:33:00.000-06:00

Aliette de Bodard is blogging about her experiences at the Writers of the Future awards and workshop. Here's a picture of her looking radiant at the awards ceremony with Kevin J. Anderson.

Aliette's stories frequently appear in Shimmer, and we are not in the least surprised to see her doing well in major competitions. Congrats, Aliette!

Updated to add, courtesy of commenter John Goodwin: you can see more photos at http://wotfblog.galaxypress.com

Apex and a Coconut

2007-08-25T11:37:00.000-06:00

In the mail today, a copy of Apex's Best of 2006 anthology. There's some good reading in there, including Mary's Cerbo en Vitra Ujo. I wrote an appreciation of Deb Taber's story, How to Raise a Human. I've even forgiven Jason Sizemore for getting my name wrong. :) It's a good book; grab yourself a copy.

Sean's been doing most of the grocery shopping lately, and he's under standing orders to bring home a variety of produce. "Get whatever looks interesting," I said, "and I'll figure out what to do with it.

Yesterday he brought home a whole coconut, and I must admit that I'm not sure what to do. The last time I had a whole coconut, I got a little tipsy and made a coconut meringue pie at 2 am (without implements of destruction to open the coconut, or anything more than a whisk to do the meringue - it was a hell of a lot more work than it neeeded to be). Clearly I can not be trusted with coconut-based decisions - so any suggestions about how to consume this coconut?

Insane, in a wonderful way

2007-08-14T22:45:00.000-06:00

Michael Livingston Chaucers Scalzi. Check it out.

Momos

2007-08-05T21:17:00.001-06:00

Inspired by the momos we had last night at House of Tibet, we set out to make our own today. We used Jay Lake's recipe. I've been reading about his momo adventures for a while now, but have never managed to get around to trying them.

So how did it go? Well, they're pretty yummy, but nowhere near the ones we had last night; I think we need to do this a few more times before we get really good at it. I wasn't quite sure how to shape them, but figured it didn't really matter; as long as the dough was even and the meat contained, it should be ok. We used ground turkey instead of beef: next time, beef. And we don't quite have the hang of cooking them. The first few got very brown but the meat was still raw on the inside - so for the rest, we treated them like pirougue and boiled them for a few minutes before finishing them off by frying. We also baked a bunch of them, just to see how that would turn out.

We liked the fried ones more than the baked, of course; next time, we'll get the hang of cooking them. I'm sure of it.

Served with an asian cabbage salad for dinner.

Pirate reading at Armadillocon!

2007-08-05T15:17:00.001-06:00

If you're going to be at Armadillocon this weekend, stop by the Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading. Jeanette Cheney, one of our fine pirate authors, will be reading from her pirate issue story. That's this Friday, August 10, at 6:00. Don't miss it!

Getting to Know the Area

2007-08-04T21:50:00.000-06:00

So today, we decided to start getting to know our neighborhood and the local businesses better - instead of just going to the same old restaurants and coffee shops and movie theaters, we're going to explore. I've arbitrarily declared a very wide area as being "our neighborhood" - east to the University, south to 1300 South, West to 300 West, and north to North Temple. If you're not in SLC, that won't mean much to you; but it's a huge area that includes most of downtown, as well as the University of Utah and several funky little neighborhoods, so there's lots of exploring to do.

We started today's adventure at the Utah Museum of Natural History; they have a special frog exhibit now. The fun part about exploring is that going to one place makes you want to check out other places: the paleontology hall makes me want to go see more dinosaur bones, the anthropology hall had us planning a trip to the Four Corners area and the Grand Canyon.

After that, we headed to House of Tibet for potato cutlets, momos, and chicken curry. Yum! It's been several years since I've been there; I forgot how good it is. I think I'll put that on my list of places to take my parents when they're here next week.

Finally, we stopped off at Caffe Niche for coffee. It's a new place, occupying a space that used to be a funky vintage clothing store. The staff was super-friendly, and the space was beautiful and hip. It didn't seem much like the kind of coffee shop where you'd bring your laptop and hang out, but the dinner menu looked too tiny to make it much of a dinner destination, which left me a little confused about its identity - what kind of place is it? They're usually open from 7 am to 4 pm, so I think I'll have to swing by there in the day sometime, and see what it's like in their core hours.

When we came home, I accidentally fell asleep, instead of doing a few hours of Shimmer work. Mmm, sleep.

Harry Potter and the Boring Hallows

2007-07-29T23:38:00.000-06:00

Chapter One: Voldemort schemes and behaves badly while sycophants cower and fawn. WTF do these people see in him?

Chapter Two: Harry reads the newspaper, and I fall asleep.

So tell me, does it pick up? Or should I just turn my attention to the next book in my To Read pile?

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2007-07-24T23:37:00.000-06:00

Just when I was on a roll with the whole productivity thing - I came home from work tonight and pretty much just fell asleep for a few hours. I woke up at 9:30 or so, and was too sleep-addled to do any work. I just made muffins, and watched some TV. I guess everyone needs a night off - I just hate feeling like I wasted so much time.

Gotta start getting more sleep.

Dumbledore's Zombie Kills Harry Potter!

2007-07-23T01:18:00.000-06:00

Yeah, ok, maybe not so much with the truthiness; I haven't actually started reading it. My prediction: it will be bloated and crappy in a lot of ways, but probably a decent story; Harry lives and will make babies with Ginny; Snape dies; blah blah whatever. I'll start reading soon.

Something that's more on my mind, though, is the process of Getting my Shit Together. I (like everyone) have a lot of Stuff to do: work, domestic stuff, creative stuff, magazine stuff, and so on - just overwhelming piles of Stuff. For the past few months, I've been methodically working on getting it all together. I've been reading a lot of productivity books and blogs, experimenting with systems, and it's slowly starting to come together. It seems like I can only focus on one area at a time: if I'm focused on deep-cleaning the house, for example, I can't really concentrate on writing a novel.

But the good thing is that once an area gets to a certain level of togetherness, it seems to almost maintain itself. Once I get the house in good shape, for example, it only takes a few minutes a day to keep it clean; once my slush pile is under control, it only takes half an hour or so to deal with the newest slush.

It takes a lot of work to get to that point, and I still have a lot of work to do to get everything together. But it's worth it.

Currently I'm using Remember the Milk to keep track of my Lists; it's great, and free. The most useful feature to me, right now, is that I can save a search that looks across all my lists, and pulls out the ones that meet particular criteria - like everything due today. So I can manipulate the due dates and priorities and so on until I get one short clear list of the essential things I need to do, instead of being overwhelmed by lists of hundreds of things. So if you're looking for a web-based to-do list, check it out. I'm a big fan.

Feel free to speak up in the comments. What works for you, in terms of productivity? What challenges are you facing?

We Conquer Ikea

2007-07-15T22:41:00.000-06:00

It was approximately eleventy-billion degrees in the house today, so we headed out for the air-conditioned wonders of Ikea.

Now, I've never been to an Ikea before. I've never lived in a city that had one - and when I was visiting other cities, I always had far more interesting things to do. I was expecting a massive sprawling store (check), filled with smallish inexpensive furniture (check). I was also expecting huge crowds, total overload, and to walk out of there with fifteen things besides the coffee table we went looking for.

But I guess we lucked out. It wasn't crowded or too overwhelming. I did manage to drop a coffee table on my foot (why, yes, the same one I sprained a while ago, how did you know?), and my new shoes were not the most comfortable - but I can't say either of those things was Ikea's fault. So we tracked our coffee table to its lair, hoisted it to the register, and escaped. The only extra thing we got was $2.00 worth of oven mitts.

We put the coffee table together a little while ago; it wasn't even missing any pieces!

Life is working out pretty well these days, all in all.

Apex Online Interview

2007-07-07T23:17:00.000-06:00

Jason Sizemore just posted an interview with me in the latest Apex Online. Check it out!

The Battle of Fort Abbamondi

2007-07-04T21:12:00.000-06:00

Upon the advice of several faithful blog readers, I asked Sean to fetch me pillows for a fort, chocolate (cake), wine (in lieu of laudanum), a plant, and some fine reading material. We constructed a fantastic fort, guarded it with a garden gnome, and I settled in to recover.

Suddenly, the fort was attacked! The valiant garden gnome was the first casualty.

After a brief but bloody battle, I was vanquished, and the conquerer set up a writer's workshop in the fort:

Battlefield theatrics aside, my ankle is recovering nicely, and Sean is being very very solicitous.

Happy 4th, y'all.

Owww!

2007-07-01T21:34:00.001-06:00

I just sprained the fuck out of my left ankle. Just an innocent walk around the block with Sean and the dog, and somehow I tripped and fell badly - very badly. It was bad enough that Sean went and fetched the car so I wouldn't have to hobble a block home. And now I am setted in on the couch, foot elevated on a stack of pillows, with my laptop. Sean is being perfectly solicitous and fetching things for me, because he is super-awesome.

So, what else should I have him fetch, while he's in a fetching mood? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Apricots

2007-06-27T20:47:00.001-06:00

There's a big old apricot tree in the back yard, and this year it has a fair amount of fruit, some of which we can even reach.

Next step: jam.

Bad Joke: A Selkie Story

2007-06-27T00:09:00.000-06:00

In my last post, I challenged y'all to write a nun-selkie crossover story. Faithful reader Skipper Rocket took up the challenge, though apparently she can't tell her nuns from her gnomes. Let the International Selkie Month festivities continue! And maybe y'all will see what I mean about gnomes....

BAD JOKE

by Skipper Rocket

A selkie and a gnome walk into a bar within minutes of each other. It’s a warm night. A horse is behind the bar, wiping off the countertop with a bar rag.

SELKIE: (wipes perspiration from her face with a kerchief) A Cosmo, please.

HORSE: Certainly, Miss.

GNOME: Excuse me, gorgeous, but that’s not my beard you’re steppin’ on. Hehehe.

The selkie moves her foot disdainfully.

SELKIE: It is too your beard. Ew, ew, ew, gnome germs!

The gnome follows, caresses the selkie’s calf, which is the highest he can reach.

GNOME: I bet you work out.

SELKIE: Would someone get this creep away from me?

The horse trots around the bar and comes to the selkie’s side. He’s got beer on his breath, and hay in his teeth, but the selkie does a double take on his nether regions. At second glance that’s not a fifth leg at all …

SELKIE: Well, hellooo.

HORSE: Is this …

He looks down, way down.

HORSE: … guy bugging you, miss?

SELKIE: (pouting) Why yes he is. Just look!

She points at her calf.

SELKIE: Gnome germies. And I left my Nair at home.

The gnome kisses the selkie’s ankle, and coos at it.

HORSE: That’s okay, Miss. I’ll take care of you.

The selkie bats her lashes meaningfully.

SELKIE: Oh, I hope so.

The sound of ceramic crunching underhoof (yes, I said it, so sue me) is barely audible above the jukebox, which plays only television theme songs. The Family Ties theme currently plays.

GNOME: (muffled) I’m Norm, the Ravelocity Gnome, and you can’t do this to meeeeeeeeeee!

The little red cap floats atop a small expanding pool of blood. (It’s stinky blood.) The Selkie mounts the horse and hugs onto his neck.

HORSE: (under his breath) Oh yeah, chicks looove horseback rides.

Fin

About the Author:
Skipper Rocket lives in Salt Lake City, UT, and recently gave me a statue of a gnome humping a mushroom.

--

And if you'd like to be part of the International Selkie Month festivities, just send me e-mail.

International Selkie Month?

2007-06-24T23:27:00.001-06:00

Sure seems like Shimmer's getting a lot of selkie stories lately. What's up with that? I read three just this afternoon, and I spotted a few others in our slush pile (they were assigned to other editors). Getting that many stories of one type makes it tougher for any of them to succeed with us - even the most genius selkie story tends to seem tired when it's the fifth one you've read in a few days. I'm not saying I'm anti-selkie - just a little weary.

And even if I were anti-selkie, that wouldn't mean much. I was and remain firmly anti-gnome - yet we published Michael Livingston's "Gnome Season" in Issue 4 (this would be a fine time to buy an electronic copy of that issue, don't you think?).

So is there a moral here? I guess so, but it's a weak and slippery one. Don't submit stories that are similar to dozens of other stories in the editor's pile. How are you supposed to know what's in the editor's pile? You can't. You can, though, read widely in the field and get a sense of what's been done already, and what's fresh ground. How are you supposed to know what an editor's getting tired of? You can't, beyond the standard lists of What's Tired (for example, Strange Horizons has a fine list) and the occasional editorial blog post.

But what makes this such a treacherous moral is that there are always exceptions - even vehemently anti-gnome editors run gnome stories once in a while. It happens.

So I'll let you all draw your own conclusions about what to do with your selkie stories.

Mostly, I'm curious about why there are so many selkie stories in my slush pile right now. Was there a selkie anthology that recently closed to submissions? Did the Association for Selkie Pride start a grassroots campaign to raise awareness for selkie-Americans? Or is it just one of those random things, like the month back in the fall of 2005 when I kept getting nun stories?

Now all I need is a selkie-nun crossover story. C'mon, who's game?

A little haircut...

2007-06-17T22:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we went to my young friend Allie's 13th birthday party. To commemorate the occasion, Wendy and I cut off our hair and sent it to Locks of Love. They make wigs for kids who need 'em - a worthy cause.

Plus, it was time to cut my hair anyway. I had a lot:

Sean graciously agreed to whack it all off for me. It took a while, but eventually he triumphed:

Here's a picture after a little more work on evening it out:

Wendy went a little further with her haircut than I did:

I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Happy birthday, Allie!

Trip's End

2007-06-14T21:42:00.000-06:00

Tonight's my last night in Florida.

It's been a pretty good trip. The class has been good - I must confess that I still love the SAPI voices, esp. the one with the British accent - it just makes everything sound so smart. I also, because I am secretly a 13-year-old boy, enjoy fiddling with the vocabulary, and making it play sounds instead of speaking particular words. For example, I might decide to have it read all my slush out loud to me while I learn needlepoint or something (ahaha, just kidding), and have it replace the abominable word "alright" with the sound of a rabbit screaming, which is pretty much how I hear it anyway.

I have to say, this trip has been a lot more pleasant because of Google Maps. I've used them to find hotels and bookstores and grocery stores near my hotel, and get directions. I'm not sure what I would have done pre-Google - well, I guess I would have just asked the front desk or other people in my class - but Google makes it all so easy. Yay, Google!

I finished the Kiernan book, and started in on Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead, but I am afraid I am not nearly smart enough to read that. That left me with only 1 fiction book for the whole rest of the week and the trip home, so I went out hunting books. I ended up with Gibson's "Pattern Recognition," Triptree's "Brightness Falls From the Air," John Connolly's "Bad Men," and James Lee Burke's "Last Car to Elysian Fields." A goodly number of pages, and a goodly variety; I should make it home without having to read the SkyMall catalogue. Yay!

Pho in Florida

2007-06-11T20:14:00.001-06:00

The first day of class went pretty well. Mostly we covered familiar ground. The new thing I learned was about the SAPI voices this software can use - they sound really great. They're more resource-intensive and not very good for things like quickly hopping through a bunch of menus - but they're really impressive. So if you are a JAWS user, check out the SAPI voices!

After class and a nap, I headed out into the swampy air to find dinner. I navigated to a pho shop, and had a yummy dinner. My book today is Caitlin Kiernan's "Threshold," which I'm liking a lot (though I'm about ready to get to the main action - lots of setup so far, it seems). The waiter noticed I was reading it, and told me his sister's been bugging him to read it. Too bad he hasn't started it yet, or we could have compared notes.

Oh, Florida

2007-06-10T21:42:00.000-06:00

Today I flew to Florida for work - I'll be taking a week-long training class about some assistive technology that makes it possible for blind users to work with our software.

The trip went about as well as can be expected. It was lovely to get some time to just read - I plowed through Joe Hill's "Heart-Shaped Box" and "The Demon and the City," by Liz Williams. They're both very enjoyable, and you should run out and read them right now, if you haven't already. It sucked that I finished them both with an hour left of plane trip, and nothing left to read but the Sky Mall catalog, but hey! the reading I did do was great. I'll be sure to pack 3 or 4 books for the return trip.

I'm not enjoying the weather here too much - it feels grossly hot and humid, though I'm told it's only 81 degrees, and 82% humidity. I know it can be much worse. But now I know why Sean was so eager to get the hell out of Florida and move in with me...

Yarr!

2007-06-07T00:14:00.001-06:00

It was a long and annoying day at work, so I decided to set everything else aside and declared this bacon cheeseburger and a movie night. Yum.

We went to see Pirates III, which I thought was lovely and a great deal of fun. I really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow, back to work.

A Collection of Shimmer reviews

2007-05-15T09:57:00.000-06:00

Tangent Online says, "The Winter 2007 issue of Shimmer, edited by by Beth Wodzinski, is full of magic, love, poetic prose, and again, magic. Not the kind of magic you expect in traditional fantasy stories—spells and bewitchment—but the kind of magic that pulses through the veins of a well drafted collection to enchant the heart. You will remember these stories long after you have tucked the small paperback among your other collectibles." Thanks, Donna!

Sam Tomaino at SFRevu says, "The Winter 2007 issue of Shimmer is another good one. I thought all the stories were Very Good."

And check out what Lois Tilton at IROSF (free registration required) has to say; she gives Tom Cofferwillow Comes Undone, by Stephen Moss, a "Recommended."

Thanks for the reviews!

Yay for the new furnace!

2007-05-05T13:33:00.000-06:00

It's 41 degrees and rainy in SLC today - luckily, the new furnace is all hooked up, and it's doing a lovely job of keeping us warm. I'm amazed at how much quieter the new furnace is than the old one.

The electrical work is proceeding. The outlets have been replaced everywhere, and there are new outlets in the office - time to get busy putting that room back together.

I spent a long time on the phone with T-Mobile last night, trying to resolve a relatively minor problem. No luck. Finally, I said, "Fine, I'll just find another phone company," and hung up. A few moments later, I realized, no, I hate phones, I'll just go back to not having one at all. Thank you, T-Mobile, for helping me make my life a tiny bit simpler.

Life is good.

Houses Know More....

2007-05-01T23:46:00.000-06:00

Q: What did the electrician say when he was poking around in the attic?

1. Oh my god! I just found $50,000 in a suitcase over here!
2. This job is so much fun I've decided not to charge you anything for it.
3. See these beams that hold up the roof? They're gonna need to be replaced before winter.

One cool thing about the attic is that you can see the old lines from when this place had gaslights, and the chimneys from the bricked-up fireplaces.

I wonder what they'll find tomorrow?

All I Wanted Was an Outlet. . .

2007-04-30T19:21:00.000-06:00

This is my house. It's very cute, and very old (built in 1882).

The wiring is particularly ancient; I still have some knob and tube wiring in service, and the outlets all suck.

No problem, I thought. I'll just replace the outlets in the office, the ones where if you brush up against anything plugged into them, they come unplugged, especially the computer power cord (oops).

Anyone who owns an old house knows where this story is going.

So I started looking into outlets, and realized I needed to ground the outlets. And that lead to the realization that I'd need to replace the circuit panel. And while I was at it, it would probably just be easier to rewire the rest of the house, and put in a few more outlets in the office, and put the furnace on its own circuit, and so on. We called electricians and got bids and were prepared to spend eleventy-billion dollars on our modest home improvement project.

Then the furnace died.

This was not exactly a surprise, just as it was not a surprise that my ancient wiring needed to be replaced. The furnace is probably at least 50 years old, and hideously inefficient. It was really time for a new furnace anyway.

The asbestos on the ducts, also not a surprise. But it sure does add to the bill.

Old houses, I think, know when you have the checkbook out. Today, while the asbestos guys were in the basement doing their thing, we noticed a fairly significant leak in the plumbing. I swear it wasn't there two days ago.

Houses just know.

On the plus side, Sean's been really helpful with this whole process. He's spent a lot of time on the phone gathering bids and coordinating schedules, and he's staying home and dealing with the legion of workers. It's just very nice to have someone to help with all this stuff.

And a little thing that made me happy: I got a review copy of John Scalzi's The Last Colony in the mail today. I enjoyed The Ghost Brigades a lot, and am looking forward to reading Scalzi's latest.

It's Done!

2007-04-16T23:27:00.000-06:00

The Great Declutter Project of 2007 is officially DONE. Tonight I cleaned out the last closet. The recycling and garbage bins are fairly full, and the car has lots of things for the thrift store.

I think the house is cleaner and less cluttered now than it was when I moved in. It feels great.

Of course, there's still more to do. I didn't include the laundry room or the basement in this project, and I wasn't particularly rigorous in deciding what to throw out, and I didn't even touch the files (do I really need bank statements from 1991? No, I do not. But that is a project for another day.) but damn, it feels really good to have things in such good order.

The next project is to finish deep cleaning the non-closet areas of the house - washing curtains and windows, scrubbing the woodwork, cleaning the floors, all that good stuff. I already did an amazing job on the kitchen, but there's plenty left to do. And then it is time for some rewiring. And after that, dozens of other projects - it never ends.

So why am I on a cleaning and home repair binge? Well, it's always good to keep your house from looking like a crazy person lives there. But the reason I'm doing it right now, of all times, is because my super-nice boyfriend Sean is moving in next week. We are so cute I could just hurl - but it's very, very good.

Further Adventures in Decluttering

2007-04-15T00:09:00.000-06:00

Today's project was to clean out the closet in the office. No big deal, I thought; I'd done a pretty thorough job of cleaning it out about two years ago, so it shouldn't be too bad.

I was wrong.

First, I found a pile of empty notebooks. Great! I knew I'd bought some a while ago; nice to know where they were. And you always need more notebooks.

And then I found the other four different piles of notebooks, mostly slightly used. Two pages of grocery lists, etc. I diligently sorted them out, tore out the pages of ancient crap, and set them in the notebook pile. This was worse than the sugar.

So I sorted and recycled and set stuff aside for the thrift store. 2 full recycling bins, 2 bags of garbage, half a carload of crap to go to the thrift store, and I was down to the last box.

I opened it up and saw that it was full of ancient memorabilia. Stuff from when I lived in Poland in the mid-80s, stuff from high school, etc. So I settled in with some dinner and started sorting it out.

I found more damn notebooks. Empty, for the most part, the kind we used in school in Poland.
They're about the size of a copy of Shimmer (though not as pretty), usually with brown cardboard covers.

That's right. I've been carrying a stack of empty notebooks around with me since 1984.

I also found a bunch of old family pictures.

This one is of me (on the right) and my sister, probably about 1974. We're sitting outside the pig pen; when I was growing up, we raised pigs, chickens, and geese. One year we had two sheep and a calf named Sam. Unfortunately, after Sam got old enough to jump the fence, he got turned into Samburgers.

This one is of me (in the center) having a lovely time at a family reunion.

And here's one more. Love that outfit!