women destroying fantasy

My story, “English Muffin, Devotion on the Side,” is up on the Daily Science Fiction site. Please let me know what you think, and spread the word if you like it!

The audio version of Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight, read by the most awesomest Folly Blaine, will be available!

I’m finishing up my essay and the story edits for the Women Destroying Fantasy issue of Lightspeed, as well as some other articles, trying to get those finished before hitting the road. Stories coming out soon include pieces in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 3-Lobed Burning Eye and Shattered Shields (edited by Jennifer Brozek and Bryan Thomas Schmidt).

I’m going to be setting up a Patreon campaign, because I’ve got a big backlog of stories and figure releasing them on my own while on the road will probably work as well as worrying about keeping them submitted. If you might be interested in subscribing to get two short stories each month, please sign up for my mailing list, and drop me a comment here to let me know what sort of things you might like to accompany that. What sort of cost would be appropriate for a subscription that lets you supply a prompt or get a Tuckerization, for example?

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In three days, I become Vice President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. I look forward and am somewhat daunted by the prospect.

Today I am putting down linoleum as the next part of the great remodel while Wayne does some sanding. We’re still on track to leave July 15, +/-3 days. We’ll be heading eastward, with stops planned in Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, and Philly-area, arriving towards the end of July. August we’ll spend some time knocking around on the eastern seaboard, and towards the end of that month, we will go somewhere. Just not sure where, but Australia, Europe, and South America are among the strong contenders, continent wise.

Love the Easter Bunny and want to find out what happens next? Support Cat on Patreon in order to have a say in what she writes next, as well as getting other snippets, insights into process, recipes, photos of Taco Cat, chances to ask Cat (or Taco) questions, discounts on and news of new classes, and more? Support her on Patreon.

In reading for Women Destroy Fantasy, I’ve cleared about two hundred stories away so far, and there’s still about a hundred I have yet to read. Some amazing stuff, some familiar names, and all in all, a slush pile that is full enough of solid stories that I could fill several issues. It’s been a great pleasure to be elbow deep in so much excellence. So here’s a few notes on the experience so far.

In my head, I have these slots:

1. My fairytale/legend/historical slot: Right now there’s a very good historical piece that I’ve tentatively penciled in here. It hits a lot of my sweet spots as a reader, it’s an interesting magic system, and it’s a good story. We’ll see if anything comes along that knocks it out of that slot.
2. My steampunk/Victorian slot: Plenty of these stories to choose from, and again there’s a particular one in the lead.
3. My superhero slot: A good number of these, and they are all jostling for the slot. I don’t have a favorite yet.
4. My urban/modern day fantasy slot: Another one with multiple contenders so far, and there’s a number of wild and weird ones.

My criteria? I want good stories that will stick in the reader’s head and keep them thinking long after they’re done reading. I want lovely prose — but not so lovely that it eclipses the story. I want heart — I’m still looking for a story in the pile that makes me cry.

Other observations:

• It’s a good idea to think about the impetus behind the anthology. Things like an anti-feminist message are probably going to be an awfully hard sell for an issue with what I’d consider a feminist theme.
• Lots of wings in this slushpile. Not saying that’s bad, but man are there a lot of stories with this focus.
• A lot has been done with fairytales in the past. Looking for fresher ground might be more rewarding.

I was just at a Kristine Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith workshop where people were using the idea of reader “cookies” and “anti-cookies”, things that delight or turn-off a specific editor, increasing or decreasing the appeal of a story when they’re considering it.

So I’ll be open to submissions from March 15 through March 31 for the Women Destroying Fantasy issue. Here are some of my wants and a couple of things that will turn me off.

• I want fantasy that showcases the amazing emotional range of the genre and the spectrum of forms it can take.
• I’ll want at least one tearjerker and one humorous piece.
• I’ll want something that draws on fairytale or myth, but which does so in an amazing, interesting, and fresh way, and I’m hoping to find something that feels urban fantasy-ish as well, also in a fresh and interesting way.
• Fantasy that often hits well with me: superheroes, non-cutesy talking animals, linguistic-related, the weird.
• I like language: make yours wonderful, but never at the cost of the story.
• Your character should make me care about their fate (and for this issue, probably a female protagonist is, quite frankly, probably going to be a better fit).
• I’ll want at least one piece with an utterly amazing landscape, that immerses me in a fantasy world that delights my heart.
• Diversity does matter to me. It doesn’t trump quality, but when you’re going to be up against the very best, score your points where you can.

I don’t want retellings of D&D adventures. Or pirates. I really don’t like pirates (got exposed to an awful lot of fantasy pirate stories while at Fantasy Magazine) and I’m not particularly fond of zombies. Typos are another big turn-off: proofread your work.

This is not a time to go for the low-hanging fruit or play it safe. I have four, count ’em, four slots. Send me something — but make it the very best you have, something that is unique to your voice, something that you and only you could write.

There’s plenty of room left in my upcoming online classes.

The first part of my Asimov’s story, All the Pretty Little Mermaids, is up online.
Kate Baker does a beautiful job with the audio version of “Tortoiseshell Cats are Not Refundable”

For Writers:

• I blogged about Why I Don’t Want to Read Your Story
• Please spread the word about this anthology from Brandon Bell and the impetus behind it.
• Will I get to destroy fantasy? It remains to be seen. Last week for the Women Destroying SF Kickstarter. People have asked whether I plan to do open submissions for it, the answer is yes.
• 29 Problems Only Writers Will Understand
• Locus has posted their recommended reading list for 2013.
• SF Signal asks what’s wrong with epic fantasy
  Elizabeth Bear is one of my favorite writers. Here’s an interview with her on Tor.com.

Books I talked about these books for You Should Read This:

• A fabulous work about writing, On Writing by Stephen King
• English comic novel Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
• Classic fantasy novel The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. No time to read it? Here’s the best quotes from it on GoodReads. Or here’s a picture of him and George R.R. Martin playing with stuffed animals.
• Longtime American comic strip Pogo by Walt Kelly
• Feminist spirituality guidebook 365 Goddess by Patricia Telesco
• Classic epic work The Odyssey by Homer
• Creative aid Surrealist Games

Things of Note:

• SFWA has put together its own accessibility checklist for events
• Are you warm right now? A lot of people aren’t.
• Shades of Boneshaker, Batman! Seattle’s giant digging machine is broken

Timewasters!:

• Via Wayne, a squirrel trying to bury a nut in a very odd place
• Richard Sherman has gone missing. Well, the owl named after him.
• io9.com lists some good February reading.
  Lovely story by Natalia Theodoridou on Clarkesworld.

Here is some of the stuff that appeared on my blog and social media in the week ending 1/26/2014.

Stuff I posted on the blog:

I announced I am running for SFWA Vice President. #sfwapro is a tag you’ll be seeing on posts intended to appear on the @sfwaauthors feed as well.

The Women Destroying SF Kickstarter will sponsor my destroying Fantasy if they hit a $35k stretch goal.

I talked about my January writing news and provided a teaser from a still-untitled steampunk piece

Stuff for Writers:

• I talked about the demands of collaboration.
• Industry discussion of an editor here by Tobias Buckell
• How to handle a synopsis when you have a lot of characters
• Thoughts on “Do What You Love”.

In the new You Should Read This series, I read:

• Writing classic from one of the greats, About Writing by Samuel R. Delany
• Classic fantasy novel, The Forest of Forever by Thomas Burnett Swann
• Self (and writing) help, The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense by Suzette Haden Elgin
• 19th century novel of manners, Miss Mole by E.H. Young
• Terrific book for MG/YG writers of any age, Turn Not Pale, Beloved Snail by Jacqueline Jackson

I blurbed this book by Django Wexler.

Time Wasters!

• Bad fantasy covers.
• A guy singing heavy-metal with his cat.
• How the history of civil rights is being retold.
• A murmuration of starlings.
• Onion piece that hits too close to home.
• Zebra finches rocking out.

Interesting Social Media Links:

• 33 Ways to Get More Pins on Pinterest.
• Excellent piece on GoodReads giveaways.
• A great response to trolls and nasty commenters.
• Kickstarter phrases that pay.
• Moving from a blog to G+.
• Useful Twitter hashtags for writers.

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