John Klima let me know this afternoon that he was accepting “Heaven Under Earth”, a sort-of-Chinese SF novelette for Electric Velocipede. Yay! Very much thrilled to be in such a lovely magazine again.

This was very much a group project given the number of rewrites it went through… Many thanks to everyone who took a look at it: Justin Pilon, Marshall Payne, Patrick Weekes, Oliver Dale, Pam L. Wallace, and the VD gang: Ben Rosenbaum, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, Floris Kleijne, Stephen Gaskell, Sara Genge, John Olsen, Jeff Spock, Ruth Nestvold, Chance Morrison, and Deanna Carlyle

Snippet:

Husband’s new spouse is brought home in a hovering palanquin decked with red lanterns, its curtains displaying images of mandarin ducks and kingfishers–the symbols of a happy marriage.

First Spouse Liang Pao has gathered the whole household by the high gate, from the stewards to the cooks, from the lower spouses to their valets. He’s standing slightly behind Husband, with his head held high, with pins of platinum holding his immaculate topknot in place–in spite of the fact that he’s been unable to sleep all night. The baby wouldn’t stop kicking within his womb, and the regulators in his blood disgorged a steady stream of yin-humours to calm him down. He’s slightly nauseous, as when he’s had too much rice wine to drink–and he wonders why they never get easier, these carryings.

With gender changes. And babies. Also, red kites.

Mostly digging my way out of the Nebula nominees…

-Christopher Barzak: The Love We Share Without Knowing: a mosaic novel of alienated young people in Japan–whether in Japan or in America. It’s beautifully written, and gets down so many things about relationships, loneliness and the threads that bind us together (or keep us apart). There is very little genre: it feels more like magical realism than a full-blown fantasy novel, but it’s a really awesome one. All in all, definitely a book well worth reading, with awesome set-pieces and a mastery of beautiful language and subtlety I can only aspire to.
-China Mieville, The City & the City: the cities of Bes’zel and UI Qoma have lain side by side–literally-for centuries, but are carefully kept apart: citizens from one city learn to ignore the reality of the other city as they grow up–lest they face the terrible powers of Breach. All would be well and good, if a murder hadn’t happened on Inspector Borlu’s doorstep; a case that grows more and more complicated as time passes, and which seems to involve evidence from both cities…
You have to unplug your logic filters for this–there is no way in Hell this setup is ever going to be plausible whichever way you turn it–but it’s a very good read once you’re in the proper set of mind. Mieville explores the Kafka-esque ramifications of the premise, and merges it in a pseudo-noir mystery that starts slowly but quickly ramps up in tension until you have to keep turning the pages. The protagonist is a bit of a blank slate; but to be fair there is so much going on that you hardly notice.

Since everyone is doing it for the final Hugo push (not that I think I have a rat’s chance, but it’s fun to share), a re-post of the stuff I’m particularly proud of for this year:

Short stories
-(SF) “After the Fire”, Apex Magazine, November 2009. Available in handy podcast format as well at StarshipSofa.
-(dark fantasy) “Golden Lilies”, Fantasy Magazine, August 2009. Came in the Top Five of the reader’s poll for 2009. Available in handy podcast format as well.
-(epic-ish/philosophical fantasy) “In the Age of Iron and Ashes”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 31st December 2009. Also available in handy podcast format.

Novelette
(SF)“On Horizon’s Shores”, IGMS, issue 14, September 2009. Will email.

You can find a longer list of what I published in 2009 here at my website. If you feel like reading anything in the short fiction department, feel free to email me and I’ll provide you with a e-copy (PS: the offer applies whether you’re a voting member or not; I’d be delighted to share what I published).

Next post will feature actual content, I swear.

So, Eastercon is approaching: this year, it’s at the Radisson in Heathrow, the same place where I attended my first convention in 2008 (also an Eastercon)–and my first real experience at socialising in English on a massive scale (I went to Bootcamp and WOTF before that, but I’d never actually dealt with so many people in such a small amount of space).
My first Eastercon will always remain etched in memory as the moment I realised that being fluent was one thing, but being a non-native speaker came with a few annoying side-effects. Here are a few:

• Unintentional idiomatic language:
  English is full of idioms–and it’s made worse by the fact that I have to reckon against a lot of local variations (the ones I know most are UK and US, but I bet I miss out on a lot of others, too, like Indian English and Australian English). Now, I generally know what a given idiom means; but the reverse–knowing that I’m using an idiom when I’m writing–is a lot less obvious. For instance, in Harbinger of the Storm, I have references to “bean counters” that are precisely that: dried beans used as die and counters for the patolli game. However, of course, the word has the other, far more common meaning of “accountants”, providing for much unintentional fun…
• The cocktail party effect (or lack thereof):
  You might not know what the cocktail party effect is. It’s a little magic trick of the brain: when you’re talking to someone in a noisy environment, your brain will automatically edit out the background noise (even and especially if said noise includes intelligible conversations), allowing you to focus on the person(s) you’re speaking with. It’s invaluable in parties (hence the name), but also in restaurants, bars, and other kinds of social functions.
  Sadly, I’m completely immune to it in both English and in Spanish, the languages I speak as a non-native. I think it comes from those hours of classes that forced me to listen to the language in order to understand it (and to fill in little summaries to make sure I’d made out the meaning of the words correctly). Now, when I hear people speak, I have to make a pass at understanding it. Even if it’s a conversation that’s completely unrelated to me. As a result, pub-time with me? I might look a little bewildered if the pub is particularly noisy. It’s not because I don’t care what people I’m saying–but rather because I’m trying to disentangle the current conversation from the four others happening at the neighbouring tables.
• Spelling issues:
  Ah yes. I think part of that one comes from the fact that I’m a visual person, and part of it from the fact that I’m a latecomer to English (I only started investing heavily in it at 16 or so). The most obvious effect of that one is that I will need a long moment to process when you’ve spelled a word. At, say, signings, it’s a little more problematic than I anticipated. I live in terror of the day I won’t have understood someone’s spelling out of their name, and will inscribe a book to the entirely wrong person.
  The other side effect is related to the other way around: if you’re pronouncing a familiar word in a way that I don’t expect, I’ll blank it out as “this funny word I can’t figure out”, even though I quite possibly know that word already. This happens a lot with French words or with words I’ve only seen in writing. I don’t seem to have quite the same flexibility for pronunciation as I have in French: figuring out alternative spellings for words I don’t recognise right off the bat has never worked out for me.
• Accents:
  That one often puzzles my BF. I can understand a lot of the more common accents (Scottish, Irish, Australian, etc.), because I sat for my Cambrigde Certificate of Proficiency back when I was 17, and that part of the training for that included listening to a text which would necessarily be in an accent of the Commonwealth. However, somewhere along the line to fluency, I lost the ability to understand the accents of non-native speakers: someone speaking English with a heavy French accent is going to be very painful for me. I remember we went to a panel at the 2005 Worldcon, which had four native English speakers plus a Japanese man. I couldn’t make head nor tail of what the Japanese guy was saying; my BF, however, couldn’t understand the natives, but could deal with the Japanese accent just fine. I think that for him, all non-native accents are somehow kindred, no matter how different they might be from French. For me, they’re just… too unusual to be parsed, I guess.
  (it’s not that bad, though. A few hours are usually enough for me to pick up a new accent and add it to my repertoire. I had a lot of trouble understanding Jetse de Vries‘ Dutch accent when we first met, but by now it’s become second nature).

So… is it just me? Do you share some of those, or know people who have the same issues? Are there other pitfalls when you’re a non-native?

First draft of new story “Shipbirth”, finished. Sort of SF. With Aztecs and spaceships. Put it up on OWW as it is, before my inner editor took over and slashed it to ribbons.

Black One take me, I shouldn’t be here, Acoimi thought, as the airtight tube finished attaching itself, with a slight hiss. The voice of the Hungry Coyote’s Mind echoed around him–grave and thoughtful, yet somehow too high-pitched, too cold to be that of a male, or indeed of any human. “Linking complete. Disembark.”

The walls around Acoimi throbbed, like a bleeding muscle or heart–the beat of the Mind that was everywhere, that communed with the Hungry Coyote as easily as with the Heavens. The ship had been in deep planes for ten days, the whole journey between Quetzalcoatl and this lonely rendezvous place; and for ten days Acoimi had felt himself going subtly, irremediably mad.

Meanwhile, I will go and drink tea, and read more episodes of Schlock Mercenary (homicidal mercenary company out to make money, and sometimes save people as collateral effects. Huge fun).

-Elizabeth Bear at Ideomancer (which, BTW, has an awesome new look):

In Servant of the Underworld, Aliette de Bodard has created a rather good debut novel, replete with magic, blood, and complex worldbuilding. There was a great deal to enjoy in this book, not all of it the immediately obvious.

-Josh Vogt at Examiner:

(…)for those who enjoy mythology, subtle horror, and even “detective” stories, Servant of the Underworld blends these elements into a unique story. Fortunately, it’s labeled the first book in the Obsidian and Blood series, so hopefully we’ll be seeing Bodard’s next release soon. Looks like book 2 is called Harbinger of the Storm. Sounds…peaceful.

-And Hereward L.M. Proops at Booksquawk (who didn’t like it so much, alas, but you can’t win every time):

(…)those looking for something truly different could do much worse than check out this novel. Whilst not perfect, Aliette de Bodard’s debut shows a great deal of potential which could be better realised in the inevitable sequels.

-The book also gets mentioned over at SF Signal as part of the “What Book Have You Recently Read That’s Good Enough To Recommend To a Friend?” discussion.

-Still at SF Signal, my short story “Golden Lilies” is identified as one of several “Nebula-worthy” short stories by Eugie Foster

-Finally, BestSF reviews “The Wind-Blown Man”, in the February 2010 issue of Asimov’s

Aliette de Bodard looks to China to create an alien society, alien cultures and technology – a world in which China is on a par, or better, with Western Christian society. For my money, I’d rather see Earth cultures used as inspiration to create truly alien societies, as that is true SF – but failing this, I’d much rather see the creative efforts as put in by de Bodard.

So, with Harbinger of the Storm safely off to my crit group, I’m slowly getting back into short story mode. And, wow, I missed that.

It’s not that I don’t like writing novels, but novel mode is a little bit like apnea. See, I can’t multitask. I’ve tried. I can’t properly write a novel and a short story. I can research a novel and write shorts. I can revise a novel and write shorts. But drafting is exclusive.

So, when I start a novel draft, I take a deep breath, and plunge in–and I try not to come back up again too many times, because it’s really hard to get back into the swing of things once I’ve stopped for a long while. When I’m writing a novel, I have to keep going–keep writing stuff, even if it’s only a little every day. I waste time surf on the internet and I keep sending emails, of course, but it’s a lot like survival mode: I’m doing it it to unwind and for a change of setting, and not for anything constructive. I do end up most evenings feeling a little pummeled–and always guilty for not writing enough words for the day.

There’s the guilt, and the fatigue–but most of all it’s the isolation. Sure, I can talk with writer friends, but there’s not as much motivation (I hate sharing ongoing drafts for crits, and given the temptation to shut like a clam and write, little ol’introvert me will almost always prefer the non-social, lazy approach). I’d blog, but then I’d feel guilty taking away words from the novel (just as I feel guilty blogging while in drafting a short story). I feel a lot like the proverbial lonely writer at his typewriter.

By contrast, short stories are a lot like breaststroke. Likewise, I plunge in and don’t stop until I have a first draft–but it’s much shorter to actually have a draft (anything from two days to a month). When I’m done, I hand the draft in, and I can have crits back in a few days to a ew weeks. I’m free to take up crits from friends, to ask for news, to follow stuff on forums and form coherent answers (instead of the “arg, too tired” of novel-writing). And I can submit the short story in a matter of weeks (ok, in real life it’s more like a month, two months. But you get the idea). And then it’s rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat… Much shorter downtimes (well, much shorter everything, really).

And now I’m back into social mode :=) Yay.

What about you? How do you handle short stories and novels? Do you have different processes? Can you do both at once?

-Review on Fantasy Literature.

(…) Servant of the Underworld is a highly original debut novel. Thanks to a solid mystery plot and Aliette de Bodard’s extensive research into pre-Conquest Meso-America, this novel should strike a chord with more than just fantasy readers.

-Review at the Honeyed Knot, courtesy of edroxy

While I greatly enjoyed the richness of the setting, the perfect balance between fantasy, mystery and historical fiction, the solid suspenseful plot, for me, it’s Acatl and the many ways through which I could relate to him that really got me. It’s a new aspect of Aliette de Bodard’s fiction I was pleased to discover as in short stories, it’s often difficult to demonstrate the extent of one’s talent at characterization.

Highly recommended whether you enjoy mystery novels, fantasy, historical fiction, Aztec culture and solid characterization. Surely one of those describes you. I’m eagerly waiting for the next installment and hope this gets translated in French and many other languages.

-My very first French review, at Blackwatch’s blog. (very loose translation, done in about 3 minutes. It’s the spirit of it, but I don’t claim it’s 100% accurate…)

(…) This kind of plot can seem over-familiar, especially if you’re a dedicated reader of fantasy. But the strength of Servant of the Underworld resides in the character of Acatl, implicated in events against his wishes. In spite of his authority as high priest, many gates remain closed to him. The obstacles keep growing in number, and the author doesn’t leave us time to breathe, spinning a frantically-paced story.

Personally, I’d recommend this book to any lovers of fantasy or thrillers who want to read something a little different.

(the funny thing is that the first one and the last two disagree quite spectacularly on whether Acatl is an interesting character to follow around. Fascinating).

In non-review links, I’ve put up a specific Obsidian and Blood webpage, which includes a list of characters, and a blurb for Harbinger of the Storm (subject to rewriting and publisher’s approval, of course, so it’s very indicative at this stage). But in case you were wondering what the next book looks like…

And I also have Servant of the Underworld bookmarks, courtesy of the awesome Janice Hardy, which I should be handing out at Eastercon.

I dithered over whether to post, or not, but what the heck…

Should you wish to read some of my shorts and nominate them for the Hugos (before March 13th): here are some stories I’m particularly proud of.

Short stories
-(SF) “After the Fire”, Apex Magazine, November 2009. Available in handy podcast format as well at StarshipSofa. AKA the one Lavie Tidhar commissioned out of me for his World SF special issue. Post-apocalypse, Chinese style.

In her dreams, Jiaotan saw Father: hands outstretched, the flesh of the fingers fraying away to reveal the yellowed, tapered shape of bones, the deep-set eyes bulging in their sockets, pleading, begging her to take him away.

-(dark fantasy) “Golden Lilies”, Fantasy Magazine, August 2009. Came in the Top Five of the reader’s poll for 2009. Available in handy podcast format as well. A story of Chinese ghosts, bound feet and unsatiated desires. This one was a lot of fun to write–fair warning though, it’s pretty explicit and somewhat gruesome (the violence is somewhat peculiar, and no one dies, but it’s kind of squicky all the same).

It was the smell which woke me up, insinuating itself between the planks of my coffin: cooked meat mingling with the sweet odour of aromatic rice, and the tangy hint of fruit and spices — a powerful summoning if there ever was one.

-(epic-ish/philosophical fantasy) “In the Age of Iron and Ashes”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 31st December 2009. Also available in handy podcast format. In a besieged city, a man confronts a runaway slave–and faces what he’s made of his life. I confess this one is by far my favorite of the three. I am not very sanguine about its chances, though, as it’s even bleaker than the other two (and believe me, that takes something), and it’s been published in a fairly obscure venue. But one can hope :=)

They ran the girl down, in the grey light of dawn: a ring of copper-mailed horsemen, racing after her until her exhaustion finally felled her.

Novelette
(SF)“On Horizon’s Shores”, IGMS, issue 14, September 2009. Erm. My only true SF story of the year (the other one is an alternate history). A story of extreme transformations, love and learning to let go.

Alex and Thi Loan transferred at Sapalawa Spaceport, from their small shuttle to a military Naga craft — the only ones still allowed to crawl between the stars with the fuel shortage.

You can find a longer list of what I published in 2009 here at my website. If you feel like reading anything in the short fiction department, feel free to email me and I’ll provide you with a e-copy (PS: the offer applies whether you’re a voting member or not; I’d be delighted to share what I published).

Yesterday, we had a bunch of friends come over to try out boardgames (a gift of theirs for our engagement). We tested the following:
-Inka: quick and dirty game with sliding and rotating tiles on a fairly small board. From 2 to 4, but it gets messy fast at 4 players, making it near-impossible to plan a strategy beforehand. But very fun, and also fairly convivial (simple, rules fast to explain, and loads of laugh).
-Arkham Horror: hum, ok, imagine a tabletop RPG recast as a board game, and it’ll give you an idea of what this looks like. Players team up to close portals that unleah monsters on Arkham. There’s character stats, equipment, a lot of dice throws, and some neat exploration bits. The cons are the space it takes (we had a big table and it was already overflowing), the time it takes to explain the rules (1h30, and we took the simplest version of lots of things like monster displacement and dispelling). On the pro side, it’s nice to have a game the whole table can play as a team (as one of my friends puts it, it’s the game itself that’s attempting to kill you), it’s complex enough not to get repetitive and to profitably occupy a whole afternoon. And I reckon it gets easier once you know a bit of the rules.
-Battlestar Galactica: there’s a BSG boardgame :=) Partly destined for series fans, with plenty of pictures and design taken from the TV show. The goal is simple: survive and get to earth if you’re a human; survive and scuttle the humans if you’re a Cylon, either through internal sabotage or through spaceship battles. Obviously, the other players don’t know if you’re a human or a Cylon to start with: but the bonus is that halfway through the game, you have a revelation phase which can end up shifting your loyalties drastically…
Fun, in a backstabbing kind of way. We’re still trying to work out if the humans can win; right now, the only games I’ve seen or heard of ended with Cylon victories (it’s like the series, there are so many ways to screw up…)
-Chang Cheng: not tested yet. A game about the Great Wall of China and Mongol invasions. Sounds right up my alley :=)