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.

-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.

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).

OK, I suck at that shameless self-promotion stuff, but I figure I’ll just follow the movement, and write down the stuff I published that’s eligible for the Nebulas–in case anyone is interested.

If you want to read any of the stories below that are not available online, feel free to contact me, and I’ll be glad to provide a copy (whether you’re a SFWA member or not).

Novelettes

• “On Horizon’s Shores”, Intergalactic Medicine Show, issue 14, September 2009 (SF)
• “Healing Hands”, Fantastical Visions IV, July 2009 (Pseudo-Greek Fantasy)
• “Beneath the Mask”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, issue 8, January 2009 (Aztec fantasy/mystery)
• “Butterfly, Falling at Dawn, Interzone, issue 219, November 2008 (SF, alternate history: I think that one is eligible by virtue of its first US publication in Dozois’ Year’s Best, but I’m not 100% sure on this)

Short Stories

• “After the Fire”, Apex Magazine, November 2009 (Dark Chinese SF)
• Golden Lilies”, Fantasy Magazine, August 2009 (Dark Chinese fantasy)
• “Blighted Heart”, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, issue 22, July 2009 (Aztec Fantasy)
• “Memories of my Sister”, Expanded Horizons, issue 7, May 2009 (Pseudo Hindu fantasy)
• “Dancing for the Monsoon”, Abyss & Apex, issue 30, April 2009 (Pseudo Cambodian fantasy)
• “City of the Gods”, Alternative Coordinates, issue 1, Spring 2009 (Pseudo-Hindu fantasy)
• The Dragon’s Tears”, Electric Velocipede, issues 15/16, Autumn 2008. (Pseudo Chinese fairytale)

FYI, if I had to pick favourites, they’d be “After the Fire”, “On Horizon’s Shores”, “Golden Lilies” and “The Dragon’s Tears” (which I’m still absurdly attached to even though I wrote the first draft of it about 3 years ago).

I’ll be off to take a look at my reading list and see what I can nominate myself.

EDIT: added categories…

Doug Cohen has posted the TOC for the February 2010 issue of Realms of Fantasy, which will contain my story “Melanie” and associated artwork by Frank Wu (you can see the cover here, which is also the interior illustration for Ann Leckie’s “The Unknown God”). I would seem sharing a TOC with Harlan Ellison.

And, over at the Asimov’s website, the next issue announces “The Wind-Blown Man” as “a debut [...] sure to turn heads” (along with a story by Codexian Caroline M. Yoachim).

Finally, Rich Horton mentions me, albeit very briefly, in his year-end summary of Interzone (for “Ys”).

Er, wow. I feel spoiled.

Today is the release day for fellow Angry Roboter Colin Harvey’s Winter Song:

The planet had fallen off the map.
When Karl Allman’s spaceship crashed, he had only one question:
“HOW DO I GET OUT OF HERE?”
Rock-hard SF adventure. No one here gets out alive.
FILE UNDER: Science Fiction [Starship Crash / Abandoned Colonists / Alien Slaughter / Hell Planet]

I haven’t read it yet (will order it with next month’s amazon budget), but I had the good fortune to read a draft of Colin’s next book, Damage Time (also coming from Angry Robot), and I can tell you that Colin excels at dark, atmospheric world building, as well as the handling of a strong, diverse cast in unusual situations. Go check it out! (or, failing that, go congratulate him here )

Over at the Super-Sekrit Clubhouse, Marshall Payne interviews Vylar Kaftan, about writing, life in California, and her short story “Break the Vessel”:
Interview with Vylar Kaftan

The easiest part [of crafting a story] is characters. They just appear on the page and flesh themselves out like magic. Possibly because I’ve been people-watching forever. The hardest part is letting go of my own ridiculously high standards and accepting that things are always, always lost in translation from imagination to words—and that’s just the nature of the beast.

(and while you’re at it, check out the rest of the Super-Sekrit clubhouse: fun cartoons, birthday posts, and more neat interviews)

Fellow Angry Robot author and Apex Book of World SF Lavie Tidhar gets interviewed over at SF Signal on World SF. Fascinating stuff: go check it out.
Interview with Lavie Tidhar about World SF

To me, [World SF] is first of all the kind of SF written in languages other than English, but that doesn’t take into account that small – but visible! – part of writers choosing to work in English despite it being their second – or even third! – language. And then, English has become such a universal language that in many places it has acquired its own regional flavor – take India or Malaysia or South Africa. And then, what about writers from one background living in another? Is Nnedi Okorafor an American writer or a Nigerian writer? Identities today can easily have two or three layers.

(in related shameless promotion offers, you can preorder the Apex Book of World SF here and get Lavie’s super collection HebrewPunk for only $10.00, in addition to my story “The Lost Xuyan Bride” and lots of cool-sounding contributions in the book per se)

• Currently looking at the page proofs for my story “The Wind-Blown Man”, forthcoming in Asimov’s. It looks like a real story…
• Apparently, you can now pre-order Servant of the Underworld on Amazon.co.uk… Aaand I would seem to have acquired an author page at Angry Robot, and a book page, courtesy of the AR crew…

Tis weird, but tis shiny shiny…

Got the news from Beth Wodzinski when I was in the Internet Black Hole that is Spain: my story “Within the City of the Swan”, first published in the Art Issue of Shimmer, is on the Recommended Reading List for the Best American Fantasy, vol 3.

It’s not a lengthy list, either. And it includes one other story from Shimmer, MK Hobson’s “The Hand of the Devil on a String” in issue 9, in addition to Kuzhali Manickavel’s “Flying and Falling”, also from the Art Issue, which is in the actual TOC of the book.

Wow. Go Shimmer!

To celebrate, Shimmer is having a promotion of $3 off the cover price of both issues: you can have a PDF copy of the Art Issue or of Issue 9 for only $1!