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).