New article about "Black Sails"

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MV5BMjMwMTMwNjA1OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDgzNTEyMTI@._V1_UX477_CR0,0,477,268_AL_It took me a while to like “Black Sails”, the TV show about 18th century pirates that seemed to be made out of every trope I loved as a child.

 

I watched it out of order: season 2, then 3, then 1, then 4. But once I got  hooked on the show’s mixture of fact and fiction, tropes I love and modern sensibilities, I fell for it hard.

 

Recently I had the amazing opportunity to write about some of my “Black Sails” feelings for Vice.com. The article is really only a fraction of what I think about the show, but it’s something I think needs saying. “Black Sails” broke new ground when it came to historic storytelling, especially on TV.

 

‘Black Sails’ Depicts the Untold Story of Queer Pirates >>

Review: The OA

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It’s difficult to categorize The OA as fantasy or science fiction or horror. A series that deals with angels, the science of immortality, and friendly-looking scientists who kidnap people to experiment on them in basements, The OA offers some fresh takes—as well as moments of muddled, cliché philosophical “insights.”

The series’ greatest strength is arguably the aspect that I’ve so far seen discussed least. Brit Marling plays a young woman who disappears for seven years and then returns, able to see where before she was blind, and recounts the story of her abduction to a group of misfits at her small town in the US. Adopted at a young age by a couple in their fifties, who named her Prairie, Marling’s character was abducted after she ran away from her parents and tried to make a living playing her violin in the New York City subway. A well dressed, kind, and friendly academic by the name of Hap (Jason Isaacs) takes her out to dinner after apparently falling in love with the way she plays, then convinces her to accompany him to his house, takes her downstairs to what’s supposed to be his guest bedroom, only for Prairie (blind, at this stage) to discover he’s locked her in a glass box in his basement.

Read the full review on Strange Horizons >>

 

New poem: "Odessa"

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araiza-whispers_650pxI can honestly say I never thought I’d make a post like this. Although I’ve been writing poetry for years (officially since that epic poem when I was 9 that took up half a notebook), I’ve never submitted it anywhere or shown it to anyone. It was my private little thing, just some fun with words for my own enjoyment.

So, imagine my shock when the first poem I’ve ever submitted anywhere was accepted for publication! And a venue like Strange Horizons, a publication I’ve been a huge fan of for years. It’s been… slightly surreal.

Read “Odessa” at Strange Horizons

If I had to give this poem a summary (do people do that? is it a thing?) I’d say it was about time-traveling Jewish ladies. I hope you read it and enjoy it! It was written during a fairly difficult time in my life when I was too sick to write anything longer than a poem, and I’m so immensely excited to see it posted publicly for all to read.

If you’d like to get email updates whenever I have a new work out, you can sign up for my New Release Mailing List.

#PrideMonth Giveaway winners announcement!

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Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the giveaway! It’s the first time I’ve done anything like this, and despite the anxiety of not getting it right and various tech fails, it went much better than I was initially anticipating!

I’m especially grateful for everyone who signed up for my New Release Mailing List. It’s been kind of amazing to see people express interest in hearing from me about future projects.

Anyway, without further ado, the two winners of the giveaway are Julia and Mia. You’ve both gotten an email with a copy of The Running Bunny #8, so please let me know if gmail doesn’t deliver it within the next 24 hours.

Thank you, again, to everyone who participated, signal boosted and generally expressed support for the idea of me doing something like this. It’s definitely not the last time, so I’ll see you when I next have free stuff to give out!

A Giveaway for #PrideMonth!

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running_20bunny_20issue_20cover_20_238_400wIt’s Pride Month! And I’ve decided to do my first giveaway. I’ve never done anything like this before, but being able to give away your own work has always seemed to me like one of the funnest parts of getting published, so.

I’ll be giving away a copy of The Running Bunny #8, featuring among other things my short story The Princess and the Demon, a feel good queer fantasy about, well, a princess and a demon. You will also get gorgeous illustrations of my story by Ursula Gray as part of the package!

 

Rules – the short version

 

Rules – the longer version

The only thing you have to do to enter the giveaway is sign up for my New Release Mailing List. I’ve recently set it up to let people know when I have a new story out. If you sign up you’ll likely receive a few emails a year, if I’m very prolific. I won’t use the mailing list for anything else, and of course, you can always unsubscribe.

If you want to increase your chances of winning the giveaway, you can also follow me on Twitter.

So, with that in mind, you can either enter the giveaway or read on for more details about what’s next for me, writing-wise. (Or you could do both, it’s a free internet.)

 

Novella news!

Friends, last night I finally finished the (hopefully) final draft of my scifi novella! \o/ I started the first draft of this thing in 2007! It’s incredible to see it so close to done. I wish I could tell you the title, but I’m still torn on what it should be. Current options are either: Transfer Day  or Weeds on the Shoreline. If you’d like to weigh in on this, comments on this entry or votes on Twitter are most welcome.

The story takes place at a military boarding school in space and revolves around four protagonists. I don’t have an official summary yet, but I can tell you three of them are women, two of them are queer, one is a disgraced veteran, and all four have secrets to keep. More details as I figure out what’s next! Will it be accepted by the handful of places that take novellas? Will I publish it here for free for your enjoyment? Stay tuned.

Or, you know,

Enter the Giveaway >

 

You can now buy a book with a story by me in it!

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51le-xafxfl-_sx331_bo1204203200_My short story “Life and Death in the Frozen City” has now been published in a real book that you can really buy!

The story is about a traveler who has to survive on an occupied planet where gender is binary and It’s part of FUTURISTICA 1, an anthology of really great scifi stories I still can’t believe I’ve really been included in.

It’s especially “wait, is this really happening?” for me because “Life and Death in the Frozen City” was the first original short story I ever wrote, about 7-8 years ago, and the version in my final draft from that time is almost identical to the one in the book. I’m a very different writer these days, but I still love that story, and am so, so happy to be able to share it with people at last.

You can get FUTURISTICA on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo and Barnes & Noble.

And of course, if you do end up picking it up, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads. (As a reviewer I am… ridiculously excited about the possibility of there being reviews of something I wrote.)

Review of the first season of "Jessica Jones"

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Fashionably late, here’s my review of the first season of “Jessica Jones”! I actually wrote this the week the show came out, but for various reasons it took a while to get it it ready for publication.

“Jessica Jones is without doubt the best TV show Marvel has produced to date, and possibly the most original main character they’ve brought to the screen since introducing the world to Tony Stark as Iron Man. The show is not without flaws, but everything about it feels fresh, unusual, exciting. Partly it’s because a show about a female superhero, especially one who drinks whiskey and crushes cockroaches with her bare hands without flinching, is tragically rare amid a sea of morally gray superpowered men. But partly it’s because Jessica Jones genuinely has an engaging yet disturbing story to offer.”

Read the full review at Strange Horizons >>

Update on "The Princess and the Demon"

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running_20bunny_20issue_20cover_20_238_400wSo, a while ago I updated to say that my short story The Princess and the Demon was featured in issue #8 of The Running Bunny, but you could only get the issue by singing up for Patreon.

I am very happy to announce that you can now get the issue at their online store, without the need to sign up for Patreon! 🙂

As a reminder: the story is a queer fantasy with a happy ending, and is accompanied by gorgeous illustrations by Ursula Grey. (A sample of the illustrations.)

You can get it here: Issue #8 of The Running Bunny >>

Short story: "The Princess and the Demon"

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065de4_ca250c26526f42c7bfd08beae493f927 You can now, for the first time, read an original short story by me! With bonus awesome illustrations!

“The Princess and the Demon” is about 2700 words of feel-good, queer fantasy about, well, a princess and a demon.

It appears in issue #8 of The Running Bunny! Between now and January 31st you can get it at a discount by supporting the creators on Patreon. After January 31st you’ll be able to get it for slightly more at the digital store.

A preview of the amazing illustrations by Ursula Gray: