So Many Links
I am behind on All the Things. See, last week I finished up the novella I worked on for five days in November. Then I gave myself the severe deadline of finishing the first revision pass before the end of the month. Oh boy. That was mean of me. It’s been a very intense rewrite of a very bloated, crappy rough draft. It still needs a lot more work but that first pass is done and now I can catch up on other things, like my blog.
HI, GUYS. Let’s get all caught up, shall we?
– I was interviewed on the Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast. You can watch the full video or download the audio alone. I talk about my experience with Harper Voyager, my writing background, Dragon Quest slimes, and the Holy Taco Church. As one does.
– Also on the subject of podcasts, at Skiffy and Fantasy Michael R. Underwood gave Clockwork Crown a shout-out as among his most anticipated reads of 2015. He’s at the 30 minute mark. The whole podcast is very interesting, the sort that’s dangerous for your book wish list.
– I’m REALLY EXCITED (CAPSLOCK!!!!) that I have an article on Tor.com: That Was Awesome: The Power of Voice in The Diabolical Miss Hyde. This is a new steampunk book out from Voyager in a few weeks. It’s really good, very intense, definitely on that borderline with horror.
– My recipe at the Holy Taco Church this month is a healthy one: Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tacos.
– Awesome Australian Pete Aldin interviewed me: On CLOCKWORK DAGGER, 5 Questions and 1 Statement.
I had a bunch of new poems come out this month as well!
– “When Death Rides Among Puppets” is in Eye to the Telescope
– “Time Traveler’s Diagnosis,” “Loophole,” “The Border Cowboy in Fairyland,” and “The Border Cowboy’s Smile” are in Star*line 38.1. Follow that link and you can read “Loophole,” which is very short.
I think that’s everything? Maybe? Anything else can wait for another post. A long to-do list awaits!
Read MoreShort Stuff Published in 2014
I figured I should do a post on what I had published in 2014. I know I didn’t write as many new stories, though a number of my older ones found homes. What I didn’t realize was how many poems I had published. Wow. Dude.
So here’s the full list of my short works published in 2014. If you’re bored, maybe you’ll take a gander. (And I don’t mean you should thieve a goose.)
Short stories:
- “A Mother’s Touch,” Perihelion Science Fiction
- “Hatchlings,” Daily Science Fiction
- “Post-Apocalyptic Conversations with a Sidewalk,” Nature Magazine
- “The Cartography of Shattered Trees,” FAE; on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
- “Degrees of Starvation,” Every Day Fiction
- “Bad Snake Day,” Every Day Fiction
- “Sanctified Ground,” Trust and Treachery: Tales of Power and Intrigue
- “Measures and Countermeasures,” Daily Science Fiction
- “Cold Beyond White,” Stupefying Stories Showcase #13
Podcast stories:
- “Red Dust and Dancing Horses,” Escape Pod; read by Marguerite Kenner
- “Reading Time,” Cast of Wonders; read by Dave Thompson
- “213 Myrtle Street,” Toasted Cake; read by Tina Connolly
- “La Rosa Still in Bloom,” Comets and Criminals; read by Catherine Smith
- “Frail Men of Metal and Bone,” Every Day Fiction; read by Folly Blaine
Poetry:
- “How a Modern Green Man Grows,” NewMyths.com
- “Sorry,” Mobius: The Journal of Social Change
- “Time Traveler’s Seance,” “Thank Hecate for Insurance,” and “From Grandma, With Love,” Star*Line 37.4
- “Grandfather and Granddaughter (Age 5),” Devilfish Review
- “Nisei” and “Seeds” (reprinted), Mythic Delirium Anthology; available in all formats
- “Mama Bogey’s Advice,” “The Time Traveler’s Buttonhook,” “The Time Traveler’s Pants,” “The Time Traveler’s Gratitude,” and “Advice on Befriending a Siren,” Star*Line 37.3
- “To Walk Upon Clouds,” NewMyths.com
- “Suddenly, a Unicorn,” Grievous Angel
- “Mad Scientist’s Lament,” Lakeside Circus
- “Quercus Californica,” Tales of the Talisman Volume IX Issue 4
- “Unanimous,” Star*Line 37.2
- “Authentic Mother Version 2.6,” Star*Line 37.2
- “Barstow,” Spark Volume V
- “Cogs,” Apex Magazine Issue 59
- “Nisei,” Mythic Delirium Issue 0.4
- “Bird Girl,” Niteblade Magazine
- “Cloud Catcher,” Tales of the Talisman Volume IX Issue 2
- “Seeds,” Mythic Delirium Issue 0.3
Nonfiction:
- “Believing in Unicorns,” Blood on the Floor: How Writers Survive Rejection
- “Welcome to the Navy” and “All About the Balloon,” Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Did What?
Tidings of Steampunk and Joy
Print magazines have shown me some love this month, and I swear my mom didn’t even bribe anyone.
There’s a review of The Clockwork Dagger in the December issue of Locus. It’s… an awesome review, too. To quote:
“Beth Cato handles this heady mix with a fine sense of language, emotion and event, making the whole thing flow more like a force of nature than the work of a first novelist.”
I’m also included in an article in the December issue of RT Book Reviews, where Tessa Dare describes the panel we shared at MPIBA in Denver. The focus was on attracting millennial readers. My approach… well, you guys know by now.
I have a poem in the latest issue of NewMyths.com! Here’s where you can read “How a Modern Green Man Grows.”
If you’re a writer in need of motivation/inspiration, you might want to ask Santa for a copy of Blood on the Floors: How Writers Survive Rejection. It includes a nonfiction story of mine called “Believing in Unicorns.”
I’m interviewed over at Authorlink.
The final news–and by no means the least important–is that the ebook sale for The Clockwork Dagger is still ongoing. It’s now $1.99 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and iTunes!
Nifty Things
It’s December. How weird is that? This has been the fastest year of my life. I had a great trip to California for Thanksgiving and now I’m home and gearing up for Christmas, even as I work toward a major writing project deadline. (I’m so used to setting my own deadlines. That’s been one of the weirdest things about making this transition to “pro”–new projects and contracts with due dates that are not far off.)
There’s also other news ‘n stuff!
My poem “Bird Girl,” published earlier this year at Niteblade, was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Wow.
A new publication: a poem called “Sorry” in Mobius: The Journal of Social Change.
A recipe for Spicy Mexican Fudge over at the Holy Taco Church.
I’ve been invited to participate in the Tucson Festival of Books this coming March! I’ll be there on March 15th (yeah, Ides!) to take part in a panel called I Spy a Dead Guy: Spies and Detectives in Paranormal Worlds. That sounds like the kind of panel I’d love to attend as an audience member, so it will be really cool to take part as an author.
Read MoreLinks of the Week
I’m still wandering about the internet, though not in the frantic style I was a few weeks ago (thank goodness!). I’ve actually been working on FICTION again. It feels good! These past few days, I tore apart a story I wrote back in August, one I mentally worked on for months because the subject matter intimidated me. That makes me feel even more accomplished now that it’s coming together.
I wrote another new story at the end of September, too. That one is being critiqued right now. I hope to start work on those edits soon. I love this later stage of revisions… once I figure out what I’m doing.
New poetry publications:
– “Grandfather and Granddaughter (Age 5),” Devilfish Review
– “Nisei” and “Seeds” (reprinted), Mythic Delirium Anthology; available in all formats
Socializing in happily geeky ways:
– SF Signal: Words We Learned From Genre Fiction
FOOOOOOOD:
– Over at the Holy Taco Church, I amp up the pumpkin spice goodness with Pumpkin Cheesecake Sopapillas, which use fast ingredients from the store.
Guest blogging about the book:
– “Romance in the Clockwork Dagger” at Reading Between the Wines
Really nice mentions of the book:
– Tor.com: Sleeps With Monsters: Books, Redux by Liz Bourke with a lovely mini review
Peripatetic Blogging and More
Another happy review from a major site!
Kirkus Reviews, Top Picks for Speculative Fiction Reads in September: “This steampunk fantasy includes all the right elements for a rip-roaring adventure.”
—
New publication! A poem – “To Walk Upon Clouds” at NewMyths.com.
Holy Taco Church post for September–a review of Gadzooks, an acclaimed restaurant in downtown Phoenix!
I’m also blogging, uh, everywhere.
Essay: “How OWW inspired Me to Write Steampunk” in the September Online Writing Workshop Newsletter.
Chat Log from Wednesday’s #sffrtcht can be found here.
Clockwork Cookie Blog Tour
– Pumpkin Snickerdoodles with Pam Wallace
– Shokupan Bread with Lee Hallison
– Buttery Beer Bread with Darusha Wehm
– Cheap Korean-Style Beef with Jodi Scaife
– Double Irish Cream Cookies with Erin Hartshorn
If I forgot something or someone, my apologies. The crazy OMG-BOOK-RELEASE stuff has definitely kicked in these past two days.
Read More
