Things learned from teaching online so far:
1) Checking all the tech stuff ahead of time really pays off.
2) The nigh-paralyzing sensation of being on video wears off and is gone by the second time.
3) The chat window is super useful.
4) Remember to unmute microphone when speaking.
5) Feed the cat before starting or he will come climb on your back in the middle of talking.
Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.
"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
An Instructive Listing of the Major Gardens of Tabat, being Pamphlet #4 of the second series of “A Visitor’s Guide to Tabat,” Spinner Press, author unknown.
Despite the city’s fierce weather, the cliffs that shelter it on the northwest and western side create pockets of weather that allow its gardeners to coax fruit and flower that normally would not be found here. Additionally, the presence of the College of Mages ensures a perennial crop of young mages ready to earn their coin by turning it to a patron’s use, creating marvels like a moonlight garden whose flowers change aspect according to the positions of the three moons in the sky, as is rumored to be located in the center of the Moon Temples’ complex, unknown to any but their priests.
Accordingly those interested in the botanic, the scenic, or the complete experience of Tabat should allot time in their schedule for the following.
The Duke’s Gardens: Appended to the Ducal castle, the grounds are open to the public on even-numbered days and feast days but are always closed during the Games. Often select Beasts and animals from the Ducal menagerie are brought out for display. Cost is a silver ship per adult visitor, with children at five per ship. Hours are dawn till the seventh evening bell.
Tabat’s Heart: These vast gardens stretch through the middle of Tabat, cutting across all but the top and bottom terraces. Tram lines and staircases line the western edge, allowing access to the paths across as well as the many sub-gardens and fountains. Admission is free and the parks are always open, but are patrolled by mechanicals after midnight until the first morning bell.
The Sea Garden: Built into the western cliffs at the water’s edge is the Sea Garden, full of corals and in the summer tanks of sea creatures and Beasts, including singing Whales and Dolphins, and a display of venomous sea serpents. Admission is free in the winter and a copper ship throughout the rest of the year, with a discount for schools and educational groups. Hours are from the last night bell through the first evening bell. Open all days except Games.
The Gardens at the College of Mages: Filled with plants, animals, and Beasts collected from across the world, these gardens are renowned in scholarly and academic circles. Points of interest include the Fairy hive in their central hall, which also acts as museum, the caged Mandrakes, their Sphinx amid its xeric landscape, and the Hypnotic Garden, which features narcotic and soporific plants and animals and which can only be entered with a guide, who wears a white silk mask and is prepared to wake the visitor if he or she succumbs. Admission is a silver merchant for two, and includes chal in the Dancing Cup across the way from the College’s grounds.
Famous for their aromatic and ornamental plantings, the grounds of the Nettlepurse estate are open every Fifteenth Day. Cost is a Nettlepurse nought. Hours are the third morning bell through the midnight bell. Go in the spring in the evening to see the humming moths that are an all too brief yearly phenomenon or visit the Cypress Maze in order to view the reflecting pool in its center.
If you have additional time, we recommend the flowering tree groves of the Piskie Wood (to be visited only in the daylight hours, and wear bright clothing to avoid the Piskie hunters who practice their livelihood there.)
***
Love the world of Tabat and want to spend longer in it? Check out Hearts of Tabat, the latest Tabat novel! Or get sneak peeks, behind the scenes looks, snippets of work in progres, and more via Cat’s Patreon.
#sfwapro
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And my answer is yes. Yes, you should. Why?
Because it helps people discover the work that you’re proud of. You know what you wrote. You know what you want to make sure they see. It’s okay to say, “Hey, if you’re looking to read something by me, I would try this.”
Because it helps people read widely. Every writer in F&SF should — well, I don’t want to make it seem mandatory so I won’t say that you must do this, but you should at least feel free to make eligibility posts. So when someone’s poking around, they can find your stuff and read it.
Because you shouldn’t self-censor out of modesty when talking about your work. You are its best champion. Go ahead and help people find the best examples of it. Be humble and lovable in some other way. (Thank you to Erin M. Hartshorn for the link to the piece of self-effacement.)
And so, I’ve finally been prodded by a Twitter conversation into doing my own in part because I want to say to you, no matter where you are sited in the bizarre and incredibly wordy conflicts, that you should do it. Let’s have lots of wonderful reading lists, the more the merrier, and part of creating those is making readers aware of what you (and others, sure) have done. Please feel free to post a link if you’ve made an eligibility post. Yup, even if you think you’re not welcome. You are.
I published a bunch in 2015. You can find the full list elsewhere, but here are my best of recommendations:
Please feel free to comment and include a link to your own eligibility post. In this coming week, I’ll also be posting a list of my favorites from 2015, but there are so many it may take a while, plus I’m still reading a few.
Peace out,
Cat
P.S. Here are some additional eligibility posts. I’ll add more as I get them. Please note that A.C. Wise has a great post here where she’s collecting these as well as book recommendation posts.
John Joseph Adams
Mike Allen
Robin Wayne Bailey
Nicolette Barischoff
Helena Bell
Brooke Bolander
A.C. Buchanan
Beth Cato
Nino Cipri
Gwendolyn Clare
Clarkesworld
Fred Coppersmith
A.M.Dellamonica
Seth Dickinson
Andy Dudak
Scott Edelman
FantasyLiterature.com
A.J. Fitzwater
Sam Fleming
T. Frohock
Nin Harris
Maria Dahvana Headley
Kate Heartfield
Jim C. Hines
M.C.A. Hogarth
Annalee Flower Horne
Alexis A. Hunter
José Pablo Iriarte
Heather Rose Jones
Jason Kimble
Mur Lafferty
Rose Lemberg
Natalie Luhrs
J.M. McDermott
Seanan McGuire
Kris Millering
Lia Swope Mitchell
Sunny Moraine
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Linda Nagata
Mari Ness
Daniel José Older
Carrie Patel
Sunil Patel
Laura Pearlman
Andrea Phillips
Sarah Pinsker
Adam Rakunas
Jessica Reisman
Kelly Robson
Sean R. Robinson
Merc Rustad
SF Signal
Shimmer
Skiffy and Fanty podcast
David Steffen
Penny Stirling
Bogi Takacs
Shveta Thakrar
E. Catherine Tobler
Tor.com
Uncanny Magazine
Unlikely Story
Ursula Vernon
Marlee Jane Ward
M. Darusha Wehm
Martha Wells
Fran Wilde
A.C. Wise
Alyssa Wong
Isabel Yap
Caroline M. Yoachim
...
