This has been in the works for a bit, but I’d like to officially announce that Hydra House, run by Tod McCoy, will be putting out my two volume set of science fiction stories, NEAR and FAR. I’m excited about Samala Coffey, the artist who will be doing the covers and will have more on that once she and I have everything worked out.
Each volume will be 60-70 thousand words of stories, including some unpublished ones, and notes about them. The two books are split up into near future and far future stuff. Hence, the name. 🙂 Story order is still a work in progress.
Among the stories contained in NEAR will be:
10 New Metaphors for Cyberspace (Abyss & Apex); Fists Like Mountains (previously unpublished); Flicka (Subversions); Legends of the Gone (Talebones); Long Enough and Just So Long (Lightspeed); A Man and His Parasite (previously unpublished); The Mermaids Singing, Each To Each (Clarkesworld); Memories of Moments, Bright as Passing Stars (Talebones); Not Waving, Drowning (Redstone); Peaches of Immortality (appeared in Fantasy Magazine under the title “The Immortality Game); Raven (Twisted Cat Tales); RealFur (Serpentarius); Therapy Buddha (2020 Visions)
Among the stories contained in FAR will be:
Amid the Words of War (Lightspeed); Angry Rose’s Lament (Abyss & Apex); Bots d’Amor (Abyss & Apex); Kallakak’s Cousins (Asimov’s); Fire on the Water’s Heart (M*Brane); Five Ways to Fall in Love on Planet Porcelain (previously unpublished); Fungus, Soy, and Beans (previously unpublished); Grandmother (will appear in upcoming anthology); I Come From the Dark Universe (previously unpublished); Mother’s World (Aeon); Seeking Nothing (Daily Science Fiction); Space Elevator Music (previously unpublished); Surrogates (Clockwork Phoenix 3); TimeSnip (Basement Stories); Zeppelin Follies (Crossed Genres)
I’ve tried to be a bit of a completist about this, and include everything Sfnal that’s appeared so far. I think it ends up letting some stories resonate against each other, particularly the five in FAR that involve the same space station.
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"(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."
~K. Richardson
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2021 Publications, Appearances, and Other Notable Things
It’s been a great year. Here’s some highlights. I have tried to identify what length and genre everything is, as well as where you can get it. The podcast I work with, IF THIS GOES ON (Don’t Panic), is eligible for Hugo nominations.
In January, my story “Shot Through with Shards of Light” appeared in SPACE: 1975, SPACE OPERA STORIES, 70S STYLE edited by Robert Jeschonek. This story is set in the same universe as my space opera, YOU SEXY THING, and grew out of thinking about a particular aspect of that universe.
March of 2021, my short story “Crazy Beautiful” appeared in The Magazine of F&SF as part of Sheree Renee Thomas’s inaugural issue. This story is very important to me, speaking about something that I deeply care about, and I’ve been stoked that so many people liked it. It is my only story that starts with a Bob Ross quote. Rich Horton said of it, “Perhaps my favorite story from early in 2021.”
In April, Jennifer Brozek and I turned in the manuscript for our co-edited anthology, THE REINVENTED HEART. So exciting! I got a piece of game writing in, with “The Sisterhood of the Shovel,” which appeared in THE WELL from Shoeless Pete Games.
In May, the third book of the Tabat Quartet, EXILES OF TABAT, appeared from Wordfire Press. In it, Bella, Teo, and Lucy all adventure outside the city, with very different results. The final book, GODS OF TABAT, will appear in 2022.
In July, a story that my spouse Wayne and I wrote together, “Stand and Deliver,” appeared in DARK MATTER magazine. It’s a story of fatherhood and time travel…sort of.
In August I actually did some traveling. I went to Laramie, Wyoming, and was part of the Laucnh Pad workshop, an effort aimed at getting more science into one’s science fiction, and I learned so much that I’ve got an entire notebook’s worth of notes.
In October, my flash piece “A Tourist’s Guide to Terror,” appeared in Jennifer Brozek’s anthology, 99 TINY TERRORS.
In early November, my collaboration with Jermaine Martin, “Riders of the Void,” appeared in GUNFIGHT ON EUROPA STATION, edited by David Boop. We took one of my favorite westerns, “Shane,” and used it as the spark to start our story and I’m pleased with the result!
In mid-November, my long-delayed space opera, YOU SEXY THING, appeared finally! Amazon named it one of the 20 best F&SF books of 2021 and there’s been some great reviews. Here’s some of what people have said.
“A romp. If you’re the kind of person who likes Mass Effect, or enjoyed Valerie Valdes’s Chilling Effect and Prime Deceptions, or fell head-over-heels for Tim Pratt’s Axiom trilogy”¦ then this book is definitely for you. This is a fast, zippy novel that hides some surprisingly substantial emotional heavy lifting under its hood”¦. Cozy-with-a-soupçon-of-suspense hoot-and-a-half.” “•Locus
…a delightful, action-filled space jaunt, packed with engaging alien species, a bioship that learns emotions, and witty references.” ““ Library Journal
“Rambo absolutely nails it.” – BookPage
“Fun, fantastic, and delicious”•I loved it!””•Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice
This action-packed space opera is loads of fun.” “•BuzzFeed
I did a lot of other stuff, like teaching for the Norwescon Writers Workshop, Cascade Writers, Williamette Writers, and Clarion West. I read for Older Writer’s Grant for Speculative Lit Foundation as well as for a middle grade contest. I did a holy crapton of readings, and plenty of panels, which I should have tracked better in order to include here.
The school did nicely again this year and I added several on-demand classes of my own:
If you’re looking for my roundup of F&SF posts by other writers, it’s here.
Most of my stories appeared privately for Patreon. Those Patreon stories included:
PATREON, October, 2017. A Restless World, co-written with Rachel Swirsky. (flash)
PATREON, October, 2017. Penned. (flash)
PATREON, August, 2017. A House Alone. (children’s story)
PATREON, July, 2017. Another Selkie Story. (fantasy story)
PATREON, July, 2017. Say Yes. (flash)
PATREON, June, 2017. Leaves. (far future SF story)
PATREON, May, 2017. The Houses of West Seattle. (fantasy story)
PATREON, April, 2017. Fix the Page. (flash)
Other stories included “Preferences” (SF) in Chasing Shadows, edited by David Brin and “Girls Gone Wild” (crime) in Blood Business, edited by Josh Viola and Mario Acevedo.
I am happy to send copies of anything people would like to see.
I am eligible as a fan writer; here are the essays and pieces I am particularly proud of:
I have another novel coming out next year, Hearts of Tabat! If you’re interested in a review copy, please drop me an email or comment here. While it’s the sequel to Beasts of Tabat, it should read perfectly well even if you haven’t read the first book.
It’s been a great year. Here’s some highlights. I have tried to identify what length and genre everything is, as well as where you can get it. The podcast I work with, IF THIS GOES ON (Don’t Panic), is eligible for Hugo nominations.
If you’re looking for my roundup of F&SF posts by other writers, it’s 
3 Responses
Congratulations, Cat! I look forward to reading Near and Far. – Christy
Booyeah! Congrats, Cat.
Cool! I’ll check these out!