Recent Stuff: Book! More Book! I Like 2015 So Far!

So I have a story coming out next month in Clarkesworld Magazine, “Tortoiseshell Cats are Not Refundable.” I’m very pleased to appear again in Clarkesworld (past stories are I’ll Gnaw Your Bones, the Manticore Said, Whose Face This Is, I Do Not Know, The Mermaids Singing Each to Each, and Worm Within) and it’s a story that I like because it’s got some humor and some seriousness all blended together in a way that I think is less of a downer than some past stories have been.

I have seen the cover for the March issue of Asimov’s, which contains my novelette, “All the Pretty Little Mermaids,” and which even features an illustration drawn from the story, although I don’t know the artist yet. Hurray! That’s the second time I’ve appeared in Asimov’s, and I’m very excited about it. I also have a non-fiction piece appearing in the March Analog, an interview with Bud Webster about his new book, Past Masters and Other Bookish Natterings.

Other stories that should see print in 2014 are: Memphis Barbecue, a southern steampunk story (AIRSHIPS AND AUTOMATONS); dark fantasy story A Brooch of Bone, A Hint of Tooth (BY FAERIE LIGHT); Summer Night in Durham, which involves a tattoo artist, a vampire, and a parking lot confrontation (STAMPS, VAMPS, and TRAMPS); and Hoofsore and Weary, a fantasy story set in a new part of Tabat’s world, the Rose Kingdom (SHATTERED SHIELDS).

Part of this year’s resolutions is getting everything up on line. So far I’ve reformatted everything that I’d put up because it didn’t look as nice as it should and today added some more stories.

The new stories, which I’m working on putting up on Smashwords as well, are:

• Amid the Words of War – (Twicefar Station) An exiled alien mourns for the race that will no longer accept it.
• Can You Hear the Moon? – (The World Beside Us) A teenage girl in smalltown faces one of the most difficult challenges she’ll ever endure: upcoming adulthood. As she stands on the brink between innocence and experience, will magic be able to help her cope with what lies ahead?
• English Muffin, Devotion on the Side – (Closer Than You Think) George leaves copies of himself to his friends and family when he dies. The problem is — what happens when you’re only a copy?
• Flicka – (Closer Than You Think) Inhabitants of a small Idaho town have trouble adjusting to their new neighbors, a family of genetically modified humans who have chosen to become more equine than human.
• I Come From the Dark Universe – (Twicefar Station) Life on tumultuous TwiceFar station is much the lonely existence same day to day for Bo. But when he comes upon a mysterious woman who claims to come from an alternate universe, he must face his strange attraction to her.
• Love, Resurrected – (Tales of Tabat) General Aife Croffadottir is acknowledged one of the finest military minds of her time — which is why the sorcerer Balthus commands her to her service even after her death. How will she come to terms with her new existence?
• Of Selkies, Disco Balls, and Anna Plane – Small-town Indiana in the 80s is an uncomfortable place for Arturo, who has a secret life at the local gay bar. When he introduces his best friend, Anna, to the place, he finds both of them swept up in a story of magical obsession and servitude.
• So Glad We Had This Time Together – (The World Beside Us) Television executives come up with a reality series starring supernatural creatures — only to find it enjoying unnatural popularity.
• TimeSnip – (TwiceFar Station) Plucked from the 19th century, Victoria finds employment negotiating with civilizations for the same technology that’s responsible for her existence. What happens when she’s dispatched to a civilization whose ways she finds oppressive in this story of the far future? Contains adult themes.