Instructions not included.In recent news, I’ve got some stuff in recent bundles. The VanderMeer Winter Mix Tape Bundle includes The Bestiary, which holds my piece, Tongues-of-Moon Toad, and The Other Half of Sky, edited by Athena Andreadis, and containing space opera piece “Dagger and Mask.” The Holiday Fantasy Bundle includes my Christmas R-rated story, “He Knows When You’re Awake” in Naughty or Nice, edited by Jennifer Brozek
I talked about reading the classics in an Another Word piece for Clarkesworld Magazine. What prompted me to write it? Because there’s been a lot of discussion of the classics as though pointing out problems with a piece is the same as crossing it off the list of stuff to be read. I talked about the decision to change the World Fantasy Award bust back in January for Clarkesworld and emphasized that yeah, you can read H.P. Lovecraft and yet not want to accept an award bearing his face, and moreover, your objections could be pretty complicated and nuanced.
Just turned in my edits for “Red in Tooth and Cog,” which appears early next year in a market that’s been a longtime goal of mine, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
Writing wise, I continue assembling Hearts of Tabat into coherent shape. I’m also finishing up a bespoke story, tentatively titled “She Eats My Heart Entire,” for an anthology and I’ve got a couple of others I want to finish up this month, including a Christmas piece that I should get drafted today and at least a couple for the Patreon campaign.
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.
Want to get some new fiction? Support my 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."
~K. Richardson
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Celebrating Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Yet another pretty BCS cover.
Almost a decade ago I was part of a terrific workshop run by Walter John Williams and Connie Willis in the Taos Ski Valley. It was a talented group, and the two week session was a happy blur of lots of writing, lots of critiquing, and lots and lots of shop talk, plus assorted movies and a lot of wine.
One of the participants mentioned that he planned to start a literary fantasy online magazine. Since he happened to like the stuff I was workshopping, I figured that would be a surefire sale. So as soon as he opened up the magazine, I fired off a submission.
And he rejected it, because he didn’t feel it had the right flavor for his magazine.
That’s one of the things I respect tremendously about that editor, who was of course, Scott Andrews. It was, in fact, not till the fourth or fifth submission that he took a story, which was a piece set in the same world in which the novel I’d workshopped at Taos, Tabat, in the form of “Love, Resurrected.” From day one, Scott had a strong vision for the magazine, and it’s been an inspiration to watch him implement it over the years.
Since then, I’ve sold a number of stories to Scott, and have always been terrifically happy with his edits. When the novel that I had workshopped at Taos finally came out, years later, I had a novelette set in the same world that he accepted, and he graciously worked with me in order to time its publication with the novel release date. Most recently, he published one of my Serendib stories as part of BCS’s Science Fantasy Month and as always the story emerged much the strong for his adept edits. A BCS acceptance “” which I know to never take for granted “” is always something I regard as one of a year’s accomplishments, overall.
I’ve also enjoyed reading stories by other people for the BCS podcast. Scott picks, at least in my opinion, pretty high-quality stuff, and it’s always a pleasure to read. In his meticulous attention to detail, he goes to lengths to make sure that all the pronunciations are exactly as the author intends, which is sometimes a difficult task in fantasy literature.
I always look forward to meeting up with Scott at conventions. I know that we’ll have long and thoughtful conversations that range all over the place, flavored by Scott’s gentle affability and sharp insight. I love BCS, because it is a splendid example of the sort of many-chambered edifice a truly talented person can build when they plunge themselves into a particular passion consistently over time. I wait to see what the coming years bring it. I cannot imagine it will be anything short of even more awesomeness as he continues to enrichen the fantasy landscape we all share.
It’s full-on spring here in Seattle. Trees are in bloom, and construction projects have shifted into high gear, so the sidewalks are full of pylons and freshly poured concrete.
I’m looking forward to comparing this weather to other places in a few days. First South Bend, Indiana, where I’ll be speaking at the University of Notre Dame, and then Tempe, Arizona, for a two-day workshop working with scientists to write a story about solar power.
Then home for a while, where I’ll have a chance to talk with people at Crypticon here in Seattle at the end of the month (https://www.crypticonseattle.com/attend/crypticon-2018-tickets/) . Come to the Saturday writing workshop with me! I’ve secured the awesome Kay Kenyon as a co-teacher.
This newsletter marks some changes in the structure of my Patreon campaign (https://www.patreon.com/catrambo) , and its linkage into the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. Even if you’re not a Patreon supporter, you’ll want to bookmark the page, because I’ll be providing some free stuff there each month, courtesy of the supporters.
Everyone, signed up or not, gets the following on the Patreon page:
* 1-2 writing snippets each week from Cat’s current work and the chance to ask questions and offer feedback about them
* Access to the first Ask-Me-Anything Friday session of each month. Check out the post and ask whatever you like. Past questions have included career advice, recommended reading, insider SFWA news, writing feedback, and more.
* Occasional random stuff
All Patreon supporters get the above plus:
* 1-2 monthly stories or chapters and the chance to ask questions and offer feedback about them.
* Access to weekly Tasty Thursday recipes andAsk-Me-Anything Friday sessions
* Special patron-only events & giveaways at conventions
* The former student rate on live classes thru the Rambo Academy ($79 instead of $99)
* More random things at whim
$2 supporters get the above plus:
* 1-3 market news or advice posts per week
* 1-3 writing tip or resource posts per week
* One photo of Taco each month
* Random (usually writing-focused) things
$5 supporters get the above plus:
* All ebooks as they are released
* Access to the Chez Rambo Discord server and the #general, #bookclub, #critclub, #motivation, #news, and an exclusive #patreon channels.
* The usual randomness, usually in the form of chatter in Discord
$10 supporters get the above plus:
* 1 live or on-demand class per year (non-cumulative, starts on 3^rd month)
* Oh surprise, random things
$25 supporters get the above plus:
* Monthly story prompts post
* 1 live or on-demand class every 3 months (non-cumulative, starts on 3^rd month)
* *Rolls a dice* Something random
$50 supporters get the above plus:
* 1 live or on-demand class each month (non-cumulative)
* Even more
$100 supporters get the above plus:
* Monthly 15-30 minute coaching session, live class, or on-demand class
If you’re curious what Patreon is and how it works, there’sa two minute video of me explaining it here (https://www.patreon.com/catrambo) . We’ve been really enjoying the Discord community so far, and using it for writing sprints as well as chatter and questions.
Look what arrived literally moments ago! Yay! So excited to see all my hard work in tangible form. The electronic version is available for pre-order here (https://amzn.to/2qQuhEW) ; the hardcopy preorder should be available again sometime this week.
Scott H. Andrews has kindly agreed to give his Short Story Openings workshop (http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/short-story-openings/) again for people who missed the first version, this time on June 16. A recent addition is a workshop with Doug Smith on July 14 on story rights and reprints. Keep an eye out for it or drop me a drop to go ahead and preregister; usual price.
Hello!
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