Acceptance from Not One of Us

Whenever I receive good news like these, I still have to ask myself, "for real?" Acceptances are such unexpected gifts, and I'll never stop being surprised by them. I thought I'd never get into the likes of Strange Horizons and Apex, yet with a lot of time, hard work and rejection slips, I made it.

Another wonderful publication that's welcomed my work is Not One of Us. The magazine has been frequently recommended by editors I've worked with and I discovered that the mag has been running since the 1980s. Its focus is on otherness, a rich and powerful topic that will never lose importance in the world. A couple of verbatim reviews from their site:

“I definitely recommend Not One of Us to readers attracted to character-oriented dark fantasy... plenty of disquieting reflection. Fine work.” (Rich Horton)

“The staying power of Not One of Us is a testament to its quality.” (The Fix)

“Not One of Us ...is a reliable source for interesting dark prose and poetry.” (Ellen Datlow, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror)

Here is a snippet of the email I received from the editor, Mr. John Benson. An acceptance into a joint with this name feels a bit like a pun, which maybe it is:

Dear Anne,

I'd like to use "Why Animals Don't Talk" in one of our future publications. The poem would go either in the next of our annual, variously-titled special collections in January or in the next issue of Not One of Us itself in April. [...]

John Benson
Not One of Us

It's another great week. :) 

I'm at Strange Horizons, "Rehearsal for When He Wakes"

This must be the most exciting year for me yet. I've always dreamt of appearing on SE's pages. Who'd have thought? "Rehearsal for When He Wakes" is up in their February 24, 2014 issue. The podcast of the issue is also available in two parts.

• Podcast: February Poetry Part 1, by John Philip Johnson, Peter Chiykowski, Susan Carlson, Natalia Theodoridou, Alicia Cole, and Amal El-Mohtar, read by Diane Severson Mori, Peter Chiykowski, Kristopher Goorhuis, Kate Baker, Ciro Faienza, and Amal El-Mohtar (2/24/14) In this episode of the Strange Horizons podcast, editor Anaea Lay presents poetry from the February issues of Strange Horizons. 
• Podcast: February Poetry Part 2, by Jenn Grunigen, Mike Allen, Jessy Randall, Lisa M. Bradley, Anne Carly Abad, Rose Lemberg, and Danielle Higgins, read by Jenn Grunigen, Mike Allen, Tina Connolly, Lisa M. Bradley, Ciro Faienza, Julia Rios, Rose Lemberg, and Clare McBride (2/24/14) In this episode of the Strange Horizons podcast, editor Anaea Lay presents poetry from the February issues of Strange Horizons.

Many many thanks to the editors, especially to Ms. Adrienne Odasso and Ms. Anaea Lay.

Featured at OMNI Reboot, Expanded Horizons

Read at http://omnireboot.jerrickventures.com/phenomena/hiring-process/

My science fiction flash piece "Hiring Process" is featured in OMNI Reboot, a rebirth of the classic sci-fi magazine. Thanks to editor Claire Evans. Before closing in 1998, Omni featured William Gibson, Orson Scott Card, Arthur C. Clarke, Ben Bova and many more names that I've been reading for years. It's an honor to be part of this project.

The circumstances that led to this story being published are surreal. Given that this story feels "jinxed," I didn't expect anything good can still come out of it. It's the same story that was involved in fiasco with a contest that once published my private details without my permission. That problem has been resolved with the help of the good people from Absolute Write, my favorite forum and writer resource.

A friend of my mine linked me to OMNI and I checked it out right away, excited at the fact that one of the best SF mags is making a comeback (there aren't enough of these zines left!). When you visit the site, you'll kinda feel nostalgic if you're a fan of golden age sci-fi. It has that air to it, one of cold metal and possibilities.

At almost the same time, my poem "Molting Season" was published sooner than expected (supposedly 2014). It's now out and crawling about at Expanded Horizons. Also in Issue 41:
"Swallowing Saturday" by Catherine Batac Walder
"Daughters of the Air" by Gail Labovitz
"The Five Flavors" by Bryan Thao Worra
"The Robo Sutra" (Artwork) by Maria Mitchell

Thought I'd Never Write Fiction Again

Really. I dunno what happened. I used to dream of writing multiple novels, because back in 2010, that was all I wanted to do. I'd sit in a corner in the library and write away. I finished my 100K novel in less than a year, the revisions took a lot longer.

And then the frenzy stopped. The well was dry. No inspiration to write the sequels to the story. I tried, because I believed in discipline. But I just felt like I was bleeding every time I tried to write.

The bleeding ended when I tried out poetry. For some reason, the well had filled up again in reading and writing poems. I've been writing nothing but poems since then, and it's been more than a year since I last wrote fiction. I think maybe it's been 2 years? I can't remember.

But I woke up one morning with a strong idea that felt whole and ready to be fleshed out in the word. I wrote a new story this week, and it's ready to be revised. I hope it's good! :) I'll try to submit it somewhere once I'm done weeding out the unnecessaries.

Now Reading: The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey

The Rowan is the first book of McCaffrey's Tower and Hive collection, which I'm only now beginning to explore. I've read a couple of her Pern novels, which I've enjoyed and reread a number of times, until I developed a stronger liking for  science fiction. Well her dragons are 'scientific', but in my opinion, she leans more toward fantasy in her Pern novels. It may be that I'm getting nerdier by the day, that's why I'm liking sci-fi more, or I must have previously read too much fantasy that I've become too used to all the sword and magic tropes.

Anyhow I'm not done with this book yet, but I felt strongly enough about it to make a post. Gotta say I'm hooked. I've searched some reviews and most of them are positive. I like following the life of this young telepathic girl called The Rowan. And I'm totally intrigued at the thought of exploring a world where pschokinetic abilities, not to mention clairvoyance, run the system, thereby sidestepping the usual "speed limit" in space travel.