gwynnega

I am hennaing my hair on yet another hot summer Los Angeles day. I yearn for autumn, but it won't show up here for a long time.

At long last, I'm nearly done with my novel revisions. The final chapter is coming along nicely, though endings are tricky. After I finish the draft, I figure I'll let it sit for a month or so and work on short stories and poems, then read the book through and make whatever changes (hopefully not too extensive) it needs.

My story "The Hedgehog and the Pine Cone," which came out last autumn in the "Animals" issue of Lackington's, is now available to read online.

It feels somewhat strange to post about something unrelated to politics these days.

Meanwhile, this week I am listening to Slim Gaillard for the first time in years, and I highly recommend it.

Stay warm, friends in the path of the snow!

The "Animals" issue of Lackington's is out. It includes my story "The Hedgehog and the Pine Cone," with a beautiful illustration by Dotti Price.

We've been having a spate of lovely autumn weather--so of course we're about to have a mini heat wave. Meanwhile, this horrific election season is almost over. I've already voted for Hillary Clinton, and I'm a bundle of pre-election nerves (but it feels like that's been true for months).

The two new poems I published in 2015 are eligible for the Rhysling Award (short poem category):

"Misogyny," Strange Horizons (13 April 2015)

"Dorothy's Prayer," inkscrawl (issue 9)

"Dorothy's Prayer" is also eligible for the Dwarf Stars Award (as is everything else in inkscrawl issues 8 and 9).

My short story "The Imaginary Friend" appeared this year in Postscripts to Darkness volume 6, but since that's a Canadian publication, I don't think it's eligible for US award consideration.

So, 2014. I finished revising Can't Find My Way Home (AKA the Jo book) this year (unless someone ends up telling me to revise it again). I resumed reworking Out of Uniform and began making notes for a new novel. I wrote more poetry this year than in several years previous (maybe because I have a specific project I'm working on, the horror film/TV/pop culture poetry chapbook). I didn't finish any short fiction this year, and I'd like to rectify that situation in 2015.

I published three poems in 2014 (all part of my ongoing chapbook project):

"she's alive, alive" in Apex, Issue 60, May 2014

"It's a Universal Picture" in Mythic Delirium, 1.1, July-Sept. 2014

"Witches of Childhood" (prose poem) in Interfictions, Issue 4, November 2014

So far I have three publications forthcoming for next year (a new short story, a story reprint, and an essay).

This was a fairly rough year for me. A lot of good things happened, but an Ongoing Upsetting Situation in the second half of the year threatened to overshadow the good stuff. (Heck, it nearly overshadowed my ongoing chronic pain issues, which is no mean feat.) But some big changes are coming in 2015--positive (scary!) changes! Which I hope will help me to focus on the Non-Upsetting Aspects of my life (and they are considerable). And I hope to get a lot of writing done in 2015.

Happy New Year, everyone!

It is Henna Day, on a pleasant (but not autumnal enough for my liking) Sunday afternoon in LA. We had another heat wave, followed by a dip into autumnal-for-LA temperatures, and now we're somewhere in between, but at least the nights are cooler. Meanwhile I keep eating pumpkin products from Trader Joe's. My favorite new pumpkin item: their mini pumpkin-and-ginger ice cream sandwiches.

I'm working on my book of poems based on horror movies etc. and trying to figure out how to revise my novel Out of Uniform. Last night I watched Fright Night (1985) (after sovay posted about it). What an eighties fest that film is! I watched it mostly because Roddy McDowall's in it, and he's marvelous--but I hadn't made the connection that Chris Sarandon, who plays the vampire, is the guy who played Leon Shermer in Dog Day Afternoon (one of my favorite movies) ten years earlier. So that was an extra treat.

Mythic Delirium 1.1 has gone out to subscribers, and it's a beautiful issue. It includes my poem "It's a Universal Picture," as well as work by sovay, sairaali, Jane Yolen, and others.

I've been reading/rereading a lot of Mary Shelley for Readercon and taking a last pass (I hope, I hope!) through the Jo book. Also watching various Hammer horror films, notably The Curse of the Werewolf and the (intentionally?) hilarious Shadow of the Cat. (Oh, and last week TCM showed a bunch of cool Hammer noir films.)

There were some definite highs and lows to my 2013, but overall it was an excellent year.

I had three poems published:

"Ginnie and the Cooking Contest" (a prose poem) in Interfictions Online, Issue 1, May 2013

"take off your horn-rims and fly" in Flying Higher: An Anthology of Superhero Poetry

"a tipping point" in The Cascadia Subduction Zone, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Fall 2013).

I started the year revising Out of Uniform (a novel I hope to get back to in 2014) and writing a sekrit project. Then when I received my agent's notes on Can't Find My Way Home (AKA the Jo book, AKA the book that would not die), I dove back into work on it. I'd hoped to have that done by the end of this year, but I am getting there. I've also been writing more poetry this year, which pleases me.

Healthwise, I'm still in physical therapy for an issue that's been causing me chronic pain. I'm a lot better, though it continues to be a frustrating situation. On the bright side, my physical therapist is a genius, and part of my treatment includes one-on-one yoga instruction, which is awesome. Also on the bright side, I was able to attend WisCon and Readercon (which I also plan to do in 2014).

Scott Miller died this year, and although we were only slight acquaintances, his death had a huge impact on me and others who love his music and his writing.

For me this has been a year rich in friendships--not only continued friendships, but also new ones and renewed ones. I'm so grateful for the many amazing people in my life.

I wish you all a very happy new year.

What did you just finish reading?
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. A beautiful, devastating page-turner.

What are you reading now?
Sofia Samatar's A Stranger in Olondria. Loving it.

Still reading Queers Dig Time Lords.

Rereading Tam Lin by Pamela Dean (for Readercon).

Also doing some research rereading (in Outlaws of America: The Weather Underground and the Politics of Solidarity by Dan Berger) for the Jo book, now that I am (happily) in Jo book revision mode.

What will you read next?
I'm looking forward to reading more of what I bought at Wiscon, especially Wiscon Chronicles 7: Shattering Ableist Narratives.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...but all in all, I'd call my 2012 a good year.

I only had two publications this year, but I'm very pleased with them:

"bell, book, candle" in Strange Horizons, 26 March 2012.

"The Pied Piper vs. The Sirens" in Mythic Delirium #27, November 2012.

I didn't write a whole lot of poetry this year (and no short fiction at all, I think?), as this was The Year of Finishing the Draft of the Jo Book. It took somewhat longer than I'd expected, but writing this draft was one of the greatest and most challenging experiences of my writing life.

I got sick this summer and had a couple of miserable months until I got diagnosed and started physical therapy. I'm still not entirely recovered, but I'm so much better (to the point that I can't fully remember how bad I felt last summer).

Tonight I'll be doing my usual new year's celebration: champagne, caviar and other goodies, and DVDs.

A very happy new year to you all!