Creating Christmas Traditions and Anthology News

Quick anthology updates before we get to the post proper:

Seasons Eternal is now available in print as well as in various ebook formats. See here for details.

I’m blogging about the sheer variety of what’s in the anthology, over at Turtleduck Press.

I’m also guest blogging about the Turtleduck Press mandate of publishing works that would otherwise fall through the cracks, and how the anthology fits into that, at Prudence MacLeod’s blog.

On Monday I talked about my anthology story here on this blog. Some of the other authors have weighed in as well. Here is KD Sarge talking about hers. And here is Kit Campbell delving into the origins of our shared-world premise.

Finally, I’m thrilled to be an interviewee on S.M. Hutchins’s fabulous Live Wonderstruck blog, talking about mindfulness and what makes me wonderstruck.

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Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…

The Christmas season is upon us, like it or not, and it’s time to prepare. The question is, how?

Writing a Short Story for Seasons Eternal

Today I’m talking a little bit more about Seasons Eternal, the second SF&F anthology from Turtleduck Press. (The first one is here.) I’m the editor there, and I also publish short stories through them. When we put together an anthology, I get to do both at the same time.

For this year’s anthology, we chose a shared premise — what might happen to a world where the seasons stopped changing? Each side of the planet is frozen in a different season. A century later, various societies have evolved to cope, but they’re still struggling under the pressures of the change.

But you can’t write a story about a society. Stories are about people.

Weekend Link: Seasons Eternal Anthology

Happy weekend!

Seasons Eternal, the anthology I mentioned earlier this week, is out today, and we’re excited…

It’s available at Amazon (Kindle format) and Smashwords (just about any other ebook format you like), and there will be a print version out soon.

You can read all about it at Turtleduck Press.

That’s all for this week. See you back here on Monday!

Anthology Announcement: Seasons Eternal

I’m excited to announce that Turtleduck Press is releasing a new anthology on December 1. Seasons Eternal is based on a shared premise: what if there were a world where the seasons stopped turning?

We opted to set very loose rules about the world to encourage variety among the stories, and variety we got in abundance. Each of the four authors has chosen a season and taken a different approach — science fiction, fantasy, or a little of both.

And the stories are…

New Book: Steampunk Shakespeare

This week we’re highlighting a new steampunk anthology. The Omnibus of Doctor Bill Shakes and the Magnificent Ionic Pentatetrameter is a multi-author anthology that re-imagines Shakespeare in a steampunk setting. Can I have this now, please?

The editors are Jaymee Goh of the postcolonial blog Silver Goggles and Matt Delman of Doctor Fantastique. Along with writer Lia Keyes, they are also the founders of #steampunkchat, a weekly Twitter chat that ranges across many aspects of steampunk culture, literature, and music, from author chats to explaining steampunk to brainstorming a steampunk circus. It’s an excellent chat, and new people are always welcome.

If steampunk Shakespeare sounds like your thing, you can preorder the print version of the anthology through Doctor Fantastique (release on May 11), and an ebook version will be available soon — check steampunkshakespeare.com for the latest updates.

Do you have any anthology recommendations, steampunk or otherwise? Please share!

New Books: Queen’s Man and Of Myth and Memory

For my second Books & Media Monday, I’d like to highlight a couple of indie books that I’m looking forward to for various reasons.

The redhead with the smirk is Joss; the tall, dark, handsome one is Zeke.

First up, we have a cover reveal — a first look at Queen’s Man by KD Sarge. KD is one of the authors I work with when I’m wearing my editor’s hat at Turtleduck Press, an indie press running on a co-op model (more about that another day). Queen’s Man is a science fiction novel, heavy on the characters and action, and…well, head over to KD’s blog to read more. Queen’s Man is due out on April 1, but if you’re curious, a short story introducing the world and some of the characters will be up on Turtleduck Press on March 1. KD also has two other novels out through Turtleduck Press, as well as a short story in an anthology, Winter’s Night, that also features my writing.

Anthology cover

Second, some good news from another indie author. Kathryn Anthony has just released a short story anthology, Of Myth & Memory: Fictions & Labyrinths. While I haven’t read this one yet, I recently finished her first anthology, Persephone’s Library and Other Stories, featuring a variety of post-apocalyptic short stories. They’re beautifully written, bittersweet and thought-provoking. I’m excited to read more of her work. In addition to the two anthologies, she has also released a fantasy novel and two Regency romances.

If either of these books sounds like your cup of tea, I hope you’ll consider showing their authors some love.

Question for readers: What indie books have you gotten excited about recently?