July Recap: Bewinged and With a Good Tailwind!
Hi, everyone! I hope you’re having a good summer (or winter, depending on where you are). I am, though it’s flying by. I’ll tell you why below, but first, some news!
I recently had my first ever poem sale—“The Nagini’s Night Song,” to issue 1.3 of Mythic Delirium! I could not be more excited about this and am super grateful to C.S.E. Cooney, Julia Rios, and Mike Allen for their editorial guidance. I can’t wait to share it with all of you.
Okay, on to the recap of July!
On the weekend of the fourth my friend and super-talented jeweler Meenoo Mishra and her husband came to visit, and I bought one of her gorgeous mythic necklaces. I’m modeling it in the picture! We baked cupcakes and ate and laughed a lot. Good times.
Then it was off to Readercon in Burlington, Massachusetts, to catch up with dear friends, make new ones, and give readings! I read from “Krishna Blue” during the Midnight Speakeasy reading, and even though I was the last one to go, I’d say it got quite a great reception. The other readers were wonderful, too, and one of them won the Shirley Jackson Award!
Me, Patty Templeton, and Matt Kressel (Matt’s camera)
Our haunted Midnight Speakeasy reading! (Marco’s camera)
I also spoke with a panel of smart people on horror for diverse audiences, and then my fellow car-mates A.C. Wise and A.T. Greenblatt and I headed off for home.
Then just a few days after returning from Boston, I boarded a train bound for New York City to attend the monthly KGB Bar Fantastic Fiction reading. (The readers were Sofia Samatar and Victor LaValle.) I got to see lots of wonderful people and meet one of my Viable Paradise roommates-to-be! And tour the offices of TOR, thanks to the always lovely Marco Palmieri.
Tempest Bradford and me (Tempest’s camera)
Then I gave a talk to a group of kids at my local library. They all perked up when we talked about horror, I read them a bit of “Krishna Blue,” and they wrote the beginnings to their own (horror-inspired) stories. That was all a little nerve-wracking at first, but I did it, so yay! (And who knows; maybe I inspired some of them to give writing a try.) I also raffled off a copy of an Amar Chitra Katha comic.
Asking what books this reader likes and why (Miss B’s camera)
Reading from “Krishna Blue” (Miss B’s camera)
And then I went to my brother-in-law’s fifties-themed wedding. I wore a borrowed fascinator and a polka-dot dress and round-toe heels. We ate lots, and I danced with my nieces and nephews. Fun! (Meeting my newest niece and having her select me as her dancing partner was the best part.)
Rocking the netting and polka dots (my camera)
And now I can collapse (or else return to work on Star Daughter). Whew! Well, until Friday, anyway, when I go see Mike Allen, Anita Devi Allen, and Nicole Kornher-Stace for Mike’s reading from his upcoming story collection Unseaming . . .
How’s your summer so far?