The Lettersea

And here we are at the end of another year, which means it’s time for a check-in: how did the words turn out?

For short fiction, I had four new stories this year:

A time-travel loop isn’t an uncommon specfic trope, but I had a lot of fun bringing one into a fantasy world. This story was a long time in the making; Sophienne surprised me at every turn with her resourcefulness.

Same world, different genre-blend: a noir-style murder mystery. I do think I’ll return both to this world and this character again someday.

I’d never been a magazine’s inaugural story before, until this one: ZNB Presents debuted and I got to lead the charge.

I leaned hard into science fiction in the second half of the year. First was a comedic heist story modeled after a Food52 online recipe. My wife and I did make some soufflés while I was writing this, if just so I could capture the right metaphors. (We did not forget the Parmesan.)

And finally,

I don’t usually do fairy tales. My fantasy stories… well, you can read how they normally turn out above. So a retelling of “The Princess and the Pea” wasn’t really on my radar. But I was dared to do it, and this was the result.

For poetry, I only had four poems this year:

• “Machinery is” – Utopia SF Vol. IV Issue 02 (October/November 2022)
• “Concerning the Fallen Soldiers in Orbit Around Sagittarii Prime” – Eye to the Telescope Issue 45 (July 2022)
• “a world runs over” – Star*Line Issue 45.2 (April 2022)
• “She belongs to the city” – Abyss & Apex Issue #82 (Spring 2022)

It’s an interesting set of words, a mix of old and new, and I’m never quite sure what will find a home (or when), or whether any given character will resonate. For anyone who’s read along, I’m grateful for your time! And should you like any of the above — awards are great, of course, but I’ll be happy enough if you cared enough to share.

Three stories (and four poems) are already lined up for 2023. Until then, stay safe, be well, and I’ll send more words when I can.