Category: Implanted

New Story Alert: Android Press’s Cyberpunk Solarpunk Anthology

I am so pleased to announce I’ll have a story in the forthcoming anthology Fighting for the Future: Cyberpunk and Solarpunk Tales, which is edited by Phoebe Wagner and published by Android Press.

When I first saw the call for the anthology, I knew I needed to submit a story since they were specifically looking for stories at the intersection of Cyberpunk and Solarpunk, and of course, that is exactly the same energy I brought to my debut novel Implanted.

How it started:

How it’s going:

“Root Cause,” my story for the anthology, is set in the very same world of Implanted: that of a high-tech society rewilidng the land outside a domed city, their refuge from the changes wrought by climate change. While it introduces new characters, the story’s blend of hyperconnectivity, environmentalism, and rebellion will be familiar to readers of the book and hopefully entice new readers to check it out as well.

I am very grateful to the people in my writing group (you know who you are!) who helped me get this story ready for submission. I am also glad to be working with the people at Android Press, given their mission to showcase environmentally-focused speculative fiction.

The full table of contents is a banger, and I’m thrilled to have my work alongside everyone:

Introduction by Andrew Sage

“Nano-Vibration” by Brent Lambert

“Property of PAUSE Ltd.” by Ai Jiang

“The Galaxy’s Cube” by Jeremy Szal

“Do Anarchists Dream of Collective Sheep?” by Izzy Wasserstein

“Tomorrow Is Another Day” by Louis Evans

“The Promise” by Rona Fernandez

“Root Cause” by Lauren C. Teffeau

“Broken Threads” by Kevin Wabaunsee

“The Robot Whisperer” by Holly Schofield

“The Strength of the Willow” by Commando Jugendstil and Tales from the EV Studio

“Solarpunks” by J. D. Harlock

“Materiality” by Cory Doctorow

“The Scent of Green” by Ana Sun

“Cloud 9” by Christopher R. Muscato

“The Holiness of Light” by Cynthia Zhang 

There will be a cover reveal in the weeks to come, along with a pre-order campaign, so stay tuned for more about this project!

Release Day for After the Gold Rush!

It’s release day for After the Gold Rush, the latest installment in Third Flatiron‘s anthology series, and it features my short story “The Front of the Pack.”

From the back jacket copy:

Twenty-two authors explore themes related to complications of booms and bubbles, including effects of accelerated culture; ecological consequences caused by human over-expansion, such as climate disasters; and economics (for example, monopolies on resources and commodities). 

Table of Contents:

  • Past the Projections by James Tager
  • Down on the Klondike by David Cleden
  • Sunrunner by Robert Bagnall
  • Moving On by Andrew Wright
  • To Vanquish Other Blooms by Tim Borella
  • Showdown at Sueño Hueco by Wulf Moon
  • Reassessed Value by David Hankins
  • Amphibios by Julie Biegner
  • Earth’s Last Immortals by Erin Cullen
  • Last Light in the Dark by Shannon Fox
  • Live from the Troll Factory by Edward Barnfield
  • The Front of the Pack by Lauren C. Teffeau
  • Last Bite at the Klondike by Liam Hogan
  • All Our Signs Align by Eve Morton
  • Facing Reality by Yelena Crane
  • Unwinding the Clock by Brandon Case
  • The Last of the Gen Xers by Angelique Fawns
  • Currency Change Announcement by Elizabeth Davis
  • Amore for Life by Cray Dimensional
  • Genie in a PET Bottle by Daniel M. Cojocaru
  • Goldberry by Tom Easton and Jeff Hecht

I wrote “The Front of the Pack” for a flash challenge a couple years back and could never quite figure out what to do with a story depicting a tense exchange between a government agent and a man running a clearinghouse for illegal research that the political climate has all but condemned, to society’s detriment. This was around the same time I was writing Implanted, so the story is flavored with espionage tropes as well as some of my hang-ups from working as an academic researcher for a number of years. Let’s just say it’s a story that could only be at home in this collection, and I’m so glad that editor Juliana Rew and the rest of the team at Third Flatiron agreed as well!

Be sure to check out my Pinterest board for more of my story inspiration.

You can purchase the whole anthology from Amazon.

https://pin.it/2KbPCKH

Long Time, No Write

On the blog, that is.

I realized I hadn’t updated this thing in months, which was a strange feeling on top of many others that have been rampant these pandemic years. I’ve been posting here (or on the blogspot that preceded it) since 2010 (!), and I don’t think I’ve taken a break this long ever before.

Strange times, indeed.

In my last post Reprint-palooza, I shared the news that a number of stories were being reprinted, breathing new life into old words. I can’t tell you how gratifying that feels, to know your stories have value even after the newness has faded.

On top of that, Implanted, my cyberpunk meets solarpunk / spy-fi meets cli-fi novel was named a definitive work of climate fiction by Grist.org, which was also a great feeling. Be sure to check out the full list and perhaps find a new read to get inspired to face our collective future.

Finally, I’m thrilled to announce my short story “Gray Rock Method” will appear in Chromophobia: A Strangehouse Anthology by Women in Horror from Rooster Republic Press and edited by powerhouse Sara Tantlinger. I got my acceptance just before the holidays and it was a much-needed boon to close out the year. The story is also my first foray into horror and was a lot of fun to write. The anthology comes out later this year and is already garnering a bit of buzz in horror circles. You can check out the contributors and learn how to preorder the collection here. And of course I’ll be posting more information as we get closer to the release date.

That’s it for now. I hope the New Year is off to a better start for you than it has been for me!

My Virtual August

I decided to say no to all in-person conventions this year to keep our household risk as low as possible (which I’m feeling even better about now because of the Delta variant—good job, past me!), but that doesn’t mean you can’t see me this convention season!

First up, you can hear me read at the Strong Women, Strange Worlds panel on August 19th! This is a series celebrating the work of women and other authors with underrepresented gender identities.

http://nydamprints.com/StrongWomenStrangeWorlds.html

I’ll be reading an excerpt from my award-nominated debut novel Implanted and be giving away a copy to one lucky participant. You can pre-register at EventBrite, and in the meantime, you can take a look at the previous readings in this series. Hopefully you’ll find a new favorite author!

Then, I’ll be participating in my local convention, Bubonicon, and their virtual programming for 2021, on Friday, August 20th.

Now Virtual!

I’ll be moderating the panel “Mash-ups: the How and Why of Genre Blending” which will be airing live at 8pm mountain time on the Bubonicon Facebook page (it will also be posted to their YouTube page as well). I’ll be joined by Melinda Snodgrass, Carrie Vaughn, Reese Hogan, and Marguerite Reed. It should be a fantastic conversation!

“MASH-UPS: THE HOW & WHY OF GENRE BLENDING —  Readers, authors and curators sometimes struggle to classify a work. Is it fantasy? Science fiction? Paranormal? Maybe all of the above? Panelists discuss the benefits and tricks of genre blending.

I’ll also be recording a excerpt from John Lymington’s Froomb! along with a number of other Bubonicon guests. It should be a blast (and a blast from the 1965 past)!

Vintage copy of Froomb!

So keep your eyes peeled on the Bubonicon website for that and other events that weekend!

2019 Year In Review

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This year. Wow. I am not sorry to see 2019 go. It’s been a quiet year overall for me, in part because of an unexpected death in the family. Additionally, I had my very first run-in with pneumonia, and it packed a punch. I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t affected by the tenor of politics, the lies that go unchallenged every day, the brink it feels we’re perched on and have been for awhile now. My brain can be a noisy place, and this year it was too often deafening.

But it wasn’t all bad—not by a long shot. My book baby Implanted got some award recognition which was so gratifying see now that its one-year anniversary has come and gone. I finished another novel project I’m excited about that I’ve been chipping away at for the last two years, and I’m plugging away on a new one that I not only love but love the challenge of writing it as well. There are also other ideas (of course!) percolating in my hind brain that I can’t wait to get to too. You can’t have the highs without the lows, and while this feels a little bit like a trough for me at the moment, I’m really looking forward to next year and what it might bring.

So, without further ado, the year’s highlights:

Award love for Implanted:

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New Short Story:

“Sing! And Remember” was published in the inaugural “Founders Issue” of DreamForge Magazine and illustrated by the Hugo-award winning illustrator Elizabeth Leggett.

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I talked about the story here and here on the blog, but it is a story that means a lot to me, and I’m so grateful it’s out in the world thanks to the passionate team behind DreamForge magazine.

#Authorlife Appearances:

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  • I attended the Nebulas, Armadillocon, Bubonicon, and MileHighCon and got to see old friends and new as well as participate on my share of panels.
  • I also participated the Williamson Lectureship, held each year in Portales, NM, on Eastern New Mexico University’s campus, and it was great to see my book in the library there!

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Wishing everyone a fitting end to 2019. Onward to 2020!