So this is a thing writers do, I hear: post a list of works eligible for the next round of science fiction and fantasy awards (Nebulas, Hugos, Locus Awards, the World Fantasy Awards, etc). Turns out, I wrote a few things this year that I'm particularly excited about. I love all of these stories for … Continue reading 2019 Award Eligibility
I left my phone on a shuttle bus in Denver, Colorado, after a conference, and I didn't get it back for a full week. I spent eight days without the constant reassurance of my phone, and it was— Let me cut in: this is not the essay you think it is. You're expecting an essay … Continue reading Disconnecting to reconnect
Somewhere amongst the detritus of my younger days—the moldering books, the broken music-box, the worn-out dancing shoes—is a letter that contains your signature and a broken promise. Our entire history could be read in its creases and ragged edges, if I cared to find it.
i. I see myself in the stumps and pits where trees used to grow in the absence of the white pine where I measured myself against the height of green branches that slowly overtook the front yard and cast shadows that frightened me as a girl I see myself in the cracks between the flagstones … Continue reading Elegy for a small town childhood
I discovered something today: endorphins. My kids and I started taking Taekwondo together, three times a week. It's hard, and I'm clumsy and slow and keep getting my low blocks and high blocks mixed up. Warm-ups consist of—among other things—twenty-five pushups (on our knuckles!) and between 75 and 125 crunches. Now you have to understand, … Continue reading Old dog, new tricks
