I’ve just found out that Ellen Datlow will be taking my story, “The Bricks of Gelecek,” for her urban fantasy anthology, Naked City: New Tales of Urban Fantasy.

I am very happy and excited to be part of this anthology.

Not one, not two, but three sales today from Altered Fluid members. K. Tempest Bradford sells her “Until Forgiveness Comes” to Strange Horizons, Mercurio D. Rivera sells his “The Fifth Zhi” to Interzone, and Kris Dikeman sells her “Nine Sundays in a Row” to Strange Horizons as well.

[applause]

We are very pleased for them.

I’ll be on at least two panels at ReaderCon this year. They are:

I’ve Seen Things You People Wouldn’t Believe: The Influence of Blade Runner (Matthew Kressel)
This year saw the twenty-fifth anniversary release of the definitive version of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, a film universally recognized as one of the two or three greatest achievements of sf cinema. The film’s groundbreaking (and insanely detailed) visual design has influenced everything from runway fashions to building architecture, and some would argue that the current “default” dystopian science fiction vision comes right out of the film’s dark LA streets. How pervasive has Blade Runner’s influence been on sf (both written and cinematic)? Has the film altered the way we look at ourselves and our future? Is it possible that its dark landscapes have discouraged us from envisioning a better tomorrow?

I have been an obsessive fan of this film since I first saw it on HBO as a kid. Since then, I’ve probably seen it more than 100 times. Eugene Myers wanted me to point out how I missed writers group one night to see The Final Cut version in the theater, a version which I’d already seen just a few days before.  My reason?  When would I ever get to see it on the big screen again?  I’d like this panel to not be about the movie itself so much as how the movie has changed or affected our thoughts of the present and the future.

The other panel is:
Writers’ Groups and Writers: A Match Made in Heaven or Hell? (Matthew Kressel & Alaya Dawn Johnson)
Writers groups: some writers swear by them, others swear at them. Many writers consider critiques from their writers’ group an invaluable part of the submission process. Others believe that writers’ groups tend to dilute individual style, tending toward “groupthink.” Our panelists include members of Altered Fluid, a Manhattan-based writer’s group that has met regularly since 2001.

We are going to try and get someone on the panel who loathes writers groups to provide a contrasting argument.  Times for these panels have not been posted yet.

My friend and former Altered Fluid member, Lauren McLaughlin, shows of the cover of her forthcoming YA novel, CYCLER on her blog.  The story is about a girl who turns into a boy once per month when normally she would have her menstrual cycle (hence the title).  The book will be available in August.

See all photos from our radio morning here

You must have a solid ego to have your story critiqued live on the air. I don’t mean a large head or pompous self-importance (though I’ve been accused of both at times). What I mean is this: I read my story to an audience, according to Jim Freund, that could be anywhere from zero to a hundred thousand or so. Maybe more. Probably less. Then, my writers group took turns placing my story through the paper shredder. Okay, they liked a lot of it, but they found many places for improvement. It’s always a reality check to the ego when you are in love with a story and your writers group points out its flaws. It’s another thing to have this done live on 99.5 FM WBAI with thousands of listeners. I do think, however, that my self-esteem is sufficiently strong to survive the blow. I just wish we had more time to discuss their opinions, because after, outside in the hallway, I had a eureka moment and realized how I could fix and improve the story.

Anyway, for those interested, you can listen to the mp3 stream here. The show doesn’t really get going until about 35 minutes in as it was fundraising time for WBAI, and Jim had to devote a lot of his time to that.

Now, not only will I have my story ripped to shreds by my peers, but thousands of people could be listening. Scared? Me? No.

If you’re up early on Saturday morning (5am actually), won’t you please listen to my writers group Altered Fluid critique my story live on WBAI 99.5 FM radio for Jim Freund’s Hour of the Wolf. I’ll be reading it live first. An audio stream is available here, and you can go there after to hear a recording of the show for those of you who wake long after the rooster.

Today, Mercurio D. Rivera is coming over and we are going to record a podcast of his excellent story, “The Scent of Their Arrival,” for Interzone. I will be recording the voice of the distraught human. Shouldn’t be too hard to emulate. I’m excited about it. A weekend of reading. Fun!

On May 10th, for those of you up at the ungodly hour of 5am, I will have the pleasure of reading my new story, “The Laggards of Terra” on Jim Freund’s radio show, Hour of the Wolf.  After the reading, my writers group, Altered Fluid, will critique the story on-air.  I’m a little nervous.

For those of you not awake at that time, the show will be available as an mp3 stream later in the day.

Alaya Dawn Johnson writes to tell us that she’s sold her alternate universe/time-dilation story, “Down the Well,” to Strange Horizons.

Congratulations Alaya!

Yesterday morning started as beautifully as it ended. Playing hooky from work. I took the ferry across the Hudson River to the Jacob Javits Center for Comic Con 2008. The sun was rising, low and warm behind the Manhattan skyline, and the air was fresh and salty. I met up with Mercurio Rivera and we spent the day browsing the immense dealer room filled with colorful comic eye-candy. Mercurio remarked, “Isn’t it great being around all this creativity?” And it was.

I tried to contain my wallet but ended up splurging on t-shirts. I’m also headed home for Passover this weekend, so I bought my cousins and nieces and nephews things I thought they would like. Mercurio says to me, again with his keen perspicacity, “Those are really for you, aren’t they?” All I know is that if I were a kid, I’d be totally psyched to get a pack of Batman and Joker playing cards.

After purchasing my last gift, he asked to see what I bought. I pulled out a cute, fluffy, pink doll. He holds it up to me and says, “Um, it has claws.” And gosh, darn it, it did. Big white, sharpsters. Not really appropriate for a two year old. That’s the trend these days: cute, fluffy, plush…and evil.

Thankfully, the seller let me exchange it for a giant blue thing with swirly eyes, this one without sharp ends of any kind.

We saw many friendlies there: Alaya Dawn Johnson, Paul Berger, Kris Dikeman, Liz Gorinsky, and Carol Pinchefsky. We also saw a Weird Tales panel celebrating their 85th year and their influence on (some might say genesis of) fantasy, horror, and science fiction hosted by Stephen Segal. Later, Stephen and his crew joined us for dinner.

We raced back to the Con to catch the Battlestar Galactica screening, abandoning Alaya (she had left her jacket at the restaurant) so we could get good seats. When she looked at us and said, “No you don’t need to come with me,” and really meant “Well, it would be nice if one of you came with me,” we looked at her like she was crazy. “But…Battlestar!” Mercurio was a real mensch and walked with her back to the restaurant.

And, man, what an episode. I won’t spoil it, but what a trip.  Seeing Battlestar at the con on a big screen with surround sound was, as the Doctor might say, Brilliant! This year’s episode, like last year’s, kicked some fraking ass.

The night was capped (or, uncapped, I should say) with several bottles of soju in Korea Town. I took several Blade Runner-esque photos out the window. If I ever do film the sequel, Korea Town will be the place to do it. I’ll be posting these and other pictures I took soon, but for now, I hope you enjoy this photo Rajan Khanna snapped in Portland, OR of Paper Cities on the rack at Powell’s. It really made my morning.

Mercurio D. Rivera writes to tell us that editor Tyree Campbell has accepted his story “Doubled” for issue #29 of Aoife’s Kiss, scheduled for June 2009. The story is about an Orwellian futureworld of oppressed clones.

Congratulations Mercurio!