Story Sale: The Dark!

I just sold a short story to the horror and dark fantasy magazine, The Dark Magazine! I'm very excited about this one. It's called, "A Game at Clearwater Lake," and it involves a possible ghost and a hockey mask. (Is announcing this on June 13th a coincidence? PERHAPS. OR PERHAPS NOT.) My thanks to editor Sean Wallace!

When it publishes, you know I'll be posting about it here.

The One Girl

As a fan of genre/pulp films, I love them but they don’t always love me back. It’s genuinely frustrating to see flat characterizations of women in ensemble action films, especially when they're overly idealized and apparently free of anything resembling human flaws.

Anyway, my rant-turned-flash-fiction published with Electric Spec, “The One Girl,” is out today! Thank you to the editors for working with me on this one, particularly Lesley L. Smith and Grayson Towler!

Painting: Allen Anderson, "Sargasso of Lost Starships," Planet Stories, January 1952

Electric Spec Story Sale!

Boskone was extraordinary. How lovely to be back in person again!

In the mean time, I have a short story announcement.

According to my files, I've been sending submissions on and off to the online magazine, Electric Spec, since 2010. Now, after twelve years, I finally have a short story that will be published by them.

"One Girl" is a short story that I wrote in a fit of anger at the superhero genre and one that, I think, transmutes my feeling then into something far more potent. I look forward to sharing it with you. Many thanks to editor Grayson Towler for giving this one a shot

Boskone 2022

With Boskone's COVID policy in place and numbers of cases in Massachusetts sharply dropping across the board, I'm pleased to say I'll be a panelist at Boskone this year!

If you're masked, vaxxed, and ready to party, I hope to see you either in-person or virtually!

What Is Horror? Format: Panel

18 Feb 2022, Friday 18:00 - 18:50, Marina II (Westin)

Horror is a feeling. Or maybe it's a body count. For some people, it's just a four-letter word. From body horror to folk horror to slasher, we'll discuss the differences and similarities in these subgenres — and see if we can find common ground.

Jennifer Williams, Paul Tremblay, Gillian Daniels (M)

The Queer Future Format: Panel

19 Feb 2022, Saturday 13:00 - 13:50, Marina I (Westin)

With a much-needed surge of people openly embracing diverse genders and sexual identities, how is speculative fiction doing in representing the breadth of identities in stories set in SF/F/H? Is there still a disparity? How can SF writers/creators best write the "other" if it's outside their own lived experience? And what more do we want to see in an engaging queer future within speculative fiction?

Julian K. Jarboe, Andrea Hairston (Smith College), Gillian Daniels, Vince Docherty (M)

Scary Fairies Format: Panel

19 Feb 2022, Saturday 16:00 - 16:50, Harbor II (Westin)

Should you find yourself in Fairyland: eat not, drink not, and think not the folk there are of any trifling pixie kind. Tales of old warn the Fae are clever sly creatures of a most uncertain temper. Listen to our seasoned Fairyland farers, know well that certain other Rules there be … and pray their tips and tricks may shield your stay in the Seelie Court.

Gillian Daniels (M), Sarah Jean Horwitz, Anne Nydam, Esther Friesner

I Love Loki Format: Panel

19 Feb 2022, Saturday 17:00 - 17:50, Harbor I (Westin)

Loki: the Marvel trickster we all adore to abhor. Is it the charming actor, Tom Hiddleston? The fun of seeing his pride persistently punctured? The appeal of his battling brother act with poor Thor? Let’s talk about the God of Mischief we know from the comics, the movies, the TV screen — and the even weirder Norse legends.

Jennifer Williams, Gillian Daniels (M), Kenneth Schneyer (Johnson & Wales University), Mike Squatrito (Association of Rhode Island Authors), Jennifer Pelland

Hope in Horror? Format: Panel

20 Feb 2022, Sunday 11:00 - 11:50, Burroughs (Westin)

When it comes to horror fiction, is hope just a four-letter word? Can a successful horror story have a happy ending? Can it afford to teach us anything positive about the human condition? Or is it by definition doomed to hopelessness and nihilism?

Paul Tremblay, Gillian Daniels, Errick Nunnally (Journey Planet Fanzine)

2021 Publications: A Year in Review

It's been a busy year. I'm really proud of the stories I've published. They're now eligible for 2022 awards.

"King Moon's Tithe to Hell" is about a woman, another woman, the land of Faerie, and a journey to Hell. Also, far more terrifying, commitment. It's my first work of prose accepted by Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet and is in their June 2021 issue.

"House of Wolves" is about the "found family" trope but also I wanted to explore its potential toxicity. I'm so pleased Kaleidotrope put it in their Summer 2021 issue and grateful that it was accompanied by some lovely art (right) by Cindy Fan, "Tea Time."

"Here is the Girl Ghost" is a ghost story set in a house that's a lot like the one I live in now. (Okay, I live in an apartment in said house, but still.) It features memories I have of visiting France. I'm happy it has a home in Mirror Dance, July 2021.

What a pleasure to have my queer, dysfunctional vampire romance, "Frost Bloom" in Nightmare Magazine, September 2021. It's my first short story in Nightmare and my first in a John Joseph Adams publication. What a thrill!

Arisia 2022: CANCELLED!

UPDATE: Due to high COVID numbers, Arisia 2022 has officially been cancelled. I'm sad but, well, yeah. It's likely for the best.

Until we meet again, friends, stay healthy and safe!

Until further notice, Arisia 2022 is happening in person. Per their COVID statement, this may change. My current plan is to be there, vaxxed, masked, and ready to con.

Here's my schedule as it stands right now:

Superman and Religion
Friday, January 14
8:30pm

Marina 4
Michael A. Burstein (moderator), Pablo Vazquez, William H. Foster III, Alex Jarvis, Gillian Daniels

Superman remains an enigmatic figure in American mythology. As an often Christlike figure (who worships a Kryptonian sun deity), created by two Jewish sons of immigrants, the Man of Steel also includes elements from the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh. Does the wide cast of Superman’s religious influences render him a defender-of-all-faiths? Can any religion claim him as one of their own? Arisia last explored this question seven years ago; have more recent stories complicated any of these questions?

Overt or Covert Antagonists: Who's "More Evil"?
Saturday, January 15
2:30pm
Alcott
Gillian Daniels (moderator), Athena Andreadis PhD, Allison Neff, Gordon Linzner, Sonya Taaffe

Some antagonists shout "villain!" as soon as they appear on the page or screen: hissing, winking their glowing red eyes, and cheerfully skewering villagers. Others--and these can be both more realistic and more chilling--are more circumspect in their wickedness. What makes the stealth antagonist so frightening? Bring your favorite wolf in sheep's clothing (my apologies to wolves) to our discussion.

Identifying Markets For Your Work

Saturday, January 15
8:30pm
Marina 3
Ken Schneyer (moderator), M. Dalto, Rachel A. Brune, Gillian Daniels, Rachel Kenley

This workshop invites writers to bring their ideas, and we will explore how they might do some preliminary research to understand the state of publishing for that genre, and find a fit for their work-in-progress in the wild, wild world that publishing (both indie and traditional) has become. Attendance to this workshop will be capped at 15 participants.

Creeping Sense of Doom
Monday, January 17
11:30am
Faneuil
Gillian Daniels (moderator), Liz Salazar, Sonya Taaffe, Rachel A. Brune

Long before the monster strikes and the evil lurches into view, some authors excel at creating dread. How do you hint at the terror lurking just around the corner without spoiling the rest of the story? Panelists will explore the question of creating apprehension and foreboding in works of horror and other genres.