Quarantine Reading & Dealing

Sarah Smith, a fellow Boston Area writer in CSFW, started a series of weekday teatime readings over Zoom. She has taken some of the readings and put them up on her YouTube channel. Please check her channel for more readings!

I showed up there on Thursday and read two poems. The first is "Persephone Kidnaps Him," published in Liminality Magazine in 2017, and the second is "The Blue Fairy Wakes Her," which is unpublished.

In the coming weeks, I'm sure there will be more readings and projects over digital platforms. The precautions taken to slow the spread of the corona virus have proved both anxiety inducing and fascinating. I mourn the loss of seeing more people in person, but I'm in a time right now where I'm financially secure, can easily work from home, and can give a little extra to The Greater Boston Food Bank as well as The Greater Cleveland Food Bank (hometown, represent). I hope you'll consider giving to similar places.

I intend to keep my anxiety over the quarantine to a minimum.

I'm engaging in guided meditations, journaling, reading, jogging (almost) every day, and, being that I'm a white hipster lady from the U.S., of COURSE I'm doing Yoga with Adriene, the best cult ever.

Perhaps most helpful of all have been the friends I've been able to text, stream, and chat with over the past few days.

Also, the fact I have a lot of free time and accessories for dress-up certainly helps, too. Here, I dress for the job I want, which is being an eccentric recluse whose husband died under mysterious circumstances.

In all seriousness, keeping physical interaction to a minimum and not going out in public sick is absolutely necessary. I hope, wherever you are, you're able to do similarly.

Take care of yourselves and stay safe, all.

Boskone 57!

What are you doing during Boskone 2020? Hopefully coming by to say hello!

FEBRUARY 14-16, 2020

GUEST OF HONOR: Kim Stanley Robinson
YOUNG ADULT FICTION GUEST: Holly Black
OFFICIAL ARTIST: Eric Wilkerson
MUSICAL GUEST: Cheshire Moon
HAL CLEMENT SCIENCE SPEAKER: Jon Singer
NESFA PRESS GUEST: Jim Burns
(I'm not hyperventilating over the guest list, what are you talking about, don't make accusations at me.)

Here's my schedule for the convention! Any and all changes will be made here.

From Anime to Live Action
Marina 4, Friday, Feb 14 04:00 PM to 04:50 PM (50 minutes)

There's a long history of anime titles being reimagined as live-action films. With the increased availability of CGI technology, this trend has recently picked up considerably. How well do the remakes of iconic anime features such as Attack on Titan, Battle Angel Alita, Dragonball, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, etc., represent their originals? Do they work as stand-alones? Where do they fail to meet expectations, or surpass the original? How well can live actors dramatize anime toons — especially the nonhuman characters?


Living With Disability in a Speculative World
Marina 2, Friday Feb 14 07:00 PM to 07:50 PM (50 minutes)

Navigating the real world, even with all our modern amenities, is still no easy thing. But imagine yourself trying to escape a djinn in the desert, pickaxing rocks in an alien mining colony, or slaving at the hearth in an elven lord's kitchen — all while disabled. The body is as frail as it is strong, and disabilities change the way a person is seen by and interacts with others in their environment. Our panelists talk candidly about disabilities (seen and unseen) and their effect physically, socially, and psychologically within various speculative story worlds.


Great LGBTQ+ Characters in Speculative Fiction
Marina 3, Sunday, Feb 16 11:00 AM to 11:50 AM (50 minutes)

Let’s consider some vivid examples — from Le Guin’s Estraven and Kushner’s Richard St Vier to TV’s Captain Jack, Carey’s Phedra, and Muir’s Gideon. Looking at these and other portraits: Who feels the most real? Who are our favorites? Is progress measured by how much their sexuality/gender is a character detail, not a big deal? What are we (still) waiting for?


Audiobooks for Kids and Teens
Griffin, Sunday, Feb 16 02:00 PM to 02:50 PM (50 minutes)

Audiobooks are a great way to experience fiction. Let’s talk about how they change the dynamic between younger readers and books. How can they be used to inspire reluctant readers? Are there any downsides? What are some “must-hear” audiobooks for kids and teens? And which narrators are especially good at creating engaging narrative voices and compelling atmospheres beyond the page?

Arisia 2020 Schedule!

Later this month, January 17-20th, it's Arisia 2020! Once again, they have been kind (or foolhardy) enough to put me on panels!


Whips, chains, & capes: Superheroes & Kink (Otis) (Comics) Panel Fri 11:30 PM
Everyone knows that superheroes routinely save the world while dressed in skin tight clothes that leave nothing to the imagination. They pummel the bad guys and posture for each other in ways that suggest there’s more to what they do than serving justice.
 
How to Be A Good Fan of Problematic Things (Marina 3) (Fan Interest) Panel Sat 10:00 AM
From NFL football to Kevin Spacey movies to Heinlein novels, our fandoms are rife with things that can be validly critiqued. How can we continue to like things, even passionately, while acknowledging flaws? How do we respond to valid critiques versus outright attacks on the fandom? How are these issues different when a problematic creator is no longer alive? Does the taint stay with a fandom forever?

Catalyze Short Play Readings (Grand Ballroom CD) (Theater Performance) Sat 2:00 PM
A selection of short science fiction plays from local playwriting collaborative Catalyze!

The Ethics of Writing Speculative Fiction (Douglas) (Writing) Panel Sun 10:00 AM
In an online article for Bustle, writer JR Thorpe describes speculative fiction as helping thinking people be more ethical. How can writers grapple with challenging dilemma and real-world problems through fiction? This panel will examine the use and misuse of speculative fiction to confront thorny ethical problems.

The Resurgence of Horror Fiction (Marina 1) (Literature) Panel Sun 4:00 PM
Horror has always been a somewhat disdained genre, even more so than SF. But in recent years it’s growing in popularity and sophistication, with publishers like Tom Doherty launching new horror imprints. But like other genres, horror is defined by specific conventions, themes and tropes. Is some horror fiction regressive (especially concerning women) or transgressive? Do horror tropes reinforce stereotypes or force us to face our fears and weaknesses?

Bringing Horror into Other Genres (Otis) (Writing) Panel Sun 7:00 PM
Increasingly, stories and writing borrow elements and tropes from different genres, including horror. What elements of horror can be brought into other genres? Other than simply ‘scaring the reader,’ what is the purpose of such cross-pollination? Can the tropes and devices of horror fiction be used for surprising effects?

Relativism and the Superhero (Otis) (Comics) Panel Mon 1:00 PM
The last three decades have seen heroes and villains become more complicated as the old stories of black and white morality turn to gray. The motivations behind the characters can make for interesting stories, but has the blurring of the moral lines gone too far? Join our panelists as they attempt to sort out the good, the bad and the morally ambiguous.