Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet Gets Away With This

 

In Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet No. 46, my short story, "You'll Never Get Away With This" is ready for your viewing pleasure!

I'm excited to place this particular story with them as it feels uniquely right for a publication  It's about a damsel-in-distress who isn't very distressed and a gentleman villain who starts feeling less than villainous. I hope you'll take some time to read it. 

Thank you, as always, to Gavin Grant and Kelly Link for all they do. 

Come Play a Game at Clearwater Lake

Woo! "A Game at Clearwater Lake" is available for your reading pleasure at The Dark Magazine!

We were in fifth grade the February we played hockey on the lake. It was Ryan, Becky, a few other girls in our class, and I. It was my idea. Recently, I had seen curling on TV for the Winter Olympics and thought we could figure out how to do it with real stones and evergreen branches as brooms, but Ryan wasn’t interested and Becky just nodded politely. It must have sounded to them like the time I got really into Swiss Family Robinson and wanted to build a fort in the woods with the kids I babysat. When I instead said “hockey,” though, Ryan and Becky lit up. The rink in town was being used by the boys in our class that day and the snow had melted enough that we could ride our bikes to Clearwater Lake. 

 

When we looked down at it from the top of the hill, he stood on the ice. He was a black pupil in the center of a white eye.

Read the rest here! 

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

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.

Shout Out from Best Horror of the Year Vol. 13!

In Ellen Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year Volume 13, my short story, “Her Eyes Like Silver Dollars,” got a shout out in the Honorable Mentions! Special thanks to the editors of Wicked Women: An Anthology of New England Horror Writers, Trisha J. Woolridge and Scott Goudsward. And thank you to my fellow anthology wicked women and notables, Jennifer Williams and the irreplaceable Jane Yolen.

Also, my gratitude to new Patreon supporter, Abner Hall! Thanks, friend!

Come to the Infernal Salon Sunday, 10/24/21!

On Sunday, October 24 at 7:30-9:30pm EST, I’ll be taking part in the live literary event! Talented writers C. S. E. Cooney and Carlos Hernandez will be hosting an Infernal Salon on Arvan Eleron's Twitch channel to support Strange Horizons in the final days of its annual Kickstarter!

Our hosts will be giving every writer (like myself) a prompt of one or more cards from the very spooky deck they and artist Rebecca Huston concocted for their TTRPG "Negocios Infernales." Once every writer has their prompt, we'll set a timer for 30 minutes while they interview Strange Horizons affiliates.

At the end of it all, the writers will share their infernally-inspired works with the stream.

You can register here or learn more about the authors on the Facebook event here. See you then!

Here is the Mirror Dance Girl Ghost

So, because I am a walnut sometimes, I completely forgot to promote this flash piece that was published in Mirror
Dance for the Spring 2021 issue. It's called, "Here is the Girl Ghost." Editor Megan Arkenberg kindly gave it a home.

It took me a long time to place this story and it's a piece close to my heart. I don't pull straight from my own life a lot, but the memories attached to France are real. If the ghost is real, too, I haven't spoken to her, as far as I can remember.

It's a Beautiful Nightmare

IT'S HAPPENING.

Not only is it spooky season, but my short story, "Frost Bloom," is in this month's issue of Nightmare Magazine along with an Author Spotlight. You should absolutely buy an issue and support editor Wendy Wagner and my fellow authors, Orrin Grey, Franklin Ard, and Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas. 

But, if you don't want to, that's fine, because it's free today!

Enjoy some queer horror, friends!

Cowboys and Cannibal Brides!

I'm completely bowled over. In early July, I quickly wrote and sent a submission to Flame Tree Fiction's newsletter flash fiction challenge, Hungry Cannibals. Thursday, I got an acceptance for the story.

Today? My horror flash fiction piece, “A Bride from the Hill Folk,” went out in the newsletter! It has cowboys, a post-apocalyptic landscape,  and, yes, cannibals. All in 1000 words!

I'm shocked and pleased by the quick turnaround time. The story will appear on the website in a month. I'm also very proud of it and think it's one of the creepiest things I've managed to publish. I can't wait to share the perma-link with everybody.

Wolf House and A Fine Time for Romance (Fiction)

My new short story, House of Wolves, is up in the new issue of Kaleidotrope! Please enjoy it, the other stories of the Summer 2021 edition, and this devastating art by Cindy Fan.

In other news, I spoke with book critic Peter Berard at Melendy Avenue Review about a passion of mine that woke up a couple years ago: reading romance fiction. The discussion includes a brief overview of pioneering force in historical romance Georgette Heyer, romance fans as early adapters of ereader technology, the importance of escapism, and, of course, the difference between "closed door" and "open door" romance! (Hint: it's sex.)

It was fun to do. Getting to talk to people about my specific interests is always a delight. Because I largely move in the sci-fi/fantasy/horror genre circles, this was a really unique opportunity. Thanks to Peter for asking thoughtful questions and his willingness to engage over different literature!

Reading Today!

I'll be reading with Strong Women-Strange Worlds today, June 17th at 5pm. Not only will I be reading a slice of horror, you can also hear some great stuff from Elaine Isaak, C.S.E. Cooney, Ingrid Kallick, Elle Ire, and MB Austin. The emcee will be Sarah Smith. If you haven't already, please register for the event (which, yes, is free) here!

Also, the 43rd issue of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet is now available for purchase. The last story, "King Moon’s Tithe to Hell," is mine. If you get your paws on it, please enjoy!

LCRW #43 Rides to Hell and Back

I have a story in the upcoming 43rd issue of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, "King Moon’s Tithe to Hell"! I'm so excited (and nervous) to share it with you all. It's a story about fairyland, love, and hell. 

You can order your very own copy here. Take a gander at the super stars in the table of contents. This includes the very talented and cool Leah Bobet, for whom I read slush many moons ago when she was editor and publisher of Ideomancer Speculative Fiction. 

I'm vaccinated and healthy and fizzy and funny and fine. In New England, 70% of adults have received their first shot, the weather is sunny without being too hot, and it's my birthday month. Everything feels new and blooming.

Requiem for Spooky Season: A Mega Round-Up of Fiction, Theater, YouTube, Game Writing, and Things I've Been Doing

October is in the rearview mirror, now, but for me, spooky season is forever.

On November 24th, Wicked Women: An Anthology of New England Horror Writers dropped. It was edited by Trisha J. Wooldridge and Scott T. Goudsward with a cover by Lynne Hansen. The writers in it, among many, include Jane Yolen, Hillary Monahan, and myself. I'm ecstatic to be in such company.

I wrote the short story that was accepted to the collection, "Eyes Like Silver Dollars," some years ago. It was wonderful to edit it under the guidance of Trisha Wooldridge. I spoke about it at length with her as well as fellow writers Lola J. Clemente and Christine Lajewski, and the cover artist, Lynne Hansen, for the Wicked Women panel we recorded for Salem Horror Fest 2020.

You can find the specific "Wicked Women" panel here and other programming here! 

Please take a look. It was an absolute pleasure to be a part of this online convention, especially during the isolation of the pandemic.

If that's not enough for you, I did a reading for the fest, as well! 

It's actually from the beginning of "Bobbie and Her Father," my other short story published this year.

This story has garnered some delightful praise, which you bet I'm linking here for my own edification:

The father in the thought-provoking “Bobbie and Her Father” by Gillian Daniels is a modern Victor Frankenstein, and Bobbie is his creation. [...] [O]ne is left pondering many of the themes of Mary Wollstonecraft’s original: the consequences of one’s actions, the ramifications of playing god and/or trying to conquer mortality, and the fact that monsters are not born monsters.

- Paula Guran, Locus Magazine

The story is by turns heartbreaking and frightening, and while it is not without its death and gore, at its heart, it is a story of monstrous loneliness rather than monstrous rage.

- A.C. Wise, Shiny Shorts: Monster Summer 

The horror here builds nicely.

- Sam Tomaino, SFRevu

Oh my gosh. THIS STORY. It is a wrenching, horror-ifically funny, and devastating take on Frankenstein, all set in modern-day suburbia, and featuring the regular kinds of people that probably maybe live on any given street. Daniels's story twists and turns through unsettling scifi, to horror and dark comedy, into something that is almost (but only almost) heartwarming.

- Maria Haskins, My Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Short Fiction Roundup - August 2020 

 

Thank you. I'm so moved. I was so nervous when The Dark Magazine agreed to publish this story, but I should have realized the audience for it was there and waiting.

Speaking of readings, the YouTube channel TheDevilsInterval did a reading of my short story, "Older Sister." It was originally published in The Dawnline RPG with Voidspiral Entertainment in 2018. 

The narration is amazing. You should totally check out his channel and the other stories he's read and produced.

Last but far from least, I wrote a piece of theater/teleplay which premiered in October. It's called, "Let Slip the Dogs of RAWR XD" for our Catalyze Open House. It was a crash course in learning how to edit video, too, which was enormous fun.

Sienna is Kitty Drexel, an actress and my editor over at The New England Theatre Geek. Shawn is played by the excellent Joshua Berkowitz-Geller and Baby, the dog, is the esteemed Jenny Gutbezahl.

I wrote this with Catalyze Playwriting Group, which we premiered in the Catalyze Open House which I helped design, another learning experience that was fascinating and rewarding. 

I absolutely recommend clicking through to find the many Easter eggs my fellow playwrights and I hid throughout. One is a Twine game I made in the basement!

This is all to say, I've been busy and doing my best to take care. 

I hope you're taking care, too.

Wicked Women, Bobbie, and Her Father

I'm so, so happy The Dark Magazine has published another of my short stories for publication, Bobbie and Her Father! This one means a lot to me. It's about family, growing up with a difficult body, and trying to be the best person you can when there are holes in your knowledge of what "good" looks like. Charles Payseur writes in his lovely review, "The result is visceral, an exploration of how these acts, these violences [...] come in cycles."

I'm very proud of it.

Because I guess I'm a horror writer now, I have another story coming out later this year in an anthology of female horror writers, Wicked Women! The table of contents is available here and includes special guests Jane Yolen and Hillary Monahan. I'm grateful to Scott T. Goudward and Trisha J. Wooldridge at New England Horror Writers Press for their hard work in curating and editing the collection.  

I'll, of course, be linking the hell out of it when it's available.

***

Lock down continues. I live in Massachusetts where the virus isn't as bad as many parts of the U.S., but I don't expect to return to the office or to eat in restaurants again until some time after the vaccine is available. The federal government, by the way, is just awful.

As I wrote in March, I'm journaling, reading, and jogging. The last I'm doing about five times a week for a minimum of three miles each time I'm out. I've added some weight training, too, though this is essentially cardio again. I've fallen off of yoga and meditation for the last few weeks and wonder if I should start again.

I really value the time I've spent with my roommates as well as the outings we've done and the movies we've watched together. 

Over on Twitter, I've spent a lot of time writing about the books and movies (lots of horror) I've been consuming. 

Down at my Patreon, I've been posting excerpts from the new novel I've been working on as well as some art. Shout out to Saint Gibson at Holy Roots Tarot for being a new backer! After a few days, many of my posts become public, so I recommend checking it out even if you don't want to send me dollars and cents. 

As a last thank you, I want to send a shout out to Judith Huang for performing her Ballad of Bloody Brigid at CoNZealand!

Times Being What They Are

In early May, my great uncle, Jay Sherman Daniels, passed from COVID-19 after a quick, terrible illness. I continue to be shocked that the pandemic has touched my family.

My uncle was a kind, sociable mensch. He was in his nineties and living in an assisted living situation when he contracted the virus. It's heartbreaking that, due to the nature of the coronavirus, my cousins, his children, couldn't be there with him when he passed. My gratitude to the nurses who were there.

Please keep each other safe. If you need to go out, please do, but take precautions to protect the people you know (and the people they know). We're in for a strange year and the shadow of this pandemic may loom large after that.

***

My 32nd birthday was also this month. After throwing parties in my house for my 30th and 31st birthdays, at the beginning of the year, I was ready for a quieter birthday. I didn't realize it would be this quiet. I appreciated being able to take a day off of work (from home) and to chat with friends over Jackbox and family over various chat apps. It felt almost normal.

I sold a couple stories this month, as well, as if this weren't enough of a strange year! I'm excited about that. Details for those will be forthcoming.

2019 Writing Recap

StraAinsel
A short story in The Dawnline: Feral States, additional material for the post-apocalyptic vampire nomad game that was fully fully funded through Kickstarter in October 2018 with Voidspiral Entertainment! After I sold my short story, Older Sister, to them as bonus content for their succesful campaign, I sent in a follow-up that appeared this year in Feral States.
Brigid Was Hung By Her Hair from the Second Story Window
A short story about immigration, goddesses, and songs published in The Dark Magazine, September 2019. It earned me some kind reviews!

Eat the Children and Other Poems of Monsters
An illustrated collection of my previously published fantasy and horror poetry!
How to Repair Creation: Despair and Activism
Diary comics around the idea of performing "tikkun olam," acts that better or repair the world.

Undertow: Grief for a Changing World
Diary comics about anxiety and climate change.

Enjoy, y'all!

Buhler Fritz Zuber "Distant Thoughts"

Straight from my Patreon, here's a list of what I've published this year that is available for your consumption:

"Ainsel" - A short story in The Dawnline: Feral States, additional material for the post-apocalyptic vampire nomad game that was fully fully funded through Kickstarter in October 2018 with Voidspiral Entertainment! After I sold my short story, Older Sister, to them as bonus content for their succesful campaign, I sent in a follow-up that appeared this year in Feral States.

"Brigid Was Hung By Her Hair from the Second Story Window" - A short story about immigration, goddesses, and songs published in The Dark Magazine, September 2019. It earned me some very kind reviews!

Eat the Children and Other Poems of Monsters - An illustrated collection of my previously published fantasy and horror poetry!

How to Repair Creation: Despair and Activism - Diary comics around the idea of performing "tikkun olam," acts that better or repair the world.

Undertow: Grief for a Changing World - Diary comics about anxiety and climate change.

Outside of publications, I've been doing a good chunk of writing. I did some daily writing challenges for Lent, Camp NaNoWriMo, and regular NaNoWriMo with mixed success, but words did, indeed, happen.

I did two revisions of my decopunk robot thriller novel, A Girl Named Doe, and am currently working on the third revision (draft 4). It's at about 82K at the moment!

You can also see the short plays I wrote with the Catalyze Playwrighting Group this year, The Widows Parkman and Webster and Real-Ass Space Explorers.

Overall, I sent out 45 poetry, short story, and novel query submissions, which translated to 34 rejections, 2 acceptances, and 9 pending responses! For contrast, I sent out 73 submissions in 2018 and got 1 acceptance. So...improvement! Hurray!

HAUNTED by a Busy October!

You know how, in August and September, you (okay, I) say things like, "Oh, I'll do this in October! It's such a far away month, October."

Imagine my surprise that October has turned out to be a busy month! Who could have foreseen this happenstance?

This Sunday, October 13th, 12-6pm, I'll be at the Black Market Flea in the Cambridge Community Center! I'll be selling my comics, poems, an RPG to which I've contributed, and fiction!

I'll have a lot of the material I had at LadiesCon last month there with me, but I'm hoping to have a new zine to share, as well.

If you don't come to gaze upon my wares, may I suggest gazing on the gorgeous art, books, posters, prints, and jewelry other vendors will be selling?

Later still this month, I'll be hosting another Speculative Boston Reading on Thursday, October 24th 7-9pm at Trident Booksellers & Cafe!

I'll be asking questions and presenting readings with authors Errick Nunnally, Bracken Macleod, and Isabel Yap, all of whom have dabbled in fiction with horrifying elements and all of whom, to my knowledge, are enormously warm and kind.

Many thanks to Andrea Corbin for her continued work running Speculative Boston and making a space for genre writers to share their work and talk about their experiences. You should help spread the word around the Boston area!

Now, less of an event and more of a hurray, Tor.com recommend my most recently published short story, "Brigid Was Hung By Her Hair from the Second Story Window" (The Dark Magazine) in its Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction for September 2019! They call it "haunting," which is endlessly pleasing to me. I'm in good company, too, as the list also includes a short story from a fellow Clarion 2011 classmate I deeply admire, the sweet, aching “A Bird, a Song, a Revolution” by Brooke Bolander.

If I'm keeping good company in life and online, I must be doing something right.