When you are afraid to jinx it, but for the first time in a long time, the writing is going really well.
For years, I’ve been struggling with brain fog, exhaustion, health challenges, and just being kind of burned out, honestly. I’d forgotten what it was like to...
Heads up about a very cool Ukrainian SFF Anthology!
“Embroidered Worlds presents a living snapshot of imaginative fiction in Ukrainian culture today, including stories that span and cross the speculative...
A poem for autumn
Grief Hard wings at the heart beat to beat to beat within: a buffet of feathers a buffet of flesh— the buffet of fire, of a rising wind. A cold wind redolent...
Happy cancerversary to me?
Hey, folks, So it’s two years ago today that I got my breast cancer diagnosis and began the scary and painful course of treatment that has, for now, left me...
On the edge of autumn
Greetings, fellow humans, I hope this missive finds you well and alive, or at least hanging in there. It’s the season of harvests, but I find myself in a bit...
Horror anthologies discounted deeply! One day only!
The fabulous Ellen Datlow-edited anthologies SUPERNATURAL NOIR and LOVECRAFT UNBOUND are on sale in ebook for a mere $1.99 each! Get them at the links above...
I'm off to Gencon next weekend. And an infinitely customizable cobbler recipe you can make with whatever fruit you have lying around.
does what it says on the tin
Art is scary and art is hard.
Hey, folks, I have been watching The Bear (no spoilers please, I'm about a third of the way through the second season and I'm not a binge watching type:...
You were meant to be here... from the beginning?
Hey, folks, My brain is still a little on the fritz from Readercon, which was great but also a lot for a pandemic-reinforced introvert such as myself....
Find me at Readercon!
Speculative Medicine: Thursday July 13 at 8 pm EDT in Salon B The Lure of the Heist: Friday July 14 at 7 pm EDT in Salon A Kaffeeklatsch: Saturday July 15 at...
Today was the kind of morning where you need coffee to make the coffee.
Good morning, folks, Wow, it’s been the kind of week that makes you wish you were in a position to put a frog in Mitch McConnell’s soup, hasn’t it? But at...
And though there's so much to do, there's only so many hours in the day, hey hey.
Hey, folks, Just a little check-in from the other side of 4th Street (survived! No covid reports!) to let you know that my next appearance will be at...
Invite your friends to read this somewhat random and usually good-natured newsletter
Thank you for reading Throwanotherbearinthecanoe — your support allows me to keep doing this work. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would be super helpful to...
The hungry sheep look up and are not fed.
Hey everybody, Greetings from the smoke-filled cozy apocalypse of the upper Midwest, where the sun rose orange and heavy this morning and Scott and I had an...
Another visit to cancerland, the world's worst vacation destination.
Hey, folks, Not going to bury the lede here, everything is big-picture fine and there’s no recurrence; don’t worry. I am however still having some post-...
We had some good machines, but they don't work no more.*
Lily-of-the-Valley was my grandmother’s favorite flower. When we moved into this house, I was thrilled to find a thriving plantation of it around the base of...
--30--
The Folded Sky draft is handed in. I’ve been working on this book for five year, with breaks to do other stuff along the way, and I am glad to have handed it...
If you can't achieve synthesis, how about an orgy of violence?
One of the most fascinating elements of modern speculative fiction, that descendant of scientifiction, of SFF, of sci-fi, of fantastical literature, of...
I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date--
oopsie
When you play more sports you're going to need more stadiums: the Rainbow Age of Speculative Fiction
Hey, folks, At worldcon, I was arguing (in the rhetorical barcon sense, not the having a fight sense) with a friend about the Rainbow Age of Science Fiction,...
To serve Mankind. I mean, to save $20.
I got my blood pressure taken by a marsh-wiggle last week. I went to see a podiatrist about my persistent recurring metatarsal pain, and discovered that his...
Spóla update
The trainer who is working with Scott's new horse sent this. Apparently she was sacked out completely for over an hour, which is a good sign with horses....
People jumping out of perfectly good spaceships, 30% off.
Hey everybody! Just wanted to let my UK/Commonwealth readers know that IN CELEBRATION OF THE DAY, the paperbacks of MACHINE and ANCESTRAL NIGHT are 30% off...
Fellas, it's been good to know you.
I was pretty sure Gordon Lightfoot was going to live forever, but I see on the slowly entropizing Twitter machine that he’s passed away. So this seems like a...
I'm sorry your mom blew up.
So the bird food I'm giving the birds? Has raisins in it. And I don't think birds like raisins. I am John Cusack's mom in BETTER OFF DEAD*. "It's got raisins...
Barnes & Noble pre-order sale!
Hey folks! Just a quick heads up that pre-orders are 25% off at B&N for the next three days, and The Origin of Storms trade paperback is on their list!...
Bonus cat photos for paid subscribers
You see the problem here:
We all like to think we'd resist the evil overlord's mind-control powers...
…when we can’t even force ourselves to move an inconvenient cat. Good morning, folks, and happy Monday to you all. We missed the aurora of a lifetime last...
Sekrit Projekt, and trying out this Notes thing.
Hey, folks, So I alluded to a project I was working on that involved an NDA. I can tell you that it’s a novelette for a shared world anthology, and that it’s...
Tired, sore, and plumb wore out... but hanging in there
Hey folks, Sorry it’s been quiet around here—I’ve been on deadline and overwhelmed with tasks and some lingering post-surgical complications (yes, from 2021,...
Here's the audio podcast from this month's Fantastic Fiction at KGB, with guests Scott Lynch & Elizabeth Bear. ;)
In which I read the opening to the Karen Memory novel I'm working on, ANGEL MAKER, and Scott reads a selection from MORE THAN FOOLS FILL GRAVES, a Gentleman...
Reading at KGB Bar on Wednesday!
Does what it says on the box.
Nirbachito Dosti Golpo
I am so pleased to announce that my first collection of stories in Bengali, translated by Anushtup Sett and edited by Dip Ghosh, are now available from...
My first Bengali publications and a relevant link or two
Anne Helen Petersen’s Culture Study newsletter is often fascinating, and it’s interesting to see her re-upping this piece about capitalism and multi-level...
One does not simply walk out of Omelas.
As I write this, I have my first cold with sore throat since November of 2019 and though it’s mild, I have to say, I didn’t miss this. I’m testing negative...
Book Club Post for 6 February 2023
Hey folks! I've actually managed to... read some books? Seems fake, but there you are. I was not a fan of Story Genius by Lisa Kron, or to give it its full...
That awards eligibility post that seems to be de rigueur these days...
Does what it says on the tin.
Learned helplessness is a toxic meme
tl:dr pinkertons breaking strikes something something gilded age.
Cheap ebook of THE STONE IN THE SKULL! Locus Recommended List appearance by THE ORIGIN OF STORMS!
Hey folks! It's a great week in Lotus Kingdoms news--not only is The Stone in the Skull available for $3.99 at your favorite ebook retailer (Barnes & Noble)...
When your brain won't brain like a good brain should
Hey folks, I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve been dealing with burnout, anxiety, autoimmune bullshit, and a whole lot of resurgent c-PTSD for the...
The Origin of Storms trade paperback is on sale for pre-order at Barnes & Noble RIGHT NOW.
You know how to handle this.
Toxic Smurfette Syndrome and how to avoid it.
THERE CAN BE ONLY... lots and lots, actually.
Book Club post for Monday, January 16, 2023
Happy Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. Day! I finished reading Vivian Shaw's GRAVE INTENTIONS last night and found it charming and satisfying. Witty...
Avoidance is a trauma response
So sometimes I have a hard time making myself do things. Sometimes it’s because there are Too Many Things and I am tired. Sometimes it’s because I am sick....
Horse update
It's been a while, but Ormr is doing great. His rehab seems to be working (again) and that persnickety ankle is sound at walk, tolt, and canter and nearly...
Book club for Monday 9 January 2023
Hey, folks, what are you reading? I haven't finished anything new except a buttload of Atlantic Monthly and newspaper articles, and I listened to the...
Typing is easy. Telling stories is hard.
More on metrics.
Book club post for Monday, January 2, 2023
I finished my first book of the New Year last night: Elizabeth Hand’s Hokuloa Road (Gift link to a thoughtful Washington Post review there) and it was really...
Fuck multitasking and fuck metrics, too
I got up this morning, did some morning chores (filling humidifiers, emptying cat boxes) and checked the mail not because I forgot Monday was a holiday but...
What would this look like if it were easy?
My friend Elise Matthesen asked this the other day somewhere on the socials. (I can’t remember where and I can’t find it to link, but here’s a link to her...