Things Coming Out Next

Jun. 16th, 2025 01:49 pm
marthawells: (Witch King)
[personal profile] marthawells
Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology

Out in ebook and paperback on July 1. My story is "Data Ghost"

https://bookshop.org/p/books/storyteller-a-tanith-lee-tribute-anthology/a74b320486117220?ean=9798992595406&next=t

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/storyteller-a-tanith-lee-tribute-anthology?sId=e0bafab6-32a8-4ffb-9436-2dcda473349c

Edited by Julie C. Day, Carina Bissett, and Craig Laurance Gidney. Stories by Martha Wells, Andy Duncan, C.S.E. Cooney, Nisi Shawl, Mike Allen, Alaya Dawn Johnson, CL Hellisen, Maya Deane, Rocío Rincón Fernández, Theodora Goss, Getty Hesse, Starlene Justice, Amelia Mangan, Michael Yuya Montroy, Marisca Pichette, KT Wagner.

Sixteen new stories from some of today's most renowned authors. All inspired by the master storyteller Tanith Lee.

Drowning cities and unicorns. Burning deserts and forgotten gods. Golems, elf warriors, and inner-Earthers. Alien lifeforms and museum workers. Ancient plagues and the future of humanity. The familiar and the fantastical. Each story in this anthology is both unique and compelling: from fairy-tale retellings to romance-tinged high fantasy, from nihilistic horror to gripping science fiction. Immersive, wide-ranging, and sublime, Storyteller features worlds and characters that are sure to travel with you long after the last page has been read.



***


Short Story: "Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy" by Martha Wells

will be available on Reactor Magazine on July 10

Illustrated by Jaime Jones
Edited by Lee Harris

Perihelion and its crew embark on a dangerous new mission at a corporate-controlled station in the throes of a hostile takeover...


***


Summer of Science Fiction & Fantasy: Martha Wells in conversation with Kate Elliott

https://www.clarionwest.org/event/summer-of-science-fiction-fantasy-martha-wells-in-conversation-with-kate-elliott/


July 30 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm PDT

The Clarion West Summer Reading Series will be held virtually and streamed live over Zoom during the Six-Week Workshop.

Join us for our final event, a conversation between Martha Wells and Kate Elliott!

This event will begin with a conversation between Martha and Kate. There will be time to take questions from the audience. Participants will be able to submit questions in the webinar.



***


The New Yorker announced "Platform Decay" will be the next Murderbot novella. No word on publication date yet.


***


Grimoire: A Grim Oak Press Anthology For Seattle Worldcon 2025

https://grimoakpress.com/products/grimoire-a-grim-oak-press-anthology-for-seattle-worldcon-2025

My story is a fantasy called "Birthright" which is reprint that's not currently available anywhere else.


***


Queen Demon, the sequel to Witch King, second book of the Rising World, is up for preorder and will be released in ebook, audiobook, and hardcover on October 7.

From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes the remarkable sequel to the USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling novel, Witch King. A fantasy of epic scope, Queen Demon is a story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose.

Dahin believes he has clues to the location of the Hierarchs' Well, and the Witch King Kai, along with his companions Ziede and Tahren, knowing there's something he isn't telling them, travel with him to the rebuilt university of Ancartre, which may be dangerously close to finding the Well itself.

Can Kai stop the rise of a new Hierarch?

And can he trust his companions to do what's right?


Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/p/books/queen-demon-martha-wells/21751501?ean=9781250826916

B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/queen-demon-martha-wells/1146167707?ean=9781250826916

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/queen-demon

Audiobook Libro.fm https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781250291981-queen-demon

Bakka-Phoenix (indie bookstore in Canada): https://bakkaphoenixbooks.com/item/3Czr8TaWU9-_fwJ25ytSCw

Bugs, Printer

Jun. 16th, 2025 11:20 am
ranunculus: (Default)
[personal profile] ranunculus
Yesterday's hatch of cucumber beetles is over.  Or almost over.  This morning's sweep netted 2 bugs, by 11am today I had 16; a far cry from the 100 I had by noon yesterday! Whew!
Last April, the day before my ETS event, my computer quit talking to my printer.  ARRGH. Donald saved the day then taking emailed documents and printing from his computer.   I don't print much, so the problem has languished, forgotten in a corner, until yesterday Carrie asked me to print out some more pasture move checklists.  This morning I faffed around trying to get the document to one of my tablets to print, with no luck.  This is mostly because I refuse to use Microsoft Office, and Libre Office apparently won't work on the tablet.  Sigh.  But! a couple of days ago my computer (as opposed to the tablet)  had a big update of the kernel! Just to be safe I deleted the two versions of the printer software that were downloaded and installed a new one.  And ... the printer works perfectly. 
The planter/tanks in front of the house were long past needing to be cleared and replanted. Yesterday afternoon and this morning I got two of the three cleared out and new dirt and new compost added.  I'm very hopeful that the new dirt will really hold water well (it shows every sign of doing so) and thus help stabilize the water in the tanks.  Many of my little plants that have been languishing in pots now have new homes. 

If it's midsummer, this must be...

Jun. 16th, 2025 05:41 pm
shewhomust: (Default)
[personal profile] shewhomust
After all the busy-ness and the not-ready of the last week, we are on Lindisfarne and are spending the week here: yes, I'm a bit disoriented by the week starting and ending on Monday, but that's when the cottage was available. So D. and [personal profile] valydiarosada drove up to Durham yesterday, and we had dinner together, and this morning they set off and visited Wallington (which is almost on the way) and we finished our packing and were away from home by one o' clock. And we all met again on the island at four, which is when we were allowed into our cottage.

We are staying at
larryhammer: a wisp of colored smoke, label: "softly and suddenly vanished away" (vanished)
[personal profile] larryhammer
For Poetry Monday, one more late Shelly:

The flower that smiles to-day,” Percy Shelley

    The flower that smiles to-day
        To-morrow dies;
All that we wish to stay
        Tempts and then flies.
What is this world’s delight?
Lightning that mocks the night,
        Brief even as bright.

    Virtue, how frail it is!
        Friendship how rare!
Love, how it sells poor bliss
        For proud despair!
But we, though soon they fall,
Survive their joy, and all
        Which ours we call.

    Whilst skies are blue and bright,
        Whilst flowers are gay,
Whilst eyes that change ere night
        Make glad the day;
Whilst yet the calm hours creep,
Dream thou—and from thy sleep
        Then wake to weep.


Another poem written in the last year of his life and published posthumously with an editorial title, though this time the title Mary supplied was “Mutability.” It’s common to point out, for context, that Percy and Mary lost three children in early childhood. Like many of his shorter lyrics, it’s been set to music several times.

He nails that dismount.

---L.

Subject quote from Anti-Hero, Taylor Swift.

Another Murderbot interview

Jun. 16th, 2025 08:42 am
marthawells: Murderbot with helmet (Default)
[personal profile] marthawells
In ‘Murderbot,’ an anxious scientist and an autonomous robot develop a workplace-trauma bond

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-06-13/murderbot-episode-6-alexander-skarsgard-noma-dumezweni


Leading a TV series is a first for Dumezweni, who has previously been cast in smaller roles. She wasn’t convinced by the initial pitch at first because sci-fi hasn’t traditionally had a lot of major roles for actors of color.

“Usually I’d come in and play the receptionist,” she says. “I love to watch sci-fi. But I wondered: Who am I going to be in this sci-fi world?”

However, once she learned more about the world and the character, the actor changed her mind.

“It was an absolute joy to discover that there was nothing that Chris and Paul had to change to make it representational,” Dumezweni says. “It’s lovely not to have to fight for people’s positions in the world based on their skin color.”




ETA: Wanted to add this one real quick from BlueSky:

Vestal Magazine: Noma Dumezweni -- Off Canvas

https://www.vestalmag.com/noma-dumezweni


Set in a near future where the line between machine and human is increasingly blurred, Murderbot explores themes of identity, autonomy, and what it truly means to be alive through the eyes of a self-aware security android. Adapted from Martha Wells’s beloved The Murderbot Diaries novels, the series blends gripping sci-fi action with sharp, witty humor. At the heart of the story is Noma Dumezweni’s portrayal of Dr. Ayda Mensah, the thoughtful leader of a pacifist civilization struggling to uphold her community’s ideals amid a universe dominated by corporate greed and political tensions. Noma brings to the role a grounded strength, embodying the delicate balance between idealism and pragmatism as her character wrestles with the burdens of leadership and moral compromise. The parallels between Noma and Ayda run deep: both choose to lead with heart, courage, and conviction. “Your head will try to talk you out of that feeling of expansion. It will tell you, ‘You can’t do this,’” Noma says. “Trust your body, trust your instinct. Your body knows the truth.” That instinct and bravery have guided her career, from becoming the first Black actress to portray Hermione Granger on stage, a landmark moment for representation in theater, to winning two Laurence Olivier Awards and becoming a beacon of inspiration for a new generation of actors. Like Ayda, Noma has forged a path not only of leadership, but of quiet, transformative power.

Lovely photos in this!
jacey: (Default)
[personal profile] jacey

Did Not Finish. Can’t really day why not – a mixture of not engaging with the story and not getting along with the American accented narrator, Romy Nordlinger. It wasn't terrible, just not for me.


jacey: (Default)
[personal profile] jacey

Audiobook narrated by Aiden Gillen

All you need to know to succeed in war, providing you don’t have to take air warfare into consideration. How to position your chariots. When to fight and when to run away. How to keep your supply lines and your army coordinated. How to turn the terrain to your advantage. How to treat your soldiers (firmly but without cruelty). Plus all sorts of handy hints and tips. Including when not to listen to your emperor. (American military take note.) Amazing little book, beautifully read by Aiden Gillen, who most people will remember as the tricky Peter Baylish (Littlefinger) in Game of Thrones.


jacey: (Default)
[personal profile] jacey

Narrated by Kate Rawson

Competent outlaw Scarlett McCain is a bank robber and (when she needs to be) killer in a fragmented future England dotted with fortified cities wit a whole lot of dangerous wild nothing inbetween. Running from the scene of a successful bank robbery she finds a wrecked coach, with a whole lot of dead bodies and only one survivor, gangly Albert Browne, himself on the run from implacable hunters from the Faith Houses. It turns out that Albert is way more than he seems and Scarlett is, reluctantly, stuck with him. The reluctance gradually turns to respect throughour various adventures, and this isobviously a set-up for further adventures. This moves a bit slowly at first (despite the characters being chased through inhospitable countryside full of monsters). Kate Rawson narrated Sarah Painter’s Crow Investigations books, and while her style works well for them, it works less well for this. This might be a book better read than listened to.


Philosophical

Jun. 16th, 2025 07:08 am
jhetley: (Default)
[personal profile] jhetley
Air temperature 52 F, wind southwest about 3 mph, fog at the airport but lifting and wan sunshine here. Plans extend no further than a walk and continued survival The world has proven unworthy of my genius.
sovay: (What the hell ass balls?!)
[personal profile] sovay
I wish to express my strenuous distaste for this week starting off with the curtain rod falling onto my head as I stepped into the shower with such force that [personal profile] spatch heard the noise of stainless steel onto skull from the bedroom. It hurt appallingly. It still doesn't feel so hot. I called after-hours care and was duly presented with a checklist of symptoms of concussion and brain bleed to watch out for, an activity not exactly compatible with attempting to plunge myself into unconsciousness for the few short hours before I need to be functional for already scheduled calls and appointments. I would like to know who I need to sacrifice to get a break. I always liked haruspicy. I know it's your own liver that counts.
tamaranth: me, in the sun (Default)
[personal profile] tamaranth
2025/091: The King of Attolia — Megan Whalen Turner
... what he had taken for the roughness of sleep was the king’s accent. While half asleep, he had spoken with an Eddisian accent, which was only to be expected, but Costis had never heard it before, nor had anyone he knew. Awake, the king sounded like an Attolian. It made Costis wonder what else the king could hide so well that no one even thought to look for it.[p. 219]

Eugenides has become King of Attolia, but is not well-received by the courtiers and soldiers of the city. They believe he's a barbarian who forced the Queen to marry him, and who has not consummated the marriage. (There is a rude song about this.) They put snakes in his bed and sand in his food: they regard him as helpless and inept.

But this is not his story -- or, rather, not his narrative. It's the story of Costis Ormentiedes, a young soldier in the King's Guard, who we first see trying to compose a letter to his father after having punched the King in the face.

Read more... )

Garden

Jun. 15th, 2025 09:19 pm
ranunculus: (Default)
[personal profile] ranunculus
Today there was a HUGE hatch of cucumber beetles.  Both spotted and striped versions.  I think I got 150 bugs into my soapy water or squashed.  During the morning all I did was walk circles around the garden gathering beetles.  Well, that was after I took Firefly for a walk.  Wasn't up to riding, low blood sugar.  Compare that with two days ago when I got 5 beetles total all day. 
This evening the harvest was part of dinner. 


I don't think either squash was fertilized, but the next ones probably will be and these were still perfectly edible.  Also had potatoes from the garden and a hamburger patty from a local ranch that sells their beef direct. 


A daub in adobo

Jun. 15th, 2025 12:29 pm
madbaker: (Chef!)
[personal profile] madbaker
This week's Resolution Recipe: Citrus Chicken with Roasted Veg.
"This is a love letter to the ingredients of the chef's Mexican-American upbringing."
Read more... )

The Great Syrup Disaster of 2025

Jun. 15th, 2025 03:13 pm
stevenpiziks: (Default)
[personal profile] stevenpiziks
We have a hummingbird! Yay! She's very shy and flits to the feeders, sips quick, and vanishes, but she's here. We're hoping she has a nest and we'll have babies soon.

I decided it was time to freshen up the feeder syrup, which is getting old. I put sugar and water in a covered pan to boil it. (If you don't, the sugar will eventually recrystallize.) Then Darwin called me outside, so I turned off the stove to finish the project later.

About an hour after that, Darwin and I were sitting on the back deck when the smoke alarms went off. We ran into the house and found the kitchen filled with choking gray smoke. Both upstairs alarms were shrieking. The source of the smoke was the syrup pan. Apparently I hadn't turned the stove all the way off. Furious with myself, I snatched up the pot and took it outside. The sugar water inside had turned to a burned black goo.

Darwin and I spent considerable time clearing the house of smoke. The stuff was stubborn, hovering up near the ceiling and refusing to move. We had to open all the windows and put box fans in strategic places. The whole house smelled of burnt sugar. 

At bed time, the smell was still there, and it was getting chilly. Darwin wanted to close the windows, but I plumped for keeping them open so the house could air out overnight. It would be in the 50s, a bit cool but not cold. So that's what we did.

In the morning, the burnt sugar smell was completely gone. Whew!

Meanwhile, I was worried about my pan. It looked like the black goo had welded itself to the bottom, and it wouldn't be feasible to scrub it away. Hoping against hope, I filled the pan with soapy water and left it overnight. In the morning, I poured the water out, and a LOT of the black goo had dissolved. I sprayed the pan with hot water, and more goo dissolved. Well, good! With luck and lots more soaking, the pan should be fine. 

And I still have to make hummingbird syrup!


radiantfracture: All is not well (Ian's Eye)
[personal profile] radiantfracture
Happy book birthday to Rachel Ash Rosen's Blight, second in the Sleep of Reason trilogy.

I am excited to see this book in the world! The author is Known to Me as a fine stylist and a word-puncher on behalf of this often desperate global conspiracy we call trying to keep our human hearts alive.

(I consulted on the future aquatic subduction of my home city for this series and have no regrets.)

What is this book about? I will quote:

anti-fascism, revolution, queer longing, and like, giant fucking bone tentacles.

Would you like to read about a different end to the world? One in which, the characters, like you, have survived and find ways to make meaning and keep fighting after unimaginable loss?

Maybe you will like it, in that case.


(I was tempted to remove the "maybe" there, but my training tells me not to alter the sense of a quotation. Anyway. You will like it.)

Places to order Blight:

From the publisher

From the big river with all the books

From Books2Read


§rf§

Sunday floral report

Jun. 15th, 2025 12:48 pm
jhetley: (Default)
[personal profile] jhetley
First wild roses in the bog, birds-foot trefoil, bladder campion, St. John's wort, orange hawkweed outside of town and the multi-head yellow hawkweed. Black locust trees blooming, lots of blue flag iris. Milkweed leaves and stalks, but only saw one preliminary flower head.

Only roadkill seen was a gray squirrel, although I passed several blood patches including one large enough to have been a deer. Not-roadkill, an adult raccoon crossing the road in front of me in an urban area. No geese at the cemetery pond.

Got out on the bike, upriver through that construction zone which was idle for Sunday. Did not die.

15.42 miles, 1:30:20

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