Over the past few weeks I’ve had a lot of columns and reviews and other things go up on various sites (well, two) and so I thought I should link to them here so that people could actually, you know, see them. Separated by site and in chronological order:

LitReactor

Over at LitReactor I did a recap of the Sandman Slim series to date just in time for the latest release (which I will be reviewing for Tor.com next week). 

Also at LitReactor, I wrote two posts in honor of Pacific Rim — one was a Top 10 Giant Monsters post and the other a Top 10 Giant Robots.

Then there’s my review of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

And finally, my Primer on Alfred Bester (Science Fiction great).

Tor.com

Over at Tor.com they’ve restarted my reread of The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. The first post, for Nine Princes in Amber is up now.

I also reviewed the Jim Butcher Dresden Files story from the upcoming anthology, Dangerous Women.

And just today, my review of Charlie Huston’s Skinner went up.

Please check them out if you have the inclination.

In an effort to keep the self-promotion here down to a reasonable amount, I’ve neglected keeping up with the columns I’ve been writing for LitReactor.com on Fantasy. I write two columns a month now, though they aren’t released on regular dates so the posting dates vary by month.

However, I’d like to call attention to my two latest columns:

The first is a primer on Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber. Those who know me know that this is my favorite fantasy series of all time and that Zelazny is one of my favorite authors, so it was a thrill to get to write about the series and some of the things I think make it great.

The previous column was a look at first person narratives in fantasy fiction. It has a list of some of my favorite 1st person fantasy narratives.

I’d love it if you took a  look and told me what you think.

Sorry to bombard you all with more self-promotion, but it just so happens that this week I have a few things up at Tor.com and thought I would mention them.

My appreciation of Michael Moorcock

My Iron Man 2 Review (with SPOILERS)

The latest Lost Round Table (with Bridget McGovern and Theresa DeLucci)

Please check them out.

It’s been a little while since I spoke about current or past projects here, so I thought I would list a few things that I have out in the world or soon to be out in the world right now:

Fermented Adventures – this is a website I created to talk about beer and wine and drinking culture. I realize this isn’t as interesting for some, but it’s something that I enjoy. I’ve been making more of an effort to keep this updated and have recently started blogging about my homebrewing adventures. If you’re at all interested, stop by, take a look, comment if you like.

Sales! – I recently discovered that I had a story accepted by the soon to be relaunched Dreams of Decadence. DoD was formerly a magazine of vampire fiction, but in its new incarnation it will be focusing on urban fantasy and paranormal romance. I’m looking forward to seeing the mag in its new form. I also had another acceptance that I won’t give details about until I get the contract. But both stories were stories I wrote as holiday stories, my version of Xmas cards where instead of sending a card, I send people an original story.

Recent Publications – the following are recent publications of mine, along with some nice words that people have said about them. They are all still available if you’re interested. Listed in reverse order of publication.

Skulls & Crossbones: An anthology of fiction about women pirates, containing my story, “The Furies”, which received Honorable Mention in the Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror. Now available at Amazon.com and at Bedazzled Ink.

Shimmer’s Clockwork Jungle issue: containing Steampunk animal fables including my story, “The Emperor’s Gift”. The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review had some nice things to say about the issue. Not if You Were the Last Short Story on Earth picks my story as a favorite. And Rich Horton mentions me as well in his year-end roundup of Shimmer. Finally, SF Revu calls the story “touching”.

Steampunk Tales #4: Just as the title suggests, steampunk stories including my zeppelin adventure, “The Juggernaut”. Available in digital formats and as an app for the iPhone/iPod Touch and now the iPad. For $1.99 it’s incredible value.

Shadows of the Emerald City: weird Oz stories (that’s the Wizard of Oz, not Australia which is weird in its own way) containing my story, “Pumpkinhead”. The Amazon review in the previous link lists my story in the top 3. Brandon Bell at M-BRANE SF likes the anthology. Innsmouth Free Press calls the story, “a fine effort”.

Articles –  I continue to participate in weekly Lost Round Tables at Tor.com, leading up to the finale. I also will have some other posts coming up soon on some fantasy favorites. All of my articles there can be found via this link.

Additionally, I should have a few more announcements to make in the coming months, one of them being my story, “Doors”, appearing in GUD’s next issue.

Enough about me, now. How are you?

A few months ago, a teacher friend of mine (hi, Jim) introduced me to the concept of “rubber rooms”. Now this article from Yahoo News explains and talks about them. I find the concept fascinating. And because I might steal from this idea for a story in the future, I’m parking it here.