I apologize to my Facebook and Twitter friends who have seen this already, but I found out last night that my story, “Card Sharp”, from The Way of the Wizard anthology, made the British Fantasy Award long list, or their recommendations as they call it. And while I didn’t make the cut to the short list, I’m happy that someone liked the story well enough to nominate it for an award. This story seems to be the most popular one I’ve written so far, so I feel good that there are more related projects in the works.

The list also includes The Way of the Wizard anthology, edited by John Joseph Adams, and the story “Tethered” by fellow Altered Fluid member Mercurio D. Rivera.

And since I have the excuse, I should mention that “Card Sharp” is still available to read for free online at The Way of the Wizard site as well as being available in podcast form at Podcastle.

1. Go to the seventh or 77th page of our WIP (or latest book)
2. Count down 7 lines.
3. Copy the 7 sentences that follow and post them.
4. Tag 7 other authors.

I’m not going to tag other authors, but here’s my passage from the MG novel:

Cassian shaded his eyes and looked up at the clouds in the sky. “At least it’s not snowing that would really mess with…”

“What?” Thiel said.

“Look.” Cassian pointed further down the direction of the road where dark-winged birds circled in the sky.

Thiel looked at Cassian wide-eyed. “You don’t think –“

“C’mon,” Cassian said.

Also, if you haven’t already, you should pick up a copy of Fair Coin by the aforementioned  E. C. Myers. I read it back when it was just a wee baby manuscript and I knew the minute I did that it was going to be fantastic. I’m so happy to see it out in the world and doing so well. io9 called it pure awesome crack. It’s well worth your time.

I’ve been trying to read (and listen) widely on creativity and creating now that I’m spending more time on my fiction and freelance projects. I love the idea of a Space-Time Oasis.

Also, I love John Cleese. I think I would be a far different person had I not encountered him (and his colleagues) when I was younger.

His point about “playing” with other people is one I resonate with. Recently, I was having trouble coming up with ideas with which to revise my MG novel. Once I brought N into the discussion, they just started flowing.

If anyone has any other links or tips about creativity, please let me know.

So recently Litreactor.com, a really great site that talks about writing and literature, decided to add columnists for Science Fiction and Fantasy. I scored the Fantasy gig and my first column went up yesterday. It’s a kind of introduction to the column. There will be two a month moving forward. I’d love it if you checked it out. Also, if you do, please comment. The idea, for me, is to start a discussion and I’d love to hear from each and every one of you.

Still, there are times when I need a break. And since I’m not at home, those breaks usually take the form of reading. Now I’ve always felt that reading is a good way of recharging my batteries. I get many of my ideas by reading works by other people. I think I’ve talked about it here – it’s not a matter of pulling ideas from other people, but more a process of leapfrogging from them. And idea sparks a related idea that sparks another and so on. Usually the end result is distantly related to the original concept. But it works for me. I’m constantly putting down books that I’m reading just to consider the ideas they’ve sparked in my head.

But just now, while I was taking a break and reading I realized something else. It may seem obvious, but when I’m reading good writing, it makes me fall in love with the language and with the idea of using it to communicate. Really, I know it seems simple. But sometimes in all the effort to work on things and revise and finish, the part about being in love with the writing itself can get lost.

So there I was, on my bed away from home, reading Ian McDonald, and just getting a thrill from reading his sentences, and the way he crafts a narrative. And I kept thinking, I want to do this. And I have been, but it’s always nice to be reminded of how much it thrills me, and how much I enjoy taking my turn at bat, trying to knock it out of the park.

So, that’s what I’m about to do. If you’re wondering where I am, I’ll be swinging.

My narration of Craig DeLancey’s “Asteroid Monte” is now up at Escape Pod. This one was a bit of a challenge for me, but I’m glad that it came out okay. Give it a listen if you have the time.

I just wanted to take a moment to mention two podasts that I’m proud of.

First, I narrated “The Metal Men of Mars” by Joe R. Lansdale for Wired.com. The story is the first in Under the Moons of Mars, edited by John Joseph Adams.

Second, my story, “The Last Gorgon”, which was published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies last month is now available as a podcast. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, maybe you’d prefer to listen to it?

I also have a few other narrations in the works which I’ll mention when they go live.

Last year was a mixed bag in many ways. On a personal level, it was a year filled with heartbreaking events for the people closest to me. Additionally, it was the year I lost my job and had to learn to deal with being unemployed for the first time in my life. On all of those levels, 2011 was disappointing.

On the other hand, a lot of great things happened last year. I moved into a new apartment in Harlem with N. Eight of my friends got married in four weddings.

On the writing front, I only had one publication last year (“Holes”) and one sale (The Last Gorgon to Beneath Ceaseless Skies). Looking back on that, it felt like too little. However, most of my writing effort last year went into my middle grade novel. And considering that my agent was happy with revisions and it went out on submission shortly before the holidays, I suppose I can live with my output.

As for 2012, I am looking forward it to being a year of change, not only on the personal front (I’m hoping I’ll find a job I’m happy with this year), but also on the professional front. It was brought to my attention by my fine writing group, Altered Fluid, that I was retreading a lot of old ground when it came to my writing. So I’ve committed to avoiding the familiar and easy when it comes to writing, and trying new things, pushing the boundaries of what I do. I may fail, but I’d rather fail spectacularly at something new than fail with something old and boring.

So, here’s to a great 2012 (and my 39th year of being alive). I wish you all success and happiness (and a distinct lack of apocalypses).

I owe myself a post about the new year (and looking back on the last year) but before I do that, I need to mention that my story, “The Last Gorgon”, is currently up and available to read on Beneath Ceaseless Skies. I’ve been a fan of BCS since it started and it has long been a market I’ve wanted to crack. I’m very proud to have a story up there now. This was also the story I read at the World Fantasy Convention last year in San Diego. While several of my stories draw on my long time love of Greek mythology, none as much as this one. It’s a great start to the year.

Wait, why is here a Day 26, you ask? Wasn’t yesterday Christmas? Yes, it was, but you see I did this thing where I assigned a letter for each day and well, there are 26 letters in the alphabet and I didn’t get to “Z”. So I feel it deserves its time in the sun.

And today is a sort-of holiday. In Britain and many of its colonies, today is Boxing Day. The origins are apparently disputed, but it seem to be the day when the wealthy would share gifts and money with the working class and the poor (in boxes) after having their big celebrations.

So what do Zeppelins have to do with Christmas? Well, traditionally not much, though there is that scene in A Christmas Story where Randy gets a zeppelin toy for Christmas and later curls up with it under the tree. But, really, all that matters is that they’re cool.

The zeppelin was of course a rigid airship which got its name from Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin who designed it in the late 19th century.

The Hindenburg disaster went a long way toward killing the use of zeppelins. And World War II put the nail in the coffin.

Recently, though, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH has been manufacturing new airships called Zeppelin NTs (for New Technology). Unlike the original zeppelins which used rigid frames, the NTs are semi-rigid meaning that they use partial frames, the rest of the shape maintained by the internal pressure of the lifting gas.

There’s a lot more I could say about zeppelins, and indeed other airships, and perhaps I will later, but I just wanted to honor the “Z’. For now, I’m calling this Advent Calendar series completed. For now I would just like to say that I hope everyone had a good holiday (or non-holiday) and I leave you with this vintage image of Santa in an airship.Best to everyone.