Starting tomorrow, I will be attending Readercon up in Burlington, MA. I’ve been attending for at least five years, if not more. I don’t have any panels because I decided to go very late, but I will be part of the Altered Fluid reading that will take place on Saturday at 2:00 (not sure of the location — check your programs if you’re interested). I’m mostly looking forward to seeing friends, especially people I don’t get to see on a regular basis. If you’re going, hope to see you there.

Has it really been a month since I last posted? I suppose it has. It’s not that I don’t enjoy updating the blog, it’s just that it usually takes a back seat to fiction writing and article writing and the reading I have to do for articles and reviews and, well, I’m going to try to be better about it in the future.

But first I have a few updates that I thought I should mention:

LitReactor

Some of you may know that I’m the fantasy columnist over at LitReactor, but as of last month I began tackling science fiction as well. For the most part I’ll be writing four columns for them every month, 2 each of F & SF, covering a variety of topics and books. My most recent columns were a Post-Apocalyptic Top 10, and a Primer on Dune. Coming up in July I have two posts inspired by Pacific Rim (Giant Monsters and Robots), a post about the Sandman Slim series, and a post about Alfred Bester’s novels. I’m always looking for new topics to cover, so if there’s something you think would be interesting, let me know.

Sales

I don’t believe I’ve mentioned it here, but I recently sold two stories to Steve Berman. The first is for an anthology coming from Prime Books — Zombies: Shambling Through the Ages (see cover above).  My story is set in India during the time of Alexander the Great’s invasion. The anthology looks like it should be out in August and you can pre-order it here if you like. There are some great writers in this one, including my friends, Mercurio D. Rivera and Paul Berger.

The other story will be appearing in the Queering Stoker anthology, Suffered From the Night.This one picks up a little while after the events of Dracula, tackling both Dracula’s and Van Helsing’s legacies. I’m not sure when it will be released, but I’m happy to be in another of Lethe Press’s anthologies (after A Study in Lavender, the Sherlock Holmes anthology).

I have a few other things in the works, hopefully with some surprises, but I will talk about them when I have more to say. Hope everyone out there is doing well.

Since I’ve in NJ, I’ve had access to live cable for the first time. I try not to feel pressure to watch television as it airs, but with the current crop of shows, I’ve felt compelled. And since some of my favorite television shows have recently premiered, I figured I would get in from the beginning. Since there will be some mild spoilers, you might not want to read beyond the cut if you’re not up to date.

Note: This was written before the most recent episodes aired.

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I am thrilled to see that editor John Joseph Adams announced Dead Man’s Hand, a weird western anthology coming from Titan Books. My story, “Second Hand,” will be in the anthology, a continuation of the story begun in my Way of the Wizard story, “Card Sharp.”

I am even more excited to see all the amazing and talented writers who I’m sharing a TOC with. I have no idea how I ended up in this one to be honest. (Jeffrey Ford! Tad Williams!).

it’s not out for another year, but I can’t wait to see it in its finished form.

Also, I may be writing a related novel to the story in this one…

Earlier this month I celebrated my 39th birthday. Not the big one that everyone makes a huge deal out of, but the one before. Only I realized that I was celebrating the completion of my 39th year, the start of my 40th.

My birthday has always been a useful divider for me, and recently has become what New Year’s Day is for others, a day to kick off the next year or so of time, redefine goals, start a new path.

This year’s path is quite a doozy.

Due to various reasons which I won’t get into, this year brings with it some massive changes. For one, I’m moving out of my apartment. I’m moving out of New York City. This may not seem like that big a deal, but it’s been my home for the past seven years, and New York is among the short list of places (London, Seattle, parts of California) that have felt like home to me. I’m heading back to my home town, where my family still lives, to figure out my next move. I once told myself I would never go back, but sometimes you have to take a step backwards in order to find sure footing for the sprint ahead.

Distance-wise, it’s not that far from Manhattan, but it feels far. Especially without the benefit of NY public transportation and lacking a car. It will be…an adjustment. But it’s not forever. And it’s a safe place to be.

There will be some advantages. I will get to write more. I will be closer to job opportunities. The rest…well, we’ll see. But I’m optimistic that this is a step that will ultimately help me.

The path stretches out before me. Wish me a bon voyage and I’ll be on my way. But I’m pretty certain I’ll be back before too long. I’ll keep you all posted along the way.