Mandelo at Work

Currently on Tor.com: an interview between me & Paolo Bacigalupi about The Drowned Cities.

In the meantime, I've been working on a series of posts for Pride month--it is to be the month of queer SF!--and catching up on some much-missed pleasure reading. Of course, my pleasure reading and the reading for the Pride posts dovetail nicely, but still. It hasn't stopped being a delight and a surprise to sit down and read for a few hours without interruption, yet.

It's taken me most of this month to settle into the more relaxed schedule of the summer break, but I'm finally getting there.

(Oh, and I did some laundry, because I haven't even begun packing for WisCon yet and my flight leaves at early o'clock Friday morning. Best get on that.)

As I tweeted today, I can only do so much research at a time for the journey to Liverpool before it reduces me to wanting to just sit with my head on my knees, hyperventilating. I did get quite a bit of the major stuff properly noted in a "what to do" journal, today, though. The persnickety parts are (a) the visa application(s) and (b) finding and arranging accommodation, sight unseen, from the US. Theoretically the university's international student center will be able to help with that. There's also deciding how to pack what, what to ship to ourselves, what to store, what to bring on the flight, etc.

Of course, before all of this stuff happens, I have to actually apply for the program and show them I have the funds to attend.

The fellowship's administrator told me to just take the summer off and not worry, that we'd dive into all of this junk in the fall, but I'm not very good at "let's not think about the elephant in the room." The biggest things most folks in this position have to worry about - money, proving funds for the visas, etc. - are already taken care of for me, thanks to the fellowship, but it's still a veritable mountain of paperwork and weirdness.

At least the university has a helpful website for international students, right?

There's a short story that I've been thinking on for about six months, now, but avoiding thanks to the sense of challenge: it's not something I've done before. It's not something I'm sure I know how to do. That can be thrilling--it's starting to be thrilling again--but for the better part of 2012, I had no extra energy left for a challenge. The thought was simply exhausting. Trying to consider the story in any meaningful way was like running smack into a brick wall. (This is what we call burn-out.) But, as of today, I think I might have that energy back. The spark is tentative, but the wall seems to have disappeared.

And so, research.

It feels good to be getting to work, making notes and doing background. Honestly, even if I only finish this single story during the few months I have free this summer, that would be enough. There's no moving forward, and no growth, without actually writing. But, refilling the proverbial well is just as important, and I don't want to push too hard, too soon. Balancing a career--knowing when to say no, when to say yes, when the work is just too damn much--is something I still don't have the hang of.

Always new things to learn.

Congrats to all of the Nebula winners this year - a fabulous slate.

And also congrats to the graduating class who got to receive Neil Gaiman's truly fabulous commencement speech:



In particular, the bit about learning to enjoy your success instead of worrying about the next thing struck me right between the eyes. My partner actually looked up from the shirt he was sewing as I listened to the video, raised an eyebrow, and said, "are you going to take the advice now?" (I'll try, but I can't promise anything.)

32. ^The SFWA Handbook: The Business Side of Writing, By Writers, For Writers^ edited by Steve Carper

Better late than never! This is a handy little text--some of it was familiar already, but other bits (like selling to foreign rights markets) were new to me. There aren't many books out there that deal frankly with the business end of writing, so this was a nice membership perk; I appreciated the down-to-earth way each essay handled its topic, from juggling writing multiple series at once to work-for-hire contracts.

33. "Owly: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer" by Andy Runton

Over at Tor.com.

34. ^To Write Like a Woman^ by Joanna Russ*

Re-read for the newest post in the "Reading Joanna Russ" series, which has gone live here.

( Books Read 2012 Complete List )

I'd like to direct your attention to a fabulous new book coming out from Aqueduct Press: Rose Lemberg's anthology of feminist speculative poetry, The Moment of Change. I've been looking forward to this book since the call for submissions was announced.

*

Still very little fiction or poetry getting written over here, mostly by virtue of how hectic the past week has been, with graduation and all of its assorted stresses. I've settled comfortably into my editorial job, though, and am loving it; I'm continually pleased and surprised to be working with the team at Strange Horizons--especially as we keep developing, like with adding the ever-wonderful Julia Rios to the fiction department. I hope that our tenure at the magazine keeps up the quality and mission that SH is known for. (PS: Send me stories!)

Also, I've been reading the neat little SFWA Handbook, which arrived--er--after my membership renewal this year, but better late than never!

Well, I've officially graduated!

Yesterday was the convocation for the honors students; I was given my medal and cords, photographed, awarded my fellowship to Liverpool on a fancy certificate, speechified about, et cetera. That was pretty lovely--much more intimate and personal. Today was the big graduation, with tons of people crammed into a big sports auditorium. There are plenty of tagged photos on Facebook for the curious. (Of course, this is actually the delayed B.A. graduation, since I've been technically working on my M.A. for most of the past year.)

The highlight of yesterday, though, was the food. My mother, a friend, and I found a small restaurant, "Dish on Market," and enjoyed one of the best meals I've had in a while. The food included Reuben won-tons (crispy fried, stuffed with their house-made corned beef and rich swiss, served with a thousand-island based sauce); a hot brown sandwich for me (deconstructed, cute, served with some of the best mornay sauce I've ever tasted and thick-cut bacon); chicken-and-waffles for the friend who went with us (with herb butter and well-spiced fried chicken); a huge veggie omelet for my mother (just the right amount of creamy to the eggs, fresh vegetables, fried potatoes on the side); and a serving of bourbon-glazed bread pudding dipped in syrup that just about brought me to food!tears. And all of this, for around $40. Stellar.

We'll definitely be going there again. Especially because for their Saturday brunch, they serve that bourbon-glazed bread pudding as French toast--dipped in crepe batter and fried. I can only imagine how good that'll taste.

The newest issue of Expanded Horizons features a poem of mine, "What I Have Not Done."

Expanded Horizons has published a lot of interesting short work that I've previously enjoyed, and their explicit pro-diversity mission makes me love them all the more. I'm really glad to be a part of this issue, alongside folks like An Owomoyela.

*

Books Read 2012

30. ^The Poetry Handbook^ by Mary Oliver

I haven't read enough craft books on the poetry end of the spectrum, so I thought I'd pick up one that I've heard a lot about. I did enjoy reading Oliver's text; the detailed attention to the sounds of words, and rhythms, and the mechanical aspects of a poem that bring together the whole as a piece of art--that's the sort of thing that I love. Mechanics might not be sexy to everyone, but I enjoy picking at how it is we do what we do.

31. ^Chicks Dig Comics^ edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Sigrid Ellis

A review, over at Tor.com.

( Books Read 2012 )

So many books to read, so little time.

I should, in fact, be writing a review of one right now, but I'm feeling pretty blase about the whole thing. Might be best to wait until tomorrow, when I can give the work the attention it deserves. It's not the book's fault that I have a powerful, powerful case of the don'wannas tonight.

I think I've finally ran aground on my brain's insistence that we are Going To Take a Break, Goddammit. And the review still won't be late if I just give up and write it in the morning. So, yes.

(Being able to say "I'll put it off until tomorrow," by the way, is a beautiful luxury.)

Wrote the ending stanza of a poem yesterday; now, I just need to discover what comes first. I have the feel of the piece, obviously, and the closing image, but I still need to figure out the movement/narrative of the thing. Where are we coming from, to get where we end up? What am I encompassing in words, here?

( Some thoughts on process. )