The unequal familiarity of fandom

The unequal familiarity of fandom

Because I’m writing three (THREE) books right now, I literally don’t have time to read. Since I don’t know that I can live without mainlining words to my brain, I’ve been listening to audiobooks and just recently, podcasts. SF Squeecast, in particular. The content is great and it’s tons of fun to listen to SFF professionals talking about things they love and how those things are created.

It struck me, though, how entirely unequal the experience is. After listening to several episodes, I could tell you about Elizabeth Bear’s dog and how Seanan McGuire insists that Thomas, her enormous Maine Coon cat, will someday ride the giant ridiculous dog to world domination. I can tell you that Catherynne Valente has been dealing with miserable carpal tunnel. Paul Cornell has an infant son. Lynne Thomas has an unshakeable love for Doctor Who, which she calls a lifestyle.

Listening in to friends talk like this means that I know a lot more about them than they could possibly know about me. It starts to feel like I know them, the actual human beings, not just the public personae. It’s almost like they’re my friends – or more appropriately, that I’m their friend and they just don’t know it yet.

I bet this sort of blurred line leads to some bizarre and awkward conversations at conventions.

Anyway, away from my musing and on to my reporting!

Currently on submission:

“The Smell of Fall”, a gaslamp zombie story. If this doesn’t sell, I’ll likely sell it via Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) within the next couple of months. (FINISHED)

Expected to release this year:

Untitled collection of short stories in the world of Eye of the Storm, via KDP (some hard copies for Kickstarter backers) (50% done)