Tag: sff

2022 Round-Up and Awards Eligibility

by Grace, posted in Reflections, Updates, Writing

Just to change things up, I decided to pair my stories for 2022 with ~vibes~ and recommended drinks!

I published 4 short stories and 1 novel in 2022. (The novel, Every Version of You, was published in Australia and New Zealand.)

If you like the sound of any of them, I’d be honoured if you gave them a look and considered them for awards nominations.

NOBODY EVER GOES HOME TO ZHENZHU – Lightspeed

~vibes~: Interstellar detective noir; acid rain battering roadside stalls; love-hate relationships with your shipmates; punching up against the system

drink: rice wine, preferably hot with floral notes

TO THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON – Hexagon

~vibes~: melancholy love in a feminist utopia; dude in distress; brooding cyborgs and coy androids and shiny spaceships

drink: a warm, creamy matcha latte with a drizzle of honey

AS THOUGH I WERE A LITTLE SUN – Fireside Fiction

~vibes~: cosy; bittersweet; a tree remembers how she became a tree

drink: pear and red date soup (or any sweet, clear soup)

DEATH BY WATER – From The Waste Land, PS Publishing (paperback available, e-book forthcoming)

~vibes~: an abandoned space mission; underwater caverns choked with ice and water; threads of memory, love, hope, rebirth, regeneration

drink: shots of strong coffee, swigged with each scene break

EVERY VERSION OF YOU – Affirm Press

~vibes~: “how to stay in love and feel real after mind-uploading into virtual reality”

drink: make a pot of your favourite tea, sip it slowly, until it’s bitter and cold; when you reach the final chapter, you may brew a fresh pot.

The Epoch Engine, my story for Magic the Gathering’s newly launched Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty plane, was published in February.

I published poetry for the first time: Inertness in Going Down Swinging (illustrated by the otherworldly, fantastic James Alexander Martin) and Symmetry, in the Winter 2022 edition of The Victorian Writer.

I published two non-fiction articles: a personal piece in SBS Voices and a column for Meanjin’s What I’m Reading. I also did a few interviews and podcasts.

In summary? 2022 was a year unlike any other. It was exhausting, delirious, wonderful, overwhelming, fuelled by sugar and adrenaline. But I feel incredibly lucky–that Every Version of You is out in the world, and that I managed to publish a bunch of short pieces.

If you want more of a reflection about the joys and challenges of this year, I’ll be sending out my year-end newsletter soon, so jump onto my Substack if you haven’t!

As always, thank you for following my work. I hope the stories whisk you away to adventures surreal, fantastic, and futuristic.

Awards Eligibility and 2021 Round-Up

by Grace, posted in Reflections, Updates, Writing

I have a grand total of one (1) delightful story for your awards consideration!

He Leaps for the Stars, He Leaps for the Stars (5300 words) was published in Clarkesworld Issue 178 in July 2021. It’s a science fiction story about Yennie, a lonely 22nd century pop idol on Enceladus. It features quantum entanglements, yearning, superfans, machine learning, duplication, and duplicity.

I’m incredibly grateful to Neil Clarke for the publication. Thank you also to Karen Burnham for Locus Magazine for including it as a Recommended Story: ‘This portrait of fame with its costs and benefits is very well done.’

He Leaps for the Stars, He Leaps for the Stars was also praised in Maria Haskins’s July 2021 Short Fiction Round-up: ‘Science fiction with a tender, gentle heart and spirit, this story is bittersweet and lovely through and through.’

And in Vanessa Fogg’s July-August 2021 Short Fiction Recs: ‘Wildly inventive, lyrical, and ultimately moving.’ Thank you!

I am also eligible for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer!

Looking ahead to 2022…

I’ve been working on a bunch of things due for publication in 2022.

  • Look out for two new short fiction pieces: As Though I Were a Little Sun in Fireside Magazine, and Nobody Ever Goes Home to Zhenzhu in Lightspeed Magazine.
  • My debut novel, Every Version of You, is steadily approaching the final stages of the editing process! Also, I’ve had a first sneak peek of the cover design! Publication has been shifted from February to September 2022.
  • I have an illustrated poem in the works, accepted for publication in Going Down Swinging online.
  • And finally, I’ve written a short story for a major game franchise, and I look forward to sharing that early next year.

Thanks again for following my work. I’ll probably do a bit more of a reflection on writing and growth in my newsletter. So if you haven’t signed up for that, take a peek at the link above.

Between work, life and extended lockdowns, I haven’t been able to prioritise writing as much as I’d hoped this year, but I do feel like I’m gradually finding my voice: figuring out what I want to write about and what I’d like to channel my time and energy towards.

I look forward to working on more writing projects in the new year. I hope you’ll stay tuned!

Using Psychology to Deepen Character Development

by Grace, posted in Reflections, Updates, Writing

I presented Using Psychology to Deepen Character Development for the first time at Flights of Foundry last month and received some lovely feedback.

I reflected on the role of the unconscious, internal/external conflict, and self-narrative in shaping complex characters, did a deep dive into defence mechanisms (with a lighthearted spec-fic twist!), and explored attachment theory in relating to others.

I also touched on embodied emotion, psychology interfacing with magic/tech/worldbuilding/horror, and other sorts of minds–although those themes would deserve a talk of their own!

I thought I’d share a couple of key slides/points.

The mind is a speculative place

◦ Psychological theories are frameworks for seeing the mind from different angles

◦ No single theory or framework can explain the human mind

◦ Applying a psychological understanding allows you to show rather than tell the reader what your characters are like

◦ Moreover, you can pare back the showing so it can be implicit, subtle, metaphorical and open, allowing the reader to imbue the story with their individual interpretations and personal meaning

The mind is not a single, unified entity

◦ Inner disharmonies are unavoidable

◦ We can consider the different stories within our characters–different origins, aims, and defences mechanisms of various agencies within the mind.

A conceptual diagram of Freud’s Topographical and Structural Models. Taken from
Kenny, D.T. (2016). A brief history of psychoanalysis: From Freud to fantasy to folly. Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia.

Exercise: Think about a character from your work. Visualise them clearly in your mind’s eye. Then, consider the following questions…

Id

What are your character’s hidden desires? What do they yearn for? What would give them a sense of wholeness and vitality? What sparks their lust, aggression, or anger? What wishes or fears are they unable to admit to themselves? Can other characters glimpse these drives? Will events force them to confront buried aspects of themselves?

Superego

What sort of early upbringing did your character have? Who were their role models, and what values and morals would they have internalised? What standards does your character strive towards? What is forbidden territory for your character, associated with guilt or shame?

Ego

How does your character resolve these conflicting aspects of themselves? What is the story that your character tells themselves? Which coping mechanisms do they tend to turn towards in times of stress? What happens when these mechanisms are overwhelmed? How will their unconscious desires and value systems shape their actions and manifest in the story?

I really enjoyed adapting psychological concepts for writing, especially for speculative writing. I’m hoping to further refine and develop it for the future.

I hope this is the beginning of a helpful resource.

Happy reading and writing, friends!

PS. Thank you, so much, to the Dream Foundry for having me. The talk will be available on the Dream Foundry YouTube channel later this year.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8jDna_LNiWUbJ254-dymVg

The Ethnographer – Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #79

by Grace, posted in Updates, Writing

My short story, The Ethnographer, appears in Issue #79 of Andromeda Spaceways Magazine. The Ethnographer is my humble attempt to wrangle my feelings about inequality and powerlessness. It’s far from perfect, but I’m proud of it.

It introduces my second space voyager: the solitary, empathetic ethnographer, Egal Tyro, who journeys from their birth-planet, Mars, out of a desire to explore and commune with other life forms.

[My first space voyager was the bounty hunter, Orin, from my first ever published story, The Dunes of Ranza. Orin and Egal are both cybernetically-enhanced, non-binary, flawed, strong, deeply human. I love them both. I want to write them more.]

I also throw in an intelligent non-human species, visual and tactile languages, an alien planet with vast rocky basins that change colour as the sun shifts, giant rustling indigo plants, seedpod-milk, and at least three moons. Oh, also, ion-powered blimps. Preeeetty.

Thank you to fellow Aussie SFF writer Austin Sheehan and to my brother, Peter [ah, to be cursed with a sister who shoves stories under your nose every few months and demands critique], for beta reading the unwieldy draft and helping to whip it into shape.

I’m grateful to Andromeda Spaceways for accepting the story, and to editor Joel Schanke for a deft and thoughtful editing process. The issue has gorgeous artwork, including an illustration for my story (!). The stories are tied together by the theme of love.

It was also a very cool surprise to be in the company of writers AJ Fitzwater and Maria Z Medina. Maria’s lyrical, myth-infused story, Voice of God, took my breath away. AJ’s Tāne Mahuta was similarly an immersive, out-of-body, magical ode to nature.

You can purchase Issue #79 here or subscribe as a member on the Andromeda Spaceways website.

Hear, hear: narrating for AntipodeanSF

by Grace, posted in narration, Updates

I still remember my only redeeming quality in Year Eight Drama Class was that I had a ‘nice reading voice’. So I tried something new recently: narration.

If you’re interested in listening to my sibilant s’s and palatable palatals, you can hear me narrate two snappy, quirky short stories for the AntipodeanSF Radio Show:

Bring Back The Night, by Robin Hillard [Amata, 26 July 2020] – From approx 8 minutes: https://antisf.libsyn.com/amata

The Slow, by Antoinette Ryder [Amanda, 5 July 2020] – From approx 22:30 minutes: https://antisf.libsyn.com/amanda

I tried listening to myself again, and I can hardly bear it! In hindsight, I sound bland. If I ever have another go, I’ll let myself get more into the story. It was a fun challenge though–it involved finding the right sized cardboard box, allocating the precise distance from phone to mouth to minimise spluttering plosives and background noise, and googling how to pronounce ‘detritus’.

In any case, I hope you enjoy the twisty tales by Hillard and Ryder.

Thanks Nuke and AntipodeanSF for having me!

Father’s House – Aurealis #129

by Grace, posted in Updates

My short story, Father’s House, is in Aurealis #129.

Here’s my ‘Story Behind The Story’:

Father’s House sprang from three concepts mashing together unexpectedly in my head. The technology to map and deconstruct the human brain is growing increasingly sophisticated. How long will it be before we try to replicate a human mind in digital form? More importantly, when we do so, how closely can we say it represents the original? At the time I was mulling about this, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act came into effect in Victoria—and with it, the crucial issue of determining capacity to consent. Finally, this story holds a great deal of personal significance. I was reflecting on the things that parents pass on to their children: stories spoken aloud, and stories so hidden they’re only a vague feeling. Like Henry, we carry pieces of previous generations in us, and we grapple with them throughout our lives.

You can purchase the issue or sign up as a subscriber through the Aurealis website.

Jigsaw Children in Audio

by Grace, posted in Updates
Forgot to post this a few weeks ago.
My story, Jigsaw Children, is available in audio form, narrated beautifully by Alethea Kontis.
Available at the Clarkesworld website: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/audio_02_20d/
Or also on the Clarkesworld Podcast:
…and other podcast sources.

Aurealis Awards 2019: Shortlisted!

by Grace, posted in Reflections, Updates

Greetings, digital ghosts.

Just a little post to announce that my short story, The Mark, has been shortlisted for Best Horror Short Story in the 2019 Aurealis Awards.

 
Wang Yibo dancing on stage with a seductive twirl.
Mood

I’m feeling incredibly privileged and honoured that my second published work is an Aurealis Awards nominee.

Congratulations to all the other finalists: a stellar line-up!

https://aurealisawards.org/2020/03/25/2019-aurealis-awards-shortlist-announcement/