Imperfect Skies
Since receiving feedback on Livid Skies from my wonderful structural editor, Michelle, I've been hard at work. Tweaking things, adding whole new chapters, brutally murdering my darlings.
One of the parts of the book that gave me the most trouble was the first chapter. It just lacked punch. Most of my chapters have been through about nine drafts at this point. Each draft represents a tweak on the last. A paragraph gets dropped or added. Clarifications and descriptions are added. Filler gets cut.
But this first chapter… Over and over again, the story of the chapter has been tossed aside and born again. And then I shared it with my writers' group.
I'm still not entirely sure how I ended up in the WiFi Sci-Fi group, but it's been such an incredible boon to find them. And let me tell you, they were blunt. That chapter was not working. But they didn't just tell me what didn't work – they breathed new life into what did.
You can find my new opening line in the above image. I'm so happy with how it's all coming together – which is lucky, because the whole thing is due to my copy-editor, Lucy, in three weeks.
August was also busy because I published a new short story, Past Imperfect. If you've not yet read it, you can grab a free copy from Queer Sci-Fi in their September free book pack. Sign up for that here. Katya's life on Mars is everything she ever dreamed – so why isn't it what she expected?
Fancy meeting you here
A few weeks ago, a tweet strolled across my feed. A literary agent I'd never heard of was announcing a new client – a science fiction writer by the name of Darusha Wehm (they/them).
That's an unusual name – and it struck a memory chord in my brain. Back in the dawn of time, I shared a single semester-long class with Darusha at the University of Alberta. We both left Edmonton behind a long time ago – literally and metaphorically.
Darusha writes (amongst other things) culturally diverse, gender-bendy, socio-politico-economic science fiction.
Voyage of the White Cloud is a novel in short stories…
The aro-ace love story between Steve and Keith was absolutely wonderful. Beatriz and Oki’s tales both resonated with me. But the Captain’s Log was the one that stuck in my mind.
If home is where the heart is, what happens to the heart when there is no home?
If you enjoy science fiction short stories and a fresh perspective on gender, give this book a try.
Speaking of chance encounters…
Amara Lynn's (they/them) novellette, Tundra, Travellers, and Other Travesties, is a lovely little chance encounter novella set on a post-apocalyptic Earth. And it's available for free at the above link.
Even more free books!
Free LGBTQ books of varying genres can be yours here.
Stay safe out there! Lockdown isn't over because the danger has past; it's over because people got bored of it.
My books for sale
Devon's Island(available now)
Livid Skies (available for pre-order)