Link Treats

Well, this has been the longest break I’ve taken from the blog in a while now. Life has been busy. Last weekend involved a drive down to the Eastern Shore of MD to see family. Much fun was had and many crabs were eaten. We returned with many pics of family gravestones and pounds of scrapple. (You can’t get scrapple up here in New England. Yes, that’s a bad thing.)

These links have been sitting around for a while, so there’s a good chance you’ve already read them. You know, if you hang out in the same neighborhoods I do. Hopefully, they’re not too redundant. I like them, anyway.

Hey, Everyone — Stop Taking This Picture! (No, I Mean It.)
This is the oldest one–from last year. Fit, Feminist, and (almost) Fifty hipped me to it.

Beta Readers
Minerva Zimmerman shares her thoughts about a writer’s dearest asset, her beta readers.

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things, On Tiers
I used to be one of those folks who creates best-of lists. I was very Rob Gordon about it, but then I met Alpha Reader who refuses to makes lists like that. At first, I found that kind of quaint; over time I saw his point. It was interesting to see Scalzi’s take on the concept.

Your Ultimate Feminist Mixtape
A good collection of tunes from Vagenda’s Emily B. Fun suggestions in the comments, as well. What would you add?

#510: Falling out of love with your creative work and losing momentum
I so needed to read this today. As I said on Twitter yesterday, I’m trapped in the third act of The Travelers and can’t get out. Well, the only way out is through, isn’t it? Finish the fucking novel, M.

Link Treats

It’s been kind of quiet over here, hasn’t it? Well, the dayjob’s been keeping me busy, as has the new story I’m working on. But now, I’m in the midst of a long weekend from work, and the story is almost ready to send to my betas. One more alpha read and it should be there.

So, that’s hopeful. Today’s batch of links is a mixed bag of goodies. I hope you’ll find something interesting here.

Writing up that Staircase
Minerva Zimmerman, one of the contributors to Winter Well: Speculative Novellas About Older Women, takes a look at the writer’s journey. I like the metaphor.

10 Literary Authors You Didn’t Know Wrote Science Fiction
Jason Diamond at Flavorwire tries to fool us with a list of literary authors who wrote science fiction. Interesting list. I never thought of Woolf’s Orlando as science fiction, but okay,

Top 10 worst sex scenes in modern literature
As a member of Livejournal’s weepingcock community, I’ve read way worse sex scenes than most of these, but these actually got published! I’m torn between the lepidopterist and Zorro (both of which made an appearance over at wc) being my “favorites.” What are yours?

How to prove to a global warming denier that climate change is real, in 14 seconds
At this point, I don’t know if you can convince a climate change denier that it’s real. Deniers gonna deny. Still, it’s pretty damned obvious to those who actually want to use their brains.

A Poem By Patricia Lockwood
Ms. Lockwood’s poem, The Rape Joke, over at the Awl. Powerful stuff. Trigger warning.

Mark Your Calendars!

My next anthology has a release date and a cover! Well, it’s not all mine. Three other authors are involved, too, and our delightful editor. May 24, 2013 is when Winter Well: Speculative Novellas About Older Women is coming out. And it looks like this:

Isn’t that cool? What do you think of the cover? There’s so much going on in it. And the stories all sound neat, as well. They are:

M. Fenn – “To The Edges”
Minerva Zimmerman – “Copper”
Anna Caro – “This Other World”
Marissa James – “The Second Wife”

You can read more about the collection at Crossed Genres. I’ll be here, basking.