Don't forgot! Tomorrow, I appear at SF in SF for the second time, to celebrate Wings Unfurled! This reading series takes place on Sunday, March 26, at 6:30pm at the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco. There's a $10 entry fee, but no one is turned away for lack of funds.

After our readings, Cliff Winning will interview me and fellow guest, Mia Tsai, who's promoting her paranormal debut Bitter Medicine. We’ll be taking questions from the audience as well, and Soma FM will be recording the event for their station. Come grab a seat and ask me whatever you’d like. Even what my characters would pick as their favorite cocktails. 🍹 All proceeds from the $10 entry fee and the cash bar are donated to the American Bookbinders Museum.

See you there!

I'll be appearing at a few events in the Bay Area, coming up this week and next. Here's the deets:

The Wizard's Homecoming Book Launch

I am thrilled to celebrate my friend, the talented Elwin Cotman, and his new speculative poetry collection, The Wizard’s Homecoming, this coming Friday, March 17, at 7:00pm Pacific Time! I'm also thrilled that he asked me to read as part of the celebration.

The book launch takes place at Hasta Muerte Coffee in Oakland, and Elwin will also be hosting comic artist Dan McCloskey for the evening. Come on out! More Info.

Strong Women • Strange Worlds Birthday Book Fair

I’ll be taking part on Facebook in Strong Women • Strange Worlds’ Birthday Celebration Book Fair on Saturday, March 18, from 12pm to 1pm PT!

This event intimidates me, to be honest. Why? Because it’s not a reading but twenty minutes of time for me to just talk about my books, my writing process, the publishing industry, and maybe even how my foodie ways influence my fiction. I’m afraid of being a rambling mess....but if you’d be entertained by a rambling Rebecca Gomez Farrell, check it out! SWSW’s birthday festivities will be going on all day, but you should be able to tune in here on Facebook at 12:00pm to find me. Sumiko Saulson and KC Grifant will also be authors on display during that Book Fair hour.

SF in SF

I am delighted to return to SF in SF for my second reading with that great celebration of speculative fiction writers! It takes place on Sunday, March 25, at 6:30pm at the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco.

After our readings, Cliff Winning will interview me and fellow guest, Mia Tsai. We’ll be taking questions from the audience as well, and Soma FM will be recording the event for their station. Come grab a seat and ask me whatever you’d like. Even what my characters would pick as their favorite cocktails. 🍹 All proceeds from the $10 entry fee and the cash bar are donated to the American Bookbinders Museum.

Will I see you in March? I hope so! But if not....more April events will be announced soon!

Today, on the Wings Unfurled Blog Tour, you can visit Ali Lucia Sky's blog, where I answer "What’s The Worst Writing Advice You’ve Ever Received?" It's a claim I've heard many times, from many writers, but one that lacks the nuance that newer writers need to hear, in my humble opinion.

You'll also find an excerpt of Chapter 1 in the book! This comes from Serra's point-of-view, and she's at Castle Callyn for the first time in quite a while....and for reasons she needs to report to King Dever right away.

Don't forget to also visit the Meerkat Press masterpost to enter our $50 giftcard prize drawing! And now for today's contextless quote from Wings Unfurled.

“I heard the Green Lady was building a new glass house, so I came with my hammer and thought to help.”

Week 1 of the Wings Unfurled Blog Tour is almost over!

There are no new stops on the tour scheduled over the weekend, but I still have new content for you! But first, don't forget to swing by the Meerkat Press masterpost to enter our $50 giftcard prize drawing! Not quite 100 folks have signed up yet, so you have a nearly 1/100 chance at the moment—that's actually really great for an online prize drawing.

New content? Yes! You can now watch video of me reading the prologue to Wings Unfurled! This was recorded as part of the Strong Women, Strange Worlds reading series, which I appeared in this past November. Head here to YouTube to watch!

On the same YouTube page, you can watch the full video of that First Friday Quick Reads session with Strong Women, Strange Worlds. Six authors in total read, each of us for just 8 minutes, to give you a quick sip of our work. Featured authors beside myself: Sandra Barrett, Ellen Booraem, Jennie Goloboy, Angela Yuriko, and Sylvia Woodham.

I also appeared on Story Hour this past Wednesday, which is a lovely readings series that began with the pandemic and has been running strong weekly ever since. Story Hour focuses on short stories, so I did not read from Wings Unfurled. Instead, I shared "Garbage," a humorous, but as host Laura Blackwell described it, "funny and disturbing," science fiction story. I read with Barbara A. Barnett, who graces the first half hour with a short, sad read and then a longer, funny tale that'll make you think twice before your next bite of salad.

My half starts about 25:00 minutes into the Story Hour. I hope you enjoy the listen!

And let me leave you with another contextless sentence from Wings Unfurled. Place your order by clicking on the vendor of your choice in that right sidebar over there ↗↗↗

“What does the mama snake say to the baby snake?” “Ssssnuggles, ssssnakelet!”

Over at Shepherd, which is a newish website to help shepherd readers toward their next favorite books, I compiled a list of books that impress me with their sometimes poetic, sometimes beautifully figurative, prose: The Best Speculative Fiction Books with Lyrical Prose.

My choices:

This list is heavily informed by my love of African American literature (this was my Modern Literature focus in college) and my willingness to follow gorgeous imagery anywhere, anytime. Feel free to ask me more about any of my choices; I'm happy to gush.

I also mention in the article that I'm preceded by THREE GENERATIONS(!) of poets on my mother's side. Thanks to my mom, my grandfather William Parker, and my great-grandfather William Lee Popham for that legacy!

Wishing you some great new lyrical prose favorites! If you like my work, you may also want to check out the Shepherd list of Ominously Atmospheric Stories for Winter's Night for suggestons, as Wings Unfurled does have a good share of its own haunting. Also take a gander at their new Magicians (Fantasy) shelf on their bookshelves.

At the Speculative Fiction Showcase blog, Jessica Rydill shares a nice interview with me on a number of topics, many of them related to Wings Unfurled.

I love when interviews actually focus on the books themselves - most folks want to know more about the writing process than the story, so it was refreshing to take a deeper dive into the world on the page. Learn what headspaces the characters are in at the beginning of the work, my future writing plans, and even why my replicator order is "Absinthe verte, one cube."

Be sure to read it here! Thanks to Jessica for the opportunity.

I am delighted to share that you can now pre-order Wings Unfurled. Officially Book 2 of the Wings Rising series, Wings Unfurled releases on December 6, just a little over a month from now. Just in time for those holiday gifts, right? *wink wink nudge nudge*

The print version is $18.95 and the ebook is $8.95.

At the Meerkat Press listing page for the book, you can see all the ordering options. But if there’s one thing authors know, it’s that we should give you direct ordering links to your favorite service whenever possible! So here they are:

• Amazon Print
• Amazon Ebook
• Barnes & Noble Print
• Barnes & Noble Ebook
• Kobo
• Meerkat Press

You can also order it from your fave local bookstore!

Now, the first question you’re going to ask me is which vendor should you buy it from so that I get the most royalties? The answer is honestly that I get the same royalties no matter where you buy it from. But if you’d like to support my publisher, then ordering directly from Meerkat Press is best.

The second question is “So, what's it about, Becca?” Well, here’s the backcover blurb!

The vicious claren that used to plague the reunited countries of Medua and Lansera are long gone. So what are the new dark patches appearing in Lady Serra's second sight?

She rushes to King Albrecht to report the danger, only to discover that he's ailing and Vesperi, Prince Janto's wife, has fled far to the north to grieve her disappeared daughter.

Vesperi still wields the silver flame, possesses all the authority she's ever wanted, but nothing can heal the wound of a missing child. When the silver moon Esye begins to fade, a gnawing fear preys on her for the first time since she escaped her father's cold rule.

Ominous creatures once thought mythical are now rampaging through the countryside. Janto sends Serra to investigate. But without her friendship and Vesperi's love, he fears he cannot slay this challenge. He failed to find his own daughter, after all.

To save the Lanserim, the legendary bird with three heads must fly again. Will Janto, Vesperi, and Serra find the strength to raise it? Or will this menace, with the might to drain a moon, devour them first?

I hope that gets you excited to read about the new adventures and challenges Vesperi, Janto, and Serra face, six years after the events of Wings Unseen. I also shared a geeky writer note on book structure with my newsletter subscribers this past weekend, so I'm going ot share it with everyone now: I didn’t know that Wings Unfurled’s organization would so closely follow Wing Unseen’s when I started writing it, but I’m delighted that it worked out that way. Wings Unseen is laid out in two parts: The Breeding Season and The Culling. Wings Unfurled also has two parts: Moonfall and Moonrise. Two stanzas of prophetic prophesy are also very important to both plots! Here’s a teaser of the first two lines of the new prophecy from Wings Unfurled:

When leaps the mighty cantalere the dark brother drains his foes.

Uncover the rest of that prophecy and what it portends for the Lanserim by preordering now!

"She Could Be Me" was one of my very first short stories published, back in 2010. Sadly, its original publisher, the e-zine Flashes in the Dark, no longer exists. But I'm delighted to announce that Bards And Sages Quarterly has rescued "She Could Be Me" from obscurity!

This issue of the magazine came out in April 2021 — yes, I'm behind in sharing publication news, AGAIN. You can pick up the e-book for $3 or the print version for $9 from Amazon here. I quite like Editor Julie Ann Dawson's short description of my story, in this collection of eight short stories in all:

A peculiar phone call from her husband is only the first in a strange series of events that upends a woman’s well-manicured life in "She Could Be Me."

I hope you'll pick up a copy of the April 2021 Bards And Sages Quarterly and give it a read! Our new kitty, Bemo, did. ;)

I'm quite proud of "Fresh Catch of the Day." This fantasy story appears in A Quiet Afternoon 2, the second volume of an anthology series of low-fi speculative fiction from Grace&Victory Publications.

Low-fi spec fic aims "for a peaceful break from a stressful world." Volume 1 contained my "An Inconvenient Quest," and I'm delighted that the G&V team thought "Fresh Catch of the Day" would make a great addition to Volume 2.

Often, when I'm writing a new short story, I'm doing it with a challenge in mind. For "Fresh Catch of the Day," that challenge was writing a short story with a solid plot contained within 1,000 words. Oh, I've written plenty stories of that length before! But those have all tended more toward the poetic prose side of my writing, generating atmosphere and character more vividly than the plot.

Enter Jiàn, an older woman with a middling magical gift compared to everyone else in her world. Hearing about a special seafood catch at the local market leads her to make a perhaps hasty decision to pursue it with a single-minded focus.

You'll have to order A Quiet Afternoon 2 to see if she pulls it off! I ultimately pulled off the story at just over 1,100 words. Like Jiàn, I know sometimes you have to push yourself past your limits to get the job done. ;)

A Quiet Afternoon 2 contains 27 low-fi tales. It's available in ebook formats from Grace&Victory directly at Payhip. The anthology is $9 CAD, so a little over $8 in USD.

I do hope you enjoy it! Here are the first few lines of "A Fresh Catch of the Day" to whet your appetite.

Jiàn, seventy-one but as spry as sixty-three, pondered which vendor she’d like to barter with to use her water-spouting skills for lunch. A spark of light about as bright and fast-fizzling as a firecracker caught her eye. Ah, the light-weavers are at work.

And a photograph to set the mood:

An oyster chef at work.

I hope you enjoy "Fresh Catch of the Day!"

In March, I was delighted to appear on Story Hour, a weekly speculative fiction reading. Audiences can join the Zoom recording directly or they can watch live or in replays on Facebook. This is the second time I've read for Story Hour, and I have to say, it's great fun that a reading exists that so appreciates the short story form. I read two short stories, "She Could Be Me" and "Fresh Catch of the Day," during my half of the episode. At the time, they were upcoming publications (or re-publication, in the case of "She Could Be Me"), but as life has continued the untimely delay of my posting updates here, both have since come out!

I'll have posts very soon announcing where you can find the stories. In the meantime, enjoy my Story Hour reading! It takes place in the first half of the episode, and I was delighted to read with Edward Austin Hall, who reads in the second half of the hour. Do note that Edward's excerpts are on the graphic side of horror, should that be a concern for you. Mine are both fairly lightweight this time around, one Twilight Zonesque horror short and one low-fi fantasy tale.

Thanks so much to Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell, who host Story Hour, for the invite back!

I am so delighted to announce that Wings Unfurled, the sequel to my epic fantasy novel Wings Unseen, will be coming out in 2022! Meerkat Press will publish the sequel, just as they did Wings Unseen. Here’s their official announcement of the upcoming publication.

Some of you may remember that I wrote Wings Unseen as a standalone novel. Or rather, I first dreamed of it as a trilogy in the early 2000s, but by the time I seriously started writing it, in 2009, the going advice was that a first-time novelist couldn’t get a multi-book deal. So I shifted gears, focusing on writing the full story in one book instead. That made for a much tighter narrative, but by the time I began shopping the manuscript around, the collective wisdom in speculative fiction was back to recommending series of books as the best bet for a writer, first-time or established!

Luckily, Meerkat Press took the risk on Wings Unseen as a standalone book, and I’ve always been happy that I could tell people that the story is complete in and of itself.

Such a shiny, pretty debut novel![/caption]

But after its release, my publisher, Tricia Meeks, the driving force behind Meerkat, mentioned that she’d be interested in a second book. So of course the wheels of a new story for Janto, Vesperi, and Serra began turning!

My wheels don’t turn very fast. Wings Unseen was published in 2017, and I didn’t begin writing Wings Unfurled in earnest until October 2019. Yet somehow, I managed to send off the manuscript’s third draft for consideration by Meerkat in March 2020, and they purchased it! That’s the fastest I have ever written a book, for sure – faster than I’ve written most short stories, to be honest. I’m definitely someone who puts manuscripts aside for a while, letting time do the solving of plot puzzles before coming back with fresh eyes.

So what’s Wings Unfurled about? Well, I’m not going to spoil it, but it begins about six years after Janto, Vesperi, and Serra have rid Lansera and its formerly Meduan lands of the invisible plague of claren and the thrall of the Guj. I won’t tell you more than that for now – except to tease that there’s a fourth, and briefly a fifth, new point-of-view character in the book. Not a pigeon this time! But rest assured, there are plenty of feathers left to lash in Lansera.

I'll be dropping hints about Wings Unfurled along the way to its publication, leaving you a tasty trail to follow until then. Maybe I'll even share a recipe for the lemon cakes that Janto, and another family member, so loves! Waits are always easier to endure when there's a snack.

That image is of Pittsburgh's Grandview Bakery's almond cupcakes - NOT Mar Pina's lemon cakes in Lansera, but not far off from what I imagine...

In the madness of moving, I haven't had time to share this news: "Submission Caws" received an audio production by the Centropic Oracle!

The recording was released on January 29, which was the day we were originally scheduled for escrow to close. The release of "Submission Caws" stayed on schedule, though our escrow took a few days longer...

...but that's another story! This story is a fictional rant about the process of submitting manuscripts out for publication. It is funny and silly, particularly if you are also a writer undertaking this process on a regular basis. It's a fantasy take on the concept, with recipes for magic spells subbed in for manuscripts themselves. It ends with a dare that the editors at the Centropic Oracle took, just like Defenestration did before them when the story was first published in 2019.

Jill Raymond performed the audio version, and I quite enjoy her take on the story -- the character of Betty, a bubbly and annoyingly successful composer of magical recipes, comes through loud and clear. To listen to or read "Submission Caws," head to the Centropic Oracle's website here.

Or of course, you can read "Submission Caws" at its original home at Defenestration, right here.

The first few lines to entice you onward:

A black crow swoops onto the open window ledge, and yearning gushes from deep within me. I tamp down the emotion swifter than the crow can deliver its charge: a rolled parchment that bangs against the bookshelves as it flips toward the floor. The crow musses its feathers and launches into the air, off to retrieve its next assignment. Soon, someone else will receive fresh misery. I retrieve the parchment, find it quaint that the Gate Keepers use it for correspondence when they could just place a call by sandspelling. The parchment’s seal displays a sentinel guarding a mountain of scrolls piled behind an ornate, locked gate.

And some photographic inspiration:

It's award nomination season in the speculative fiction world, which means it's time for me to roll out my annual review of my publications for the previous year! And by annual, I mean, I haven't done one since...2018? Oh wait, 2018 was the only year I've ever done one? Um...oops? But I am recently inspired by Rosemary Claire Smith's "Reason to Publicize Your Award-Eligible Works" article to to give it a go. So here goes!

Yes, I had seven publications to my name in the last year! That's my highest total yet in terms of sheer numbers - I'm around a 15% acceptance rate at the moment, which is pretty gosh-darn good. Writing is a rejection grind, so anytime my acceptance rate is above 10% for stories I've sent out to be considered for publication, I'm feeling darn good. And I do feel good about the quality of my work published in 2020! Unfortunately, of those seven publications, only a couple are actually eligible for nomination for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus, or other awards of your nominating choice. Those are....

• "It's Only Vampire" - A humorous horror tale released in FARK in the Time of COVID: The 2020 Fark Fiction Anthology. The anthology was released in December 2020. What I most enjoyed about writing this one was finally capturing a bit of the humor in the generational battles we humans so often undertake - think, "OK, Boomer," but for the fang and crypt crew.
• "An Inconvenient Quest" - A flash fantasy quest in A Quiet Afternoon: Lo-Fi Speculative Fiction for a Peaceful Break from a Stressful World, released in July 2020. I wrote the first draft of this short story several years ago, when I wanted to really dig into using senses other than sight more often in my fiction. The result of focusing on smells? A synesthetic union of scent, emotion, and color for a lonely sprite who must find a way to save his ailing queen.
• "Wishing for More" - Oh, oh wait. This urban fantasy romance about graduates of the Jinn school trying to make their way in world came out in December 2019. I just didn't learn that it had been published until a few weeks into 2020. Now that's a story for another time. You can read "Wishing for More" in Helios Quarterly Magazine 4.4, but unfortunately, you cannot nominate it this year.
• "Some Who Wander" - Oh, no, nope. Not that one either. Because it's not fiction at all, but a fun little whirl of micro nonfiction about a bad choice I made one day while hiking through my neighborhood. "Some Who Wander" can be stumbled upon at Intrinsick.
• Consider "Hobgoblin" instead! Except you can't because it's a reprint, found in Whigmaleeries & Wives Tales.
• "What Scattered in the Wind"? Nope, also a reprint, this time in the ACCOLADES anthology.
• Surely, "Thlush-A-Lum" is up for some nominating fun? Assuredly not, as it enjoyed its fourth printing this year, in It Calls From the Sky. Clearly, I believe in the power of making your words work for you again...and again...and again. Reprints are great! But they are not eligible for nominations...unless I put them together into my own collection someday! A girl can dream.

So I guess those first two stories really are the only ones I have eligible for nominations this awards season despite my great publishing year. With seven publications added to my grand total of thirty-one, I'm not at all upset about that. If you read either "It's Only Vampire" or "An Inconvenient Quest" and liked them enough to give them a nomination, then you have my thanks.

And if not...more Stories by Rebecca Gomez Farrell are certainly coming your way in 2021. In fact, a new recording of my "Submission Caws" is up now at the Centropic Oracle here! More on that soon. One of my earliest stories, "She Could be Me," will make its way into Bards & Sages Quarterly in the spring. My brand-new "Fresh Catch of the Day" is coming out in A Quiet Afternoon 2 as well. And more new things that I can't quite speak about yet...but soon, very soon.

That's it for my second-ever awards eligibility post! Maybe next year, I'll have three pieces that'll qualify. Fingers crossed - or rather - poised over the keyboard, ready to write.

I am pleased to announce that my humorous horror tale, "It's Only Vampire," appears in FARK in the Time of COVID: The 2020 Fark Fiction Anthology! The anthology was released in December 2020.

I have a soft spot for the main characters in "It's Only Vampire." Vlad and Ji, a pair of old-timer vampires who live in a brave new world of vampire liberation, decades after vampires rose from the shadows to conquer the Earth. You see, vampires come into existence when humans write about them. After a fan fiction-based population boom, they finally had enough numbers to take their place as the dominant predator on the planet.

But ancient, sophisticated vampires like Vlad and Ji, still have a few concerns. Avoiding sunlight and garlic cloves, certainly. But also getting along with the newer generations of bloodsuckers. Some disagreements are only human -- er, vampire -- in nature.

Here are the first few lines of "It's Only Vampire" to entice your purchase:

By the time Vlad's paper-thin skin was sizzling in the sunshine as he sped down the zipline, I knew the sixth day of my nine hundred and ninety-fourth year had gone horribly wrong. Had the humans felt the same when we stepped from the shadows a decade ago to reveal our existence? We took charge before the mortals had the chance to form a resistance.

It started in late twilight with the piquant aroma of coffee brewing. Not the vampire takeover of Earth, but the sequence of events leading to Vlad's unfortunate circumstance. Desire for my daily cuppa had uncreaked my old joints as Vlad and I waited for the steeping coffee on a café's mahogany bench. Mahogany is a sign of exceptional taste—it makes quite elegant caskets.

This is my second time having a short story appear in the annual Fark.com fiction anthologies - the first was "Garbage" in 2017. Like its predecessors, FARK in the Time of COVID: The 2020 Fark Fiction Anthology, donates its proceeds to a children's charity chosen by Fark.com posters. You can order it on Amazon as a paperback or read the ebook via Kindle Unlimited.

Obligatory author & book photo

What is Fark.com? Why, it's one of the oldest, and most irreverent, news aggregator websites still around. Fark.com first came into existence in 1999. I'm mostly a lurker on their message boards, but I've always been a fan of the site and its humorous news headlines and epic discussion threads. Oh, and their taste in fiction. ;) I'm a fan of that, too. The annual anthology was born from Fark's weekly discussion thread for writers.

I wouldn't leave you without a little photographic inspiration for "It's Only Vampire" to get your imaginations churning.

By far, my most successful short story to date has been "Thlush-A-Lum," a horror tale. It follows the coming of age of Markella, a young woman who's always been especially attuned to sound and to the way her parents keep her at a distance. Perhaps they've had good reason, she learns.

I'm excited to share that "Thlush-A-Lum" was reprinted for a third time this past fall. It appears in It Calls From the Sky, an anthology of horror short stories on the title's theme.

Published by Eerie River and edited by A. Robertson-Webb and M. River, It Calls From the Sky is available for purchase at 15% off the cover price if you request a quote from Eerie River directly at the bottom of this page, Or you can purchase hardcover, paperback, or e-book versions from Amazon here. Reviews have been great for the collection, and it includes 20+ short stories in all! I'm happy that "Thlush-A-Lum" has found such a great fourth home.

A full publication history for "Thlush-A-Lum" can be found here.

I'm excited to announce that "Hobgoblin," my flash fiction take on an old fairy tale trope, appears in Whigmaleeries & Wives' Tales from Jayhenge Publishing! This anthology, which just released last week, is a collection of over 400 pages of new fairy tale takes - or retellings of lost knowledge, if you'd like. 😉 You can purchase it here at Amazon, in ebook or paperback formats. Here's the backcover blurb, and a little bit of the introduction, which I quite like:

Superstitions, Legends, Folklore and Old Wives' Tales--where do they come from? How did they get started? What's the "real" reason we throw spilled salt over our shoulder or avoid stepping on a crack? What were the old women really afraid of when someone broke a mirror? Delve into the imagination and enjoy our theories!

Knowledge once, was tough to come by. Like anything of value, various entities have tried to control it, hoard it, keep the rabble from using said knowledge, whether it was how to splint a broken leg or how to best take care of the crops. When writing was developed, keeping knowledge bound became harder in some ways, but humans have been around far longer than the written word. Before the written word, knowledge had to be passed through memory by the spoken word. And few things retain knowledge like stories. Wives’ tales, folklore, mythology; all of these make up the first FAQ of humanity, a knowledge base that didn’t respond to search terms or limiters, but characters and plot...

Its appearance in the Whigmaleeries & Wives' Tales anthology is "Hobgoblin's" second printing -- the story was a runner-up for the Fall 2017 WOW! Women on Writing Flash Fiction contest, and it was published by WOW! Women on Writing in February 2018. Here are "Hobgoblin's" first few lines to entice you to make a purchase:

Hobgoblin, they name me. The word’s consonance fills me with venom. If squeezed together on the page, the letters would ooze disgust: hob. . . gob . . . lin. It’s a corruption of my time-honored service and an insult to my squat and sturdy frame. To call me that and wonder why I torment them? I feel the evidence is plain.

And some photographic mood-setting for the tale...

I was inspired to write "Hobgoblin" for a prompt for Saturday Night Special, an ongoing open mic series. The prompt was "heroes and villains," and this poetic, somewhat nostalgic hobgoblin character came to mind. I went for a hobgoblin because they provide a rougher canvas than most fae creatures, not being quite as well-established in our communal zeitgeist. I knew I wanted to play with a character that did not consider itself a villain, but found that it could not endure the unkindess of others without giving in to their perceptions.

I hope you will read and enjoy "Hobgoblin" in Whigmaleeries & Wives' Tales! I'm looking forward to this anthology greatly myself, as I love the topic. Plus, I need to figure out what a whigmaleerie is...

Click here for the Amazon link!

This coming Wednesday, I'll be appearing at Story Hour, a weekly reading of speculative fiction hosted by authors Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell. Story Hour has only been in existence since April, but already, this reading series has included a ton of great authors in our field, and I am delighted to join their ranks. I'll be reading with Laura Davy, who's a friend and a lovely person and author.

Story Hour focuses on the short form, preferring that stories can be read in full during each author's half of the show. Luckily, I already have a handful of short stories recently published to share! Definitely, "An Inconvenient Quest" from the A Quiet Afternoon anthology will make an appearance. Likely, my 100-word non-fiction tale, "Some Who Wander," will round out my reading. And perhaps I'll have time to fit in another story that'll be reprinted soon...

I hope to see you Wednesday at 7pm PT! You can join Story Hour either through Zoom or through Facebook Live. Links to both are here at their website.

"Some Who Wander" is a short, but not sweet, piece of micro-nonfiction that appears at Instrinsick m_agazine._

What does micro-nonfiction mean? It means this creative work is less than a hundred words long, and it is an account of one of my many adventures while taking a walk. It turned out slightly better than the time I fell into a blackberry thicket and ended up with poison oak for weeks . . .

Because this tale is so swift, I'm not going to share a lead-in quote. Instead, I'll explain the story's title.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

JRR Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Now, Tolkien is writing about Strider here, a ranger in Middle Earth who wanders purposefully through the wilds. Strider, of course, will soon be revealed to be Aragon, the rightful king of Gondor. It is one of my favorite bits from the Lord of the Rings series. But while "not all who wander are lost," my title, "Some Who Wander," is meant to imply that some who wander are, indeed, quite lost, as you'll learn when you read what happened to me.

I will also give you some photographic inspiration to set the mood:

You can read "Some Who Wander" here.

My short story, "An Inconvenient Quest," appears in A Quiet Afternoon, an anthology of Low-Fi speculative fiction from Grace&Victory Publications. The anthology is due out on July 1, 2020.

What's Low-Fi speculative fiction? Foreward writer Laura DeHaan describes it as "The stakes are low. The expectations are reasonable. The resolutions are quietly satisfactory. Problems are solved with words, not violence. And sometimes, not much happens. There might not even be an appreciable amount of fantasy or science fiction. Still, it’s Low-Fi. It feels cosy. It reads easy. It enjoys the little victories."

My "An Inconvenient Quest" fits right in with that billing, though for the main character, a funny-smelling sprite named Levolin, the stakes are rather high indeed - the sprite queen is sick! Levolin must wield what he's always viewed as a fault to save the queen, who's never found any fault in him. Here are the beginning lines of the story:

Raindrop-sized jellyfish skittered out of Levolin’s reach, a familiar reaction to his presence. The sprite’s people had skittered away from him since his youth, once his unique pheromone sequence had matured into a less-than-pleasing blend. Most sprites enjoyed each other’s scents. Every feeling, person, and experience had its own redolent signature: roasted cacao beans, or rain on warm asphalt, or perhaps, peacefulness. Levolin’s just happened to be unappealing.

I do hope you'll follow Levolin on his aromatic journey into purposeful mischief and heroism. A Quiet Afternoon will be available in e-book formats on its page at the Grace&Victory website on July 1, 2020.

Here is some photographic inspiration as you read the story. Just imagine yourself as a tiny sprite, drawn in by an irresistible smell . . .

I hope you enjoy "An Inconvenient Quest" and all the stories in A Quiet Afternoon.

Tomorrow afternoon, at 3:30pm PDT, I'll be moderating and participating in the "Forming and Sustaining a Successful Writing or Critique Group" panel at the 2020 SFWA Nebula Conference, which of course, is taking place online.

The panel topic is one that's dear to my heart, both in terms of becoming a better writer and in terms of building writer communities that can support us through this often challenging career:

Writing is often a solitary endeavor–and with the current pandemic, it has become even more so. Writing and critique groups don’t eliminate the aspects of writing that can only be done solo, but a good group can serve as both a social support net as well as providing trusted feedback. Panelists will discuss the factors that go into building a successful group, both online and in-person, and what they’ve learned about keeping one going.

My fellow panelists include A. T. Greenblatt, A.C. Wise, Vylar Kaftan, and Curtis C. Chen, which makes the majority of them finalists for this year's Nebula Awards, the ceremony for which takes place tonight at 5pm PDT. Regardless of whether they win or lose, they are sure to contribute valuable insight to this topic.

If you are an attendee of #Nebulas2020, you can join us at the link below tomorrow. The panel will only be available to attendees of the conference at this time.

https://events.sfwa.org/events/forming-and-sustaining-a-successful-writing-or-critique-group/

I hope to "see" you there!

I am thrilled that my romantic urban fantasy tale, "Wishing for More," appears in Helios Quarterly Magazine 4.4, which came out in December 2019 (why yes, I am behind on promo).

In "Wishing for More," a dastardly magical plant outwits stubborn Jewls, forcing her to accept rescue from her childhood friend Cesar. Both newly graduated from Jinn School, Jewls and Cesar set out for a night of adventure, foraging for more mystical plants Jewls can sell to pay the bills and avoid disappointing the Jinn Cadre. Will she use up all her wishing power before she realizes what she wishes for most?

The first lines:

Just a little bit more.

Jewls placed her hand on the guardrail meant to stop people from doing exactly what she was about to: hang over the edge of a desolate ocean cliff. An alep’s hound plant grew about five feet down the cliff’s rockface, its cornucopia of dagger-shaped leaves folded tightly in a nautilus spiral. Jewls had parked her car by the highway and made her way down an abandoned lighthouse’s access road, on a night blowing icy mist, to harvest it.

She shuffled on her stomach over the rim, reaching with her free hand, but the alep’s hound darted left and right, avoiding her straining fingers. A wave crashed against the jagged boulders, sending up a high plume of seawater that drenched her. Brrr. She tried not to ponder those depths, focused on the plant, leaning farther—

Helios Quarterly 4.4 is available directly from the publisher's webstore in .mobi or .epub formats. You can also purchase from Amazon for $2.99 for the Kindle here. It contains four other short stories in addition to "Wishing for More." Get your copy now!

And here's a photo inspiration to set the story's mood:

Photo copyright C-Shell Photo

I'm so thrilled that "What Scattered in the Wind" is reprinted in the Accolades anthology from Women Who Submit Lit. The anthology launches today at the AWP conference in San Antonio.

"What Scattered in the Wind" first appeared in Little Letters on the Skin, a chapbook/anthology (more info here). It's a flash fiction horror tale of an older woman who wakes to find unwanted, and long forgotten, visitors to her isolated desert mesa.

What makes this reprint so special is that Accolades is a celebration of the submissions, acceptances, and publications of members of the national Women Who Submit Lit organization, of which I run a local chapter.

Every other month, I spend two hours submitting out my work for publication and encouraging other writers to do the same. Accolades is proof of how effective that support and time investment is, as all the works featured within it are reprints of writing WWSL members have had published elsewhere -- all that perseverance pays off!

Accolades is available in print from Amazon for $15. Here are the leading lines into "What Scattered in the Wind":

Hollow rasps of laughter pestered her to wakefulness. Any noise would have done the same, though she clamped her eyelids together in protest. For years, Ruth had heard nothing but the teakettle’s hiss or the slow scrape of her cane against the camper’s floor panels. The creaking sound of her voice rarely interrupted the silence. Unlike the other wayfarers, Ruth had never developed the habit of talking to herself. She didn’t care to hear what she’d have to say.

“Hee-hee, hee-he-heee!“

And a photo to set the mood:

Starting Friday, I'll be attending FOGcon (website) in Walnut Creek, which is a local convention for speculative fiction writers and enthusiasts. It runs March 6-8 this year, and yes, it is still on despite the coronavirus threat. As I am not in a high-risk population, I plan to attend.

You can buy a membership for a full day's events at FOGcon whether you come Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or all of the above. It's a small con, but that's part of the reason why I enjoy going so much--there's so much opportunity to check in with other writers and fans that live locally.

These are the panels and readings I'll be appearing at:

-Food in Genre Fiction, panelist, Fri, 3:00–4:15 pm. Inspired by Mary Anne Mohanraj's latest publication being a cookbook, let's think about food and its place in genre fiction! In stories where a stranger visits a new culture, we often hear about their food choices (Becky Chambers's "Record of a Spaceborn Few" comes to mind). Food can be a marker of similarity or difference between people, and ultimately, it is a necessity. When our worlds change, what happens to the food in them?

-Choosing Your Own Adventures, panelist, Sat, 10:30–11:45 am. For many of us, the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books were an early exposure to speculative fiction -- and we remember them with fondness. They are also experiencing a pop-culture resurgence. Panelists will discuss some of their favorite examples, what is different about the books (both the experience of writing and reading them), and their influence on the wider culture.

-People Aren't Food: Cliches in Description, panelist, Sun, 10:30–11:45 am. Her heart-shaped face. His chiseled jaw. He's ruggedly handsome. Her rose-colored complexion. The women are stunningly beautiful or haggardly ugly. Her cinnamon visage, his coffee-colored arms. He stared stonily. Women sob. Men weep. What are better ways to describe actual people and what they do, without falling into gendered and racialized tropes?

-Reading #10, Sun, 1:30–2:45 pm, reading with Elwin Cotwin, Jr., and Andrea Stewart. During this event, I'll giving away a copy of Wings Unseen, and Andrea will also have a few books for audience members to hopefully win! Enticements for coming to the last reading of a convention are always appreciated.

And you can often find me hanging out in the lobby bar. Come say hi! Wings Unseen will be available in the vendor's room (or ask me if they run out!).

Great news! "Treasure" has been reprinted in the Best Indie Speculative Fiction 2019 anthology from Bards & Sages! As Bards & Sages describes it, "This collection is our annual celebration of the small press and independent publishing community."

Best Indie Speculative Fiction 2019 features twelve short stories of fantasy, science fiction, and horror that have been published over the past two years, and it came out in November 2019. Currently, it's available from Amazon here.

“Treasure,” a fantasy fable, was originally published in the Dark Luminous Wings anthology from Pole to Pole Publishing. Here are the first few lines:

Wind thundered past the slats of the storage cabin. Hidden within a barrel of fish guts, the stowaway braced herself for lurching. But when the ship pitched sharply sternside, Enkid knew it was no ordinary squall. A storm this bad would force the captain out of his quarters despite his usual drunken stupor, creating an opportunity to filch the beveled, green-glass vial he wore around his neck. It held hemlock tincture, a rare poison that would come in handy for someone in Enkid’s line of work.

And here is a photo I took during a Paperhand Puppet Intervention show, which may, or may not have, influenced a certain element of this tale. Enjoy!

I'm leaving in just a few hours to join my writer and fan compatriots at Worldcon 77! Also known as Worldcon Dublin. Also known as Worldcon 2019. We like options. ;)

I will be busy while attending Worldcon, and not just sightseeing! I'm a program participant this year, for the first time ever. I'll have four panels, one reading, one autograph session, and one kaffeklatsch. Here's a graphic summarizing my schedule at a quick glance.

And here's a more detailed list, should you be attending and want to join me for any of them! I'll, of course, be conquering my Dublin Foodie Hit List in my off-time. But I'll also be at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America table Saturday morning, at the Hugos, and variously wandering the halls of the Dublin Convention Centre. Don't hesitate to say hi!

Rebecca Gomez Farrell's Worldcon 77 Official Schedule: #

Thursday, 15 August #

-VR and AR: the future of gaming or a fad? #

Panelist, 12:00 - 12:50, Wicklow Room-1

In 2015 the gaming industry was abuzz with the potential of both virtual and augmented reality. However, the expected explosive growth of these technologies did not happen. This panel will discuss the potential of these exciting technologies and whether or not they will ever achieve the potential people believed they would have a few short years ago.

-Found in translation: SFF translated works #

Moderator, 15:00 - 15:50, Wicklow Room-4

English is the current lingua franca, making it easy to forget that a lot of genre fiction is translated from other languages. Who are the best authors of translated SFF? Are particular languages more likely to be translated than others? The panel will discuss the status of translated works in the wider context of SFF and which non-English books we should be reading.

Friday, 16 August #

-Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading #

Reader, 17:00 - 17:50, Liffey Room-3

Broad Universe is an international organization for women and female-identifying authors of science fiction, fantasy and horror, working together to promote women's works in the genres! Our signature event, the Rapid Fire Reading, gives each author a few minutes to read from their work. It's like a living anthology of women writers.

Saturday, 17 August #

-Kaffeeklatsch: Rebecca Gomez Farrell #

Author, 13:00 - 13:50, Level 3 Foyer

A Kaffeeklatsch is a unique opportunity at some conventions to meet up with a writer in a casual setting--in this case, right by one of Worldcon's onsite cafes--and spend time shooting the breeze on whatever topic floats everyone's boats. The cutoff is usually around 10 or so people--I'm not sure what it'll be for Dublin, but I doubt it'll get too high. And I'll be thrilled if anyone comes!

Sign up for my kaffeeklatsch at the Infodesk if you want to talk about my writing, about our shared love of good food and drink, about the writing business from a small press author's perspective, about favorite SF/F shows and movies and books this year, or about...cats! I'm planning to give away at least one book during this session as well.

-Window to the soul: a character’s favourite song #

Moderator, 14:00 - 14:50, Wicklow Room-4

Creators often use a character’s musical choices to show us their inner thoughts and hidden motivations: in Guardians of the Galaxy the music Peter plays is a link to his lost mother, in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Miles’s favourite song places him as a member of Generation Z, and Alex’s callous rendition of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ in A Clockwork Orange has gone down in infamy. Join our panellists for a walk through our favourite characters’ musical memories.

Sunday, 18 August #

-Internet, Censorship, Control, and Influence #

Moderator, 13:00 - 13:50, Wicklow Room-1

Innovations on the Internet transformed the ability to have global conversations about politics but also heightened capacities for censorship & control. Have these affected the Internet's original doctrine? Do they provide greater transparency or muddy the water? We’ll discuss the evolution of the idea behind censorship and control as applied to the Internet in terms of law and modern society.

-Group Autograph Session #

Signing, 15:00 - 15:50, Level 4 Foyer

The authors signing for this session include myself, Pat Cadigan, Derwin Mak, RJ Barker, Kathryn Sullivan, and Jim Doty, PhD.

And that's if for my official schedule! And it's enough, let me tell you. ;) But I think I'll actually feel prepared by the time I step on that plane...soon, very soon.

Fogcon 2019 starts tomorrow!

As per usual, I don't feel ready, but do I ever for conventions? This year, I'll be at Fogcon all weekend. Here is my schedule, should you care to join me at any point:

Friday, 4:30 pm, Salon A/B: It's Dangerous to Go Alone! Take This--Writer Support Networks in the Bay Area. Panelist.

Scene: The writer types alone, perhaps with a bottle of bourbon for companionship and a cat on the lap. The writing lifestyle is often portrayed as solitary, but as with all careers, writers need support to improve and to get their work seen by the wider world. Come learn what resources are available for speculative fiction writers in the Bay Area, from critique groups, to marketing, to writing classes, to kicking back and talking writer shop with others going through the creative struggle of the written word.

Saturday, 10:00 am, Salon F: Discovering Short Fiction. Panelist.

We live in golden age for short SFF, but there’s so much out there and relatively few reviews and recommendations compared to novels. How are people finding short fiction? What are some techniques the panelist can suggest for those looking to read more short stories? And what can the community do to help showcase the awesome short fiction happening now?

Saturday, noon, Lobby Bar: East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup Group Craft Klatsch. Host.

Join my East Bay critique group for SF/F writers during Saturday's lunch hour in Fogcon's lobby bar to unwind from the con so far and catch up on what's been great and what folks are looking forward to next.

Saturday, 8:00 pm, Salon F: Small Houses, Big Futures--Publishing SF with Small Presses. Moderator.

While many of us dream of a Big 5 deal, there are numerous Small Press publishers that are taking risks the larger publishers can't, giving more writers access to the market. But that access comes with smaller (or no) advances and a larger proportion of labor on the author. What's different about publishing with a Small Press vs. a big publishing house? How is the experience different, for the editor and for the writer?

Sunday, 1:30 pm, Santa Rosa room: Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading. Host and Reader.

Broad Universe is one of the oldest organizations supporting female writers of speculative fiction. At conventions nationwide, Broad Universe hosts Rapid Fire Readings to highlight the amazing work of our members. Several members of the group take part by sharing short bursts of fiction that keep the reading lively and exciting.

And from there...home! Is it wrong that I'm looking forward to that last part already?

I would love to have you join me in Alameda for this author event. As I'm the only author on the agenda, I am a bit nervous about having a turnout...this is why I usually invite more authors to read with me. ;)  RSVP through Eventbrite right here, and yes, it's free. I will have copies of _Wings Unsee_n available for sale.

Host Kevis Brownson and I will have a conversation about my writing and the organizations I'm involved with, then I'll do a reading, then there will be audience Q&A, and then a signing and reception to wrap up the evening. 6 pm is early! So don't worry about sliding in a bit late.

Here's the series description: For the third year, the AAUW Alameda presents a spring series of talks featuring authors who live and write in Alameda and nearby, now co-sponsored by the Friends of the Alameda Free Library. Our February author Rebecca Gomez Farrell will discuss her novel Wings Unseen and her current writing projects.

Hope to see you there!

Catching up on appearances I've made over the past couple of years for food and fiction, and lo and behold! I never promoted my episode of the Swirl Suite podcast from last year! I love this group, or "squad" as they call themselves, of female wine and spirit professionals of color, based mainly in the DC area. Last year, they did a series, "Get to Know a Wine Blogger," and I was thrilled to be asked to take part. Surprisingly, the only subject that's out of date is that my fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, is no longer coming out but has been out for a year (pick it up on the right -->). Oh, and we're a year past that Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa as well. Details, details. Otherwise, it's a pretty fun interview!

In this 42-minute episode, you'll first listen to Sarita (Vine Me Up), Glynis (Vino Noire), Leslie (Vino 301), Tanisha (Girl Meets Glass), and Melissa (the Liquor Lady) talking about summertime humidity, Juneteenth, and Oz restaurant's Happy Hour in Arlington, VA. About eight and a half minutes, the ladies start chatting up myself and Tivon of Von Vino.

Tivon and I talk about how we got into wine blogging, how drinking it got us into wanting to record it and learn more about it. Then we all talk about the wineries we visited most recently and I say "like" way too often, as per usual. I'm a California Valley Girl - I can't help it. Great tips follow for advice to wine bloggers just starting out, our favorite happy hours (shoutout to the Libertine!), we play a word association game, and a surprising truth is revealed -- very few of us keep cases of wine at the ready! I also share some of my fiction writing process, which I'm in the depths of on two different books right now.

That direct Soundcloud link is right here. Or check out the show below on Youtube, which I queued up to right before my and Tivon's introductions. Thanks for tuning in! And thanks to the Swirl Suite Squad for having me.

This Sunday, 10/14, at 3:30 pm, I'll be on the Pursuit of Publishing: It Takes a Village Panel at Litquake!

This is my first ever Litquake appearance, and I'm excited to participate. Panel description: What does it take to create and sustain a writing community? CCA's Leslie Roberts discusses strength in numbers with Mary Volmer (Hedgebrook), Scott James (Castro Writers Coop), Casey Bennett (Lit Events for the Lit-Minded), and . . . me! I'll be sharing about my work co-helming the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup, a San Francisco chapter of Women Who Submit Lit, and two closed Facebook groups for female writers - one for speculative fiction writers across the globe and one for writers of all stripes in the Bay Area.

Some tickets will be available at the door, but a few tickets are still online for $25. That price includes three earlier panels on the same day, all designed to aid writers on their path to publication. All four Pursuit of Publishing panels will take place at the Timken Auditorium of the California College of the Arts at 1111 Eight Street in San Francisco.

Join us!

Worldcon 76 starts on Thursday, and I am excited!

And also slightly overwhelmed, so I'm glad I'm not appearing on much programming myself - it's not often that you hear a writer admit that. =D But I will be appearing on a little of it, and I'll definitely be around all weekend, so please do come say hi anytime! You can purchase Wings Unseen at Borderlands Books' vendor booth, and I'm happy to sign copies. Here's where I know I'll be:

Tuesday, 8/14

• 8 pm: SF in SF presents George R. R. Martin in conversation with John Picacio at the Fox Theater, benefiting Locus Magazine! This is not an official Worldcon event, but it is Worldcon adjacent.

Thursday, 8/16

• 6 pm: The Borderlands Sponsor Party at Loft Bar and Bistro. This is a party only for sponsors of Borderlands Books in San Francisco. But I can take a plus 1...
• 12 am to 1:30 am: The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Hospitality Suite. I'll be on Door Dragon duty, checking SFWA memberships and IDs for entrance.

Friday, 8/17

• 1 pm to 1:25 pm: I'll be signing books at the SFWA table in the Exhibit Hall.
• 6:45 - 8:45 pm: Ghost Hunting Tour! You too can sign up for this downtown San Jose tour led by Bay Area Ghost Hunter Adrienne Foster. $15, I think.

Saturday, 8/18

• 10 am: How Would Civilization Evolve if...: How Human and Nonhumans Would Evolve Based on Their Environment - This is a panel being led by professors from my alma mater, UC Santa Cruz (banana slugs, forever!), so I'm making sure I'll be in attendance. 210 E at the Convention Center.
• 2 pm: Craft Klatsch with the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup group - This is an offsite event for members of the Meetup group that I co-helm in the East Bay. You are welcome to join us and learn more! Here's the Meetup event.
• 5 pm: Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading! I'll be one of 15 readers at this traditional Broad Universe event, where we toss tiny tidbits of fiction out into the wild at breakneck pace. Join us! Here's our poster:

Sunday, 8/19

• I don't really know how the Hugos work...but I'm planning to attend or watch a simulcast or whatever the case may be. Help me?
• Midnight - 1:30 am: I'll again be Door Dragon for the SFWA Hospitality Suite.

Monday, 8/20

• The last day of Worldcon, alas. I will likely catch some friends' readings in the afternoon then head home to Oakland and the husband and kitties.

Whew! That schedule is only of events I *know* I'll be attending, though a good many of my days are full with potential plans already. Always feel free to tweet at, Facebook message, or email me to try and find a time to get together. Or a drink at barcons, as it goes. Cheers to that!

Tomorrow night (5/31) at 7 pm, I'm reading at the Literary Speakeasy, an awesome collection of writers from many genres, curated by James J. Siegel, a San Francisco-based poet and all-around great guy. Here's the Facebook invitation.

The Literary Speakeasy takes place at Martuni's, everybody's favorite bar for karaoke and fruity, high ABV cocktails on the corner of Valencia and Market in San Francisco. Head straight toward the back room to find us. James always makes sure the energy is warm and welcoming, and I'll make sure to read you some stories that'll entertain. My fellow readers this evening will be Rohan DaCosta, Bud Gundy, Chad Koch, and Riss Rosado. There will also be a raffle!

Come take in the unexpected journey through five writers' minds, with a cocktail as your compass. See you tomorrow!

Live in wine country? Come check out the Reading Between the Vines Salon Series at Moshin Vineyards in Healdsburg! On Monday, March 19, 2018 at 6 pm, I'll be reading in Moshin's tasting room as part of this unique literary series (Full info here).

Reading Between the Vines celebrates the writers in residence for the Writing Between the Vines fellowship, for which I was a runner up last year. Writing Between the Vines is an organization that offers yearly retreats for writers, sponsoring their lodging at the host wineries. Can you imagine the freedom to write unfettered with a beautiful winery for your scenery? Talk about a dream...I really need to re-apply this year!

I do hope you'll join me if you live in the area. I'll be sharing wine-soaked selections from my fantasy and horror fiction. Also appearing will be Rick Bailey, a winner of the fellowship:

Rick Bailey grew up in Freeland, Michigan, on the banks of the Tittabawassee River. In college he studied English language and literature. He then moved to Detroit and taught writing for 38 years at Henry Ford College. Sometime after finishing his doctorate, he wrote textbooks for McGraw-Hill: The Creative Writer’s Craft (2009), On the Go (2011), and Going Places (2011). A Midwesterner long married to an Italian immigrant, he has learned the language and food of Italy. University of Nebraska Press published his memoir in essays, American English, Italian Chocolate. And he is currently preparing a second collection of essays, tentatively titled When the Wine God Speaks. http://rick-bailey.com/

Sounds like Rick's work will have us salivating! See you at Moshin next Monday.

Find me at FogCon this coming weekend! I'll be moderating, sitting on panels, and giving a reading during this jam-packed three days of speculative fiction lovers and writers coming together in Walnut Creek.

The Borderlands vendor table will have copies of Wings Unseen for sale, should you be looking to pick up a copy. And I'll have a pen for signing, of course. Don't be shy, just come up and ask for that signature!

Here's my schedule during the con:

• Friday, 3/9, I'm moderating The Play Within the Play: An Analysis of Going Meta in Speculative Fiction at 3 pm. Description:

Among many other qualities, Shakespeare was a master of using plays within his plays to amplify his themes and plot arcs. This technique of self-reference has been used for dramatic and comedic effect in many works. Orson Scott Card had Ender Wiggin playing through a story game that ultimately tied into and reflected his "real life" story; P.C. Hodgell has traditional stories in her novels that shadow the main action; Stephen King pulled the ultimate coup and wrote himself into his Dark Tower series as a character, incorporating his struggles with substance abuse into the decay of the universe; Michael Ende's novel The Neverending Story famously loops in on itself. Is this an effective tool for writers to use? What makes it work and when does it fall flat? Let's analyze the phenomena!

• At 8 pm on the same day, I'll be a panelist during the Speculative Fiction, Science and the Sacred session. Description:

As scientists learn more and more about our astonishing universe, from the macro to the micro, does science begin to awe and inspire, as religion can? Does religion fall away, or evolve? How does science affect our mood, our hope, and our outlook on life? What might religion look like in "the future" (very scientifically advanced societies, such as in Ada Palmer's Terra Ignota series)?

• And immediately after that, I'll be participating in the Broad Universe: Rapid Fire Reading at 9:30 pm. This is the second year we've done a rapid fire reading at FogCon. They are a fun way to liven up a reading, cycling through the authors two times, reading short selections rather than a longer work. The variety never stops! Broad Universe is an organization that supports the work of female speculative fiction writers.

• On Saturday, 3/10, my final panel will be Wilderness in SFF at 10:30 am. Description:

Wilderness is an interstitial space, existing between cities, roads and settlements. People have held many different views of wilderness form a place to be tamed, to a place to be preserved. Yet the idea of “untouched” wildlands remands problematic. Recent scholars such as William Cronon have questioned if wilderness even exists. How have works such as Lord of the Rings, Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor & Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley engaged with these ideas? How will our changing ideas about wilderness effect new and future work?

Interested in attending FogCon? More info here. Let me know if you're coming! Though I will not be on the agenda after the Wilderness Panel, I will definitely be at FogCon for the rest of Saturday and likely Sunday, too.

It's award nomination season among science fiction and fantasy writers! As is the custom, I'm offering a list of my short stories and novel publications from 2017 that are eligible for nomination--yes, that includes nearly all my 2017 publications. Qualifying isn't that difficult. ;)

If you are a member of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America professional guild, then you may nominate works until February 15, 2018 for the Nebula Awards. Here's how to vote. If you attended WorldCon 75 and/or registered as a supporting or attending member of WorldCons 76 or 77 by January 1, 2018, keep your eyes on this page, as nominations are bound to open soon and will likely run through March. WorldCon awards the Hugos every year.

I'm planning to attend both conferences, and gosh, it'd be awfully sweet to have an extra special reason to go. ;) But seriously, the Nebula Weekend is a fantastic professional conference for speculative fiction writers, and well worth your time and money--and you do not need to be a member of SFWA or even a writer to attend. I have never been to WorldCon before, but I am hoping to get on paneling or in a reading session for this one, and I think it'll be great fun.

Thank you for considering my 2017 published works for nomination!

Here they are:

For the Best Novel category for the Nebulas or the Hugos and/or the Andre Norton Award (Best YA Novel, which appears on the Nebula ballot) #

Wings Unseen #

Wings Unseen is a YA classic epic fantasy told with modern sensibilities. To fight an invisible foe, three young adults must first fight through their own expectations, beliefs, and shattered dreams to save their shared world. For full information and accolades, head to its page at Meerkat Press.

For the Best Short Story Category for the Nebulas and/or the Hugos #

"Treasure" #

"Treasure" appears in the Dark Luminous Wings anthology from Pole to Pole Publishing, published October 2017. It's a fantasy fable that features a thief thrust into a culture very different from her own, so different she has a difficult time believing such a culture is real.... and is under threat of a flying sea monster and the lure of a rock pillar that manifests jewels. More info here.

"Garbage" #

“Garbage” is a humorous sci-fi tale about crazy old ladies, immature teenagers, and aliens with an unusual appetite. It has a fair bit to say about what it means to be native and how that shifts over time and with new waves of immigration. “Garbage” appeared in Through A Scanner Farkly: The 2017 Fark Fiction Anthology, which was published in July 2017. More info here.

"Holiday Invasion Trilogy" #

I've barely had to the chance to tell folks this flash fiction series even exists since its publication in the Holiday Hell issue of Black Heart Magazine. Exist it does, and I'm proud of these one-shot explorations of what a holiday invasion might mean in three very different situations: a morning full of death and poinsettia, a Thankgiving dinner of new dishes and newly embodied relations, and the chaos of Christmas day for one very anxious, superpowered mom. More info here.

Finally,

"What Scattered in the Wind" #

This piece of horror flash fiction, done in a poetic prose style, tells of a woman struggling with her biggest regret in life and sentenced to forever re-remember it. It appears in the August 2017 chapbook collection, Little Letters on the Skin, from Cleave: Bay Area Writers and the Liminal Center. More info here.

Best of luck to all the authors out there with eligible work for 2017! May the best of our work get on those ballots.

We're only 20 days out from Christmas, and thus the time for gift giving is upon us! For $15, you can send a signed, personalized copy of my epic fantasy, Wings Unseen, to anyone you love - heck, it's cool if you send it to someone you only kind of like, too. ;)

My friends, Paul and Ann, whom I kind of like, I guess, getting their signed copies at my book launch.

$15 includes the book, and my signature and a personal message, filled out from your instructions on whom I should address that message too. It also includes shipping costs! What is Wings Unseen? Here's my full page on it.

This price is only available until 12/16. After that, I won't be able to ship via media mail in time for Christmas. But I am happy to use a more expensive shipping option to get it to your loved one for opening under the tree!

Loki guaranteed for good cuddling.

How to order? You can contact me via direct message on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram or just email me at becca@thegourmez.com. We'll discuss payment and shipping methods - either Paypal, Square, or Venmo will work, and I am amenable to other shipping options, but the price will reflect those other options.

Or you can just order Wings Unseen off Amazon! It's only $12 currently, which is a deal! But that doesn't include author signature...

Happy holidays, dear readers, friends, and family!

Woosh! That was my schedule zooming by too fast for me to keep up with it. Thus, I haven't had time to give my next reading much promotion, but there's still time! Barely.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday 10/24, I'll be reading at the Literally series at the Shop at Flywheel Press in San Mateo at 7:00 pm along with author Peter Carroll. Flywheel Press is an art and design center in San Mateo that has fostered a unique creative space in many different forms: as a letterpress studio, a co-working space for artists, a First Fridays destination, an art gallery, and a provider of classes for kids and adults.

If you'd like to share your own work, there will be an open mic afterward, too! And of course, I'll have Wings Unseen available for purchase, should you like a signed copy. ;)

I hope you'll join me!

I'm going to be busy this Friday promoting my fiction, through two different mediums! You, of course, are invited to join in.

First, S. Evan Townsend will interview me at 3 pm PST for the Speculative Fiction Cantina Livestream and Podcast show.

This show takes place weekly and includes a reading, so I'll be sharing a selection from Wings Unseen. It'll be a chance for my "radio voice" to come out, which people have told me I have for most of my life. I'll be appearing along with author Brian James, and based on past shows, it should be a fun, casual time of speculative fiction appreciation. You can tune in here on Friday at 3 pm PST: LINKY LINK

Second, I'll be reading for the At the Inkwell Flash Fiction Night, which takes place at Alley Cat Books in San Francisco at 7 pm.

This is the second time I'll have read with At the Inkwell, which is a national organization dedicated to helping writers get more exposure through reviews and reading series. The Alley Cat Books space is one of the best I've been to for literary readings, and I'm excited for flash fiction to be the chosen topic - it'll give me a break from reading book excerpts! I'll likely be sharing "What Scattered in the Wind," which is published in Little Letters on the Skin, and some Halloween-themed micro-fiction I've been working on. If there's time, perhaps "Hobgoblin" will also make an appearance at the mic. More info on the event is here: LINKY LINK.

I would love to see you at Alley Cat Books or know you've tuned in to the Speculative Fiction Cantina this Friday!

My next short story will appear in the forthcoming Dark Luminous Wings anthology - and I mean forthcoming soon! Dark Luminous Wings will be released on 10/21, this next Saturday.

Synopsis:

From Icarus to Da Vinci to tomorrow's astronauts, humans have dreamt of flight. Feathered wings. Mechanical wings. Leathery wings. Steel wings. Stories of winged creatures set in graveyards and churches, bustling cities, fantastical worlds, alternate histories, and outer spacet reveal the shifting nature of Dark Luminous Wings...Dark Luminous Wings will set your imagination soaring—but watch out for sharp beaks, piercing talons, and gravity.

Folks who pre-order this anthology of 17 speculative fiction short stories will get a discount on the price! The e-book is currently available for $2.99, which will go up to $4.99 on release day. Dark Luminous Wings will also be available in print for $14.99, which is a pretty good deal on its own for that much fiction. Get either one on Amazon by clicking right here:

My short story in the collection, "Treasure," in one of the first short stories I wrote when I began my career. Don't worry - I've revised it since then. 😆 I do think it's one of my best now, though it took a while to find a good home (9 personal rejections, 7 form rejections, 1 withdrawal, 1 acceptance). I think you'll agree once you read it that Dark Luminous Wings is a great fit.

"Treasure" features a female thief thrust into a culture very different from her own, so different she has a difficult time believing such a culture is real. Can someone raised to distrust everyone around her accept grace and love when freely given it? Is it truly given freely? You’ll have to read “Treasure” to find out what Enkid, the story’s protagonist, makes of these questions…under threat of a flying sea monster and the lure of a rock pillar that manifests jewels.

The first few lines:

Wind thundered past the slats of the storage cabin. Hidden within a barrel of fish guts, the stowaway braced herself for lurching. But when the ship pitched sharply sternside, Enkid knew it was no ordinary squall. A storm this bad would force the captain out of his quarters despite his usual drunken stupor, creating an opportunity to filch the beveled, green-glass vial he wore around his neck. It held hemlock tincture, a rare poison that would come in handy for someone in Enkid’s line of work.

May your dreams be free of dark wings, but your mind prepared to tangle with them.I hope you enjoy the fantasy fable of "Treasure"!

This coming Saturday evening, I am thrilled (or is it chilled?) to participate in Shades & Shadows, Los Angeles's only dark fiction reading series:

Details:

8:30 pm, doors open at 8 $10 entry fee. Tickets here. THERE WILL BE CAKE At the Mystic Museum 3204 Magnolia Blvd Burbank, CA

Click here if you'd like to RSVP at the Facebook event!

Dark fiction, you ask? But isn't your fantasy novel YA? Well, as many of the reviews can tell you, Wings Unseen is quite a bit darker than some readers expect for YA! I did pitch it as having elements of horror, for both the creatures contained within it and the horrific power struggle in Medua. Believe me, there is plenty of darkness to draw from in the worlds of Lansera and Medua. Now will I go dark horror, dark magic, or darkened halls for my selection? You'll have to come to find out! This is my one and only SoCal stop on my book tour, so I do hope you'll make it. If not, stay tuned for the podcast release of the evening's festivities....which may take a while -- the Shades & Shadows crew is about a year behind in podcast production. So you're best bet is to show up! I hope to see you there.

Wings Unseen, my debut epic fantasy novel, is now available at bookstores and libraries and everywhere online! Here's a perspective you don't see of the cover often, the full front and back:

If you'd like to see it in paperback near you, request to have Wings Unseen ordered at your favorite store. Such requests are much appreciated! And so are online orders. You can get it from any of these retailers in paperback or ebook forms:

I would absolutely love it if you would rate and/or review the book after reading as well - ratings are life for authors! We all know we are swayed by them. ;) So a big virtual hug from Mazu for those of you able to do so.

To celebrate the release of Wings Unseen yesterday, I thought I'd do a reading on Facebook Live...but I have a ton of Wings Unseen readings coming up, so I thought it'd be more fun to share some of my earliest short stories instead. And by early, I meant second to fifth grade. You can watch the video by clicking through to Facebook or click the video to play below:

Ah, elementary school storytelling. I was so precocious. You can also follow the Wings Unseen Blog Tour--full of interviews, guest posts, excerpts, and reviews of Wings Unseen from book blogs--over the next three weeks! Find the full schedule of tour stops here at the Xpresso Books tour page.

Upcoming Readings and Appearances To promote and celebrate the publication of Wings Unseen, I'll be reading at or participating in several events over the next few months, and hopefully, one of those will be near you! Here's the list of where you can find me coming up, including 4 Bay Area appearances in the next two weeks:

• 8/25, 8 pm, Feminist Spec Fic night at the Liminal Center, Oakland, CA
• 8/26, 4 pm, Wings Unseen Book Launch, the Octopus Literary Salon, Oakland, CA
• 8/27, 3 pm, A Trilogy of Shivers, Adventures, and Fantasy, Borderlands Books, San Francisco, CA
• 9/2, 1 pm, A Reading from the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Meetup Group, Mad Monks Center for Anachronistic Media, Berkeley, CA
• 9/10, TBD, SF in SF, Location TBD, San Francisco, CA
• 9/16, TBD, Shades and Shadows Podcast, The Mystic Museum, Burbank, CA
• 9/19, 7 pm, An Evening of Speculative Fiction and Fantasy, the Regulator, Durham, NC
• 9/23, 2 pm, Barnes and Noble, Cary, NC
• 10/20, 3 pm, interview with the Speculative Fiction Cantina
• 10/20, 7 pm, At the Inkwell Short Fiction Night, Alley Cat Books, CA
• 10/24, 7 pm, Liminal Series, Flywheel Press, San Mateo, CA
• 10/26-10/29, SirensCon, Veil, CO

Events with more information available online are linked - I'll be adding links as I get more details ironed out as well! I would love to see you in the crowd, and of course, to sign your book! I think I'll also be posting some musings about the process of book publication once I get the chance to breath...which may not be until October. 😅

Thank you for your support, dear readers, and I hope to see you in the world of Lansera soon!

For the first time ever, I will have a short story included in an anthology! In fact, I will have *two* stories in anthologies in the coming months, in addition, of course, to the publication and book tour for Wings Unseen, my first novel. "Treasure," a fantasy fable appearing in Dark Luminous Wings from Pole to Pole Publishing, shares quite a lot in common with Wings Unseen, actually. Here's the early anthology cover art that co-editor Vonnie Winslow Crist revealed in May:

"Treasure" is one of my oldest short stories -- I began Draft #1 in 2007, and my filename at that time was "black and white." That name reflects what I wanted to accomplish in writing this story -- I wanted to play with the idea of a female thief being thrust into a culture very different from the more violent, selfish one in which she'd been raised, so different that she has a difficult time believing such a culture is real. Can someone raised to distrust everyone around her accept grace and love when freely given it? Is it truly given freely? You'll have to read "Treasure" to find out what Enkid, the story's protoganist, makes of these questions...under threat of a flying sea monster called the Laklor and the lure of a rock pillar that manifests jewels and....

And, I think that's enough info on "Treasure" for now. ;) If you've read an early ARC of Wings Unseen already, then you know those same questions are ones that factor heavily into Vesperi's point of view in the book, though I might argue that figuring out how to deal with a culture so foreign to one's own is also a hurdle for Janto and Serra, the two other main POV characters. Challenging our perspectives of how the world works can be one of the hardest quests there is. Obviously, the concept was strongly on my mind then; I began writing W__ings Unseen in earnest around the same time I drafted "Treasure." Both tales also heavily feature creatures with menacing wings. So does my horror short "Thlush-A-Lum" now that I think of it...

I guess I have a thing for spooky wings.

Before Pole to Pole's acceptance of "Treasure," I submitted it out a total of 18 times, resulting in 1 author withdrawal, 7 form rejections, and 9 personal rejections, including 2 from pro-level speculative fiction markets that got THISCLOSE to publishing the story -- and I mean that! The editors of both mags told me they held onto it for so long because they'd been hoping to find a place for it but ultimately could not. I also significantly rewrote the story at least twice in the six years since I first sent it out. After all that, I think Dark Luminous Wings is truly where this story was destined to go as I can't imagine a more perfect fit for it than what their call for submissions detailed:

The volume draws inspiration from Richard Henry Stoddard’s poem, Mors et Vita, particularly stanza two:

Under the awful wings Which brood over land and sea, And whose shadows nor lift nor flee— This is the order of things, And hath been from of old: First production, And last destruction; So the pendulum swings, While cradles are rocked and bells are tolled.

Send us your stories about angels and demons, dragons and fairies, airplanes and ornathopters—and more. Let your imaginations soar, but let your stories be found in the darkest of places.

Late October is Dark Luminous Wings' planned publication date, and I'll let you know where to order once I have that information. Until then, may your dreams be free of dark wings, but your mind prepared to tangle with them.

What lurks in the wild?[/caption]

The LibraryThings giveaway of Wings Unseen is now complete! But do not lose hope, dear readers. There are other ways to get your hands on an early copy of my book....

...Like on Goodreads!

Through June 24, you can enter to win one of five print copies of Wings Unseen through Goodreads. Yes, that's right! I said print! How exciting is that?! They are advanced reading copies, which means some important details have not yet made it into the book design, like that dedication and acknowledgment I still need to write....but the story is all there and the book is 90% what it will be in the final version.

The odds are not as much in your favor this time around, with 235 people already entered in the giveaway, but you should totally try. Why? Because I'm proud of this book and I hope you will be proud of it too, enough to leave a review and rating after you get a sneak peek at it.

Goodreads Book Giveaway #

Wings Unseen #

by Rebecca Gomez Farrell #

Giveaway ends June 24, 2017.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

To enter, you can either click the link in that widget right above this or head to the website to enter directly there - the result will be the same either way! And you may be among the first to hold a copy of Wings Unseen in your hands! Heck, I haven't done that yet.

To encourage you to enter the Goodreads giveaway, I am giving away a sneak peak myself of one of the four character sigils that Meerkat Press has commissioned for the book! These sigils appear on the chapter title pages for each of my point-of-view characters - or at least the four of them that matter most. The first one is...

Serrafina Gavenstone #

Serra is the daughter of Midra and Goning Gavenstone, the liege-lords of Meditlan, a land of spices and wine - thus the grapevines of her sigil. Both her parents tragically drowned when Serrra was a child. As the book opens, her older brother, Agler, is on a quest for the Ravens, the spies of her home country, Lansera. Serra is engaged to Janto Albrecht, the prince of Lansera, and will wed him in a month. Being a part of the Albrecht family and the someday queen of Lansera is all that Serra has ever wanted, since she moved into their home after her parents' death. But at 18, Serra has much to learn of wants and what the future holds.

Get your chance to follow Serra's journey to her own future with an ARC of Wings Unseen from Goodreads! Enter here.

Update! This reading and publication has been postponed until 8/11. All other details remain the same. Join me in August instead!

My next short story publication is coming up soon! And I will soon be taking part in a reading to celebrate the launch for the anthology/chapbook it will appear in: Little Letters on the Skin. I do hope you'll join me.

What? The Cleave: Bay Area Women Writers and the Liminal Center Release of the Little Letters on the Skin

When? Friday, June 9, 2017   Friday, August 11, 2017

Where? The Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster St, Oakland.

Time? 7 pm.

Eight other writers and myself, who have been involved with Oakland's amazing creative space for feminists and womanists, the Liminal Center, will be taking part in the reading and small group Q & A afterward. The anthology will be available for purchase, with all profits going to help support the work of the Liminal Center, which I've written about before here and here. I will also bring along a few copies to sell of Typehouse Literary Magazine #9, which featured my humorous sci-fi story, "Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak," last September.

"What Scattered in the Wind" is not humorous sci-fi, that's for sure. Rather, it's horror flash fiction done in a poetic prose style, and it's the first story I wrote upon moving to the Bay Area. I love the mood of it, and the angst within it, that of a woman struggling with her biggest regret in life and sentenced to forever re-remember it. The first lines?

Hollow rasps of laughter pestered her to wakefulness. Any noise would have done the same, though she clamped her eyelids together in protest. For years, Ruth had heard nothing but the teakettle's hiss or the slow scrape of her cane against the camper's floor panels. The creaking sound of her voice rarely interrupted the silence. Unlike the other wayfarers, Ruth had never developed the habit of talking to herself. She didn't care to hear what she'd have to say.

"Hee-hee, hee-he-heee!"

What I am most excited about for this event, however, is the exceptional list of fellow writers reading with me, at least half of whom I've read with before and they are STELLAR:

Christine No is a writer, filmmaker and pitbull enthusiast based in Oakland, CA. She is a Pushcart Prize Nominee and the 2016 First Place Poetry Winner of the Litquake Writing Contest. Say hello at  www.christineno.com

Gina Goldblatt is the founder of Liminal, a writing center for women, in Oakland California. She is a writer, an educator and an aerialist.

Hannah Rubin is a writer and artist based in Oakland, CA.

Heather Schubert is a published author, visual artist, teacher, Priestess and mother of four.

Jasmine Wade is obsessed with the tumultuous, hilarious, heartbreaking, and never-ending process of growing up. Find a list of her short stories at www.jasminehwade.com.

Jeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist, public speaker, mental health advocate and proud Oakland native. Visit her podcast and blog CocoaFly.com where she covers issues related to women, race, wellness and sex.

Norma Smith was born in Detroit, grew up in Fresno, California, and has lived and worked in Oakland since the late 1960s. In  support of her writing, she has worked as a ward clerk in hospitals, as a radio producer, as a translator and interpreter, as an educator, and as an editor and writing coach.

Rebecca Gomez Farrell writes all the speculative fiction genres she can conjure up. Find a list of her published shorter works at RebeccaGomezFarrell.com, and find her debut fantasy novel, Wings Unseen, in August 2017 from Meerkat Press.

Ruth Crossman was born and raised in Berkeley and currently lives in Oakland. She is a poet and a songwriter who teaches ESL to support her writing habit.

Additionally, the anthology is edited by Dr. Raina J. León, who's an associate professor at Saint Mary's College and the founder of the Cleave reading series along with numerous other accolades. That's a stellar line-up that I'm glad to be a part of! I do hope you'll come out and join us, celebrating what women are doing in the literary arts in Oakland. Here's the Facebook event page, if you'd like to RSVP. I always like to know what friendly faces I'll see in the crowd!

Folks, we are nearing the end of May and nearing the time when the first batch of readers will be getting their hands on ARCs (advanced reading copies) of my book! I am excited and nervous and probably mostly overwhelmed with the whirlwind coming as Wings Unseen gets closer and closer to publication.

This'll help, right?

And you can be one of the first people to have it in your hands if you sign up for the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program and request my book! 100 review copies of Wings Unseen are flying out from there soon, absolutely free. So far, only 160 members have requested a copy, so your odds are pretty good at getting one! But you only have 3 more days to request it, so get going! Here's the link again (click here). The giveaway ends on May 29, 2017.

You will find Wings Unseen about two-thirds of the way down that list of books for May. So after signing up for the program, or if you are already a member, you can CTRL + F to find Wings Unseen on the page or keep your eyes peeled for the cover:

And to encourage you to sign up, I am sharing this picture of my ARCS that that Meerkat Press just shared today! Can't wait until I get to smell that new book smell myself...

Our favorite smell: NEW BOOK #WingsUnseen by Rebecca Gomez Farrell coming soon! @thegourmez @midpointnyc #FANTASY #books 🏰🐞 pic.twitter.com/MpHEr3xdGS

— Meerkat Press (@MeerkatPress) May 26, 2017

There is another giveaway also underway, which I'll be posting on soon. But for now, one last time, here's the link for the LibraryThing Early Reviewers request page! Click the link here.

This Friday is Day 1 of FogCon, a literary-themed, genre fiction convention that takes place in Walnut Creek every year. But for me, Friday is Day Everything! That's because I have three--3!--events going on that day, and I would love for you to join if you're attending the festivities.

First up is the Social Media for Writers and Authors panel, taking place 3:00-4:15 pm in Salon A/B. I thought my food blogging background might yield a different perspective on this topic, the description for which is "Join our panelists for a nuts and bolts discussion from personal experiences in the brave new world of Social Media as Writer and/or Author. What platforms work, and for what? How do you get followers/fans? What is the most effective way to reach people who will buy my books, not just other writers? How do you keep these people engaged and interacting on your networks?"

Immediately thereafter, I'll be hosting and reading in the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading session in the Santa Rosa room, 4:30-5:45 pm.

Broad Universe is an organization of female writers and their supporters of all genders that work together to raise the profile of women in the industry. Our Rapid Fire Readings are a mainstay at many science fiction conventions around the nation, and this one will consist of two rounds of 8-minute readings from four authors...and we may have a special guest author as well! The slate is myself, Loren Rhoads, L.S. Johnson, and Sarah Grey.

Then, I get to eat dinner! And get more of a break before my second panel, How Did You Survive the Election? We will be tasked with tackling this terrifying topic in Salon A/B at 9:30-10:45 pm. Ah, such a sweet way to send us to slumber...The full panel description is "The 2015-2016 election season drove many of us to desperation, drink, or other distractions. Some of us turned into political denialists, some of us became political junkies, some of us amassed gigabytes of cute cat videos. How did you survive the campaigns, the stresses, the misrepresentations, coping with relatives who didn't understand/were partisans for the wrong side, and so on? Panelists and audience share their experiences with this tectonic election, as well as tips for surviving the stresses of political campaigns, political work, and dealing with the political news." I'll be approaching the topic from a viewpoint of ways to become an activist without breaking down relationships with those close to you whom have a different political persuasion.

And after that...I'm off the hook! Well, almost! Saturday and Sunday, you may often find me at the hotel's lobby bar when I'm taking a break from checking out someone else's reading or panel. But you will for sure find me there on Saturday during the lunch block, 12:00-1:15 pm, when I'll be the point person for members of the East Bay Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Meetup to, well, meet up! If you're interested in meeting other East Bay genre writers, that'll be a great time to swing by. But whenever you see me, I'm generally always down for a chat!

Hope to see you through the Fog this weekend!

Wow. I signed a contract to publish my first book, Wings Unseen, an epic fantasy. With a traditional press. And a print run. And an advance. Folks, I’m still amazed this is happening, and five months in, and I am so happy with my choice to entrust Meerkat Press with this book.

And there it is. The cover reveal officially went down today at 7pm/4pm at the Meerkat Press website. And I LOVE it. I especially love the more modern style, which is one of the reasons I trust this publisher.

How could you not trust this logo? <3

We looked at a traditional fantasy design, but it didn’t feel right at all. This design stands out to me -- the artist rocked it! A three-headed bird stares straight at you, claiming you, perhaps inspiring you to flip the pages. And when you peer closer, something else comes into focus: other winged creatures fluttering around the title letters, blinking into your sight, and giving you an instinctual shiver.

And then there’s the color blue behind it all. I don’t know if Meerkat Press chose blue with intention, but no other color would fit quite as well for this book. Beneath much of Wing Unseen’s action is a force whose presence is signified by blue, so it’s beautifully appropriate that blue is the background for the cover as well. That it is there is enough, quietly holding together what can be more obviously seen.

It’ll be out in August! *leaps for joy*

I’ve talked with friends many times about how I’m one of those writers who achieve something on their goal list then immediately feel as though I’m not a real writer yet, that there is a higher hurdle to jump and only when that happens will I feel I can say it. Place in a contest – nope, not good enough. Have short stories published -- nope, doesn’t count until I get paid for one. Have a novella published -- well, it’s not a whole book, is it? Sell enough pro-level short stories to join SFWA – but an associate doesn't count as much as a full member. Sign a traditional book contract – well, I certainly never expected to clear that hurdle before achieving the full SFWA membership goal! Yet here I am, and I’m pretty sure I can call myself a real writer now.

The cat obsession probably qualified me on its own years ago. ;) I look forward to the next few months of the whirlwind that is publishing, and I’m going to share that experience here with you. For now, here’s the first paragraph of my Wings Unseen query that earned me two separate contract offers after three years of submitting the manuscript out:

The Meduan and Lanserim ways of life are as compatible as oil and water. But when an invisible threat consumes both countries, leaving husks of human skin in its wake, Lansera’s Prince Janto and his fiancé, Serra, must learn to work together with Vesperi, a Meduan who possesses the only weapon that can save them.

And I’m off to stare at my cover dreamily for the rest of the night….or actually, to share in a virtual wine tasting at Wine Antics, starting at 9 EST/6 PST! This real writer keeps herself busy juggling her spheres of writing influence! Fiction writer mode on SLEEP. Food blogger mode: ENGAGE!

"Good Genes," is now available to read at the Future Fire as part of their 38th issue, or Issue 2016.38 in the magazine's parlance.

I am super glad it was published just in time for Halloween as it's a spooky story, and a bit of an epic one, combining a modern-day tale with a narrative from the Wild West stage of American history. Sometimes, a place a refuge may bring more horror than the past left behind...

Artwork by Pear Nuallak

The illustration posted above is one of two that accompany "Good Genes" in the Future Fire. Both are done by Pear Nuallak, and I love when my stories get a little pictorial boost! Read the magazine online to see the second one! Here's the link directly to the story. And here's a new teaser for you:

The noise of the carnival had died down as the ceremonial hour approached and the townspeople made their way to the gathering place in a trickle. Clumps of dry needles covered brittle pine cones hanging from a handful of trees. The great lawn was a patchwork of mud-filled trenches, struggling green grasses, and yellowed squares that had given up the fight. A faded wicker pavilion rose up at the park’s eastern edge, in front of a free-standing wall of cement—handball courts? Two banners strung across the stage declared “Heritage Festival” and “May Our Founders Live Forever."

There are other great reasons to tune in to Issue 2016.38 -- free short stories by authors Ola Al-Fateh, Petra Kuppers, Kelly Rose Pflug-Back, and Damien Krsteski, and poetry by F. J. Bergmann! I look forward to reading them all. As Editor Djibril al-Ayad describes the collection:

"Not everything is what it seems—sometimes unseen terrors lurk in every shadow, around every corner, beneath an unassuming countenance or behind unthreatening doors. We might be pleasantly surprised by the resilience of a people we expected to collapse in defeat, and we could be equally shocked by the creeping bigotry and xenophobia of our smiling neighbors. Surprises are at the heart of dramatic tension, and hidden depths and dark secrets are a recurring theme in the stories in this month’s issue."

Feel free to leave me your reactions to "Good Genes" or comment on it at the Future Fire blog. Whatever you do, try not to take your next next cough too seriously...

Last week, I was invited to join the Hydra literary series for their spooky Halloween reading, and of course, I said yes. Read my horror? I look forward to any spine-chilling I can cause!

What: The Hydra #7 Reading Series! Where: Woods Bar & Brewery, 1701 Telegraph, Downtown Oakland When: 7 pm.

More details at the Facebook event page!

The Hydra is hosted by the Association of Black and Brown Writers, an affliate of Oakland's own Nomadic Press. The series is inspired by the six-headed creature of myth, woken from beneath Mt. Diablo as the Bay Area burst into the poetry scene! Knighted keeper of the beast, Ursula K. Le Guin, declared "With the popularity of poetry readings in the Bay Area, the heads of the beast are growing back at an alarming rate, and the only thing that will slow down the beast is the inclusion of more fiction in the literary scene. We need stories of mythical beasts stronger than the Hydra. We need stories of worlds that is not the world it remembers, or maybe stories of lands the Hydra knows all too well. We need stories of heroes that can destroy it, and villians greater than it. We need experimental stories, we need short stories, we need fiction. Fiction is the only thing that will down the beast for once and for all. Counteract the poetry that is making the beast grow, and do it now.”

I am happy to do my part in this battle against the Hydra and will be reading at least two short stories as my weapons. And if we can get it right this time, Ben will Facebook Live it as well. ;)

But an in-person audience is always best! Hope to see you there.

Mazu gives away the ending of one of my tales...

Announcements of upcoming short story publications don't normally take me right up until they're available, but ... I've been busy, y'all. Busy in the greatest of ways, career-wise, which is a wonderful feeling but also means I don't keep my various websites as updated as I'd like with the most current information. So forgive me for posting this announcement just a couple of weeks before the story itself will be available...

Issue #37

...that said, I am so excited that "Good Genes" has found a home in upcoming Issue #38 of the Future Fire! This magazine has been running strong since 2005, making it quite long-lived among electronic fiction magazines, no matter the genre. "Good Genes" is one of my favorite short stories, though it's had a bit of a struggle to find the right publisher as, at 10,000 words, it's much longer that many magazines are willing to publish. I am excited that t_he Future Fire_ has no fear of lengthier short stories, and I hope you all will enjoy this horror and Weird West mash-up tale in which a modern-day family and a group of 1850s settlers find out that a chosen place of refuge is sometimes scarier than the danger left behind.

Here are your teaser first few lines:

$450. 2 BR, 1 BA, 800 sq. ft. Available now. Enos. 555-987-0342.

Rockie halted her clicking of the refresh button, the advertisement text cutting her free from the train tracks. Her cellphone's touchscreen confounded her shaky fingers, but after three tries she pressed the right keys. Ten minutes later, grateful the landlord had asked as few questions as she had, Rockie refreshed the webpage. The text disappeared from the screen and her frantic packing resumed.

I will also tell you that this short story was inspired by an experience the parents of one of my best friends in high school had, driving along a very small town very late at night to find many of its residents strangely standing outside in their front yards as they passed. Let's just say I am never going to pass that way myself. Here also are a pair of photographs to set the mood.

I'll let you know as soon as I do once "Good Genes" goes live at the Future Fire, along with a handful of what's sure to be exciting stories from other speculative fiction authors. Stay tuned!

The last week of September will be a busy one for me! I will be participating in two groups readings, and I'd love if you came out to support me and the great slates of other authors sharing their work at these series.

Me, reading last spring at Alley Cat Books for the At the Inkwell literary series.

I will read excerpts from my short stories released this fall, though I'm not sure which one I'll do on which night quite yet. Those stories are "Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak," a humurous sci-fi tale that is available now in Issue #9 of Typehouse Literary Magazine (info on how to get it here), and "Good Genes," a horror/Weird West story that will appear in the Future Fire's Issue #38, publication set for mid-October.

Each of these readings is a regularly occurring literary series in the Bay Area. You'll get to hear from talented authors who write a range of genres, which is always a treat for me, as I think literary and genre fiction share more in common than in divergence. Here are the details:

What: Literary Speakeasy (link goes to Facebook Event page, where you can RSVP) Where: Martuni's, in the piano room Address: 4 Valencia Street, San Francisco When: 9/29 at 7:00 pm

There's no event page yet for the Liminal reading, so just let me know below if I will find your smiling faces in the audience! I look forward to seeing you.

What: Writers-in-Residence Reading and Art Closing for Affordable Art Prints Where: Liminal Address: 3037 38th Avenue, Oakland When: 9/30 at 7:00 pm

I will also be attending Con-Volution in Burlingame on 10/1 & 10/2, so I would love to meet you there as well! Let me know, and we'll figure out how to make our paths cross during the Con.

"Mixed Signals," or, "Learning How to Speak" Published! #

"Mixed Signals, or Learning How to Speak," a short story I wrote last summer, is now available in PDF or print as part of Typehouse Literary Magazine's Issue 9. You can head to their webpage to download the PDF for FREE - ABSOLUTELY FREE - and it's chockful of what's sure to be an amazing mix of literary and genre fiction, poetry, and photography. Just click on the cover image below.

There should be a link to the PDF on that page, or you can download it directly right here. The print version of the magazine is not free, but at only $8 for 150 pages of brand-new fiction and poetry, it's a pretty good deal. Order it directly from CreateSpace here or from Amazon here. I'll be picking up a couple copies myself!

Mini-Synopsis #

"Mixed Signals" is a humorous sci-fi tale about someone down on their luck, romantically and economically. He soon discovers he has a whole lot more he should be concerned about when a crosswalk signal sends him on a convoluted scavenger hunt through the city. Yes, a crosswalk signal.

I borrowed that photo from Miami University -- surprisingly, even though I'm writing stories about them, I do not have a photo of a crosswalk signal on hand! The short story hinges on a speech from which I took inspiration from that television masterpiece, Mork and Mindy. I, indeed, was revising that particular scene around the time of Robin Williams' death, and that encouraged me to go all in, embracing the potentially cheesy, but ideally moving, moment. Here's the first paragraph:

Ka-kink. Ka-kink. Ka-kink.

Some guy’s hand flew to the crosswalk button as though a magnetic force drew him, a few feet from where I sat at a sidewalk café table. Dressed like a hippie and smelling like it too, he spit out the words, “Callin’ in, Cap’n. Callin’ in.” The syncopated rapidity interfered with the vibe of melancholic freedom I’d been cultivating. That morning, Alvarado Construction had pink-slipped me. Three weeks earlier, my girlfriend, Jolanda, had broken up with me, screamed me out of her place with complaints I didn’t understand her love language, and no, she didn’t mean Spanish.

But I was over it. Completely.

Go read! And please share with me your thoughts on the story. Or better yet, review Typehouse Literary Magazine Issue #9 on Goodreads or Amazon!

And the Next One is... #

"Mixed Signals," while I hope it entertains all you lovely readers, is not all I have coming up the pipeline for you. Stay tuned for more announcements throughout September! In the meantime, have another picture of an important piece of the "Mixed Signals" narrative.

Image from the World Scout Shop

This Friday night, you can catch me reading as part of the final reading session for the Spring group of Liminal Writers in Residence!

What: FINAL Reading - Spring Writers in Residence and Workshop Attendees Where: Liminal, 3037 38th Avenue, Oakland When: Friday, 7/8, at 7:00 pm

I will be reading from "Garbage," a humorous sci-fi tale that I've been chipping away at for quite a few years, including during the last two months at Liminal. It never fails to draw laughs from readers, so I'm pretty sure an audience will react the same! I'll be going on right at 7:30 pm, when the actual readings start, but I'll be sticking around throughout the night's program, as listening to this diverse and talented group of writers is always a worthwhile evening.

Here's the Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1761472000741686/

I will not be continuing with the Liminal Writers in Residence co-working program after this, as I am shifting my focus to the speculative fiction community in the Bay Area, but I will make sure to come out and support Liminal's events whenever possible. There's always something happening at that great space for female writers of every stripe and background.

Hope to see you Friday!

I am thrilled to announce that my next science fiction short story will be published my Typehouse Literary Magazine! Typehouse is put out by the People's Ink, a writers' community based in Portland, Oregon, and it's been published three times a year since 2014.

The short story that Typehouse accepted is "Mixed Signals, or, Learning How to Speak," which is a humorous but poignant tale that first dawned in my imagination from years of observing all the different ways in which people approach crosswalk signals. Yep, you read that right. Crosswalk signals.

Here are the first few lines:

Ka-kink. Ka-kink. Ka-kink.

Some guy’s hand flew to the crosswalk button as though a magnetic force drew him, a few feet from where I sat at a sidewalk café table. Dressed like a hippie and smelling like it too, he spit out the words, “Callin’ in, Cap’n. Callin’ in.” The syncopated rapidity interfered with the vibe of melancholic freedom I’d been cultivating...

I will, of course, update this post when publication information is available, which won't be until close to September. In the meantime, let me leave you with a photo to stimulate your own imagination as to what this short story may contain:

Tonight at Liminal, a feminist and womanist space for writers in East Oakland, I'll be reading the Salvation of Soup, a personal essay I'm working on. Since mid-April, I have been a Writer-in-Residence during Liminal's new co-working hours, and you can continue to find me there through June from 1 pm to 5 pm on Wednesdays! If you identify as a woman and you're interested in checking out a supportive co-working space, Liminal is a great option. First time drop-ins are free, and monthly memberships are available at very reasonable rates.

As for tonight's reading, which yes, I should have posted about earlier, it's an evening of Liminal's Writers In Residence sharing works that we've been pecking at for the past few weeks. I wrote the first draft of the Salvation of Soup last spring, and I've been slowly gleaning out the filler -- I originally wrote it for a submission call that asked for 1,000 words more than I really thought this essay should be. So I think I'm getting closer to my original intention!

In addition to hearing our WIPs, tonight is also the closing for Sheri Park's art exhibition Wear & Tear: Living Woman. Art response pieces to her work and an art journaling station will be ongoing. Doors at 7, readings begin at 8! Come out and buy some art and lend me your ear!

Full details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1707493082822085/

I am excited to announce that I’ll be participating in a literary reading in one week with At the Inkwell! Giving readings is one of my favorite parts of being a writer, though I also get just a little bit of stage fright before it’s my turn at the mike, so familiar faces in the crowd are always helpful. I am one of five authors reading on 2/29 at Alley Cat Books (3036 24th Street, San Francisco) from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

I’ll be sharing “No Crossing,” the prologue to what will eventually become my third book. The theme of the reading, appropriately, is Leap Year. I considered writing a personal essay for it, seeing where inspiration led. But then I remembered "No Crossing" patiently waiting in my virtual manuscript shelf for me to write the rest of the book. It'll have to keep waiting for that narrative, but the prologue ties in wonderfully to the Leap Year theme, with a giant canyon to surmount and the shattered and re-building faith of a young girl learning that adults don't always tell the full story. Regina takes a leap at the end into what will someday be her own story ... when I write that part. ;)

Full information on the reading, along with my bio and those of the other authors, can be found here.  Let me know if you plan to come!

Hey, it's not a holiday season without an obligatory "Buy My Work!" post from an author. I swear it's in the contracts we sign in blood with our publishers...somewhere...I seem to have misplaced them.

Oh, I think I remember where...

In 2015, I added two new opportunities to purchase my work, which is one way of saying some very lovely people agreed to include me in their collections -- some even paid me for it! One is a short story in a magazine and one is a contribution to a cookbook...a cookbook with quite illustrious co-contributors from the Speculative Fiction galaxy. Being a member of a professional organization comes with some perks, just sayin'.

Consider this my purchasable compendium, reverse chronological order! Collect all five! And come this time next year, there will be a novel to add to this list, one way or another...

1. Ad Astra: The 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook

Fran Wilde and Cat Rambo edited this collection of 150+ recipes from speculative fiction authors of the past, present, and maybe even future. In it, you can find my Seared Peaches with Prosciutto and Basil; it comes with high acclaim from the NC Research Triangle area spec fic community. Purchase the cookbook from the SFWA website here or from Amazon.

2. "Thlush-A-Lum" in PULP Literature Issue #5

"Thlush-A-Lum" is pure horror that would qualify as flash fiction in most markets. The story came about when I challenged myself to write something more focused on the sense of sound than the other four I more commonly use in my writing. Many of those sounds are inspired by what I could hear from my own Southern bedroom window…and a few sounds that I swear I’ve been able to hear no matter where I’ve lived.

Purchase Issue #5 from the PULP Literature website or from Amazon.

3. "Blow 'Em Down" from Beneath Ceaseless Skies Double Anniversary Issue #131

"Blow 'Em Down" is the story I describe as a steampunk retelling of the Battle of Jericho with a jazzy feel circa Harlem Renaissance. It's been taught in a college class and brought me some of my highest compliments, so I certainly think it's worth the read. Beneath Ceaseless Skies is not available in print, but the e-magazine can be purchased through Weightless Books or on Amazon.

4. "Bother" in Bull Spec #5

"Bother" was the cover story for Bull Spec #5, and I'm honored to this day that the highly regarded Richard Case chose to illustrate it. It's urban fantasy about how a couple survives, or doesn't, when a dragon comes to roost on their city block. Luckily, there appears to still be back issues of Bull Spec available, although the magazine has shifted to a web-only presence. Order Issue #5 here or an e-version from Weightless Books here.

5. Maya's Vacation

The contemporary romance novella I never expected write, Maya's Vacation came to be in a dream about frying chicken, and I fleshed that dream out into the story of a woman in her fifties rediscovering herself after a divorce and relearning what she used to love through food, paint, and an old flame returned. Maya's Vacation, published by Clean Reads, is available on Amazon. Warning: No sex scenes in this romance! Just unrequited longing. Or is it requited? I'll never tell.

I may also mention that anything you buy that features my work is a gift to me as well -- word of tongue can only spread after eyes on the page have done their business. Of course, I also have plenty of fiction free to read online as well -- just click over to the Creative section to find it. Thank you for your support, and I hope to keep entertaining you in the future. I'm pretty sure I'll have some snippets to share by the end of next week as well...

Happy holidays, from me and Ben!

What's that? I share a contributor credit with such famous speculative fiction writers as Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Chuck Wendig, Mary Robinette Kowal, Alaya Dawn Johnson, and Jim C. Hines?

You bet I do! The Ad Astra 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook came to be when a few fellow illustrious Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America members decided it was high past time for another cookbook to come forth from our midst. Cat Rambo and Fran Wilde volunteered for editing duties and managed to gather up 150+ recipes along with some bonus specialties with ingredients that may be hard to find...

I'll let the Foreword speak for itself to give you a better idea of what this cookbook entails:

Within the science fiction and fantasy community, writers work wherever they can find a table, often among friends, virtual and face to face. It's a blend of friendship and business, of celebration and craft. It's messy sometimes. It's beautiful.

In celebration of fifty years of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Ad Astra: The 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook has collected recipes old and new from writers across the span of its membership. But this is more than just a cookbook. What you hold in your hands is a historical document. You'll find a history of SF/F entertaining that goes back more than fifty years. Some of it is funny; some (like the bash cake/Mars colony cake), is itself a historical document; some of it is conversations between multiple writers. Some of it is written in fanciful, or ... colorful language.

Here be Dragons.

Not everyone we wished to include are within these pages. But many are. We hope many more are to come in the future cookbooks.

The introduction to my Seared Peaches with Prosciutto and Basil definitely qualifies as one of those fanciful entries. It is a tribute to the speculative fiction writers and fans of the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina, which is where I began my fiction-writing career and where I developed wonderful friends and support from among many talented fellow key-pounders.

You can get your hands on this very unique, and very fun collector's item of a cookbook straight from the SFWA website here. Click to order through Paypal. Spiral-bound print is $19.95 and e-book is $9.99. I'd recommend the print myself.

Ad Astra is available for the same prices from Amazon as well.

All proceeds from the book are going directly to the SFWA Legal Fund, which is used to help SFWA members with court costs when the need for writing-related legal action is necessary--most of us don't make much in this gig, so the legal fund can be a career saver when our work needs to be protected.

Enjoy this fun collaboration, and I'll enjoy my moment of glory being among this fantastic group of recipe contributors.

What happened to the delicious posts on this site? They've gone back home to the Gourmez! In August 2013, when we moved to the Bay Area, I combined all my writing pursuits into the site you're viewing now. At the time, housing them together made the most sense for my sanity--too many sites to manage was too much in the midst of such a huge life change. But nearly two years later, and a recent transition from Hayward to Oakland where my reviews are suddenly in higher demand, meant it was time to give the Gourmez its proper focus again. And thus, that new-old site has been reborn!

My fiction and entertainment publication news and life updates will continue to be housed right here. But if your stomach starts growling or your wanderlust kicks in, the Gourmez is there for you.  In fact, if you click on the menu items above for food, drink, & travel, you'll find yourself transported to that website instead. Don't panic! Tastiness is only a mouse click away.

Meanwhile, I'll be doing more personal writing on this site--writing related to the writing life, that is. I've had a few requests to share my own struggles with searching for validation in a career where that rarely equals an income, so I'll dig into that topic soon. But mainly, I'm planning to re-focus my writing time and get more fiction under my belt. I'm currently shopping around two longish short stories and one fantasy novel. My second novel, a post-apocalyptic romance, is about two-thirds of the way through its first draft, and I have at least four other short stories in various stages of editing and initial plotting. Here's hoping they all find a home in time!

Tomorrow, I fly out for my first WisCon experience.

I'm super excited because I've heard so many great things about this conference from other writers. It has a heavy concentration on the craft of writing, which is the #1 reason I'm choosing it as my first con in years. I love the speculative fiction genre, but I love writing it more than I love the fannish activities that go along with it. Nothing wrong with going wild, Fandom! It's just not how I engage with the works that spark my passion.

And I am thrilled that I will get to share some of my passion with you! I am one-third of the superpowered trio in the Triple the Strength! Triple the Power! reading with fellow writers Sally Wiener Grotta and Laura Lis Scott on Sunday at 1:00 pm in Conference Room 2 at the main hotel.

Thanks to Sally for our flyer! Unfortunately, Laura won't be with us in the flesh, but I'm delighted to read a selection from her novella, Half the Sky, on her behalf. I'll also be reading "Thlush-A-Lum", my most recently published horror short story, and if time allows (it should), the first chapter of my epic fantasy novel, Wings Unseen.

But that's not all! On Monday morning, in the waning hours of WisCon, I'll be on the Worldbuilding Through Food panel in Senate B at 10:00 am. Writing about food has been a huge part of my career over the past six years, and food has always been an honored guest in my fiction as well, so this panel's topic spoke to me on many levels. Ty Blauersouth is our moderator, and my fellow panelists will be Nino Cipri and Amy Thomson. The official description:

The food crops and domestic animals an author uses in a fictional world shape underlying presumptions about where and when a story is set…or "not set," in the case of not-quite-our-world-but-just-barely worlds. Medievaloid Europeish taverns with potatoes and tomatoes in their stew. Cultures that spice heavily, or lightly, or eat a wide range of animals; even if crops and livestock are all named with new words they often trace back to our-Earth models. How can one thoughtfully use food in your worldbuilding in ways that support themes and characters, without falling into shallow sloppiness? What SFF authors do food description particularly well? What's good about it?

I'm especially excited to talk about how food choices can reveal character and ways food can be more central to the plot than just a lush description of a feasting table. Turkish delight, anyone?

Of course, I'll be out and about all over the place during the rest of WisCon 39, but I haven't had the chance to pick which sessions I'll attend just yet. I'll update you all on those plans as I make the decisions! Meanwhile, I always love meeting new people, so if you'd like to join me for coffee or a cocktail or a meal, just drop me a line at becca at thegourmez dot com or through Twitter @thegourmez. I arrive Wednesday evening and leave Monday afternoon.

See you soon, Wisconsin! It'll be lovely to make your acquaintance.

I am happy to announce that PULP Literature Issue #5 has officially launched, which means my horror short story, "Thlush-A-Lum", is now available for purchase as part of the issue!

You can buy Issue #5 straight from the PULP Literature website here.

Just click on the image to be taken to the ordering page. A print issue is $15 and an e-issue is $5. Lest that seem like a lot to you, I can confirm that I was impressed by how thick the magazine was when I received my author copy in the mail. I'm looking forward to reading all of these stories from my issue mates as described on the order page:

• We dare you to be held captive by Eileen Kernaghan’s ‘The Robber Maiden’s Story’, and then try to escape alongside the intrepid Stella Ryman as she attempts a jailbreak in The Four Digit Puzzle by Mel Anastasiou.

• Next, travel by boat and by bus to places you’d rather not go, with the fantastical ‘Polycarp on the Sea’ by Stephen Case and the gritty detective Finley in ‘The Pledge’ by Donald Dewey.

• Three pulp poems by Mark J Mitchell will prepare you for the cruel transformations of ‘Thlush-a-lum’ by Rebecca Gomez Farrell and ‘Some Say the World Will End in Fire’ by R Daniel Lester.

• These are followed by a few stories of wishing for more, in ‘A Discussion of Keats’s Negative Capability’ by Susan Pieters and Margaret Kingsbury’s ‘The Longing is Green when Branches are Trees’.

• A treat lies in store as we publish the winners of the first annual Hummingbird Prize for Flash Fiction, followed by the short, sharp horror cartoon ‘Bait’ by Kris Sayer.

• For dessert, we hope you’ve saved room for the next installment of Allaigna’s Song. It’s the perfect way to round out a good family feast.

• All this beneath a beautiful new cover entitled “Fondly Remembered Magic” by our first cover artist Melissa Mary Duncan.

For those of you who contributed to PULP Literature's Kickstarter campaign last month, thank you so much! I believe you should have received your Issue #5 already.

And for those of you who didn't, here's a little teaser of "Thlush-A-Lum's" first few paragraphs:

Markella’s earliest memories are of the sounds outside her window. At hours when no men moved, rustling branches and shuffling grass woke her. A beating pulse like slower, fleshier helicopter blades banished sleep: thlush-a-lum thlush-a-lum. In summers, the heat in her attic bedroom hot enough to incubate, Markella pushed the window open and dozed to the endless static drone of cicadas. In winters, choking radiator warmth wrapped tight around her, she cracked the window and the low, deep hoots of an owl drifted in with the freezing breeze.

The sounds crept in no matter the season.

And a photograph to set the mood...

I hope you enjoy "Thlush-A-Lum"...and you remember to keep an eye on those bedroom windows.

It's been a while since I've shared a bragging post. This one is courtesy of my being quoted in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article on the origins and staying power of RumChata.  You may recall that I reviewed RumChata back in 2012, and you can read that review by clicking on the picture.

What did I have to say about RumChata for Bloomberg Businessweek? It's just a quick quote on its versatility:

The drink also simplifies home cocktail making, says Eden Laurin, managing partner of the Violet Hour, a cocktail bar in Chicago’s hip Wicker Park neighborhood. Drinks with more than three ingredients are confusing to make, Laurin says, so having one spirit with several flavors is appealing. “It cuts out a step by already having cream, spice, and rum combined in pleasant ratios,” says Rebecca Gomez Farrell, a food and drink blogger in California.

Swing by the article to learn more about this unique--and fast-selling--cream liquor.

As I announced a few weeks ago, my next short story will be appearing in Issue #5 of PULP Literature Magazine, which is a print and e-book label fully funded through subscriptions and Kickstarter campaigns. Well...Issue #5 has a cover!

And yes, that's my beautiful little byline on it. Seeing my name on a cover is always such a thrill. So is the reminder of PULP Literature's tagline: "Good books for the price of a beer."  I love that! You can get the full description of Issue #5 right here.

Showing you the issue cover would be reason enough for this post, but I'm also writing to encourage you to go ahead and claim your copies of the issue now. Why? Because PULP Literature just launched their second -year Kickstarter campaign last week. Issue #5 is slated for publication at the end of 2014, so why not pay for it now and support both me and this great new addition to the genre literary scene? Need the video to sell you? Keep your eyes peeled for my name scrolling by!

Want the ebook of my issue? $5. How about the print one? $15. Maybe you want to go ahead and take a plunge, subscribing to the full year of stories? $25 for ebook and $40 for print. That's a deal for curated literature delivered right to your fingertips!

Plus, for my fellow writers, the editorial team at PULP Literature also has rewards offering short story and novel critiques and writing workshops--valuable, valuable tools that any writer should take advantage of.

Go ahead. Pledge. I'll still be here when you get back. I can't make the same promise for "Thlush-A-Lum's" protagonist, however...

I've been sitting on this news all summer! But that's my own fault, because I insist on signing a contract before I announce any of my fiction publications. Which means the contract is signed, and I have a new short story coming out at the end of the year!

"Thlush-a-lum" will be published in the Winter 2015 issue of PULP Literature, a newish speculative fiction magazine that came to be through a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013.

Issue #5 will be released electronically and in paperback form, and you bet I'll update you once buy links become available. In addition to four yearly issues of the magazine, PULP Literature runs a number of contests that often feature publication as a prize. Their editors' blog is also a fount of useful information for writers. Peruse away!

What's "Thlush-a-lum" about, you wonder? It's pure horror that would qualify as flash fiction in most markets. The story came about when I challenged myself to write something more focused on the sense of sound than the other four I more commonly use in my writing. Many of those sounds are inspired by what I could hear from my own Southern bedroom window...and a few sounds that I swear I've been able to hear no matter where I've lived.

The first few lines? Certainly.

Markella's earliest memories are of the sounds outside her window. At hours when no men moved, rustling branches and shuffling grass woke her. A beating pulse like slower, fleshier helicopter blades banished sleep: thlush-a-lum thlush-a-lum. In summers, the heat in her attic bedroom hot enough to incubate, Markella pushed the window open and dozed to the endless static drone of cicadas. In winters, choking radiator warmth wrapped tight around her, she cracked the window and the low, deep hoots of an owl drifted in with the freezing breeze.

The sounds crept in no matter the season.

And you know I like to include a photo to set the mood when I can...

Another photography credit for me, another chance for the unabashed soap opera lovers among us to pick up a nifty photobook! Once again, Katrina Rasbold, my fearless leader at All My Writers for the last, oh, almost decade, has released a Yearbook of this year's General Hospital Fan Club Weekend. She writes the reports; I take the photos.

[

This 180-page book is jam-packed with full-color photos of General Hospital's past and present-day stars from 4 days of events. There's plenty of behind-the-scenes gossip to boot. What'll you learn about in the Yearbook? As Katrina writes,

New couples, new babies, famous spouses, Hollywood royalty, a bit of a smack-down from Executive Producer, Frank Valentini, a “Blast From the Past” actor with some very unconventional claims and advice to fans, two Rabbis, plenty of selfies, a double-helping of Michael Corinthos, a male heart-throb who broke all of our hearts on screen, a current GH couple who ditched us, graphic novels straight from ComiCon, impossible schedules, careers made and broken, dogs and cats living together... this year had it all!

Our print copies of](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1500857513/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1500857513&linkCode=as2&tag=media0477-20&linkId=Q32JNQ4HQ3PKZXZK) last year's yearbook sold out as soon as the doors to the main cast event opened, so you know these are beautiful keepsakes for the GH fans among us. Both full-color and black and white paperback versions are available from Amazon.

Color:                      Black and White:

I couldn't leave you without sharing my favorite photos from the event, could I? I was so delighted to see Scott Clifton at the Past Cast Event. Him and Michael Sutton appearing made my weekend.

I hope you enjoy the 2014 Yearbook!

Just a reminder, dear readers, that my most recently published short story is available for free online at Beneath Ceaseless Skies. It's comes up in conversation several times lately, so I thought a reminder was due. "Blow 'Em Down" is a steampunk retelling of the battle of Jericho from the perspective of a brass band pressed to take part in the effort to break the city's glass dome. For me, it's about how past wounds can blind us to the ways we dehumanize others and how faith doesn't count until you make it your own.   Here are the first three paragraphs:

From our brass band’s vantage point at the Gilgal plains, the glass dome was impenetrable. An immense central copper tube supported it, using a full city block for its foundation and generating energy for the whole town by absorbing the sun rays trapped within the glass. One skygate operated through the top of the dome, opening only to let merchant airships and their escorts in and out. The ships floated by so high, we could barely make out what was seared into their taut material: giant brands bearing profiles of the cityscape. The same image, embossed in a black pattern, circumnavigated the dome’s bottom edge. A single word in bold typeset appeared above each repetition:  Jericho.

They never sent so much as a volley our way. Who could blame them? We looked a sorry mess after forty years spent crossing the desert, but we were many. Forty days our parents had been told, but as it turned out, solar-powered chariots don’t work so well in the desert. The salt from the Red Sea air had rusted most of their steel frames within days of the crossing, leaving us with only a handful, and those were barely powerful enough to raise one person off the sand at a time. Then there was the pillar of smoke blocking out half the sky. Little sun meant less energy for our solar cells to regenerate. When the pillar lit up like a fireball that forgot to fly at night, we tried to mine the heat, but we never could get the calibrations right.

“The pillar will lead us into the Promised Land. It is Yahweh’s own guide.” That’s how Moses had explained it when it first appeared, before I was ever born. The old geezer had keeled over about a month ago. Paps laughed out loud when he heard, but his heart burst mid-guffaw, and he keeled over, too. Three days later, we crossed the Jordan.

Read the rest of the story here

If any of you happen to be Hugo voters (last day to sign up to become one is this Friday), I would love you to read "Blow 'Em Down" to consider it for a nomination. It is eligible for this year's award season, and nominations are open until March 31. I will refer you to this great post at Beneath Ceaseless Skies that details everything involved if you would like to become a voter or you need to know how to go about making nominations.

A few months ago, I got to add a second item to my list of professional photography credits for this amazing book for lovers of General Hospital, but somehow, I forgot to announce it here!

The book is written by Katrina Rasbold, my talented boss over at All My Writers, and I can guarantee she'll crack you up with her Southern dame prose. As the description reads,

A must have for all fans of the iconic soap opera, General Hospital! This book provides one-of-a-kind photos and stories from behind the scenes of the premier GH event of the year.... [Katrina] gives you smart tips on how to navigate this complex and intense fan event to get the most bang for your buck and for your time....Who crashed the party at the 2013 Main Cast Luncheon? What GH beauty from the past arrived at the Main Cast Luncheon to announce that she is now on the current cast? Who was the breakout star of the weekend who had hearts throbbing on Sunday?...She shares insider stories from her years working the event, plus includes over 450 photographs from her own personal collection, more than 300 of which are from the most recent 2013 General Hospital Fan Club Weekend!

You can purchase this tome through Amazon as an e-book or through CreateSpace as a print book in either black and white or color. It would make a great Christmas gift for fans of the show, which I can say because I've been one since the womb! The book definitely prepares folks to attend the fan club weekend, but it's chock-full of insider stories that any GH viewer would love to hear.

Here are what readers have to say so far:

"It's a delightful book, quite helpful to the person who is off to such a fan weekend. I am sure that much of the travel and packing advice is applicable to any such event in a hot climate. Written by a woman who has been there, done that, I would listen to her words and follow them in order to best enjoy the event. Best of all, you can add this book to your Kindle and carry it with you for a handy reference! As far as I'm concerned, it's a must-have for anyone who plans on going to any fan event."

"I remember watching General Hospital when it was in black and white (at least at my house) and featured stories about Steve and Audrey Hardy and the nurses at GH. I've never been to a GH event (wrong side of a very big country) but after reading this book, I feel as though I've been there. Insider tidbits about the participating actors, sure, but also the very necessary information about packing, hotels, where to go, when to go there, and the protocol for any GH event. A fun read even if you never make it to an event, and an indispensable one if you do plan to attend this yearly event."

"Katrina captures the experience of the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend with unabridged honesty, humorous, truthful tales of unbelievable and unforgettable moments that positively and lovingly spotlights both the graciousness of the actors and the enthusiasm of the fans. The collection of personal anecdotes, hundreds of photos, and insider information about how to prepare" to attend this four-day extravaganza is a MUST HAVE for not only those fans who wish to attend, but also ANY fan who has loved this 50 year young daytime icon!"

I can't leave you without a picture of me at the event, now can I? Enjoy!

Me with John J. York.

I am thrilled to announce that you can now read my steampunk retelling of the Battle of Jericho, "Blow 'Em Down," in Beneath Ceaseless Skies Special 5th Anniversary Double Issue #151!

The full text of the story is now available on BCS's website for free, along with the rest of the fantastic stories in the issue. On that page, you will find download links for all e-reader types that you can also use to acquire the issue for free.

Of course, I would encourage you to purchase the issue for your e-readers because I think it's worthwhile to support good art, and I hope you will think "Blow 'Em Down" qualifies as good art. If you agree, you can make that wallet-busting $0.99 purchase at Amazon or at Weightless Books.

And now for your teaser,

From our brass band’s vantage point at the Gilgal plains, the glass dome was impenetrable. An immense central copper tube supported it, using a full city block for its foundation and generating energy for the whole town by absorbing the sun rays trapped within the glass. One skygate operated through the top of the dome, opening only to let merchant airships and their escorts in and out. The ships floated by so high, we could barely make out what was seared into their taut material: giant brands bearing profiles of the cityscape. The same image, embossed in a black pattern, circumnavigated the dome’s bottom edge. A single word in bold typeset appeared above each repetition:  Jericho.

They never sent so much as a volley our way. Who could blame them? We looked a sorry mess after forty years spent crossing the desert, but we were many. Forty days our parents had been told, but as it turned out, solar-powered chariots don’t work so well in the desert. The salt from the Red Sea air had rusted most of their steel frames within days of the crossing, leaving us with only a handful, and those were barely powerful enough to raise one person off the sand at a time. Then there was the pillar of smoke blocking out half the sky. Little sun meant less energy for our solar cells to regenerate. When the pillar lit up like a fireball that forgot to fly at night, we tried to mine the heat, but we never could get the calibrations right.

Again, you can read the rest of "Blow 'Em Down" right here.

If you were on vacation last week, you may have missed my newest post at WRAL's Out and About blog. I was, and I almost missed it myself! This one is on all the amazing foodstuffs you can find within a block of what I call Durham's Bermuda Triangle for foodies, also known as the intersection of Mangum and Parrish streets.

Pain aux pistaches at Loaf.

Take a food tour through the South's Tastiest Town #

By Rebecca Gomez Farrell

Posted: May 27 Updated: May 29

Durham, N.C. — For foodies, the intersection of Magnum and Parrish streets in downtown Durham is a Bermuda Triangle they may never want to escape. Within one block of it, in any direction, is a plethora of eateries, bakeries, and bars that prize local ingredients, quality products, and creativity. Consider this your guide to a perfect food lover’s day in Durham without doing more than crossing the street.

Stop 1: Breakfast at Monuts Donuts (110 East Parrish St.). This donut and bagel shop used to operate out of a tricycle. Cake and yeast donuts come in flavors like chocolate chai and the delicious maple bacon bourbon I sampled. Bagels are also a hot commodity and can be topped with eggs, cheese, and … maple sriracha? Counter Culture iced coffee should help with that morning headache....

Read on for all the stops on my foodie tour...and to see just how many times I can manage to misspell Mangum in one article. Find the rest of it here, along with a pretty awesome slide show of the tour, if I do say so myself.

In February, I let you all know about the opportunity to get your hands on one of my short stories for free for a limited time. And now that time is almost at an end! "Bother," along with many other fantastic stories collected by M. David Blake for the 2013 Campbellian Pre-Reading Anthology, will only be available until 4/30. So what are you waiting for? Click your browsers on over to Stupefying Stories and get your copy! And be sure to give Durham author Mur Lafferty your congratulations on being nominated for the Campbell Award for the second straight year. Some of her work is also available in the anthology. You can find her at the Murverse.

Here's what I posted to explain the anthology in February:

Published by Stupefying Stories, the 2013 Campbellian Pre-Reading Anthology is now available for free -- that's right, free! -- for anyone interested in perusing the works of authors eligible for Campbell award nominations this year. What's that? As M. David Blake, editor of Stupefying Stories explained,

Named for John W. Campbell, Jr., whose 34 years at the helm of Astounding Science Fiction (later renamed Analog) defined the "Golden Age" of the genre and launched the careers of dozens of famous writers, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer is presented annually at WorldCon to an outstanding author whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the previous two years.

What does this have to do with me? Well, with my sale of "Bother" to Bull Spec nearing on two years ago now, I became eligible for the Campbell Award. I have absolutely no expectations of being nominated, especially because I haven't had other speculative fiction published since then -- I've been working on my first fantasy novel instead of sending out my short stories. But "Bother" has been reprinted in the anthology, and now's your chance to read it for free along with other worthy works by a large list of fantastic speculative fiction authors. All for free until the Hugo nominees, including for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, are announced at the end of April.

To take advantage of this amazing access to these stories, just click here and chose the e-format you prefer at the end of the publication announcement post. And if you do read "Bother," please let me know what you thought! Us writers do thrive on feedback.

Published by Stupefying Stories, the 2013 Campbellian Pre-Reading Anthology is now available for free -- that's right, free! -- for anyone interested in perusing the works of authors eligible for Campbell award nominations this year. What's that? As M. David Blake, editor of Stupefying Stories explained,

Named for John W. Campbell, Jr., whose 34 years at the helm of Astounding Science Fiction (later renamed Analog) defined the "Golden Age" of the genre and launched the careers of dozens of famous writers, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer is presented annually at WorldCon to an outstanding author whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the previous two years.

What does this have to do with me? Well, with my sale of "Bother" to Bull Spec nearing on two years ago now, I became eligible for the Campbell Award. I have absolutely no expectations of being nominated, especially because I haven't had other speculative fiction published since then -- I've been working on my first fantasy novel instead of sending out my short stories. But "Bother" has been reprinted in the anthology, and now's your chance to read it for free along with other worthy works by a large list of fantastic speculative fiction authors. All for free until the Hugo nominees, including for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, are announced at the end of April.

To take advantage of this amazing access to these stories, just click here and chose the e-format you prefer at the end of the publication announcement post. And if you do read "Bother," please let me know what you thought! Us writers do thrive on feedback.

About a month ago, I took part in Winter Tales, a reading of holiday-themed works by local authors that was hosted by the Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough. Poems, essays, stories, and songs were all shared that evening, and now we have video of each reading! I'm embedding them all here so you can enjoy the event as we did.

First, because this is my blog, I'm sharing my reading of a personal essay, "Treasures in Cardboard Boxes." It's a reflection on losing a mixtape of Christmas carols and on growing up a little different from your family.

http://youtu.be/RASxC6VbDnw

Next is "Winter Sonnet," a poem by James Maxey, the organizer of the event. It is a quick, sweet listen about celebrating winter with his wife.

http://youtu.be/0n8d_4kxufM

Also from James is a personal essay, "Christmas Dismemberment," about receiving presents you don't really want as a child.

http://youtu.be/JyMesp5iZxM

The evening began with a reading of a drabble, a 100-word short stories, by Mur Lafferty, the first of which was "Zuzu's Bell" about Lucifer on his birthday.

http://youtu.be/FvO5Xr4mYWY

Mur's second reading was "750,000 of Your Friends Like This," a futuristic, cynical, yet fun take on the Christmas Carol revisions in the future. Sorry it's a bit lower quality than the rest of the excerpts.

http://youtu.be/rXQn3qydFhU?t=4m47s

Alex Granados gave less of a reading and more of a storytelling, sharing an adventure with in-laws called "Death By Big Screen TV." It's a great portrayal of his father-in-law and his can-do-anything attitude.

http://youtu.be/DWLtPhQDqq4

Last, but not least, are two songs from Gray Rinehart. The first was inspired by his time in Greenland and is titled "Winter Simplifies the World."

http://youtu.be/NcuFopdrE3Y

The second song is light-hearted and FILK, meaning it's a play on science fiction or fantasy works. This is "Tauntauns to Glory," a fun tribute to the majestic tauntauns of Star Wars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6RS-YAgk2U&feature=share&list=PLQpBV0kAm077EazC-jrPE5iaGkhIn_-5j

And thus concludes these Winter Tales. Hopefully, they brightened yours, wherever it may be.

Winter Tales Reading: Come listen to me read!

This coming Thursday, I will be one of five speculative fiction writers participating in a reading on the topic of winter tales at the Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough (137 W. Margaret Lane) at 6 pm.

Personally, I’m most intrigued to see what a pack of sci-fi writers comes up with for holiday-themed readings! I am opting for a personal essay, and I know at least one of the other authors is writing a song or three. I’m honestly expecting this to be a lot of fun. Here are brief bios of the other participants. By brief, I mean this is how I am most familiar with them:

• James Maxey-Author of the Dragon Age fantasy saga and his current Dragon Apocalypse series. He’s also a great conversationalist at dinner parties full of people you’ve never met before. Or at least that’s my experience.
• Gray Rinehart-Author of several short stories, slushmaster general at Baen Books, and singer of songs.
• Mur Lafferty-2012 Campbell Award nominee, author of Playing for Keeps and the Afterlife series, expert podcaster, and composer of snarky social media statuses.
• Alex Granados-Author of Cemetery Plot, producer of the State of Things, and that guy that was supposed to edit a short story for me once.
• and me, Rebecca Gomez Farrell-Author of Maya’s Vacation and several short stories, food blogger extraordinaire, and the person who wrote this post.

Please come on out on Thursday at 6 pm and join us for the merriment! It will continue all evening for me, because I have a date with the Hobbit at midnight that night!

Official invitation is here.

After the publication of Maya's Vacation, I took part in the first Feature Friday story for Astraea Press. Feature Friday is a collaboration among a bunch of Astraea Press authors to write an ongoing story with three words as a starting point. Each Friday, a different author tackled the next leg of the story, taking it in whatever direction they wanted to. As you might imagine, my contribution managed to veer the story into the paranormal, just a little bit. The words that prompted us were llama, dating, and waterfall.

Our story mascot.

You can start the story from the beginning here, or you can just jump in for my contribution. Here's your teaser of the story's beginning, written by Cheryl Grey:

The house looked like half of a bleached orange, placed juicy side down in the shadow of a long, sloping hill. Detective Elleanor Sharpe slammed the door of her rental car, leaned against its hot metal, and kept staring. A geodesic dome, the guy at the gas station had called it as he’d given her directions, his chest thrust out as if proud he’d mastered the term. She’d caught him reading a Scooby Doo comic book, so he hadn’t mastered much else.

Grasslands and cacti faded into the distance in all directions, sliced through by the state road and caliche driveway, punctuated by lazy pump jacks, and weathered, leaning shacks. To the west, looming mesas shimmered in the heat haze. Behind the dome, a flock of sheep hid in the fold of a ravine, the hillside shading them from the afternoon sun. The sky was too dry and washed-out for even the wispiest of clouds.

Here is a snippet from my contribution, the fourth part in a five-part story:

Ellea felt like a vise had cinched her throat. The Natural Assembly was here . . . in Pecos?

Back in Dallas, she’d worked a case on the secretive church and its leader, Reverend Peter Staff. He—it was always a man who led these cults—was in his midfifties with brown hair so gelled a tornado couldn’t move a strand of it. She’d taken an instant disliking to him from the moment she offered her hand in greeting and he held it like a dead fish. The station had called her in to question him after an embezzling charge was leveled against the Natural Assembly by a disgruntled former parishioner. There were also complaints about beheaded chickens, but sacrificing animals was not against the law. Apparently, the church had moved to a smaller pond, perhaps to draw less attention, but they’d also moved on to bigger animals.

You can read the rest of mine here. And because convenience is important to us Americans, here is the entire story together in one post.

It has come. This is the last week I'm spending on bragging about Maya's Vacation, my romance novella about a woman who has to decide if she wants to chance her heart on an old flame all while painting and eating her vacation away. This week, I'm sharing a few snippets of interviews I've done to promote Maya's Vacation. I was interviewed at a couple of romance book and author sites. If you've ever wanted to learn a bit more about me or my romance novella, you should swing by them!

First up is I Am A Reader, Not A Writer from last June. Here is your teaser:

What is one book everyone should read?

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. It is a beautiful book that blends religious striving, human suffering, cultural understanding, and language into a narrative about learning to live with aliens on another planet and learning to live with ourselves.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Viennese Cafe Waltz—it was a specialty flavor done by Safeway Groceries’ store brand for a few years: chocolate covered hazelnuts in a cinnamon, vanilla, and mocha ice cream.

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

Eggs Goldenrod—cheese sauce over toast with sliced and grated hard-boiled eggs. Calories for the win!

Night owl or early bird?

Very much a night owl. I get a lot of eye rolls when I say I wake up around 10 am...until I remind them that means I’m in bed around 3 am.

Skittles or M&Ms?

M&Ms, especially those new coconut ones. If they made those in dark chocolate, I’d be in heaven.

Next on the agenda is Astraea Press's blog, where I did an interview the day of Maya's Vacation's release.

A random fact about your story.

Scrabble is not a recommended matchmaking method.A random fact about you as an author.

I’ve been writing stories since I mastered handwriting—though whether I’ve ever actually mastered cursive is up for debate. My first stories involved the La Brea Tar Pit and taking a ride on a unicorn with She-Ra. It was horror and fantasy from an early age.

Favorite line in the story (can be funny, romantic, etc).

My favorite line in the story is actually the very last one, which I dreamed—or rather, I dreamed a version of it that needed some editing. But I can’t share that one! Instead, I’ll pick this: Maya thought that interesting, but Dean’s soothing voice, like jazz spilling out of a sidewalk café, distracted her from giving it any further consideration.

Since three is such a beautiful number in writing, I'll end the interview bragging post with this snippet from Fridays Off the Wall at Joselyn Vaughn's blog last year.

Joselyn: Who would you cast as the main characters in a movie of your latest book?

Rebecca: In Maya’s Vacation, the main character, Maya, is a woman in her early 50s. She has a salt-and-pepper bob and an intuition that guides her strongly. I could see Kathy Najimy playing her. Dean, the main romantic interest, is an artist of the same age, lanky, and has a mop of curly blonde hair. Richard Gere with long hair would be a fun choice and would get that emotional angst just right, but I’d love Viggo Mortenson also. Danny Devito would be a perfect actor for Maya’s bustling friend, John. Naomi and Wynona Judd would have great fun playing Opal and Esther Donnelly, a pair of randy widows, as long as they don’t mind dying their hair pink.

Joselyn: I love the idea of a not 20-something heroine.  We can find love at any age. What is your favorite line for your most recent book?

This is not from a book but from my short story, Apocalypse, published recently at Yesteryear Fiction. It is about a woman—a diviner, actually—who is noticed by someone else for the first time in her life, which makes her realize that she’s worth noticing: His face is alight with the reflection of something dazzling, something she has never seen but always been. From the novel, I can only give my second favorite line—my first is the last line of the book, and I don’t want to give that away! My second favorite is Maya thought that interesting, but Dean’s soothing voice, like jazz spilling out of a sidewalk café, distracted her from giving it any further consideration.

Joselyn:  That is really nice imagery. Do you have any characters who keep bugging you for their own book? Will you give them one?

Rebecca: I assure you, both John and Opal from Maya’s Vacation are quite confident they are worthy of their own books, largely because they find themselves infinitely entertaining and think they are great catches to anyone of the opposite sex. The fact that I have no plans to do so simply mystifies them. Obviously, I’m not paying due attention to their charms, and they may be forced to try harder.

I hope you enjoyed those little tidbits on why I wrote Maya's Vacation and just plain learning more about me. I can't leave you without showing off that cover one more time and giving you links to where you can buy Maya's Vacation for $1.99, now can I? Here's where: Astraea Press, Amazon, or Barnes and Nobles.

And here's that pretty little cover:

We are still on my first published book, Maya's Vacation, in this week's fiction bragging post, and we will be for a few more weeks -- I did a number of interviews promoting it when it came out last March, so I plan to point you toward one each week. But this first one is not an interview with me. Instead, it's an interview I did with the main character in Maya's Vacation, Maya Holden. Perhaps she can interest you in her story.

Me: Maya, you seem like such a down-to-Earth woman, but tell me, how did you end up with a litter of ferrets?

Maya: Oh, that. [She waves it away with a giggle]. My husband — ex-husband, now, of course, but he was my husband  then — he never let me live that one down. What happened was that Meredith Viera one day on the Today Show had these long, furry animals I’d never seen before. They were so cute, I just had to get one. So I headed to the pet store that very afternoon, and what did I find but a mother ferret with a new litter of four babies! They were all so cute, no longer than my index finger, and I just couldn’t separate them. It felt like the right thing to do, taking them all home! Chuck turned bright red when he saw them, but he never did complain, not really. He’d been married to me too long! You might say I’m a creature of instinct.

Me: That’s hilarious, and don’t tell my husband, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I did something like that one day! Animals are hard to resist. Speaking of things that are hard to resist, what did you say about your first boyfriend recently? Something about how kissing him was like a great glass of tempranillo?

Maya: Honey, if I were kissing Dean again, I’d drain the bottle. He was — he was something else. It was so long ago when we were together, and I was probably just giddy with first love, you know how that goes, but I can still remember how he made me feel every time we — well, you know. [She blushes]. But you can’t keep that sort of relationship forever.  We’ve all got to grow up sometime.

Me: Do you really think so? Don’t some people manage to capture the magic forever?

Maya: I suppose I believe that. But don’t you think that sort of connection is scary? I mean, I loved Dean, I loved him so much that I moved from home at 18 to live with him in a rundown flat by the beach that I thought was heaven. We were going to be painters together, but he left and then . . . I couldn’t wait forever, could I? [She wipes a tear from her eye and breathes deeply, straightening up]. But how did we get to this topic? Let’s talk about something more fun.

Me: I can certainly do that! What’s your favorite dish, Maya? What food would you want on a deserted island?

Maya: I’ll take that bottle of tempranillo, for starters! But to help wash it down, I’d go for comfort food like chicken and dumplings—it might get a little lonely out on that island. I can’t help but dress up a recipe, though, so I’d stir some gruyere into the dumpling batter and probably roast the chicken first with tarragon and oregano.

Me: That sounds delightful! Thank you for your time, Maya.

Maya: A pleasure!

If that little peak into Maya's life makes you want to learn what the future may hold for her, then pick up Maya's Vacation today_!_ It's available in all e-book formats, including PDF, at Astraea Press, Amazon, or Barnes and Nobles.

Hello everyone! For my bragging series this week, I am going to share a couple of the nicest reviews I've received so far for Maya's Vacation. But most importantly, I am revealing the winners of the free copies of Maya's Vacation! There were six entrants and I had five free copies, but I couldn't bring myself to leave only one person a loser, so I scrounged up another one. Thus, everyone's a winner! That's right, free books for Rachel, Angie, Heidi, Angel, Lu Ann, and Lisa! Thank you so much for signing up, ladies, and I hope you enjoy Maya's Vacation. I'll send you instructions on how to get your free book.

Doesn't winning feel great?

Now for those reviews. Here are just a few of my favorites, though there are plenty more out there with nice things to say about Maya's Vacation. The most recent one comes first, from just this February. Emma Rae from Romancing the Book had this to say:

Definitely worth the buck or so for this little novella. Go ahead and judge the book by the cover. The two characters are both painters, and so is Rebecca Farrell. I’m not putting a “favorite quote” because I want you to discover the beautiful imagery in this book for yourself. I’m not usually big on descriptions or scenery, and this story doesn’t overdo it, but what is there is superbly written. Calibre tagged this novella as “Christian” when I added it. It’s not, but it’s perfectly clean with just the right amount of chemistry.

The story is mostly from Maya’s point of view, and has an excellent supporting cast. You just know Chuck is a slimy user trying to wiggle his way back into Maya’s life, and he wouldn’t be good for her at all. Dean hasn’t been pining for thirty years, and brings his own hurts to the woods. I wish we’d had some more from Dean’s point of view. I like that nothing is perfect and smooth and clear-cut. There’s regret and sadness, but it’s not the focus of the story and that’s fresh. It’s nice to know romance is still alive at fifty, and there’s always room for second chances.

At Amazon, fellow Astraea Press author, J. Gunnar Gray has the following review:

This is a remarkably fun story of a woman caught between two love interests, and I honestly didn't know how she's choose until the very last pages. Becca Farrell writes with subtlety and imagination, building Maya's character with artistic brushstrokes and showing how she's tugged between doing what's smart and comfortable, and doing what she really wants. This little novella isn't getting nearly the attention it deserves.

And an anonymous review over at Barnes and Nobles:

If you like food, art, romance or any combination of the three than you will thoroughly enjoy Maya's Vacation! The characters are likable and the plot moves at the perfect pace. There are cute analogies and moments the author describes that are laugh out loud funny. The story starts out with Maya taking a brief escape from her current day to day life -- and that is exactly what this story offers the reader: A sweet escape from the everyday. If you'd like a short read that will give you a break from your own reality, then look no further than Maya's Vacation.

Hooray! And looking for these reviews reminded me that I really need to keep a list of all the reviews the book has received, because I've forgotten already! If only I were a better organized writer...someday!

For this installment of my Thursday bragging series, I'm giving away 5 copies of my e-book, Maya's Vacation! What's that? You like to win things? Well, entering to win is easy. Just leave a comment on this post by next Wednesday, 5/9, and I'll reveal the winners on Thursday.  Not familiar with Maya's Vacation? We can fix that easily!

Twenty-year-old Maya knew, as she watched Dean walk away from her front door, distraught at her silence and her father’s threats, that she would never love anyone with the intensity that she loved him. He was her painter, her artist, her soul mate and being apart from him hurt too much. She tucked those feelings away, determined to enjoy the safe and secure life her parents approved of: business school and a marriage to Chuck, a successful real estate agent.

Thirty years later, Chuck has cheated on and divorced her. But when he comes back, begging for reconciliation, Maya follows her intuition and takes a vacation to think it over. Her love of art, food, and wine combine at this retreat in the woods, and she prepares for a week of making new friends, tasting exquisite wines, and learning to paint again. What she hasn’t prepared for is the familiar voice she hears the first morning at camp . . . a voice that makes her skin tingle and brings back memories of who she used to be before Chuck. Has Maya buried her passion too deep to find love with Dean again.

You can also listen to me read from Maya's Vacation, so if you're interested in an excerpt, what better way to get one than by listening to the author speak for her characters? Each clip is about 3 and 1/2 minutes long, and you do need javascript enabled for the clips to work.

[audio:/audio/mvexcerpt1.mp3]

[audio:/audio/mvexcerpt2.mp3]

Don't want to wait to see if you won the contest? You can purchase Maya's Vacation now in any e-book form direct from Astraea Press (direct from the publisher is where I get the biggest cut, hint hint), Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles.

Next week, along with the contest winners, I'll share some of my favorite reviews of Maya's Vacation. There are some great ones out there!

My bragging series has finally brought us to the publication of my first book, Maya's Vacation!

It is a romance novella, reaching just about 50 pages in all, and it was published by Astraea Press in March of last year. The whole process of having a book published was so exciting, from perusing the editor's suggestions, seeing cover art for the first time, and watching as the reviews come in. Maya's Vacation is available in e-book only, but you can get it for your kindle, nook, or in basic PDF form -- however you want it! Here are the buy links from Astraea Press (direct from the publisher is where I get the biggest cut, hint hint), Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles. The novella will cost you a whopping $1.99. And if that's too much, I'll be giving away 5 $0.01 copies in next Thursday's post!

We'll be on Maya's Vacation in the bragging series for a while, because it brought me much to brag about! I plan to repost the recordings of myself reading from the book, highlight a few of the reviews, and highlight a few of the interviews at other author blogs to promote its publication in the next few weeks on Thursdays. For this first post on my book, I'm including an excerpt from it. I hope you find your romantic leanings intrigued!

At 4:45, the three of them made their way out of the cabin. Opal led them on the trail to the dining hall. The smell of sap on the pine trees made Maya smile, and she wondered if anyone had ever made a sap-based paint. It would be dreadfully hard to work with, but the smell would be so much better than oil ones. Dean used to smell of nothing but oil paints and sweat.

It was strange how being here made her think of him when she hadn’t in ages. He had come back those many years ago, but it was a year after she’d accepted her parents’ check, and by then she was already engaged to Chuck with their blessing. Dean had found her at her parents' home in New Rockford. She didn’t know how he found the house — she’d never mentioned which development they lived in — but she wasn’t surprised when she saw him striding up the walkway, holding a large, polished conch shell that must have been for her. Maya wanted to run to him then, everything within her screamed to go, but she’d made her decision months ago.

She’d wept in her bedroom, behind the curtain sheer, as he rang the bell. Her father opened the door then stepped outside and closed it behind him. Dean’s hopeful expression dissolved into one of shock as she heard her dad say, “. . . engaged . . . her life’s on track now . . .” in an increasingly louder voice. Somehow, Dean knew which room was hers, and she could feel him staring at her window, his blue eyes pleading silently with her through the pulled sheer.

“I came back for you, Maya,” he called out in the voice that used to inspire her to paint the sun cresting over a sand dune. She stood and ran toward the front door but stopped short when she heard her father threaten to call the cops.

Dean left.

Her father came back in a few minutes later and threw the shell in the kitchen trash. Maya wiped away her tears and forced her thoughts toward floral arrangements for the reception. Later, when her parents were asleep, she fished the shell out of the garbage. Painted on its pink lip was a miniature portrait of herself in profile, with a slight smile on her lips. It doesn’t look like me, she had thought, at least not anymore.

“You okay?” Esther whispered as the three women reached the dining hall. It was roughly four times the size of their Downy Woodpecker cabin. “You look pale.”

“I’m fine,” Maya answered, though she felt a little shaky. Odd how thinking of Dean could still affect her after all these years. “I was daydreaming a little. The fresh air feels good, you know?”

Opal opened the door to the Toucan, as the sign above it read. Maya was amazed by the set up inside. She’d been imagining the summer camp cafeterias of her adolescence, long plywood tables and a stainless steel buffet of indiscernible foods in the center of a large, colorless room. This was much more intimate. The left half of the cabin was filled with a cozy, open kitchen, and the other side held a few scattered, high pub tables and a larger table of polished cherry wood that could seat at least ten. The windows were floor length, exposing a view of the tops of pine trees and storm clouds gathering along the mountainous horizon. It was gorgeous. A handful of people stood around, chatting.

“I'd forgotten how lovely that view is!” Esther gushed. Maya nodded in agreement as she watched an older woman in coveralls pull a tray out from the oven and place it to cool on the counter. The woman caught sight of them and clapped her hands together.

“Oh, more guests!” She scuttled over and exclaimed, “Opal and Esther! You both look wonderful.” She gave them each a warm hug. Then she introduced herself to Maya. “I’m Catelyn, Cliff’s wife. We are so excited to have you here.” Her gray hair was in a loose bun. She gestured toward the pub tables. “Please take a seat!”

Opal and Esther sauntered off, and Maya offered to help with dinner. Cooking had been a passion of hers ever since she and Chuck had moved into their first home. Its kitchen was almost completely enclosed, and she had loved how the different spices lingered in it, making her feel like she entered another world every time she stepped inside, one that she wanted to contribute to each day with fresh flavors and experiments. Catelyn set her to pouring flights of wines for the guests, eighteen total counting her and Ranger, though one of the men wasn’t due until tomorrow morning.

“He’s a bit of a strange one,” Catelyn whispered to her. “Just called yesterday, hoping we could squeeze him in and sounding all flustered, too, like he couldn’t explain why he was coming. Now, who would act so weird about coming to a retreat?”

“I don’t know,” Maya laughed. “Sounds like a head case! Guess we’ll see tomorrow, huh?” She recorked the bottle of zinfandel and took a seat at an empty table. Opal was chatting with a skinny man wearing a bowtie the next table over. She gave Maya a wink.

Ranger came in with a few stragglers, a young-looking couple and a short man with a smile so large, it looked like he’d swallowed an orange.

“The wine's all poured? Well, get out of town,” Ranger exclaimed. “Time to take a seat then, everyone. Let's get this show on the road.”

By the time she'd finished her slice of mocha cheesecake and drank her port at the end of the meal, Maya had made fast friends with John, the short man. He'd taken the empty barstool next to her and spent the evening charming her with stories about his granddaughter and her new puppy. When he found out Maya was contemplating a reunion with her ex, he let out a low whistle and cried, “That's a damn shame! If I’d have known that earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted the last two hours on you.”

“Am I the only person who came here to paint?” Maya replied with a laugh.

“Yes,” John answered then whispered, “but don't tell Ranger Cliff.”

Consider this a potential glimpse into Catelyn's kitchen.

It's been a few weeks since the last installment in my Thursday Bragging series. We are now almost caught up to a year ago in my published works. This one is a fantasy flash fiction piece that happens to be one of my favorites, likely because it stems from my love of poetic prose and abstract plots. Enjoy the first few lines of "Apocalypse," published at Yesteryear Fiction.

Corena sits on a bench in a field of marigolds and cement. She sits and watches the people walk past her in the same direction, which is away. They tread on the endless sidewalks lying between the rows of marigold planter boxes. Their expressions are serene as they stare ahead, wearing shapeless clothes the color of corn silk. Some of the people turn and look at her; they turn their heads but don’t stop walking. Most continue onward, focused on the path that is the future. Corena sits. She records the sky’s markings in her notebook. There are many clouds, dark and light grays swirled together like mixing paint. They give her comfort, though the wind is strong today. She fears the time is near, but she hopes the clouds will stay.

You can read the rest of "Apocalypse" for free here. And because I've developed a habit for adding a possibly scene-setting photograph, here is a potential view of Corena's bench as she waits for the world to end.

And here might be the sky on this fate-filled day.

Enjoy!

My bragging series or "How I Attempted to Embrace Self-Promotion" continues with an entry from my nonfiction creative writing, published online in 2010. This one is a short piece on the disappearance and recovery of Loki, our orange tabby cat who went missing for 8 months back when he was a year and a half old. Here are the first few lines:

Loki is the Norse god of trickery and mischief. He's a shape-shifter, and I'm pretty sure our tomcat is one of his chosen forms. We picked out the name Loki before we went to the shelter, and yet it fit him perfectly.

I wanted an orange tabby because I'd always heard they were the friendliest cats. At the shelter, I was drawn to the loudest meower, a runt of a kitten with a deafening purr even from behind cage bars. He was the only orange tabby there. It was fated that we'd take him home, and he worked his charms to ensure it.

He proved to be a mischief maker just like his namesake. He claimed all of Woodcroft as his domain. Loki was well fed and well loved, but he still fooled many unwitting humans into thinking his easy purr and plaintive meows were signs of hunger. The neighborhood became his personal 24-hour buffet.

The rest of "the Trickster" can be found in online Independent Weekly as part of their annual Dog Days of Summer issue. "The Trickster" appears about halfway down this page. Interestingly, my initial blog post here when Loki first went missing has always been one of my most popular entries. Plenty of people have swung by it when they've also lost a cat, and I'd like to think they found some hope they'd find their pets again from it. Not quite as popular, but much more hopeful, was my post on finding Loki again, and the injuries he suffered and recovered from, getting back to the same crazy animal he always has been with a lessened sense of wanderlust, luckily.

Of course, all this is really an excuse to post a more recent picture of Loki---the cat, the monster, the trickster. This is him with his sisters on either side during a rainy January day.

Time for the next entry in my self-promotion series! She Could Be Me is a short story published by Flashes in the Dark back in May of 2010. And it's available online for free! It's a horror story with a Twilight Zone feel to it. Interested? Here are the first few lines:

“I’m delayed,” Tom said over the phone. Celia could barely hear him with the thunder on her end of the line and the airport loudspeaker playing an endless stream of announcements in Spanish, a language she didn’t understand, on his. The announcer’s voice sounded ethereal and discordant at the same time, like a slightly off-tune harp being plucked.

“I’ll be home tomorrow,” he continued. “Don’t get bent out of shape, okay?”

What was a strange thing to say. She never complained when Tom was delayed.

You can read the rest at Flashes in the Dark here. Perhaps these photos will help you with the atmosphere for enjoying She Could Be Me.

The walk toward Chez Mer:

Celia's drink at Chez Mer:

Now that those pesky recent publications have stopped getting in the way (yes, yes, I wish I could complain about more of them!), I can return to my pattern of posting oldest to newest credits in this self-promotion series. Next up is a short little guest blog post I did back in the fall of 2009 on the Muffin Blog. It was written as a way to vent my frustration after losing years of creative writing due to a hard drive failure.More importantly, it was an ode to all the characters I lost from the crash. Here's your lead-in:

I lost six years of my life. Okay, I’m being a tad dramatic. I lost six years’ worth of word processor documents. They’re gone. They left for the great recycling bin icon in the sky and some jerk emptied it. I’m the jerk.

A few years ago, I decided the old college laptop had to go. It had been wacky since my roommate borrowed it for a night of feverish essay typing and spilled a mug of coffee on it. The keys sank down like molasses when you pressed them and came up 1. . . 2 . . .3 seconds later with a loud click. The down arrow key would possess the cursor, sending it on a race down the monitor, which no control-alt-delete combination could halt.

If your interest is peaked, read the rest at the Muffin Blog! And for your visual pleasure, I give you kitten Verdandi expressing the same rage at dirty laundry as I felt when I realized the files were gone forever.

Would you like to know how good of a year 2012 has been so far? This is the second time I've had to replace one of my planned bragging posts with a just published one instead!  Let's hope this is a trend that continues.

This week, I'm directing you to an essay I wrote for our local independent newspaper, sensibly named the Independent Weekly, or the Indy if you're a local. The Front Porch column is open to readers to send in 500-word essays on any topic, and it's often a great place to get a sense of what others in the community are thinking about or just taste a little slice of someone's life. This week, it's my life you can dig into, or at least my opinions on the running craze and the constant fundraisers around us. Here is your teaser:

On Facebook, I complete the circle of life every day by reading the status updates of friends and acquaintances. Births, weddings, deaths, more births: They're all there on display. Lately, it seems, there's a new element of living that I'd previously neglected. I'm talking about races, the running kind—anything that ends in "-athlon," "-K" or red-faced racers clutching their stomachs as they breathlessly pass a finish line.

Ostensibly, it's both the method of choice to raise money for every known charity and the trendiest way to announce a transition from out-of-shape blob to exercise hound. Watching from the sidelines, it's a little bewildering . . .

For the rest of the Front Porch, either pick up a free copy of the Indy at pretty much any coffee shop and many local businesses or head over to the web version. Thanks for reading!

Two weeks ago, I posted the first in my series of self-promotional blogs on Thursdays, titled the Bragging series, because I always feel less self-conscious about anything if I just embrace it fully. This week, I'm pointing you toward the interview I did with WOW! Women on Writing as part of placing third with the story I shared two weeks ago, Last Complaint. Here's a little snippet from the interview where I describe what some of my thoughts were in forming the main character:

WOW: That's so true. Creating a hook that keeps readers invested is the goal. Your creation of the main character is brilliant. She's self-centered, lonely, demanding, and vulnerable. That's a powerful combination. What does her attitude say about the state of humanity?

Rebecca: Since she spent her life not taking other people's feelings into consideration, she essentially removed herself from humanity and they no longer wish to consider her feelings, either. Through rejecting the simple human connection that comes from things as basic as treating the people around you with respect, she has essentially lost the right to that same treatment herself. Not that I want people to read about a murder and cheer on her death, per se, but I do like that it's a bit of a comeuppance for her and the way she's lived her life.

Read the rest of the interview here. If you do, you'll learn about my other motivations for writing Last Complaint (hint: they aren't that deep), why I started this blog in the first place, and my long and sordid history with General Hospital. This was the first interview I did regarding writing, and it's still one of my favorites, even if I gave the dreaded "Write, write, write" answer for what advice to give new writers. I still hang my head in shame when I remember it.

Last Thursday, my first post for WRAL's Out and About--their blog on the Triangle's entertainment, food, and nightlife--went live, and I didn't even realize it! If I had, you can bet I'd have let you all know about it then. I'll be contributing a couple more pieces for WRAL during the course of the year, and I look forward to it! This first one is on 604 West Morgan, a fancy and delicious Italian restaurant hidden in downtown Durham's warehouse district. Here is your teaser:

I have a compulsion when dining out in the Triangle – I must try a new place every time! We are spoiled with amazing options, and I’m lucky enough to have friends just as excited to try them all as I am.

My dining companions on this particular evening all work in the American Tobacco District in downtown Durham, so we wanted somewhere nearby. The usual suspects like Revolution, Rue Cler and Dos Perros were quickly eliminated – we’d all been to them before!

Where we hadn’t been is an Italian restaurant just half a mile away in the redeveloped West Village warehouses. Unless you happened to glance into the courtyard between the Flowers Warehouse and Cooper Shop buildings as you walked down Fernway or Morgan streets, you wouldn’t know 604 West Morgan was tucked away inside.

For the rest of the review, and pictures, head to the post!

I wouldn't call it a resolution, but I am attempting to do a better job of that self-promotion part of writing. I hate self-promotion. I want people to magically find all my published work, become instant dedicated fans, and beg me to create more stories for them. Funny enough, that doesn't happen on its own! Or at least not at this stage in my career. But this stage in my career is actually pretty awesome, because I've been published several times now, and that's a huge building block in terms of ego and confidence to keep going.

Here's my plan: I'm going to point you all to my published pieces one by one in case you missed them the first time they were published. I'll report links to my interviews on other blogs as well, maybe revel in that time---ok, two times now---that Durham magazine interviewed me on the Triangle dining scene or those times---ok, two times now---that the Independent Weekly mentioned my name. Eventually, I'll even  tell you all about how I'm writing the occasional post for WRAL Out and About, the first of which will be coming out soon. Yes, I've known that for weeks, submitted my first review last week, and I still haven't told the interwebs about it---I really am that bad at self-promotion, folks.

Consider this the first installment in my bragging series, to be posted at least every other Thursday. Our first installment is Last Complaint, a horror short story that won me third place in WOW! Women on Writing's Flash Fiction contest back in 2009. In it, a grumpy old woman finds out that airing her grievances isn't always the wisest plan. Here are the first few paragraphs:

She parks her station wagon under the "No Vacancy" sign. This is the first inn she's passed since dinner at that horrible truck stop diner. Her bowl of clam chowder had been lukewarm and the waitress had the gall to try and make her pay for it. She doubts she'll be treated any better at this place, but she can feel her eyelids drooping.

"Bellboy!" she yells into the dark lot. No one comes. She sighs, then pulls out her suitcase and wheels it towards the small front office that glows with a pale green fluorescence.

"Can I help you?" grunts the middle-aged man wearing a stained gray uniform at the desk. He flips the channel on an old television set that's perched on the countertop behind him.

"I need a room," she says. "How much?"

"We're full up. No vacancy," he gestures towards the sign outside then stares at her, his mouth hanging open.

"That's ridiculous," she insists. "I have a nephew who manages a Hyatt." She waits for this to affect him but his expression does not change. She continues, unperturbed, "There are always extra rooms available, that's what he told me.  Even at the Hyatt."

To continue reading, head here, and scroll down the page about halfway. You'll find my picture and the rest of Last Complaint there. This picture was not taken with the story in mind, but it captures the mood of the latter half of the story, stumbling through a dark hallway half asleep.

Enjoy! And let me know what you thought.

Would you look at that? My romance novella, Maya's Vacation, is on sale for 99 cents until New Year's day. This sale is only happening at Amazon, so click here to purchase it. Forgotten about this story? Well, listen to me read two excerpts from it here or here or read the synopsis:

Twenty-year-old Maya knew, as she watched Dean walk away from her front door, distraught at her silence and her father’s threats, that she would never love anyone with the intensity that she loved him. He was her painter, her artist, her soul mate and being apart from him hurt too much. She tucked those feelings away, determined to enjoy the safe and secure life her parents approved of: business school and a marriage to Chuck, a successful real estate agent.

Thirty years later, Chuck has cheated on and divorced her. But when he comes back, begging for reconciliation, Maya follows her intuition and takes a vacation to think it over. Her love of art, food, and wine combine at this retreat in the woods, and she prepares for a week of making new friends, tasting exquisite wines, and learning to paint again. What she hasn’t prepared for is the familiar voice she hears the first morning at camp . . . a voice that makes her skin tingle and brings back memories of who she used to be before Chuck. Has Maya buried her passion too deep to find love with Dean again?

I hope you love it, and if you do, please leave a review!

I'm joining in with Six Sentence Sunday this week, giving my fiction fans six sentences from one of my works to see if it entices you. Six Sentence Sunday is mainly perused by romance authors and readers, so when I participate, I try to include something a bit similar to that genre. This six comes from my short story, Treasure, that I'll soon be submitting to a speculative fiction magazine.

By now, she knew such things were repulsive here, that killing another human was anathema to his race, yet she was amazed he could focus on anything but her curves in the morning light.

“Get dressed,” she commanded, “or don’t you plan to work today?”

He gazed at her for a moment, groaned, and then rose. With both hands, he pulled her face toward his, kissed her, then whispered in her ear, “You’re safe with me, Filor.”

Her cheeks colored, both with flattery and shame. She could not trust him with her real name—did the shame mean she wanted to?

Hope you enjoyed it!

It's been awhile since I've been able to play! Here are my six for the week, from my romance novella, Maya's Vacation.

Dean stopped in front of a cherry-red jeep and put his suitcase down. She could see three or four more of his canvases peeking over the top of the seats. He leaned against the passenger door and pulled her around to look at him. His eyes glistened with tears; when had he started crying?

“Maya—” He choked up at her name. “Are you—are you coming with me?”

If you're intrigued, make sure you scoot on over to Astraea Press to give it  a whirl for $2.99! The rest of my published works are listed over here.

Time for another Six Sentence Sunday post--it's been great fun participating and getting your feedback on such short snippets! Here's another one from my romance novella, Maya's Vacation. I'm out of town this week, so I many not be speedy on responding to comments, but please don't let that discourage you from reading them!

By the time she'd finished her slice of mocha cheesecake and drank her port at the end of the meal, Maya had made fast friends with John, the short man. He'd taken the empty barstool next to her and spent the evening charming her with stories about his granddaughter and her new puppy. When he found out Maya was contemplating a reunion with her ex, he let out a low whistle and cried, “That's a damn shame! If I’d have known that earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted the last two hours on you.”

“Am I the only person who came here to paint?” Maya replied with a laugh.

“Yes,” John answered. Then he whispered, “but don't tell Ranger Cliff.”

The synopsis and buy links for Maya's Vacation are over at my Published Works page, so swing by if you're interested in more on this romance tale of old flames reuniting!

For this week's Six Sentence Sunday, I'm sharing the very first six lines from my work-in-progess, an epic fantasy novel. I'll be spending all of August working hard on this book--I'm really hoping I finish it this year. Feedback on if this first paragraph grabs your interest is definitely welcome.

He was an enticing prospect, especially the way the candlelight accentuated the curves of muscle seeping through the black sleeves of his tunic. He’d taken off his cloak, hot from the ride, and was holding it hooked around his pointer finger. Vesperi stifled a giggle at its vivid hue, the bright purple of the Meduan sunset on a cloudy night. Illa wasn’t trained in subtlety. Anyone wearing a cloak that bold was practically announcing his ambition the moment he rode through a town square. Maybe that was the point; her father was a man drawn to power like a priest to intrigue.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to browse my other works available for purchase or for free. Also, I have a giveaway of my romance novella, Maya's Vacation, over at I am a Reader, Not a Writer. Leave a comment there to be entered to win an e-copy of it!

It's time for my second Six Sentence Sunday post! Six Sentence Sunday is a challenge to authors to put out six sentences from any of their works, published or not, that should excite readers to read more, and it is organized by the fine folks over at the Six Sentence Sunday blog. I thought I'd continue with Maya's Vacation for now, though I may include my fantasy work in the future! Here are my six:

He pulled away. “But you shouldn't be. You know that, don't you? He left you, Maya! How could anyone ever leave you willingly?” His voice was raspy now, how it used to sound if he'd stayed up all night, unable to stop painting.

Maya's Vacation is sweet, contemporary romance published by Astraea Press and available at their website (and Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Smashwords) in all e-book formats.

I'm participating in something new today! It's called Six Sentence Sunday, which is organized by the fine folks over at the Six Sentence Sunday blog. As you may be able to guess, Six Sentence Sunday is a challenge to authors to put out six sentences from any of their works, published or not, that should excite readers to read more. These six sentences are from my romance novella, Maya's Vacation, which is published by Astraea Press and available at their website (and Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and Smashwords) in all e-book formats. Here we go:

“Dean Mitchell. Nice to meet you too, Cliff.” He spoke fast and with a nervous catch in his voice, but each syllable cracked her concentration until it shattered like a boulder hitting a car windshield. She went to look, and her heart nearly stopped. It was him.

It was him.

Here's the cover art for Maya's Vacation.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello there, fine blog readers! Last week, I did my first reading as part of Bull Spec's Issue #5 launch. My short story, Bother, is featured on the cover, and I got the pimp spot of the evening--by which I mean, I read after 7 other fabulous speculative fiction writers and editors did their things that I wish I had recorded to share with you, too! I didn't expect a recording at all, but that dastardly husband of mine pulled out his cell phone camera and . . . it wasn't that bad! So I'm sharing it with you today, and I hope you enjoy hearing the first few pages of the story. If you do, pick up a copy of Bull Spec now! If you're local, it's at the Regulator and both Durham Barnes & Nobles this week and will be expanding to the locations listed below the video in the next few weeks. If you're not, then order it here.

Becca Gomez Farrell at Quail Ridge Bookstore from ben farrell on Vimeo.

Tips for polishing up my reading presentation are very welcome. Hope you enjoyed it!

Locations where Bull Spec #5 is or soon will be available:

The Regulator Bookshop (Durham, 9th Street) Sci-Fi Genre Comics & Games (Durham, 3215 Old Chapel Hill Rd between University Dr and MLK Blvd) Quail Ridge Books & Music (Raleigh, 3522 Wade Ave at Ridge Rd) Internationalist Books & Community Center (Chapel Hill, 405 W Franklin St) Chapel Hill Comics (Chapel Hill, 316 W Franklin St) Foundation's Edge (Raleigh, 2526 Hillsborough St) Storyteller's Books (Wake Forest, 100 E. Roosevelt Ave) Capitol Comics (Raleigh, 3027 Hillsborough St) Flyleaf Books (Chapel Hill, 752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) All Fun & Games (Apex, 958 US Highway 64) Ultimate Comics (Durham: 9th St; Chapel Hill: Farrington Rd) Barnes & Noble of Cary (760 SE Maynard, Cary Commons) Barnes & Noble of Durham - The Streets at Southpoint (8030 Renaissance Parkway) Barnes & Noble of Durham - New Hope Commons (5400 New Hope Commons) All Booked Up (Apex, 104-B North Salem St) Northgate Books (Durham: Northgate Mall) North Carolina: Barnes & Noble of Greenville, NC (3040 Evans Street) New York: Forbidden Planet NYC (NYC, NY) Pennsylvania: Golden Eagle Comics (Reading, PA)

My short story, Bother, is now available online! Bull Spec's PDF version is up, a couple of days before the official publication of issue #5 on Friday, 4/15. You can find the full contents list and order a print or PDF version here. I may be biased, but I think you'll want the print version because of this gorgeous cover.

The artwork is by Richard Case, a Hillsborough resident and comic book artist who's done a lot of work for the DC label. He picked Bother to illustrate for the cover, and I love how it came out! I think it captures the feel of it quite well, and---it must be said---there be dragons! Okay, just one dragon, but it's a beauty!

If you can't wait to get a copy in your hands to read any of the fabulous fiction within its pages (including Absinthe Fish by M. David Blake, which just received a Recommended from Lois Tilton, the Locus Magazine short fiction reviewer!) then join us at Quail Ridge Books , 3522 Wade Avenue, Raleigh, on Friday night (4/15)! At 7:30, a bunch of North Carolinian speculative fiction authors and industry folks, including me, will be convening for readings, probable panel discussions, and more. Bull Spec #5 will be hot off the presses and available for purchase then. They will likely be an after party at Crowley's also. . .

Let me know if you're planning to go so I can say hello!

And Bull Spec's publisher just referred me to his list of where you can find the magazine locally, and in a few other states, too, though they likely won't be on the shelves until sometime next week.

The Regulator Bookshop (Durham, 9th Street)

Sci-Fi Genre Comics & Games (Durham, 3215 Old Chapel Hill Rd between University Dr and MLK Blvd)

Quail Ridge Books & Music (Raleigh, 3522 Wade Ave at Ridge Rd)

Internationalist Books & Community Center (Chapel Hill, 405 W Franklin St)

Chapel Hill Comics (Chapel Hill, 316 W Franklin St)

Foundation's Edge (Raleigh, 2526 Hillsborough St)

Storyteller's Books (Wake Forest, 100 E. Roosevelt Ave)

Capitol Comics (Raleigh, 3027 Hillsborough St)

Flyleaf Books (Chapel Hill, 752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd)

All Fun & Games (Apex, 958 US Highway 64)

Ultimate Comics (Durham: 9th St; Chapel Hill: Farrington Rd)

Barnes & Noble of Cary (760 SE Maynard, Cary Commons)

Barnes & Noble of Durham - The Streets at Southpoint (8030 Renaissance Parkway)

Barnes & Noble of Durham - New Hope Commons (5400 New Hope Commons)

All Booked Up (Apex, 104-B North Salem St)

Northgate Books (Durham: Northgate Mall)

North Carolina:

Barnes & Noble of Greenville, NC (3040 Evans Street)

New York:

Forbidden Planet NYC (NYC, NY)

Pennsylvania:

Golden Eagle Comics (Reading, PA)

Here’s the second clip! This one takes place later that same evening, after Dean and Maya have spent the afternoon and evening reconnecting.

[audio:/audio/mvexcerpt2.mp3]

Maya's Vacation is available for purchase (e-books only) at Astraea Press, Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles.

Don’t forget to head out to my book launch party at City Beverage tonight if you’re local! I’ll just be chilling from 6:30 to 8:30 with a pile of bookmarks, family, friends, and libations. Come by and say hello, and you might be one of 5 people to win a free download of the book!

I also have two interviews posted on other blogs today about Maya's Vacation. Take a stroll over to the Astraea Press blog and Kim Bowman's blog to read my answers to questions about my writing style and the book. What inspired the book? Who would I cast as the main characters? Take a gander!

That’s right, folks. The day has finally arrived, and I am now a published book author! I can’t thank you all enough for your support over these last few crazy weeks. I hope you’ll pick up, by which I mean download, a copy of Maya’s Vacation soon. It’s available as an e-book only, but you can get it in whatever format you want: PDF, Nook, and Kindle files are all supported. Purchase it directly from my publisher, Astraea Press, or from Amazon or Barnes and Nobles. It’s only $2.99 for 50 pages worth of romance, food, wine, and a relaxing, quick read.

To celebrate, I’ve recorded two excerpts from the book for your listening pleasure. Each clip is about 3 minutes and 30 seconds, enough to give you a glimpse of the artsy retreat Maya attends, the delicious food Catelyn makes for all the campers, and the long-absent connection she rediscovers with a certain surprise guest . . .

Here’s the first clip! The second one will be available later this afternoon.

[audio:/audio/mvexcerpt1.mp3]

Don’t forget to head out to my book launch party at City Beverage tonight if you’re local! I’ll just be chilling from 6:30 to 8:30 with a pile of bookmarks, family, friends, and libations. Come by and say hello, and you might be one of 5 people to win a free download of the book!

I also have an interview posted on the cover art for Maya's Vacation today. Take a stroll over to Kim Bowman's blog. What inspired the cover art? Who would I cast as the main characters? Take a gander!

It's only 7 days until the launch of my first book, Maya's Vacation, and I'm getting quite excited!

As many of you have asked, yes, I am holding a book launch party to celebrate! This is not an organized shindig so much as it is an excuse to have drinks with friends. The wonderful Johanna, the Durham Foodie, arranged for me to stake out a spot at City Beverage in Durham from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm on 3/29, the date the book launches. If you are a blog reader, friend, whomever, you are more than welcome to come. My plan is simply to chill in the Lava Lounge (the purple room) the whole time. I will be armed with bookmarks for Maya's Vacation, and I'll be giving away a few free downloads of it. I'll also have some flyers printed promoting my short story and reading  with Bull Spec on 4/15. Swing on by anytime between 6:30 and 8:30 and say hello! Please let me know if you can come!

I'll also be doing book readings on this blog that Tuesday, probably two recorded readings from the book to whet your appetites for the $2.99 download. It will be available in all e-book formats at Astraea Press on 3/29--buy one, buy two, buy five and send them around to anyone you know who doesn't mind a little romance mixed in with food and wine descriptions sure to make you hungry. It's a book about reigniting passions, whether they be joy in cooking, creating, or accepting what Fate throws your way.

Yes, folks, it's time for more shameless self-promotion! On Saturday, I had a short story published over at Yesteryear Fiction.

It's a free daily Webzine that publishes flash fiction fantasy of all stripes, whether they be paranormal, epic, urban, or poetry. This particular piece, Apocalypse, is poetic prose that takes place in an alternate world--unless you'd prefer to read it as an extended metaphor. Here are the first three lines:

Corena sits on a bench in a field of marigolds and cement. She sits and watches the people walk past her in the same direction, which is away. They tread on the endless sidewalks lying between the rows of marigold planter boxes.

Now go and read it!

Today, I have an update on my writing ventures, specifically, on two writing ventures that are coming up in the next two months! At the end of March, my romance novelette, Maya's Vacation, will be released by Astraea Press! It will be available in e-book formats only, but Astraea hopes to add print-on-demand to their repertoire in the future. Regardless, I'm super excited to have signed with them and to have Maya's Vacation out in the world soon.

I'm posting the synopsis in a moment, but I think this novelette will be great reading if you're a fan of this blog---my years of writing and pondering food and wine play a huge role in the story's concept. If you enjoy how I describe a dish or beverage, I hope you'll buy a copy and delve in! It'll be a fast read and safe for anyone who enjoys passionate characters without the busom-busting to go along with them. Astraea only publishes nonerotic fiction, which is one of the many reasons they and Maya's Vacation are a great fit. Here's that synopsis.

Twenty-year-old Maya knew, as she watched Dean walk away from her front door, distraught at her silence and her father’s threats, that she would never love anyone with the intensity that she loved him. He was her painter, her artist, her soul mate and being apart from him hurt too much. She tucked those feelings away, determined to enjoy the safe and secure life her parents approved of: business school and a marriage to Chuck, a successful real estate agent.

Thirty years later, Chuck has cheated on and divorced her. But when he comes back, begging for reconciliation, Maya follows her intuition and takes a vacation to think it over. Her love of art, food, and wine combine at this retreat in the woods, and she prepares for a week of making new friends, tasting exquisite wines, and learning to paint again. What she hasn’t prepared for is the familiar voice she hears the first morning at camp . . . a voice that makes her skin tingle and brings back memories of who she used to be before Chuck. Has Maya buried her passion too deep to find love with Dean again?

In other news, the fifth issue of Bull Spec is set to to appear on April 15, with my short story, Bother, in the fiction section. Woo hoo! The release party for Issue #5 will be at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh on the same date.

As part of the festivities, I'll be reading from Bother. Be prepared for urban marital angst and dragons! If you don't want to miss my short story or you're just a fan of speculative fiction, you should definitely subscribe to Bull Spec now. It's a gorgeous print magazine, but if you prefer reading online, e-subscriptions are available too.

Don't worry, I'll be posting reminders as the dates draw near, and I will definitely keep you posted on any release night plans I come up with for Maya's Vacation. My family will be in town, so dinner out, at the very least, will be in order!

Yesterday, I had a flash fiction, horror story published at Flashes in the Dark, an ezine that puts up a new, short, horror story everyday. "She Could Be Me," my story, is a Twilight-Zone-esque piece about a woman having an off day. No blood or guts, just mental confusion.

Stop by, read it, leave a comment if you'd like!

Last week, as part of winning 3rd place in Women on Writing's Summer '09 Flash Fiction contest, I was interviewed on The Muffin Blog. We covered my inspiration for Last Complaint, how and why the character came to be the selfish yet somehow human character that she is, my food/wine/cocktail reviews, my lifelong obsession with General Hospital, for which I write a weekly column at Eye on Soaps, and my fantasy novel. So if you'd like to read more about any of the above, wander on over! I'd love to hear your comments on it, either over there or over here.

Interview with me.

Switching gears, I'm mulling over any blog-related resolutions I might want to make this year. In the past year, I've gone from the occasional post to nearly daily ones, increased my traffic around 100%, and added in other blogger's thoughts on wines, in addition to some smaller changes. I think that what I'm missing is more communication with other blogs! But how to fit that in with a schedule where I really don't just plain write as much as I should? Hmm. Must think it over. If you have a blog that you don't think I visit, though, please leave the link in the comments and I will add it to my roster!

On my fiction/creative nonfiction goals, I plan to submit at least one piece a week to either a contest or magazine/journal, as long as I have finished ones ready to go. That shouldn't be too hard to do, right?