I’ve been resisting looking back at 2025 for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, it had some good points for me and I hope for you, also.
Songs for Obsidian was published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. This is my most important story to date because it shines a light on a character struggling to find a way to keep going when all she loves, including her family and her freedom, are ripped from her. If you’ve ever found resolve while listening to protest songs, please know that I wrote it for you.
I got around to several conventions:
- International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (Orlando, Florida)
- Balticon 56 (science fiction convention in Baltimore, MD)
- Nebula Weekend in Kansas City (SFWA’s annual gathering)
- Seattle Worldcon (World Science Fiction Convention)
- Multiverse (SF & fantasy convention in Atlanta, GA)
Most Enjoyable Reads:
- Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
- Collisions by Alec Nevala-Lee
- Interstellar Megachef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
- The Universe Box by Michael Swanwick
- Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird—Henry Lien 1, 2, 3, 4
Unexpected Pleasures:
- Volunteers acting out my story “Who’s A Good Hellhound?” at MultiVerse in Atlanta
- Reconnecting with writer friends in Orlando, Baltimore, Kansas City, Truchas, Seattle, Rockville, & Atlanta
Best Trip:
- Vietnam and Cambodia via plane, bus, river boat, pedicab, and rickshaw
Best Museum/Ancient Sites:
- Hanoi Hilton former prison in Vietnam
- Angkor Wat World Heritage Site
Most Delicious Experience:
- cooking lesson in Hanoi
Most Emotional Experience:
- visiting the Killing Fields in Cambodia and meeting an elderly survivor of Pol Pot’s reign of terror
Things to come in 2026:
- Analog Magazine’s March/April and July/August book review columns
- Another of my alternate Apollo tales
- Other fun stuff I can’t disclose yet!