I admit:
It’s happened more than once over the years that I’ve picked up a popular, acclaimed novel in the genre and completely failed to see the appeal. This is a disconcerting experience. It makes me question myself and my place in the field. How can my tastes be so different from the majority? Do I really understand this genre? Is my concept of what makes a good story too out of date or too far afield?

But then I’ll pick up another popular, acclaimed novel, often one I’ve hesitated to read for some reason or other, and discover that it totally works for me — which always makes me happy.

Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman is the first example. This is a 2015 novel that has received rave reviews, but I hesitated to pick it up in large part because it was described as a “weird Western.” I’d never before heard of “weird Westerns,” but I think of weird fiction in general as the sort of horror that leaves me feeling like I need to clean my brain out; in other words, the sort of horror that I avoid. I’m happy to report Silver on the Road is nothing like that. This is a coming-of-age story of a young woman growing up in a fantastical version of the American West in which magic is commonplace. Early in the story, she makes a decision that will determine the path of her life to come — and that path is far more harrowing than anyone expects. The story does an excellent job of presenting both characters and landscape, and makes a compelling read. It’s the first of a series.

The Nebula awards are voted on by members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Prior to the period when books may be nominated for the ballot, SFWA keeps a Nebula Suggested Reading List, with the suggestions made by members. This is not a “long list.” It’s just a list of titles that members feel are worth a look. This year, for the first time, the suggested reading list has been made public and you can find it here. Take a look at it! Notice something? I’m not going to count them up, but I think it’s safe to say there is a large preponderance of fantasy novels near the top of this list. (Come on, science fiction writers! Represent!)

Honestly, I’ve begun to feel overwhelmed by the number of fantasy novels out there, and yet so many are so very, very good. I hate to admit it, but fantasy is the real backbone of the genre these days. VE Schwab’s Vicious is an example of why. This is a 2013 novel that, like Silver on the Road, garnered enthusiastic reviews, but as I recall, some of those reviews talked about “superheroes.” Like “weird fiction,” “superhero fiction” is a term that makes me take a step back and look for something else to read. But I was finally inspired to try Vicious and all those enthusiastic reviewers were right — it’s a very good book! That said, it’s not a book for everyone. It’s violent, and pushes the boundaries of antiheroes (hmm…not unlike my Puzzle Land books). It’s also very well written, with intriguing characters, excellent descriptions, good pacing, and a style of nonlinear story telling that I really liked.

So those are my recommended books.

And here’s the promised link:
If you’re a writer, or just interested in the way things work (or don’t work) in Hollywood, check out Matt Wallace’s post over at SF Signal “The Pelecanos Proposition and What it Means to SFF Authors” wherein Matt makes the case that we writers give up control of our work too easily, and that we should do more than just deposit the check on the option. Matt quotes novelist and screenwriter George Pelecanos, who is speaking about writers when he says: “…what a producer told me one time is, ‘We can’t control you guys.’”

I’m just back from a two-and-a-half week trip to the mainland. I’ll post more on that soon, but right now I’m in catch-up mode, so I just wanted to make a few announcements.

First, Laura Anne Gilman is giving away a print book every week through the end of August. This week the book is my own The Dread Hammer. You can enter to win by posting a comment on Laura Anne’s blog. Go visit! Comment! Make me look popular! 😉

Next, there’s a Dog Days of Summer Sale at Book View Café, running from August 1 – 15. Why not stop by? You might discover an author new to you.

Third, for those who prefer print books, my collection, Goddesses & Other Stories is now available in a print edition. Creating this book was an experiment. All my other hardcopy books are printed by a company called Lightning Source, but I wanted to try Amazon’s print-on-demand service, which has far-less-expensive set up charges. The experiment has turned out well. My proof copy looks as good as the Lightning Source books. There is one drawback though–at least for now, the print version is available only through Amazon. Find it here.

Like most writers, it took me a long time and a lot of rejections before my first novel sold. This was a good thing. I am so very, very glad that the first book an agent ever took to market for me never found a buyer. In these modern days I suppose I would have gone ahead and published it myself—and then I would be faced with the fact of its existence ever after. We hate to admit it, but often, a rejection is a good thing.

The second novel of mine that ever went to market was an early version of The Bohr Maker. It was turned down many times, and with the most painfully “almost but not quite” rejections I ever hope to see.

For some reason I was flipping through the file a few months ago and discovered this gem of a rejection, addressed to my agent and later forwarded to me:

“This is the worst situation I can think of: really liking a book, and having to pass on it…The author has a very complicated vision working here, and I’m not sure that it works. There are so many threads, and so many changing viewpoints, that it becomes difficult to see where it all comes together, or how – or why…”

This was written by Laura Anne Gilman, who was then an editor at Berkley—and Laura Anne knows of what she speaks! Because of notes like this one I finally pulled the manuscript from the market and rewrote it from beginning to end. When it went out into the world again, it sold to the first publisher that saw it, and went on to win the Locus award for best first novel.

But it never would have been rewritten if I didn’t have experts in the field like Laura Anne telling me in very clear terms that something was lacking and it needed to be rewritten.

Expert advice is a great thing to have, even if it’s painful in the moment.

Laura Anne and I recently crossed paths again at Book View Café, and shortly after that I discovered that she works as a freelance editor. This past fall I hired her to edit my soon-to-be-released novel Hepen the Watcher. She gave me a great critique, asking me to explain things, fill in holes, and take advantage of dramatic opportunities that I’d missed on my own, and the book is much stronger for it.

Over the past year, Laura Anne has been writing a weekly post at Book View Café’s blog on a wide range of practical aspects of writing and publishing. Those posts are now available in ebook form under the title Practical Meerkat’s 52 Bits of Useful Info for Young (and Old) Writers. If you’re at all interested in writing professionally, I urge you to take advantage of Laura Anne Gilman’s writing and publishing expertise by picking up a copy at Book View Café. I’ve got mine! At only $2.99, how can you go wrong?