I’m writing this real quick because I keep putting it off, and I should stop that.
Novel: Soulstar
Soulstar came out in February 2021, so it’s eligible for nomination as a novel. Soulstar is the one where Robin’s efforts to release the witches trapped in asylums finally happens as a result of Severin becoming king, and then winds up in a position she has worked hard to avoid – the visible leader of a social/political movement, instead of being the tireless organizer in the background. This book ends the trilogy I started in 2018.
Series: The Kingston Cycle
The Kingston Cycle is complete, and so it is eligible for the Hugo Award for Best Series. How do I talk about the Kingston Cycle? It’s properly the story of how a country walks away from its traditional government and practices to make a better future for its people. It’s a story that works to heal a terrible harm done to a people who were exploited for the profit of a few by offering reconciliation to those who suffered, and demanding accountability from those who let people be hurt to increase their wealth and power, and that, I’m sorry to say, puts this series squarely into fantasy. But if you enjoyed it, I hope you will consider giving it a nod.
Novelette: The Music of the Siphorophenes
I finally achieved a goal I had since 2001 – I had a story published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction! This science fiction novella that happens out past Saturn’s orbit is about giving up loneliness and the fear of rejection. I wrote this story in 2020, when staying in my apartment made me think about my own years of self-imposed isolation while watching The Expanse.
That’s everything for 2021. I hope you liked what you read.