Space Opera Libretti

Release the Space Divas!

Space Opera Libretti: An Anthology of Modern Comedic Space Opera with Arias. It’s quite a mouthful, but perfect to sing dramatically. And that’s the whole point.

More importantly, the book is out now on Kindle and in paperback!!!

Cover for "Space Opera Libretti" (2020)

The problem with space opera is that there’s not enough opera in it, and certainly a dearth of coloratura diva sopranos in the third act. This anthology sets out to fix that by placing the music front-and-center. We’ve created a glittery disco-ball of fun. 20 stories designed to amuse. Some actually take place in space. There’s even an actual opera in here. We didn’t hold back. Time-traveling cats that quote opera… Intergalactic singing competitions… An endless song that becomes the soundtrack to countless generations of rebellions… And, of course, invisible space bears made of black holes that may or may not be extinct.

The editors are Jennifer Lee Rossman (who also co-edited Love & Bubbles) and Brian McNett.

Get Space Opera Libretti from Amazon US (Kindle|paperback), Amazon Deutschland (Kindle|paperback), or from any other country’s Amazon, and add it on Goodreads.

Stars from the Stars is one of the stories I’m proudest of having written so far. When I’m reading or watching space operas, the scenes I most enjoy often take place on markets, at parties, in casinos, … where a lot of very different aliens can be encountered. Seeing all those imaginative body shapes, the varied ways in which the aliens communicate, the hints of different cultures and peculiar aesthetics… All those things make it feel like I’m properly in space, ready to immerse myself in that bubbling atmosphere of diversity and to learn about unknown civilisations. Since Stars from the Stars tells the story of a siren who competes in a universal talent show, I could explore a similarly wide range of extraordinary aliens and the acts they might perform in such a competition. Those were a lot of fun to come up with, and I hope readers will have just as much fun discovering them!

Migration anthology, Neon Horror Zine, Sherlock Holmes

Two covers, a Kickstarter, and more good news

Last week I said I wouldn’t blog again until I was back from holiday. At that moment, of course, everything started happening at once, so here I am after all with more news!

Let’s start with the pretties. Both the Migration anthology and Sherlock Holmes is Everywhere! have revealed their covers!

Migration cover   Sherlock Holmes is Everywhere cover

Migration can be preordered on Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. It will release on July 24 and contains my flash story Not How We Planned It.

The Sherlock Holmes is Everywhere! Kickstarter is launching today. The book is expected to release in October of this year, and supporting this project means supporting the Beacon Society, a scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars which provides scholarships to schools, libraries, and Sherlock Holmes groups for educational purposes.

The anthology contains the essay Chasing Words by L.S. Reinholt and me, about how we met and started writing together thanks to Sherlock Holmes. It’s a Belanger Books publication, just like Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Steampunk, in which our story The Adventure of the Purloined Piston Valve appeared earlier this year.

The blurb for Sherlock Holmes is Everywhere!:

What makes Sherlock Holmes so special? Why is he one of the most recognizable characters in all of literature? How do people throughout the world connect to the character? Why is Sherlock Holmes embraced by the LGBTQ+ Community? Why do people collect Sherlock Holmes memorabilia? Why do people experience Sherlock Holmes in everything from Science Fiction to Martial Arts?

Find out the answers to these questions and many more in Sherlock Holmes is Everywhere! a collection of essays on how people throughout the world embrace the great detective.

I’m excited about this book! I really look forward to reading the other writers’ essays, and the flag at the centre of the cover made me very happy.

Be sure to take a look at the Kickstarter and feel free to leave any questions you have.

L.S. Reinholt and I also got another acceptance this week! Our queer horror story The Lost will be published in The Haunted Bouncy Castle‘s upcoming Neon Horror Zine. More info will follow!

Banner for Guidance - 5 years of Paranatellonta
Paranatellonta

Five Years of Paranatellonta!

In 2013, Fie and I started a new project. Fie wanted a good reason to take more pictures and I wanted to find more writing inspiration, and then Fie discovered Erin Morgenstern’s Flax-golden Tales. This was a wonderful idea: one photo every week, to inspire a ten-sentence story. We decided to try it out and see how long we’d keep it up.

Five years later, we’re still going strong! Granted, after 221 stories we’ve lowered the frequency to one Para edition every 2 weeks, as Real Life – and Real Publications! – began to take up too much of our time. But it’s still a pleasure to discover a new picture every time and see in which direction imagination will take its story.

To celebrate that pleasure, we’ve got a special edition for you. Fie and I are joined by author and photographer Ava Kelly.

Ava’s publication history began over two decades ago. Starting with poetry and flash fiction, Ava has gradually moved toward lengthier works, but often returns to shorter stories. Beyond storytelling, they are an artist specializing in conceptual photography. Ava has had various live VJ performances, several art shows, and their words have been immortalized as song lyrics.

Check out the result of our collaboration!

The Firevault

Guidance

You can also read and watch all previous editions of Paranatellonta for free here. Enjoy and let us know what you think!