Is this a fiction challenge in the making or what?

Over at BuzzFeed, they've compiled a list of 60 completely unusable stock photographs from sources as diverse as Getty Images and ThinkStock. The images ae hilariously, atrociously bad. And yet. They're also strangely compelling in the stories they suggest--the gas-masked mother and child engaged in a tug of war over a sheet of cookies, for example; or the guy with the Mona Lisa superimposed over his tongue.  Then there's the girl with the Hitler mustache and the gingham dress peeling potatoes. Really, you have to see this group of photogrpahs for yourself here. And tell me if at least one of them doesn't suggest a story.

Gifts of the Sidewalk Fairy

I live in an apartment building on a small block of apartment buildings and periodically, in the time-honored tradition of apartment-dwellers everywhere, people put their discards on the sidewalk for strangers to look at and, perhaps, claim.  Someone in my building regularly dumps boxes of paperback books on the little patch of grass near our garage entrance and I always grab these boxes and take them over to our local library, which is woefully under-funded. But I always go through them first.  The books are not in shabby, you-wouldn't-pay-a-nickel-for-them-at-a-yard-sale condition either.  Most of the time they look brand new. And I have to wonder, how did the person get all these books if he/she isn't reading them?  Were they gifts?
Today the grab bag on the sidewalk was filled with movie dvds.  Everything from Kung Fu Panda to Charlie Wilson's War. Lots of movies for kids--Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Madagascar 2, Shrek 2. Beverly Hills Chihuahua.  So they're now in the pile of stuff headed for the library, but first I'm going to watch Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.
Thank you Sidewalk Fairy.

Aliette de Bodard--on my to be read pile

I stumbled across writer  Aliette de Bodard while looking for a short story to read for Brian Lindenmuth's 365 Short Story Challenge.  I loved the story ("Worlds Like a Hundred Thousand Pearls") so much I immediately headed over to Amazon.com to buy the first book in her historical fantasy/mystery series Servant of the Underworld, Obsidian & Blood, Book 1.  (I love the instant gratification of kindle sales, I really do.)
If you like gorgeous writing, you will love her work.  Check out her website here.  Check out her Wikipedia entry here.

You can follow her on twitter @aliettedb and she's on Facebook as well. But don't waste your time fiddling with social media, go to her site and read some of the free samples of her work.  You can read "Worlds Like a Hundred Thousand Pearls" here.

Feminist Fiction Friday--Interview with Jennifer Parsons of Luna Station Quarterly

This week I have a very special Feminist Fiction Friday, an interview with Jennifer Parsons, the founding editor of Luna Station Quarterly.

Here's how she describes herself:  A highly-skilled pixel slinger and code monkey by trade, Jennifer writes speculative fiction and fairy tales because she loves stories, reads books as part of the Geek Girls Book Club, devours comic books because she's loved Batman her entire life, writes essays and reviews for The Loser’s Table, and edits the literary magazine Luna Station Quarterly because she believes women write awesome stories. When not doing those things, she makes things from yarn, cuddles her kitties, and goes on sporadic bouts of television watching and gourmet cooking. She's been known to swing a Wii controller like a Jedi. Sometimes, she sleeps.


This is what she had to say:

Kattomic: I love the look of the Luna Station Quarterly site, especially the colors.  Who designed it?  (I know you did, because I read the fine print, but I’m in awe of people who can do their own sites and/or book covers or whatever.)

JP: This is where being a professional web designer comes in handy. I do all of my own design and development work (LSQ is built on Drupal), so thank you, I’ll take all credit. LOL. The color scheme came about because the last thing I wanted on a women-authored fiction site is any hint of cliched pink. I wanted something that invoked a retro feel, a reminder of the wonder Sci-Fi authors of the past had for the future. Some call it Retro-futurism, that nostalgia for the future that has yet to come about. I didn’t want it to feel too masculine either, so the little stars and planets reflect that bit of whimsy that I often find in female-written spec-fic.

Kattomic: This is the third year of publication for LSQ, right?  Any plans for expansion—more issues per year? Print publication?

JP:  Oh, the plans that are in my brain! I want to expand LSQ, though what form that will take is up in the air. I want to keep the quarterly magazine as a quarterly, but I’ve had ideas since LSQ’s inception for ways to increase our output. As submission numbers grow, I’m asking myself this question more and more often, with a print anthology foremost in that thought process. Would you like me to be more vague? LOL.

Actually, my first priority before adding other editions or offshoots, is to find a way to pay my authors. Right now, web hosting costs come out of my own pocket and my personal finances don’t allow for much more than that. I’m incredibly hesitant to put ads on the site as I feel that it would be a distraction and possibly make it appear that I’m looking to monetize the site, which I’m not. I’m considering a donation button, but I have yet to make a firm decision. LSQ has never been about money for me. In fact, it’s never been about me at all, which is why I never publish any of my own stories.

Tales of the Misbegotten: Coming Out

Coming Out
Written by Katherine Tomlinson
Illustrated by Mark Satchwill

Gerard knew that John Torville hated him with a passion that was both professional and personal but he was still surprised by the lengths the other attorney was willing to go in order to ruin his life and dismantle his practice.

“John Torville wants to out me,” Gerard told Lee as they ate a late dinner on the patio of their Brentwood home.

“Maybe that would be a relief,” Lee replied neutrally.

Gerard’s insistence on living a double life was an issue between them.

Gerard hated being in the closet. Lee didn’t really understand why he didn’t just own his reality.

They’d had an argument on the subject as recently as the week before when Gerard first mentioned John Torville and his evil machinations.

Introducing New Story Lines on NoHo Noir

Illustration by Mark Satchwill

This week's story is about our character Nicole, who is about to get downsized from her job as a postal carrier. (One of the mail processing centers that's going to be closed this spring is the massive one in Van Nuys, so L.A. postal workers are definitely impacted by the closures.)  The story took an unexpected turn, though, and introduced a new character who's got a streak of racism and a chip on his shoulder. We don't find out why this episode, but we will down the road. 
And meanwhile, Mark and I will be releasing a collection of the stories with bonus stories and illustrations some time this spring. So stay tuned for that!  And in the meantime, go catch up with NoHo Noir here.

Review of Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Green

Budo is Max Delaney’s imaginary friend, and in fact, his only friend. Max dreamed him up when he was four and he’s nine now, so Budo worries that the boy will soon forget about him and leave him to fade away to whatever afterlife waits for the discarded. Budo is worried for himself but he’s also worried about Max, a “special” kid who is very smart but often gets emotionally “stuck” and acts out with screams and tantrums.

Budo doesn’t sleep but Max has imagined he can walk through walls, so at night, when the boy sleeps, he roams the city, visiting a corner gas station to watch the interaction among the humans and a hospital where other imaginary friends congregate.

Life isn’t easy for Max, who attends public school and has to cope with bullies like Tommy Swinden, who lives for the opportunity to beat him up. (Budo’s supposed to keep watch when Max is in the bathroom, but he can’t always be there.)

In fact, while Tommy is a threat, the biggest danger to Max is someone a lot closer to home and when he disappears from the school while separated from Budo, his imaginary friend panics.  What happens next is a heroic quest to save the boy, with Budo organizing a posse of imaginary friends to save the day.