LaShawn’s MetaPost for 2011 (So Far)

So, here it is, March, and I’m finally getting around to posting what I’ve been up to on the writing field. If you are friends with me on Facebook and/or Twitter, you already know what I’ve been doing and what’s been published. But I thought I do a metapost to clue things in for regulars at the Cafe, as well as give you the scoop on some upcoming projects I haven’t mentioned on the social networks yet.

January was a weird non-fiction month. About the second weekend of January, I got an email from the new non-fiction editor Fantasy Magazine, which I slush for, asking if I could write an article on short notice.  Like, in two days. And I would get paid. I’ve published non-fiction before, but this was the first time I’ve worked directly with an editor, in this case, Esther Inglis-Arkell. I had to crank out 1500 words of a first draft and relinquish it to Esther immediately instead of sitting on it for a couple of weeks while I thought out the revisions. Then I had to work with Esther in feeling our way through the edits until we were both satisfied with the end result. From the time I was first emailed to where I got the thumbs up on the finished draft, the whole process took less than a week. I don’t think I’ve ever finished anything so fast.

But I am pleased and honored to say that the article, “From Story to Screen”, a look at how stories are translated from book to screen, will be up at the newly revamped Fantasy Magazine site on March 28.

That crash course gained me achievements in working with an editor, so when the Christian organization I work for, InterVarsity, approached me on doing a Valentine Day’s article a week later, I was well prepared to crank that out. If you were ever curious on how my husband Jon and I met, you can check out “From Chapter to Chapel” which posted on Valentine’s Day weekend.

On top of those to articles, I also worked on a write-up of the panel I moderated at Wiscon last year: Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting in the Cafeteria which will appear in the Wiscon Chronicles #5 which will come out at this year’s Wiscon 35(which I’ll be at). And I did another movie review that came from winning last year’s Con or Bust Auction. When that one is completed, I’ll announce it here.

With all the non-fiction news, the same fiction side of things have been extremely slow, but ironically has me the most excited. The smaller side of the news is that I got another poem published. Marie Antoinette Ponders the Moon went live on February 20 and can be found at Every Day Poets. I’ve always been fascinated by Marie Antoinette; I’ve read her biographies, as well as that wonderful book Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund (which I reviewed) and watching the anime Rose of Versailles. I wrote the poem after watching Marie Antoinette, a most awesome movie.

I’ve saved the best news, the SUPER AWESOME HAPPY HAPPY YEAH news for last. I’ve sold Future Perfect, which appeared in the March 2009 issue of Ideomancer, to the science fiction audio magazine Escape Pod to be read in a future podcast! How awesome is that? More details will be forthcoming once I get them, but as you can see, I am super, super excited. I’ve been an Escape Pod listener for as long as I can remember, as well as their sister podcast for fantasy Podcastle (I’m still working up the nerve to listen to their horror cast, Pseudopod). What this means is that you’ll get to download Future Perfect to your iPod, or whatever you listen to music, and hear it read by a professional voice actor.

So stay tuned to the Café! We’ll have more goodies coming up as they appear. And if you’re a reader of science fiction, if you are voting in the Nebulas or Hugos or even the Locus Awards, keep in mind that “She’s All Light“ at Daybreak Magazine is eligible for nomination for 2010. Happy voting!

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