If you like listening to your stories, Lion Dance is live at Escape Pod, read by John Chu. A flu pandemic in San Francisco, Chinese lion dancing, and Halloween night. Enjoy!

I have been very lax in updating this blog. Sorry all. I should have a better bibliography within a few days–easier to find what you’re looking for.

I have two reprint sales: “Lion Dance” will be on Escape Pod at Halloween, and “The Suicide Witch” will be on Pseudopod in the spring.

Also, Anaea Lay just interviewed me and asked me to lie my ass off. So I did. Hope I made you smile.

Yay! I’m in the current issue of Asimov’s with my short story “Lion Dance.” It’s about a flu pandemic in San Francisco, at Halloween-time, and a bunch of guys who entertain themselves by running around outside in Chinese lion costumes. I’m excited about my first appearance in Asimov’s (and my next will be in February 2013).

Since people have asked me where to get the story, you can either:

1) 1) go to a bookstore and get a copy (either an independent store, or Barnes & Noble carries it), or
2) get it for Kindle.

The issue you want is Oct/Nov and the cover is purple with an astronaut.

Of particular note: I have a kaffeeklatsch at noon on Saturday. I promise to be interesting. And I have a reading at 5 on Saturday. I will likely read Lion Dance, which is forthcoming in Asimov’s.

Thu Aug 30 2:30:pm Thu Aug 30 3:00:pm Writer Under Glass #6
Fan Lounge

This isn’t actually a panel, but a stunt. Writers volunteer to sit in a certain place for 30-40 minutes each and write serially on a collaborative story. Each takes up where the previous left off throughout the run of the convention. The resulting manuscript will be printed out only once, signed by all the writers, and entered into the charity auction as a contribution from all the writers. Con attendees can watch the writers at work–this has to be done in public like Harlan Ellison’s writing in shop windows–but may not harass them. The attendees can watch what’s being written in real time on a remote monitor. The story is complete at the end of the con and no other copies will be made without consent of all the writers who participated.
Vylar Kaftan

Thu Aug 30 6:00:pm Thu Aug 30 7:30:pm The Short Story as Testing Ground McCormick

Discussing the role short stories has and will play in the genre of science fiction and fantasy, from proving ground to promotions to the merits of writing and reading short stories. We’ll explore where the genre is headed, whether its early popularity is enduring (is anyone reading them anymore?) and the influence of contests and electronic publishing on the genre.
Betsy Dornbusch Brad R. Torgersen D.H. Aire Dennis Y. Ginoza Vylar Kaftan

Fri Aug 31 3:00:pm Fri Aug 31 4:30:pm Autograph Session 5
Autograph Tables

Geoff Ryman Hugh Howey Jacqueline Carey Jacqueline Lichtenberg Mike Flynn Nnedi Okorafor Seanan McGuire Vylar Kaftan

Sat Sep 1 12:00:pm Sat Sep 1 1:30:pm Kaffeeklatsch: Vylar Kaftan
Kaffeeklatsche 1
Vylar Kaftan

Sat Sep 1 5:00:pm Sat Sep 1 5:30:pm Reading: Vylar Kaftan
Dusable
Vylar Kaftan

Sat Sep 1 6:00:pm Sat Sep 1 7:30:pm The Next N1H1.
Field

Two years ago we went through a public inoculation that we haven’t seen since the 60s. What new bug is out there and how do we protect the public health against it.
Liz Batty Perrianne Lurie Ron Taylor Seanan McGuire Vylar Kaftan

Sun Sep 2 3:00:pm Sun Sep 2 4:30:pm Stalking the Elusive Story Idea Gold Coast

What is creativity? Can it be taught? Is it possible to generate story ideas on demand? A discussion of the practical aspects of inspiration, brainstorming, and the search for material, from the perspective of the working writer.
Alec Nevala-Lee Jacqueline Lichtenberg Jay Lake Stephen Leigh Vylar Kaftan

My friend Madeleine saw me the other night and mentioned I’d been really quiet on LJ. She’s right; I hadn’t noticed. So here’s what my last few months have been like.

In May/June, I accidentally got myself _way_ overcommitted to things. I was traveling for 51 of 65 days, which should have been a warning right there. I had too many deadlines and not enough time. I felt overworked and drained.

This feeling persisted into late June, and peaked in early July. I was extremely cranky and angry almost every day, resenting life and the world. Too. Much. Stuff. Everyone kept telling me I needed a break, and some time away from things; it seemed to me that I had no time for such a break because when would I do All The Things?

Of course, as is typical in these cases, everyone else was right and I was wrong. I did need a break. (Why is that so hard to recognize when you’re in the middle of things?) So I took a week off in mid-July and watched some stupid TV and went for walks and so forth. Man, did I feel better.

August has been delightful. I’m remembering that I _do_ like little things like sunshine and chirping birds. And I’m getting about the same amount done after my break as I did when I was pushing hard earlier. The quality is similar, but my mental state is 1000 times better and I no longer want to start shouting at people.

So for those of you who saw me in the grumpy times… thanks for being patient. And I’m feeling much better now! 🙂

Several people have asked me for discount codes for 23andme.com, the genetic testing service. I have one: $50 off a kit if you enter the discount code VMQ6KG. It expires at midnight Pacific on Sunday, Aug 12. Anyone can use it.

23andme will test your genes and analyze your risk for hundreds of diseases, such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s, as well as lots of quirky traits like how fast you absorb caffeine and what kind of earwax you have. It will also predict the effectiveness of certain drugs on your body, like warfarin, and tell you if you’re carrying genes for any diseases like cystic fibrosis. Lastly, it tells you about where your ancestors lived, as much as 60,000 years ago (thanks to mitochondrial DNA and yDNA, you are carrying the precise same codes in your body that existed that long ago.)

Some people have security concerns, which is understandable; Shannon and I reviewed their systems and policies and decided we felt comfortable doing this. I’m very glad we did.

I thought it was an awesome experience and I highly recommend it. It was very useful to see which health activities would have higher payoffs for me personally.

Luc Reid interviews me about inclusivity (diversity) in fiction.

Hey folks. I’m having a technical problem and I need a hand.

Shannon switched my email service (vylarkaftan.net) to go through gmail. Ever since then, I’ve been getting sporadic bounces, but only from gmail addresses. Everyone else can email me fine. Shannon says it’s a server on gmail’s side that needs changing and we can’t touch it, but we don’t know how to get the right people looking at this.

Here’s Shannon’s post describing the problem, which received one response that was not helpful or useful in any way.

We got a friend who works at Google to file a bug, but he’s not sure it will be seen by the right people.

Does anyone have any contacts who might be able to help me, or know anyone we could ask? This is terribly frustrating because I’m losing my professional business emails, and I can’t fix it on my own. 😦 Thanks.

So as I posted a few days ago, I sold a novella to Asimov’s. It’s called “The Weight of the Sunrise,” and it’s an alternate history in which the Inca Empire survives into the 19th century and negotiates with America for the smallpox vaccine.

I did my research, and I tried my best to get things right. But I wanted to do something to address the cultural appropriation issues involved with writing speculative fiction about the indigenous peoples of Peru.

So I decided to donate half of my payment for the story, or $500, to a non-profit organization working on issues related to my concerns. I wanted to give back to the source of my inspiration. I considered Doctors Without Borders–a group providing medical aid to people in 70 countries, which seemed appropriate for a story about smallpox in the Inca Empire. I also considered the Carl Brandon Society, which is dedicated to addressing the representation of people of color in the sf/f world. I looked at a few other ideas, like Partners in Health and Con or Bust.

These are all worthy organizations. But I’m grateful to Debbie Notkin, aka wild_irises, for suggesting the perfect place.

Kiva lets me provide microloans to help ease poverty around the world. It works like this: Individuals in need of small loans (usually under $2,000) apply with Kiva’s local partners. Often the money is for starting a new business or expanding their current one. I see their listings, and I can pledge anywhere from $25 up. When the person has enough sponsors, they get their loan. The best part? It’s a _loan_. The recipient will pay the credit back into my Kiva account over the next year or two (the loans have written terms, just like bank loans). So I can re-loan the money to someone else once it’s come back to me.

Repayment of loans is 98%, so it’s very low risk. People want to pay the money back, and they do once they’ve earned it. An amount which is relatively smallish to me can be life-altering for someone in Peru, where the average annual income is about $6,000 a year. Check Kiva’s FAQ if you’d like to learn more about how microlending works.

And it was really fun to pick which projects to help with! Here’s one, where I filled in the remaining amount needed: “A loan of $400 helped Rosa to buy groceries to stock her store, as well as cosmetics to sell and food for chickens.” And here’s another one I contributed to, which is still raising funds: “A loan of $575 helps Giancarlo to purchase tires and to provide general maintenance of his moto-taxi.”

I chose eight people in total, including a young man hoping to buy a plot of land, and a businesswoman who rents sound equipment. Over time, as the money comes back into my account, I’ll loan it out again. So the money will keep on helping people build better lives and stronger communities in Peru.

I’m glad I did this.

This is one of the strangest and coolest news articles I’ve seen lately.

Bikers Against Child Abuse make abuse victims feel safe.

Apparently there’s an organization of tough motorcycle riders who help kids who’ve been abused. The bikers will do stuff like stand guard over the house if the kid is having nightmares, or walk with the kid if s/he has to testify in court. It’s a little like Big Brothers/Big Sisters combined with a personal bodyguard. As one of the bikers put it, “The kind of people who abuse kids are more scared of bikers than they are of cops.” All the bikers go through a background check, and they’re never alone with the kids.

Seriously, check this out. If I’d written this into a story, no one would ever have believed me.