There’s an interesting article over at i09 discussing the new “sci-fi strange” subgenre.  SF writer and nebula-nominee Jason Sanford includes my story “Longing for Langalana” as part of his “dream anthology” of sci-fi strange, along with stories by all-stars Ted Chiang, Paolo Bacigalupi, Rachel Swirsky, Eugie Foster, Nnedi Okorafor, Lavie Tidhar, Gareth L. Powell, fellow Fluidian Alaya Dawn Johnson and others. There’s a link to “Langalana” included in the article.  Many thanks, Jason!

This is heartening since I continue to work on my collection of interconnected stories starring my tragic lovestruck aliens, the Wergens, who have it bad for humanity.  (There’s nothing sadder than unrequited alien love.:))  The second in the series, “In the Harsh Glow of its Incandescent Beauty,” appeared earlier this year in Interzone #226 and will be podcast in an upcoming episode of StarShip Sofa.

More people are reading “Langalana” as a result of this recent attention.  I came across this new, lengthy and very generous review which starts off by saying, “If an SF story could every make me cry, it’d be this one.” Suddenly, I feel motivated to plug on in the Wergen universe.

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while, but go check out this interview of the Altered Fluid writing group (including yours truly) over at Clarkesworld.  We had a lot of fun responding to these questions.  I think it gives you a good sense of the genuine camaraderie and support that exists among this group of truly talented writers.  (I’m just so lucky to have somehow managed to sneak in to their ranks.)

I’m pleased to report that Black Static, considered the preeminent horror magazine out there, will be publishing my dark fantasy/horror story, “Tu Sufrimiento Shall Protect Us” in its next issue. Andy Cox has done a phenomenal job making this magazine look every bit as beautiful and professional as its sister magazine, Interzone.

This story marks my first foray away from pure science fiction, so I’m glad the story is appearing in such a great market.

In other news, Murky Depths has taken my flash piece “All Smiles” about invading clown-like aliens. This magazine is of special interest to me because of the graphic illustrations that accompany its various stories.  I can’t wait to see what they do with my story.

Finally, my SF advice-column story “Dear Annabehls” which originally appeared in Electric Velocipede #17/18, was broadcast last week on the Maine radio show “Beam Me Up.” The story is set in the same universe as “Snatch Me Another.” You can listen to a podcast of the program here. (My story begins at the 35:30 minute mark.)

Bits of news here and there:

I had the honor of co-hosting last night’s New York Review of Science Fiction Reading with Jim Freund, and I thought it went very well.  It featured Altered Fluid and the three readers (E.C. Myers, Devin Poore and N.K. Jemisin) all did a stupendous job.  Kudos, Fluidians!

The Czech Republic’s largest circulating SF magazine, Ikarie, is reprinting “Longing for Langalana” in its current issue (pictured above).  Or as they call it:  Desire for Langalaně. So cool!  And here’s a review, translated from Czech by Google, which makes it somewhat amusing:

The desire for Langalaně is readable story of people and wergenů on a strange planet. Shimera and Phineas are children who learn language tutoring for the second of them.  Immediacy of children during story turns into a mature adult and opinions by the way, we learn interesting information about wergenských relationships, marriage and reproduction.  Although Mercurio D. Rivera is a man, the narrator of the history of dueling Langalaně wergenská is just a girl who fell in love with the human boy.  Relatively normal plot is complicated by wergenským worship of human beings.

And here’s another Czech review:

Shimera Wergeňanka and is with his father and mother are working together to teraformaci Langalany planet.  Is responsible to pay his nephew Dr. significant, Phineas.  At first glance it seems that perhaps the children can resolve differences between two races. Remarkable story of the encounter of two civilizations, which prevents unilateral okouzlenost in full cooperation.  Alien eyes watching developments and thus becomes for us to fully understand the contradiction that can not be overcome with time.  The main character herself is aware of this situation, and yet it can not get rid of the desire for return and contact with people.

Finally, iconic SF editor Gardner Dozois devoted a nice little chunk of real estate (a full paragraph, which is quite a bit; his fiction reviews usually run a sentence or two) in this month’s Locus to my “In the Harsh Glow of its Incandescent Beauty” from Interzone #226.  He wrote:

“Also good here is Mercurio D. Rivera’s ‘In the Harsh Glow of its Incandescent Beauty’ about a man obsessively following his ex-lover to the ends of the solar system, convinced that she’s been stolen from him by the application of a mind-altering chemical aphrodisiac; this turns out to be both true and not true.  The motivations of the human-obsessed aliens here, the Wergens, who are willing to do almost anything for the humans they’ve become fixated on (and who remind me a little of Al Capps’ Shmoos, who will invite you to eat them and obligingly fall over dead if you look even the slightest bit hungry) may be a bit hard to understand if you haven’t read Rivera’s other story in this sequence, ‘Longing for Langalana’”

It’s quite a kick to think that the great Gardner Dozois — whom I consider the personification of SF — is familiar with my work.

A few new bits of news to report.  “Beam Me Up,” a local radio show that has aired in Maine over the past five years, broadcast a reading of my  story “Snatch Me Another” in this week’s episode.  (The original recording was  masterfully produced by Tony Smith and the crew at StarshipSofa a few months ago.)  Paul Cole, who runs Beam Me Up, told me he has already received several telephone calls with positive feedback.  You can listen to a podcast of the show here.

“Beam is Up” is also in the process of recording “Dear Annabehls,” a companion piece to “Snatch Me Another,” which will be airing on the program next month.

I still can’t thank Wendy Delmater enough for originally publishing “Snatch Me Another” at Abyss and Apex.   Since then, the story has been reprinted in Rich Horton’s anthology Unplugged: The Web’s Best SF and Fantasy, Download 2008; finished at #25 on the Locus Recommended List for 2008 for short stories;  appeared as a notable story on the 2009 Million Writers Award List (where it made the short list but just missed the Top 10); was podcast on Starship Sofa (pitted against a C.M. Kornbluth classic); and now has appeared on the “Beam Me” Up radio program.  Wow.  I never would’ve predicted such a long shelf life for this little story.