Welcoming Warmer Weather
And with it come some exciting firsts for me, starting with my first trip to sunny California.
That’s right. I’m starting June with a trip to the Nebula Conference and Awards Ceremony in Pasadena, and I’m looking forward to meeting some of my fellow finalists who’ll also be attending in person. This is my first time at this conference, and of course my first time being nominated for a major award, so it’s very exciting.
AWARD ELIGIBILITY
As I mentioned last month, “Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont,” is a finalist for not just the Nebula, but also the Aurora Award. I’d be thrilled if CSFFA members keep this story in mind when voting for their favourite short story.
The voters packet has recently been made available. Voting members can download it at the CSFFA website, linked below.
Voting for the Auroras opens on June 8 and members have until July 13 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time to finalize their ballots. Any Canadian citizen can vote for the Auroras by purchasing a $10 CSFFA annual membership here.
PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT…
As you may recall, a couple of my stories have been featured in Meghan Smith’s newsletter Fiction to Features that she publishes to make film industry professionals aware of stories with potential for screen adaptation.
This past month she again included one of my stories, “Face the Music,” which is about superheroes and the price they pay for their unusual powers. If you haven’t yet read this little flash piece, you can find it here.
This is what Meghan had to say about it, and as always, I love her take on how this little story could be used as the springboard for an even broader one. It’s always fascinating to me how people receive my stories and what their own imaginations run with from that.
If you prefer text, the complete April edition of Fiction to Features can be read here.
Elsewhere on the web, “Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont” was again mentioned, this time on Deborah Davitt’s Shining Moon podcast. As you know, I’ve been a frequent guest of Deborah’s but this time I was one of the writers whose work was being discussed as part of her “Reading the Nebulas” series. This series explores the current Nebula finalists, with this particular episode focusing on the Short Story category.
Again, it was so interesting to hear their take on all these stories. You can listen to episode 40 here.
RECENT FICTION SALES
Prior to this year, it had always been a major goal of mine to sell a story to Lightspeed Magazine. I finally managed to do so with my January sale of my flash SF story, “The Life You’ve Given Me, Rusty.” This story hasn’t been published yet but I’m told that’s coming soon.
The reason I mention this is that in the meantime, I’ve managed to sell Lightspeed a second story, this time a full-length short story, titled, “Through the Machine,” that I only just wrote this past January. This is a SF story about AI in the arts with a focus on the film industry. I’m so excited to see this one published. I’m not sure when that will be, but as always, I’ll keep you posted. For the time being, I can confirm that selling a story to Lightspeed does not get old.
I also recently sold my SF story, “After the Suns Go Down,” to NewMyths.com’s Growers anthology, which is all about farming in SFF. There’s no publication date set for that yet either. My story is about settlers to a new planet trying to make it as farmers. But alien worlds are full of surprises—not all of them pleasant. If you can’t wait and absolutely must read about unpleasant surprises in alien environments right now, then may I suggest my novella, Lost Cargo?
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
My SF story, “Decorative,” originally published in Flame Tree Publishing’s Compelling Science Fiction Short Stories anthology, was reprinted in Radon Journal, where it’s now free to read.
I decided to make this my June, “Story Behind the Story,” so scroll down once you’ve read it to get the details on how it came to be.
Amir Sepahram, publisher of MetaphorSpace, liked this story so much that he’s requested permission to translate it into Farsi. You may recall he previously translated my dark military SF story, “The Body Remembers,” into Farsi, so this will be my second story translation in that language.
FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS
This month I wanted to talk about something a little different. Last month I announced the sale of my story, “Short-Term Side Effects.” I usually don’t announce stories until the contracts are signed, but this time I guess I got a little ahead of myself. The reason for this is that until the contract is signed, anything can happen, and the sale of the story is still up in the air. So I’m writing this to say that I actually ended up withdrawing this story, so its publication will have to wait a little longer.
Why am I sharing this? Well, in part because I know some of my newsletter subscribers are fellow writers, so I think it’s important to talk about some of the things to consider when selling our work and explain why I decided to walk away from this sale.
First off, I want to make it clear that it’s not because there was a problem with the publisher or that the contract was bad, or something like that. This is a business and contract terms may be ideal for some people, and not so much for others. In some cases, you can make modifications to a contract if a particular term isn’t what you’d like. In this particular case though, and without getting into too much detail, it seemed to me that the best course of action, for both myself, and the publisher, was for me to walk away from this particular sale while they still had time to replace my story with another. And sure enough, soon after I did, I saw another writer announce an acceptance for this, which made me happy for them. I wish them and everyone else involved with this project all the best going forward.
It’s not often I’ve pulled a story from consideration, and this is my first time doing so following an acceptance. It’s obviously not the way you want things to go, but it is sometimes part of the job. This is why I always encourage writers and artists of all kinds to learn how to read a contract and make sure you understand it before you sign. Even if you have an agent, which can be helpful for reviewing contracts, it’s ultimately your name on it and you who must face any consequences if things go wrong, so you should always know what you’re signing and ensure you’re comfortable with every clause.
It’s easy for artists to focus on the creative side of this job and neglect the business side, but if you’re selling your work, it’s important that you hone your skills there too.
INTERVIEWS
My interview with R. Jean Mathieu for his “Philosophy in a Teacup” series was published on May 3. If you missed it, you can read it here.
This was a really great interview in which we discussed things like the importance of representation, why I write about time so much, and what inspires me, among other things.
Additionally, I had a great chat with Radon Journal to run alongside their publication of “Decorative.” This interview covers all the bases. I talk about everything from relationships, to representation, to promotion, and even Lego. This interview has already been released to Radon Journal patrons. It’ll go live for everyone else on June 6 at which time I’ll link it on my website and socials if my activities in California permit. Otherwise, I’ll do so as soon as I’m back in the Great White North.
I would put both of these in my Top 10 interviews I’ve done. Don’t miss them!
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: “Decorative”
“Decorative” was written during a period when I was tackling some sadder themes. Not long after that, I started making more of an effort to write some more uplifting stuff for my own mental health. I’m not sure writers discuss this with non-writers much, but tackling dark or depressing themes can be really difficult sometimes. I have an idea for a novel right now that I think could be good, but I haven’t really worked on it in part because it deals with some really dark stuff that I’m not sure I’m up for, especially considering that with a novel you spend a lot more time with that in your head than you do with a short story.
In the case of, “Decorative,” though, I felt it was important to shine a light on how we sometimes fail those we care about by taking them for granted and neglecting their needs—even when those needs are communicated clearly.
I talked about the decision to make Annie a robot in my interview with Radon Journal. Because Annie is a machine, her needs are clearly spelled out in her owner’s manual. The consequences of not taking proper care of her are also clearly stated. Her needs are simple, and yet, Dean, her human owner, fails to meet them. At first, Annie’s literally the shiny new toy he’s all excited about, but then his interest starts to wane and he begins to neglect her. And because Annie’s a robot, and his property, she can’t simply get fed up and leave him. She must stay to face the consequences of his actions, even when he doesn’t.
Human beings, generally speaking, have far more autonomy than Annie has. Our needs are also more complex. And while we aren’t exactly responsible for other people’s feelings, we do have a responsibility toward those we care about to consider their needs, and to occasionally put them first and show them how much they mean to us before it’s too late. Too often we see only in hindsight where we went wrong.
The fact that Dean is very attentive to Annie in the beginning, and then later not so much, is an actual psychological phenomenon that’s very human. Think of the last time you bought something really cool that you were excited about. For a brief moment in time, that thing was the greatest thing you’d ever bought. You used it constantly and it made you happy with all those little endorphins shooting through you as you did. Then gradually—probably sooner than you would’ve expected had you been asked when you first got that thing—you started to use it less and less, and it started to bring you less joy. Finally, the day comes when you no longer have any use for that thing. It goes into storage, or maybe you throw it out altogether. You’ve moved on. There’s something else you’re excited about now. And the cycle continues.
That’s when we’re talking about “stuff.” When you apply that same attitude to another human being, it can be devastating. Especially if, to them, you’re still the shiny new thing they’re still excited about. And this doesn’t just apply to romantic relationships. You can take anyone for granted, and the point of this story was just that. To make the reader ask, “Who am I not giving the proper attention to these days? Who have I been neglecting?”
But this is also a science fiction story. So considering this and how we often treat both those we love, and the things we own, more poorly than we should, I started thinking about the artificial people we might one day create, and our responsibility toward them. As it stands right now, while we’ve seen some amazing advancements in technology, true artificial intelligence does not yet exist. We don’t have sentient robots or robots capable of emotion. Annie isn’t quite an emotional robot, but she does notice the way Dean’s attitude toward her changes. She does feel a sense of loss there. And she’s not exactly happy to be relegated to an object without purpose that just sits on display with the others in Dean’s workshop.
If we then one day get to a point where we create new forms of artificial life, are we ready to take on that responsibility? Anyone who’s a parent can understand a little of what that means. The awesome responsibility of having someone else’s life in your hands, particularly a new life that’s entirely dependent on you. Some of us are good at handling that, others not so much, and even the best of us aren’t flawless.
But human beings, to some extent, are malleable. We can adjust to a lot, even the not so good in our lives. What would happen to a machine if its programming doesn’t allow for the same kind of adaptability? What if, like Annie, they aren’t exactly free to just tell Dean to stick it, pack their bags and leave?
It’s a dark thought and one I wanted to explore here. Sometimes, we as human beings are at our best, but often we’re not. Fiction is meant to make you consider that sort of thing, and that’s what I was going for here.
“Decorative” was originally published in 2022 in the anthology, Compelling Science Fiction Short Stories (Flame Tree Publishing). It was reprinted in Radon Journal, Issue 7, in 2024.
As always, thanks for reading. If you enjoy my free monthly newsletter, feel free to share and/or recommend it. And if you’re not already subscribed, make sure you click the button so you don’t miss a thing.
P.A. Cornell