A Hot and Copper Sky

Not a reference to the wildfires, I promise. "All in a Hot and Copper Sky" is my latest science fiction story in Lightspeed. I talk about story structure, Mars, and scientific women in the Author Spotlight.

Speaking of hot and copper skies, I went to San Francisco with a group of friends today to see the J. M. W. Turner: Painting Set Free exhibit at the De Young museum. It was a beautifully done exhibit, and quite crowded ("I couldn't see the people for the paintings," Oscar Wilde may have said). My favorite images were Sunrise with Sea Monsters (Cthulhu ftaghn!),  The Hero of a Hundred Fights ("There are fairies of the furnace as of the wood," John Ruskin says), and 'Hurrah! for the Whaler Erebus! Another Fish!' (not to be confused with the other Erebus).

I also bought a postcard of The Angel Standing in the Sun, which illustrates Revelation 19:17--one of the verses that inspired "How Many Miles to Babylon?" I was delighted to note the "birds of midheaven" in the upper left:

Image from Tate Britain.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

art, Lightspeed, science fiction, short story, The Good Book