Mirror Dance Summer 2012

"Passages: Stories of Gateways and Guardians"  is now online! This issue has gods and fairies, heroes and monsters, ghosts and vampires, temples and mysterious forests and icy fog-shrouded mountaintops. (It also has a few mysterious formatting issues, which I am trying desperately to sort out, and incredible original art by Shirl Sazynski, which should more than make up for the formatting.) Happy reading!


Also, in honor of this issue's theme, have a look at these fascinating entrances that are clearly gateways to Narnia.

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Friday, June 01, 2012

editing, fantasy, fiction, Mirror Dance, poetry, publishing, reading

Recommended Reading

I'm flattered to see that "Lessons from a Clockwork Queen" appears (with three stars!) on Tangent Online's Recommended Reading list for 2011.

Also, Lois Tilton gave "The Gardens of Landler Abbey" a "recommended" rating, which is wonderful and unexpected.

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Monday, January 02, 2012

Beneath Ceaseless Skies, fantasy, reviews, short fiction

Lessons from a Clockwork Queen

I know it looks like it, but honest to goodness, I don't live under a rock. I'm just really slow on announcing things sometimes.

Lessons from a Clockwork Queen appears in Fantasy Magazine this week (which, by now, is almost last week). There's also an Author Spotlight where I talk about clockworks, lessons, and trolls.

In other news, I'm revamping the guidelines for both Mirror Dance and Lacuna. No major changes, but I'll be making my fiction philosophy a bit more explicit (so when I say "this isn't quite what I'm looking for" in a rejection letter, the author doesn't scream in frustration). Stay tuned.

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Friday, September 09, 2011

editing, fantasy, steampunk, writing

Grief, m'sieur, is a carousel.

"The Celebrated Carousel of the Margravine of Blois" appears in Fantasy today. Also, there is a spotlight.

Happy reading!

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Monday, February 28, 2011

fantasy, fiction, publishing

June Things!

The June issue of Mirror Dance is now online, and my story "The Copperroof War" appears in the June issue of Ideomancer.

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Wednesday, June 02, 2010

editing, fantasy, publishing, short fiction, updates, writing

Poem in Enchanted Conversation

http://www.enchantedconversation.org/2010/04/servants-tale-by-megan-arkenberg.html

I'm glad this poem found such a lovely home. And those of you readers who like Mirror Dance will almost certainly like Enchanted Conversation. :-)

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Sunday, April 11, 2010

fairy tale, fantasy, poetry

What happens to you here is forever.

I've spent several minutes trying to come up with a good introduction, but the truth is, I have no idea how to describe this. E-zine. Essay collection. Guest blog. Thoughtcrime. My latest project:

Crimethink: Politics and Speculative Fiction.

Donations to Doctors Without Borders will be greatly appreciated. So will submissions.

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Monday, March 08, 2010

Crimethink, editing, Every Day Fiction, fantasy, insanity, politics, writing

Story for Haiti - Panthanatos

In order to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti, Crossed Genres has come up with a brilliantly simple idea: have authors post free fiction online, and have readers show their appreciation by donating to any number of fine charities. Some suggestions, and a list of other participating authors, appear here.

When it comes to unpublished fiction, I unfortunately don't have any open at the moment (aside from a trunk story or two, and trust me, you do not want to read those). Please enjoy "Panthanatos," posted on my website. This story previously appeared in the 2008 anthology Ruins Metropolis.

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Sunday, January 17, 2010

fantasy, help, reading, recomendations

Fantasy Magazine - Best of 2009

The Fantasy Magazine poll for best story of 2009 is open and ready. And yes, my name is on the ballot. :-)

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Tuesday, January 05, 2010

fantasy, that's MY name on the ballot, vote

Happy New Year!

2010 (which, for me, shall commence in exactly forty-nine minutes) comes to a wonderful start with my story "All the King's Monsters" appearing in Clarkesworld. Enjoy!

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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Clarkesworld, fantasy, New Year's Resolutions, that's MY name on the ballot, writing

Titles

This is not how I choose my titles, though it could be.

The Seventh Sanctum weird name generator!

My favorites so far: The King in Silence and The Happy Cursed Earl of Magnificence.

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Friday, December 11, 2009

fantasy, titles, writing

NaNoWriMo Update

Stories completed: 2 ("The Kindness of Ravens" and "The Celebrated Carousel of the Margravine of Blois")

Words completed: approximately 9,000

Stories to go: 9 ("The Setting Sun" and "Jaquemart" are excluded from the list, by right of being too frickin' long)

Words to go: 41,000

Likelihood of success: 0.001%

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Monday, November 09, 2009

fantasy, insanity, short story, updates, writing

Apparently...

My story Cesare appeared in Fantasy Magazine earlier this week.

Cool.

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Saturday, November 07, 2009

fantasy, recomendations, short story

NaNoWriMo - Short Story Edition!

Once again, I am attempting to write 50,000 words of short stories in the month of November. Because, at the moment, my brain will explode if I write one more productive words, I am now going to do something decidedly unproductive--a first line meme.

Here are my projects for the month:

Naxos: The Ford died with a hiccup and a puff of smoke three miles out of Naxos, Wisconsin. I looked over at Ari in the passenger seat, she looked and me, and we said oh shit pretty much simultaneously.

The Prince of Skyrats: Skyrats swarmed in the gallows-yard the day their prince was hanged, both the gray and dull-eyed birds whose wings fluttered like tattered bits of rag, and the other kind, who were also gray and dull-eyed and ragged. The guards watched them warily, from a distance. The Prince of Skyrats did not see them at all; a black silk blindfold covered his face, leaving him blind and voiceless.

The Bluebeard Room: "No," said Evangline Leighton, "I would not open that door for all the jewels in the Tower of London."

Madam Pneuma: Mrs. Barlow stabbed a needle through the fabric, heedless of the danger to the black velvet of her skirt. “I still don’t understand it,” she said, ostensibly to the room at large, though her gray eyes never moved from mine.

Embers: It was a burning day.

Sixty-Four: [None yet.]

Oxymandias: [None yet.]

Four Burning Things: Mama Babel sets the coffee pot on the fire, stirring it with her bayonet to keep the gritty stuff from burning.

The Widow's Island: You will wake to the sound of singing.

Jaquemart: There was blood on the stage.

The Setting Sun: The night before she died, I dreamed of Sephone.

The Celebrated Carousel of the Margravine of Blois: [See pictures here.] The house is called Summerfall, and it stands at the end of a long white drive lined with plane trees and elm.

The Kindness of Ravens: On your first day in the desert, they will bring you food.

Wish me luck!

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Friday, November 06, 2009

Every Day Fiction, fantasy, flash fiction, insanity, proprietary glee, short story, updates, weird fiction, writing

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly

I should have checked this magazine out around sixteen days ago, when the first issue came out, but reading for Mirror Dance and Lacuna has kept me busy. Fortunately, I found a small break this morning, and discovered that I actually do enjoy unapologetic Sword & Sorcery when it's done intelligently.

I particularly recommend James Lecky's story "The Black Flowers of Sevan" and Elizabeth Barrette's poem "Ansel's Army."

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Friday, July 17, 2009

fantasy, fiction, poetry, reading, recommendations

Where in the world...?

For those who have been wondering where I've been the last week or so, I've been reading Sarah Monette's brilliant Corambis two or three times and haven't really been interested in anything else. :-) I hope to blog on it at some point in the future, when I am suitably articulate.

If you're wondering if you should buy it, the answer is a whooping heck yes (provided, of course, that you've read the other three books in the series. If you haven't, read them first). They are easily my favorite fantasy novels, and they may become yours, too.

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

fantasy, literature, novel, reading, recomendations

Palimpsest

This post is spoiler-free.

I've just finished reading Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente, and I honestly can't say just now what I think of it.

Did I enjoy it? Yes, immensely. The word "imaginative" fails to convey the richness of the city Valente has created. The utter strangeness of the creatures and events in Palimpsest makes the author's ability to make them real and concrete in the mind of the reader all the more impressive--and necessary. The four protagonists were interesting--much more so towards the end of the book than at the beginning--but nothing compared to the citizens (I hesitate to say "people") of Palimpsest themselves. The hints of a soon-to-be-revealed violent past behind the city kept me engaged when the plot lagged.

That said, I am a prose reader rather than a story reader--it's not the what that interests me, but the how. Valente has been frequently and deservedly praised for her rich prose. However, there are places where richness becomes unintelligable, or simply silly. An example from page nine:

She balanced one hand--many-ringed--on her hip and jerked her head in the manner of a fox snuffling the air for roasting things.

"Balanced," "snuffling," and "many-ringed" can all be argued, but why on earth would a fox--a wild animal--be interested in cooked meat? This kind of slip is rare, and becomes rarer as the novel progresses, but when the prose is generally so effortless, it's all the more obvious when the author is trying too hard.

So what do I think of Palimpsest? I'm glad I read it, but it won't get a rereading from me. The protagonists, interesting as they were, didn't feel real enough for me to truly invest myself emotionally in their story (I hesitate to say "struggle"), and I don't feel as though there was any deep meaning to dig for the second time through. To be fair, I am also simultaneously rereading The Fountainhead and The Picture of Dorian Gray, so my literary expectations are high. I'd certainly recommend giving Palimpsest a try--at the very least, you'll have a new way of looking at honey bees.

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Saturday, March 28, 2009

fantasy, fiction, reading, recommendations, review, voice

Mirror Dance Anniversary Issue

The Spring 2009 issue of Mirror Dance marks our one year anniversary! Come and check it out--I promise you won't be disappointed!

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Sunday, March 01, 2009

editing, fantasy, Mirror Dance, reading

"Winterblood" on Beneath Ceaseless Skies

My story Winterblood appears today in Issue #8 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies. This is my first professional short fiction publication.

I wanted to blog about the inspiration for this story, but wouldn't you know, I can't find a nice way to say it. Let's just say it was inspired by a story I hated violently disliked in one of the recent Sword & Sorceress anthologies. For the record: 1) it is not only primative societies that have myths and 2) you don't have to be virginal for the monster to get you.

That's all I'm saying. Truly.

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Beneath Ceaseless Skies, fantasy, fiction, publishing, writing

No "Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008"

I am saddened, to say the least.

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

anthologies, fantasy, fiction, horror, reading