Asakiyume mita

I finished the Timor book, Eden to Paradise. It continued as it had begun, being very satisfying when it was talking about Timorese customs and lifeways and very irksome when the author's biases became too intrusive. Do people still use the word "pacification" unselfconsciously, when talking about colonial adventures? And she's got a section where she talks about how hard it is for the Portuguese administrator to deal with all the Timorese interpersonal conflicts. Oh hey, I know a way to solve that... But anyway. It was still genuinely great to have a look at how people were living so long ago.

A few interesting short stories:

In Apex Magazine, "Field Biology of the Wee Fairies," by Naomi Kritzer, available to read free here.

It starts out in a way I found unpromising: spunky science-interested girl in 1962 doesn't care about getting a fairy the way all the Other Girls do--but then it surprised and delighted me by where it went next.

In Fireside Magazine, "The Ceremony," by Mari Ness, available to read free here.

It's a flash fiction take on Sleeping Beauty from a weird-creepy, but not horrifying, perspective.

In It Happened at the Ball, the first story, "The Siret Mask," by Marie Brennan. Available for purchase from multiple venues, links at the bottom of the page here.

This is an excellent tale of concealed identities--good for a story about a mask--and transformations, featuring a dashing thief. I particularly loved the details of one costume change--I always wonder how masters of disguise manage it, and this showed how!

And the promo! Annorlunda Books is offering Vanessa Fogg's beautiful The Lilies of Dawn for just 99 cents with proof of a preorder or (after October 10) purchase of my novelette, The Inconvenient God. Details here. Look at these covers together!