Bread & Magic

Dreaming Again, an anthology of Australian fantasy and science fiction edited by Jack Dann, just came out in the U.S. last week.  It includes “This is My Blood,” a story I co-wrote with my friend Chris Lynch at Clarion South.  It’s my first published story, and I’m pretty psyched about it.  The book is a sequel to Dreaming Down Under, which was considered a ground-breaking book for Australian spec-fic.  Here are some of the stories in the new book that I’ve enjoyed the most:

• “Lakeside” by Chris Green is an eerie and slippery story told in amazingly tight prose, the sort of story that stays with you for days. This was probably my favorite story in the book, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up on some  of the superlative lists and anthologies for 2008.  Chris G is a classmate from Clarion South and we’ll be seeing lots of other good stuff from him in the future.
• “The Last Great House of Isla Tortuga” is a typically imaginative Peter-Ball story of an undead prostitution ring on a pirate island.  Peter’s another Clarion South classmate, and I’m continually amazed at his ability to spin a tale that zooms in on the most human dimensions of a bizarre and awe-inspiring premise.
• “In from the Snow” is by Lee Battersby, one of my tutors at Clarion. I love Lee’s work and this is probably one of his strongest stories.  It’s one of those deeply disturbing stories that you enjoy being disturbed by.
• “Riding on the Q-Ball” is by Rosaleen Love (who I don’t know from Clarion South, or at all) but her story is a fun tale that mixes quantum physics with the silliness of office politics.
• “The Empire” by Simon Brown, another Clarion teacher, is a great story that explores what really happened to end the Martian conquest of humanity in War of the Worlds. Any story that deftly mixes HG Wells and Vaudeville is definitely worth the read!
• “Undead Camels Ate Their Flesh” by Jason Fischer – another Clarionmate – is a fun romp of zombies, camels, and international intrigue that brings lots of laughs.
• “Smoking, Waiting for Dawn” by Jason Nahrung has more undead fun, with an interesting twist or two. 

These are just some highlights – plenty of other good stories in there, too.  You can order your copy at Amazon or Powells.