Bread & Magic

I got my contributor copy of the latest issue of Realms of Fantasy, which includes my story, “Tío Gilberto and the Twenty-Seven Ghosts.”  First thing I have to say is, it’s so cool to see this story in print!  Especially in such a great magazine, and especially after that long couple months where Realms had closed and it seemed like the story would need to find a new home. I’m really glad that Realms seems be having such a successful re-launch.

Second thing I have to say is, I *love* John Kaiine’s illustration for the story. I look at that gorgeous painting and think to myself, that is a gorgeous work of art.  And then I think, whoa, something I wrote was the original inspiration for that work of art.  Sort of mind-boggling.  And, I have to admit, I thought it would be a hard story to illustrate, what with 27 out of 30 significant characters being invisible.  But Kaiine did it masterfully, showing a scene where the protagonist is performing in front of his uncle Gilberto and a room full of ghosts.  The empty mismatched chairs (a feather boa flung over one of them), the piano and the black and white television in the background, the wisps of smoke from Gilberto’s cigarette giving the entire painting an ethereal feel…. He’s managed to cram in so many little details from the story, but, more importantly, I think he captured the feel of it – a sense of lighthearted fun, but with something haunting just beneath the surface. 

Last thing I have to say is, I’m honored to be in some pretty amazing company on this table of contents: Kristine Kathryn Rusch, William R Eakin, S.E. Ward, and Jay Lake.   I have a feeling I’ll be up late tonight reading their stories….