driftwood

September 1, 2022

Happy birthday to the wondrous and imaginative Marie Brennan

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A former anthropologist and folklorist who shamelessly pillages her academic fields for material, the acclaimed Marie Brennan is the creator of the Hugo nominated Memoirs of Lady Trent [A Natural History of Dragons (2013), The Tropic of Serpents (2014), Voyage of the Basilisk (2015), In the Labyrinth of Drakes (2016), Within the Sanctuary of Wings (2017)], Onyx Court [Midnight Never Come (2008), In Ashes Lie (2009), A Star Shall Fall (2010), With Fate Conspire (2011)], Wilders [Lies and Prophecy (2012), Chains and Memory (2016)] and Doppelganger duology [Doppelganger (2006; also as Warrior) and Warrior and Witch (2006; also as Witch)]. She also wrote the Legends of the Five Rings tie in novel The Night Parade of 100 Demons (2021) and produced a series of Varekai novellas [(Cold-Forged Flame (2016), Lightning in the Blood (2017)]. In 2020, DRIFTWOOD, a novel set in the realities of her popular series of short stories, garnered Brennan both Kirkus Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2020 and Library Journal Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2020.

Along side Michael R. Underwood, Malka Older, and Cassandra Khaw, she crafted the serialized novel Born to the Blade: The Complete Season 1 (2018). Brennan and Alyc Helms make up pseudonym of M. A. Carrick who is responsible for Rook & Rose (The Mask of Mirrors (2021) and The Liar’s Knot (2021).

Her short fiction has appeared in numerous venues including Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Tor.com, On Spec, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Apex Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Many of these tales were collected in Monstrous BeautyMaps to Nowhere (2017), Ars Historica (2017), Never After: Thirteen Twists on Familiar Tales (2019), The Nine Lands (2019), and Down a Street That Wasn’t There (2020). Brennan has written several books on writing: Writing Fight Scenes (2013), em>New Worlds, Year One: A Writer’s Guide to the Art of Worldbuilding (2018), New Worlds, Year Two: More Essays on the Art of Worldbuilding (2019), and New Worlds, Year Three: More Essays on the Art of Worldbuilding (2020). An avid gamer, she shared her thoughts in Dice Tales: Essays on Roleplaying Games and Storytelling (2017).

All of us at Tachyon wish the incredible Marie an amazing birthday. May you continue to dream up existences that us mere mortals can scant imagine.

July 28, 2022

Tachyon infiltrates Armadillocon 44 with Jacob Weisman, Ellen Klages, Joe R. Lansdale, Marie Brennan, Josh Rountree, Kasey Lansdale, and Rick Klaw

Rick Klaw blog, Events armadillocon, austin, born for toruble, driftwood, ellen klages, jacob weisman, Joe R. Lansdale, josh rountree, kasey lansdale, marie brennan, Rick Klaw, the apes of wrath, wicked wonders

Join publisher Jacob Weisman, editor/publicity manager Rick Klaw (THE APES OF WRATH), publicist Kasey Lansdale and a cadre of Tachyon authors including Special Guest Ellen Klages (WICKED WONDERS), Joe R. Lansdale (BORN FOR TROUBLE), Marie Brennan (DRIFTWOOD), and Josh Rountree (author of the forthcoming THE LEGEND OF CHARLIE FISH) for ArmadilloCon 44, August 5-7 at Austin Southpark Hotel in Austin, TX.

ArmadilloCon is an annual literary convention sponsored by the Fandom Association of Central Texas, Inc. The primary focus of ArmadilloCon is science fiction and fantasy, but we also pay attention to art, animation, science, media, and gaming. Every year, dozens of professional writers, artists and editors attend the convention. We invite you to attend the convention, especially if you are a fan of reading, writing, gaming, and generally having fun.

September 1, 2021

Happy birthday to the wondrous and imaginative Marie Brennan

Rick Klaw birthday, blog birthday, driftwood, m. a. carrick, marie brennan, the liar's knot, the mask of mirrors

Her short fiction has appeared in numerous venues including Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Tor.com, On Spec, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Apex Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Many of these tales were collected in Monstrous Beauty (2014), Maps to Nowhere (2017), Ars Historica (2017), Never After: Thirteen Twists on Familiar Tales (2019), The Nine Lands (2019), and Down a Street That Wasn’t There (2020). Brennan has written several books on writing: Writing Fight Scenes (2013), New Worlds, Year One: A Writer’s Guide to the Art of Worldbuilding (2018), New Worlds, Year Two: More Essays on the Art of Worldbuilding (2019), and New Worlds, Year Three: More Essays on the Art of Worldbuilding (2020). An avid gamer, she shared her thoughts in Dice Tales: Essays on Roleplaying Games and Storytelling (2017).

All of us at Tachyon wish the wondrous Marie an amazing birthday. May you continue to dream up existences that us mere mortals can scant imagine.

March 3, 2021

A small but not slight book, Marie Brennan’s DRIFTWOOD has a great deal to say about memory, loss, and survivorship, and it does so on a stage that is as vast as any in epic fantasy

Rick Klaw blog almost almost, driftwood, marie brennan, okurun köşesi, review, strange horizons, turkish

For STRANGE HORIZONS, Jonathan Crowe praises Marie Brennan’s DRIFTWOOD.

In a genre where length is too often a self-evident virtue, Marie Brennan’s DRIFTWOOD is an unexpectedly small book, comprising seven stories, one original to the book, plus connecting material. But this is by no means a slight book. In around two hundred pages of fairly large type it has a great deal to say about memory, loss, and survivorship, and it does so on a stage that is as vast as any in epic fantasy.

[…]

In the end, DRIFTWOOD isn’t just a clinic on how a small collection of short stories can punch above its weight, or proof that fantasy settings don’t require thousand-page books to elucidate them. DRIFTWOOD has a point to make; and like all arguments, it’s best made with speed, clarity, and force. Brevity is a virtue in more ways than one.

ALMOST, ALMOST agrees.

Each chapter is its own full story, but they seamlessly weave together into a bigger, thought-provoking narrative. I enjoyed this a lot.

The Turkish OKURUN KÖŞESI enjoys the book.

For me, DRIFTWOOD was a very good narrative, interesting fiction book . The feature that impressed me the most was his creative side. Driftwood is such a place that while A Street is hot, B Street right next to it is cold. It can bring the cultures of different worlds together at one point, and so is their magic. A place with changing boundaries can be described as a fluid like water.

Moreover, this division was reflected in DRIFTWOOD’s narrative. It consists of several parts and there is a reason for that. DRIFTWOOD is actually a few stories , as writer Brennan says on his site, and the book’s merger under one roof was at the suggestion of the publisher.
Translation from Turkish courtesy of Google

February 2, 2021

Tachyon well represented at Boskone 58

Rick Klaw blog, Events adam stemple, alastair reynolds, boskone, Carrie Vaughn, content: selected essays on technology creativity copyright and the future of technology and the future of the future, cory doctorow, driftwood, Ellen Datlow, James Patrick Kelly, Jane Yolen, julie dillon, kitty's mix tape, marie brennan, michael swanwick, nesfa, nightmares: a new decade of modern horror, not so much said the cat, slow bullets, the last tsar's dragons, the very best of kate elliott

Marie Brennan, Ellen Datlow, Julie Dillon, Cory Doctorow, James Patrick Kelly, Alastair Reynolds, Adam Stemple, Michael Swanwick, Carrie Vaughn, and Jane Yolen will all be attending the virtual online convention Boskone 58, February 12-14.

Brought to you by the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA), Boskone is an annual science fiction convention, the oldest in New England. NESFA is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation and both NESFA and Boskone are run and put on entirely by fan volunteers.
What is Boskone?

Guest of Honor: Joe Abercrombie
Official Artist: Julie Dillon
Special Guest: Sheree Renée Thomas
Musical Guest: Marc Gunn
NESFA Press Guest: Ursula Vernon
Hal Clement Science Speaker: Mike Brotherton
Hal Clement Science Speaker: Christian Ready

Boskone offers a massive selection of readings and panels. To find any of these authors, check out the entire schedule.

January 28, 2021

The super-interesting DRIFTWOOD by Marie Brennan is a best book of the year

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CHIARA READS declares Marie Brennan’s DRIFTWOOD as the best book read solely on a recommendation of someone else.

Super-interesting worldbuilding and structure, and I only read it because I saw a random review on Goodreads that talked about it. I was really surprised by how much I liked it.

A. Alex Logan on ALMOST, ALMOST includes the book in their TBR Acrostic: Belated.

B – Being Toffee by Sarah Crossan
E – The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune*
L – Lava Red Feather Blue by Molly Ringle*
A – Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass*
T – True Trans Bike Rebel by Lydia Rogue (ed.)*
E – The Empress of Xytae by Effie Calvin*
D – Driftwood by Marie Brennan*

*(Since this blog is all about LGBTQ books, but these acrostics include any title on my TBR that starts with the right letter, I’m starring the books in these posts that are, to my knowledge, queer. Let me know if I’ve missed any!)

January 6, 2021

Best and favorite books of 2020 include THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES and DRIFTWOOD

Rick Klaw blog best of 2020, driftwood, hoopla, maria haskins, marie brennan, quick sip reviews, r. b. lemberg, r/fantasy, r/suggestmeabook, r/trollxbookclub, reddit, the four profound weaves, the library ladies 0

As the new year begins, lists, recounting the best selections from the previous year, emerge.

On REDDIT r/Fantasy, tarvolon shared their 2020 S u perlatives, naming Marie Brennan’s DRIFTWOOD as Most Creative.

It’s been a long time since the last time I stopped in the middle of a book and marveled at the creativity of the premise, but I did when reading DRIFTWOOD, a tale of the place where worlds go to die, smashing up against each other so that the space of a couple blocks may contain not just different peoples or different landscapes, but even entirely different laws of physics. It felt like I was a kid reading my first story about portals to other worlds.

Serena of THE LIBRARY LADIES names the book as a Favorite Read of 2020.

The story jumps through various people’s tales of their interactions with Last, and through these tales, we explore a taste of the wide variety of worlds and peoples that make up Driftwood. It was such a unique story, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like it. It’s definitely a must-read for fans of science fiction/fantasy.

HOOPLA includes the novel in Critics’ Picks: Can’t Miss Books of 2020.

At REDDIT r/Trollxbookclub, HelenZass lists the work among the best reads of the year.

As did rumplebike over at r/suggestmeabook What are the four best books that you read in 2020?

Cover by Elizabeth Story based on initial concepts by Francesca Myman

At REDDIT r/Fantasy, eriophora names DRIFTWOOD and R. B. Lemberg’s THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES in 2020 Fantasy Books With Amazing prose?

Maria Haskins cites both R. B. Lemberg’s THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES and To Balance the Weight of Khalem among My Recommended Reading List for 2020.

QUICK SIP REVIEWS includes the novella in 2020 Recommended Reading List.

December 24, 2020

Happy birthday to the fantastic Elizabeth Story

Rick Klaw birthday, blog birthday, driftwood, elizabeth story, kimberly unger, marie brennan, Nancy Kress, Nicole Kornher-Stace, nucleation, sea change, the four profound weaves, the midnight circus 0

The aptly named Elizabeth Story, Tachyon’s lead designer, is that rare and wondrous unicorn who combines artistic, technical, and verbal skills.

Nicole Kornher-Stace as envisioned by Elizabeth Story

She came to Tachyon in 2009 as an editorial intern, having graduated with honors from the Creative Writing department at UC Santa Cruz. Her prior experience included creating motivational posters, newsletters, and comic strips for a children’s tutoring center; editing a campus literary magazine; and assisting in a perfumery.

Once Story dashed off some impromptu promotional materials in Photoshop, it became clear that she was destined to work as Tachyon as an artist instead of an editor. Since that time, Story has designed many of Tachyon’s most creative book covers and interiors, press kits, holiday cards, and catalogs. Story, also, generates the content for Tachyon’s Instagram.

Even after earning her M.F.A., Story still sleeps very little while remaining wittier than most people you know. It is said that she locked her first novel, which may or may not have been illustrated, in a drawer because it tried to bite her.

Tachyon wishes the incredible Elizabeth a very happy birthday, and hopes that she doesn’t get cheated of holiday presents just because she was born on the wrong day.

December 21, 2020

Marie Brennan’s enjoyable DRIFTWOOD is beautiful

Rick Klaw blog driftwood, marie brennan, nicky @ the bibliophibian, r.b. lemberg, r/52book, r/fantasy, reddit, review, the four profound weaves 0

NICKY @ THE BIBLIOPHIBIAN enjoys Marie Brennan’s DRIFTWOOD.

Overall, I found it a really enjoyable novella/collection — and the illustrations help! It’s possible to imagine an infinity of worlds and stories within Driftwood, but the last bit of this book closes it off beautifully. I still have questions, but the more important answer is the one Last finds, smiling at the end of the world.

At REDDIT r/52book, the book is mentioned in Week 49 – What are you reading?

DRIFTWOOD by Marie Brennan, which is written kind of like a collection of oral tales in this really unique fantasy world. Each of these tales concerns a man who outlived the dying of his world and is therefore considered something of a god for doing the impossible. I really enjoyed it!

On REDDIT r/Fantasy, SeiShonagon includes DRIFTWOOD as well as R. B. Lemberg’s THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES on their Hugo Award ballot.

My ballot for best novel:
1. Harrow the Ninth
2. Piranesi
3. DRIFTWOOD
4. One of Kingfisher’s three (!) eligible books: The Hollow Places, A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Bases, or Paladin’s Grace
5. The Vanished Birds

And for novellas:
1. The Empress of Salt and Fortune
2. THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES
3. One of the two eligible Penric novellas
4. Riot Baby
5. Ring Shout

December 17, 2020

R. B. Lemberg’s fantastic THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES is one of the top books of 2020

Rick Klaw blog ambling along the aqueduct, best of 2020, clarion west writers workshop, driftwood, erin k wagner, gautam bhatia, marie brennan, new york public library, r. b. lemberg, r/fantasy, reddit, review, the four profound weaves, varian ross, women's web 0

After a tumultuous 2020, R. B. Lemberg’s THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES has emerged as one of the most acclaim books of the year.

The NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY cites the novella among Favorite Trans, Nonbinary, and GNC Titles of 2020.

Varian Ross, on their eponymous site, ranks the debut in the Top Books of 2020.

I had no idea how much I needed a book with trans characters who were elders, until I read THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES. This book is not only a fantastic fantasy novella, it’s also a very comforting read. Being trans myself, seeing characters like me mostly in young adult books gets…tiring? I’m not sure what the word I want is, but seeing truly *old* characters who’d transitioned was something I *needed* to see.

At AMBLING ALONG THE AQUEDUCT, Erin K. Wagner mentions the work among The Pleasures of Reading, Viewing, and Listening in 2020.

This work builds quietly in tension, exploring community and connection.

WOMEN’S WEB taps Gautam Bhatia for their favorites. They suggested two titles.

THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES by Rose Lemberg, and
The Waterdancer’s World by by L Timmel Duchamp

On REDDIT r/Fantasy, SeiShonagon includes THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES as well as Marie Brennan’s DRIFTWOOD on their Hugo Award ballot.

My ballot for best novel:
1. Harrow the Ninth
2. Piranesi
3. DRIFTWOOD
4. One of Kingfisher’s three (!) eligible books: The Hollow Places, A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Bases, or Paladin’s Grace
5. The Vanished Birds

And for novellas:
1. The Empress of Salt and Fortune
2. THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES
3. One of the two eligible Penric novellas
4. Riot Baby
5. Ring Shout

On April 27, 2021, Lemberg will be teaching Poetry Techniques for Fiction Writers for Clarion West.

In this workshop, we will learn how to pay attention to language using poetry tools in drafting and revising fiction. We will also learn about poem outlines, and how we can use them to flesh out the characters, the worlds, and the emotional structure of stories.

This workshop is suitable for writers of all levels. Experience writing and publishing poetry is not necessary for this workshop, but please be prepared to experiment with poetic techniques as tools for exploring fiction.

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