Shel Graves' Sensorium

In which, I take notes about a story which is likely to spring to mind later and make me wonder, "Where did I read that?"... Why it springs to mind: Food justice in speculative fiction! Oh, yeah! Strong emotion and stand out quotes. Where read: Uncanny Magazine , space unicorns, FTW! Summary: A woman with a magic power, a connection to the Green Space , encounters the fallen god Famine, an unwanted presence in her neighborhood. Memorable: It's a speculative fiction story that tackles gentrification and food deserts. Quotable:   “...we all get trapped in stories others believe about us. I just want the chance to re-write our story.”  "...you think our desert is just about bad food. For us, this desert is about the lack of power to decide what we want to eat.”    "...the life of the fruit unfolded in her mind like a small child’s whisper. Its care, its transport, its treatment, she knew its story."  “No offense, but we’re not interested in...

I have an arbitrary rule for an arbitrary thing. At the end of the year I do a wrap up of my favorite and most memorable senses of the year including a book (or author) of the year. I have two rules for my Book of the Year: I read the book that year. I took the time to review it on my blog.  So, to that end, I wanted to make sure to speak my piece about Wendy Wagner's  An Oath of Dogs  here (as well as on Goodreads and Amazon), because I have a feeling it will stick with me this year. I don't have a lot to say about this enjoyable eco-thriller set on another planet, but there were some things I really, really liked about it. Also, this year I began spending a lot of time with dogs . An Oath of Dogs did a few things that I think are fabulous and really all good novels should do. If I were going to make arbitrary rules for great novels (Gah, what a terrible idea!), these would be my rules. Four things I loved about An Oath of Dogs that every wonderful novel sh...

I remember writing, "Beach! Beach! Beach! Summer! Summer! Summer!" over and over again on lined notebook paper like an incantation. I was the age when other kids were scrawling the names of their crushes with similar intensity, but there I was in English class willing a better future forward with all my might. Maybe this was my origin as a writer of optimistic science fiction. That much anticipated summer beach trip lasted about a week on the nearby Oregon Coast. According to photographic evidence, all I did there was take pictures of seagulls. Still, it provided months of inspiration and distraction for a sun-streaked, summer-loving idealist. These days, I'm at home in cityscapes under brooding cold skies with skeptics. I don't always feel much in common with that younger, sunny beach-lover, but when I do something that feels right (going vegan, working with animals, writing) I can feel my 16-year-old self smiling. This summer, my story "Watch Out, Red Cru...

Taste: salt Sight:  spring sun shining on the snow-covered mountains and on the Salish Sea Sound: braying, cock crow, growling, assertive bark, snarling; scuppered Smell: a volunteer's perfume; rose perfume Touch:  the rocking ferry Extra: “Keep on. The work of the world is always done by creatures too tired to do it.” ― Carol Emshwiller, The Mount   “Maybe it's animalness that will make the world right again: the wisdom of elephants, the enthusiasm of canines, the grace of snakes, the mildness of anteaters. Perhaps being human needs some diluting.”―Carol Emshwiller, Carmen Dog Grateful for: driving into glorious sunrises and sunsets

Read this, as an antidote to despair! To show he loves me, my spouse thoughtfully buys me books and on special occasions he brings me utopias. Ecotopia 2121: A Vision for Our Future Green Utopia — in 100 Cities was one such gift. And what a gift! This is a phenomenal and beautifully-illustrated book which simply must be purchased in hardcover. See the gorgeous website ecotopia2121.com for a taste. After browsing the book for awhile, I finally decided to undertake a thorough exploration of it as a slow reading project — reading just one or two utopias a day. This was a wonderful way to simmer with the ideas and enjoy the illustrations. It was a fun and inspiring read. In this book, Dr. Alan Marshall looks at 100 cities and their most pressing problems. From this, he extrapolates their future and imagines a positive outcome for their citizens through an ecotopian lens (positive futures reached through sustainability and renewable energy). There are some wonderful and poss...