Be sure to visit this page next Monday, when I’ll have some exciting news to announce. You’ll probably hear it somewhere else before you visit, but check in, anyway! It pertains to a project I’ve been working on for the past several months, and it’s really (really) cool.
Also cool: the number of languages in which I’ve been published has expanded by one. My story “Aeliana,” which is in the Shining in the Dark anthology, will be translated into Czech. That’s the cover you see here, for Osvícení v temnotě. If you’re keeping track, my work has appeared in Russian, Italian, Dutch, French and Bulgarian, and by the end of the year I can add Czech, German and Swedish. Maybe more.
I was interviewed recently by Soraya Murillo Hernandez, and the article is now available (in English) at the Truth in Fiction blog.
We saw Black Panther recently and really enjoyed it. As with most people, the standout character for us was Shuri, the younger sister and technical genius. At times she reminded me a little of Q from James Bond. I really appreciated the fact that you can enjoy this movie without knowing anything at all about the greater Marvel universe. The only part that left us scratching our heads and firing up Google was the second post-credit scene. I’m still not sure I get the significance of it, but it doesn’t really matter. The movie was sweeping in scope and yet intimate in concept. A lot of hand-to-hand combat, but plenty of characterization and a “villain” whose motives and issues were completely relatable. He wasn’t the usual supervillain megalomaniac out to conquer the world to boost his ego.
I also watched the Netflix series Everything Sucks!, which I’m describing as The Wonder Years for the 1990s. It’s light and whimsical, but there are some relevant issues handled with care. Some terrific performances by the two young leads.
On the reading front, I’m well into I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara. The author is Patton Oswalt’s late wife, a lifelong true crime aficionado. The book is as much about the nature of obsession as it is about her pursuit of this horrifying criminal who committed dozens and dozens of rapes and murders without ever being identified or caught. The nature of his crimes are guaranteed to creep you out, and you may have a few sleepless nights after you read this one.
