As much as I hate to plug a book before it is physically in my hands (a superstitious, pessimistic git am I), Latin@ Rising is on the horizon, due out February 2017. This anthology of Latin@ speculative fiction was edited by Matthew David Goodwin, who successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund it.
The anthology features works by: Kathleen Alcalá, Pablo Brescia, Pedro Zagitt, Sabrina Vourvoulias, Daína Chaviano, ADÁL, Ana Castillo, Ernest Hogan, Junot Díaz, Richie Narvaez (er, that’s me), Edmundo Paz-Soldán, Steve Castro, Alex Hernandez, Carmen Maria Machado, Giannina Braschi, Carlos Hernandez, Alejandra Sanchez, Daniel José Older, Carl Marcum, and Marcos Santiago Gonsalez.
I mention the book now because it is available for pre-order by clicking aqui or aqui, and advanced orders and advanced word help make a book successful. And I really think this book deserves to be successful. There are some very cool and very, very good stories in here.
My own contribution is a story called “Room for Rent,” and it combines some of my favorite themes, which should be familiar to my fans (both of you—hi!). I’ll add that I was in a fairly misanthropic place when I wrote it (when am I not?), and I wanted to keep the story small and centered on a single character. FYI, Spanish speakers: There are some in-jokes in there for you.
Note the trendy “Latin@” in the anthology title meant to shortcut/encompass both Latino and Latina. Trendy, that is, before the verbal speedbump “Latinx” got going. Which contrived label will win out? Only the future will tell.
Please note also, that this is spec fic, not spic fic, despite what you might have read if you read quickly. While Spic Fic might be post-ironic, meta, and superficially empowering, it would also be inaccurate and also not very nice. But it’s also not Speck Fic, Spackle Fic, or Spock Fic, although the latter would be cool and perhaps that will happen sometime in the future. Why are there no Puerto Rican Vulcans again?