Mari Ness, writer of things

lacon.orgHugo Award Finalists – LAcon V

21 Apr

The original posts got a bit messed up, so....here we go again: Delighted to note that my Nebula finalist poem, "Care for Lightning," is also now a Hugo finalist! The full finalist list can be read here: Congrats, everyone! www.lacon.org/hugofinalists/

reut.rsBrazil's Flavio Bolsonaro headed to US, sources sayBrazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has left the country for the United States after losing Sunday's presidential election and refusing to comply with ‌a Supreme Court order to hand over his passports...

(head in hands) please do not be heading to Horizon West (head thunking table) please do not be heading to Horizon West (thunk thunk)

Reuters@reuters.com

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro left the country for the US after losing the presidential election and refusing to comply with ‌a Supreme Court order to hand over his passports, two sources said reut.rs/4yPS0Fp

That said, and not to necessarily be one of THOSE people, this seems like a good time to remind the media that Horizon West shares a zip code with Winter Garden, Florida, but is not part of the incorporated city.

Plumber has departed, and at the risk of sounding overly optimistic, things - might be functional again?

patreon.comGet more from Mari Ness on PatreonGet more from Mari Ness on Patreon. Join for free or become a member for just $1/month. Here be poetry.And dragons.Welcome! I'm Mari Ness, speculative…

That said (looks at plumbing invoice) have I mentioned that I have a patreon? It seems like a good time to mention that I have a patreon: patreon.com/mari_ness

I was hoping that the plumber would be finished before that short story thread was, but alas, no. Plumber is still here.

kickstarter.comApex Magazine 2027An award-winning digital literary journal of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.

....if you enjoyed any of the stories I've linked below, you might want to check out the ongoing Apex Kickstarter, which is hoping to bring all of us more brilliant fiction in the future....and in the meantime, has cool merch for right now: www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

Mari Ness, writer of things@mariness.bsky.social

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

apexbookcompany.comCopper, Iron, Blood and LoveIn the village of Sandel they tell a tale of how a raven once flew into the village to give a woman seven fine children. Of how these children grew tall a...

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

So Perrault KNEW about this, but apparently assumed that adding masses of presumably valuable cut diamonds to the economy would be just fine. (The same issue is present, but not discussed, in "Rumpelstiltskin.")

I didn't really want to get into the economics of this all that much, but I did want to explore the rest of the aftermath - and find out what might have happened to that one sister, cursed for life because of one incident, and the face she was born with.

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

Obviously, a lot going on here - including the sense that beautiful women are expected to perform for a prince or a king, AND ALSO provide money if possible. But my main thought here has always been HOW IS ANY OF THIS SUSTAINABLE?

Perrault's version of "Diamonds and Toads" was written after Europeans had learned, painfully, about currency fluctuations caused after a sudden increase in gold/silver to the economy.

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

The ugly sister, naturally, has to deal with snakes and frogs hopping or slithering out of her mouth. The beautiful sister is sometimes lucky enough to spit out pearls; sometimes unlucky enough to spit out sharp diamonds and rubies.

Naturally, a nearby prince or king is like, beauty AND AN ENDLESS SUPPLY OF GEMS? Yep, I'm putting a ring on this immediately. (Many versions explicitly note the greed of the prince/king here in this happy ending.)

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

This story deals with the aftermath of one of the most horrifying - in my opinion - fairy tales out there: "Diamonds and Toads," which exists in multiple versions in French, Italian, German and English. The Perrault version is probably the best known.

In most versions two sisters - or stepsisters - find a well tended by a fairy or a witch. The ugly sister is rude; the beautiful sister polite. After the encounter, for the rest of their lives, whenever they speak, SOMETHING pops out of their mouths.

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

(I started writing "This Is the Moment" back in 2019, pre-Covid; it was pulled from another story, which is still in progress. I can - sometimes - write a short story or poem in a day or two, or even faster, but in general I am not one of genre's faster writers.)

apexbookcompany.comCarnival Ever AfterJust six private showings this evening. Six. She pressed her lips together. Perhaps shifting to these smaller performances had not been the best idea. Tru...

"Carnival Ever After." www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

The moment I finished writing this story I was like, omg, no one is ever going to publish it - because not only does it mention Covid-19 and the lockdowns, that forms a tiny part of the plot. I did think of rewriting it to remove those mentions, but -

- look, sometimes it's just easier to draw from real life. And I think sometimes those moments can give a needed grounding to a speculative story. Plus, you know, I wasn't able to finish writing it until the lockdowns and the vaccines and everything opening up later.

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

The growing surveillance state. Something that has only gotten worse since I wrote this story.

apexbookcompany.comThis Is the Moment, Or One of ThemThis is the moment when we first met. I watch as we exchange names with the rest of the group, listen intently to the instructor, reach for the clay and o...

"This Is the Moment, or One of Them." www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

apexbookcompany.comInhabiting Your SkinNarrated by Lisa Shininger The house won’t stop talking to you. You’ve tried to turn it off, several times, but it keeps happily turning itself back on, w...

Ok, back to Apex, with "Inhabiting Your Skin." www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

a, yes, this story IS told in the second person, a voice I enjoy playing with. b, this story came out of a LOT of places - medical testing, certainly, home repairs, also certainly, but mostly -

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

I've worked on some variations of this story in a few poems as well. Here's Feather, which originally appeared in Goblin Fruit back in the day: medium.com/@marikness/f...

medium.comFeather1

firesidefiction.comGood PeopleLater, they said it was the way she kept watching the sky, the way she kept bending to stare at the castle swans. The way they kept finding nettles scattered...

And here's "Good People," published in Fireside back in the day: firesidefiction.com/good-people

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

Thing is, what with all the marrying a prince (she usually marries a prince or a king while doing all of this weaving) AND the suspicions and the trial not to mention all the ok, making thread out of these nettles, PAINFUL. LIKE REALLY PAINFUL. HANDS BLEEDING PAINFUL....

She doesn't quite manage to finish the shirts. So one brother is left partly transformed. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to him.

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

In most versions, she also must remain silent as she weaves the shirts. A single word, and her brothers will remain swans. Naturally, people find this all VERY suspicious, and in most versions, she finds herself tied to a stake. And although she's about to be burned alive --

SHE STILL WEAVES AND SEWS DESPERATELY AT THE LAST SHIRT even though, hi, upcoming death. The swan brothers either arrive just in time to put out the flames or just before their swan transformations cannot be done. She throws the shirts at them.

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

apexbookcompany.comUndoneThey have done everything they can to hide the arm. One of the finest needlewomen in the court created an elaborate sling, decorated with jewels and feath...

"Undone." Did I mention my love of exploring the untold stories in fairy tales? www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

"Undone" is more or less based on the old tale of a girl who must weave shirts out of sharp, stinging nettles in order to save her brothers, who have been transformed into swans. In some versions she has seven brothers, in others twelve.

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

apexbookcompany.comAn Assault of ColorThe curses were the loveliest, and most satisfying, to paint. She could see them in her mind, even before she picked up a brush, pulsing and glowing with ...

Whoops, forgot to add the link: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

At last count I had about fifteen unfinished stories set in this universe, plus notes for a novel series. I keep telling myself to finish them. And yet....well. I do keep adding words from time to time. From time to time.

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

The idea of ritualistic dueling/death is not new, of course, but I wanted to add a bit of a family element to it. And explore what happens to families who decide to stick with the rules....

"An Assault of Color." This is often listed as one of my best stories. It's also one of my stories that gives me the biggest guilt trip: "An Assault of Color" is set an in alternative universe, of course, and one that I keep meaning to explore more.

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

But I also wanted to play with language and rhythm and form and talk about how fairy tales are created, not just by poets. Thus this story.

apexbookcompany.comLabyrinthIn the center of the labyrinth, I wait. He may not come. Not all do. Some, deciding that a refusal to participate was a form of protest, merely sit near t...

Next up, "Labyrinth," www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

....ok, a quick thread about the short stories I've published in Apex! Starting with "Copper, Iron, Blood, and Love," an original fairy tale: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

My favorite bit of this story, by far: "The tales of the poet are quite straightforward: that he came to the village, saw the raven’s daughter, and found himself robbed of words, and later went to do something more useful than poetry. This is not a tale frequently told by poets."

Anyway. It's not really a secret at this point, I suppose, that I love fairy tales. And as much as I love exploring the untold parts of fairy tales (coming up in this thread) one thing I always, always, wanted to do was to tell NEW fairy tales. Like this one.

Hmm. Since I'm clearly not going to get much done until the plumber stops banging on things, something that is also clearly not going to happen in the next minute or two, AND since Apex is funding a kickstarter - maybe I should say a few words about my short stories in Apex?

@lesleyconner.bsky.social

It's honestly almost a relief these days to be spammed with stuff about some "Antarctic super nutrient" instead of yet another generative-AI written solicitation about my book. Almost. Not just because I suspect that this "Antarctic super nutrient" thing was also "written" with generative AI.

Mari Ness, writer of things reposted

Lesley Conner

Good morning! The Apex Magazine 2027 Kickstarter is starting the day $2,861 away from our funding goal. Thank you to everyone who backed and shared the campaign yesterday! I added a couple of new rewards. A print bundle of the Eco anthologies and critiques by me. www.kickstarter.com/projects/ape...

kickstarter.comApex Magazine 2027An award-winning digital literary journal of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.

Poor little Melody Cat just ENCOUNTERED THE PLUMBER. FOLKS THE TERROR WAS REAL. To her ETERNAL CREDIT, the plumber BACKED AWAY, told her that she was a BEAUTIFUL CAT (because she is!) and she very wisely decided to keep defending the futon area.

(I brought Mickey Cat and Melody Cat home during the Covid shutdowns. This ended up massively reducing their human contact - and although Mickey was clearly handled by humans who then abandoned him, Melody was from a feral litter.)

(Melody has mellowed over time, but she's still kinda feral, and although Mickey was mellow to begin with, he still finds that hiding from strangers is the best and safest approach.)

Plumber has arrived. Everyone spare a thought or two for three little cats who had EMPTY FOOD BOWLS THIS MORNING, only TWO CAT TREATS EACH, and now must DEAL WITH A STRANGER IN THEIR HOUSE.