Nancy Jane Moore’s poem “Retirement Dream” is now available at Strange Horizons.
The rest of the issue — another poem, a story, and a review — all look quite interesting as well.
Go forth and read!
Author: Crow, Editor
Nancy Jane on Her Favorite Reads of 2023
Over at Ambling Along the Aqueduct, Nancy Jane Moore has contributed a piece on her favorite books (and a couple of other things) from 2023.
Her post is number 31 in a series of pieces by Aqueduct Press authors and friends on what books, movies, music, and related things moved them last year. Read them all and find some more books for your TBR pile or movies you have to go see.
Nancy Jane Reads at Story Hour
Treehouse resident Nancy Jane Moore will be reading online at Story Hour this Wednesday September 6 at 7 pm PDT with Kathleen Jennings. You can catch the show via Zoom or Facebook Live.
Story Hour is hosted by Daniel Marcus and Laura Blackwell. Every Wednesday two authors each read a complete story. Past shows can be viewed on Facebook.
Nancy Jane Moore on What She Read in 2022
Over on Ambling Along the Aqueduct, Treehouse resident Nancy Jane Moore discusses the books she read in 2022. She begins her report “The hardest thing about writing this report is that there are many books in my house that would make it if only I had found time to read them,” so if there’s something you think should be on this list, it’s likely sitting in a pile somewhere at her place.
Nancy’s “Pleasures of Reading, Viewing, and Listening” is Number 27 in the series of reports from Aqueduct Press authors, with more still on the way. Since these reports are never limited to books or other media from the calendar year, they offer a wide-ranging list of things you maybe never even thought about wanting to read or see or listen to. Check them out.
Happy Thanksgiving
Sorrow and Joy in History
[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from the British writer Jacey Bedford, whose latest book, The Amber Crown, came out January 11.]
By Jacey Bedford
The king is dead, his queen is missing. On the amber coast, the usurper king is driving Zavonia to the brink of war. A dangerous magical power is rising up in Biela Miasto, and the only people who can set things right are a failed bodyguard, a Landstrider witch, and the assassin who set off the whole sorry chain of events.
I love stealing from history for my fantasy books. When I was researching for The Amber Crown, which has a Baltic setting, I found some fantastic nuggets from the pages of history that turned into inspiration. I offer two examples, one so gory and grim that it makes you wonder who thought it up in the first place, and whether they were entirely sane. The other is so fantastic that my critique group thought I’d made it up, but I just transplanted it straight from history.
Grim enough to be Grimdark
Let’s get the grim one out of the way first – execution by sawing. I don’t put this on the page in all its gory detail, but 
one character thinks it might be his fate, another reflects on it after seeing it take place. We tend to know about hanging, drawing and quartering. The drawing by the way was being drawn to the place of execution on a hurdle, not having the guts drawn out of the belly while still alive. So the victim was drawn through the streets, hanged and then his body cut into quarters. So really it should be drawn, hanged and quartered, in that order.
Accounts differ, but sawing, with a two-handed saw, could be across the body, or lengthways down the body starting at either end. The medieval illustration in Wikipedia shows that they tied the victim upside down on a frame, legs apart, and then began to saw them in half, lengthways, starting at the crotch. The theory was that because they were upside down the blood drained towards the head and so they didn’t bleed out, or pass out, quickly, but stayed alive and screaming while being butchered like an ox. It’s hideous, so I reserved it for traitors and king killers. In The Amber Crown it’s a character we haven’t met who suffers this fate, so it’s not as personal as if it’s a character we’ve already become invested in, though, sadly, it is an innocent man. Continue reading “Sorrow and Joy in History”…
Helicon Lifetime Achievement Award Goes to Jeffrey A. Carver!
Treehouse Editor Crow is excited to report that Treehouse author Jeffrey A. Carver has been named recipient of this year’s Helicon Society’s Frank Herbert Lifetime Achievement Award!
From his perch in the treetop, Carver responds, “This came to me as a bolt out of the blue. The Helicon Awards are announced each year by the Helicon Society, ‘a collective of SF/F authors and other creators who subscribe to the Superversive approach to creating SF/F media and look to promote good quality sci-fi/fantasy…’ The judges and membership are anonymous. They have been announcing these awards since 2019. I am humbled and gratified that they have found my work worthy of a lifetime achievement award! Thank you.”
Here are the past winners of Helicon’s Frank Herbert Lifetime Achievement Award:
- 2019 – Jack McDevitt
- 2020 – Anne McCaffrey
- 2021 – David Weber
- 2022 – Jeffrey A. Carver
Carver is delighted to join their ranks.
See the recipients in other categories here. Congratulations to all of them!
What the Humans have been Up To
The humans have been busy working on a book together. This is something we crows have not seen them do before. The book is in honor of someone they knew who died. We do know about honoring the dead.
They call this book Bright Morning, and they have filled it full of stories. Being the resident editor of the Treehouse, I looked it over. There are no stories about crows, but there are some about horses, dogs, and dragons, so that’s all right. At least the humans are thinking about beings other than just themselves.
Here is their announcement about the book, and a picture of the cover. There will be a paper book with a shiny cover next month, they say.
Vonda N. McIntyre preferred to keep her author’s biography short and sweet: “Vonda N. McIntyre writes science fiction.” While true, this modest claim conceals accomplishments that earned her multiple accolades and an enduring place among the most influential fantasy and science fiction writers of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Even more important to the authors of this tribute anthology, McIntyre was a kind and generous supporter of other writers. In Bright Morning, eleven career writers of science fiction, fantasy, and other genres share stories of hope in her honor, along with their memories of working with McIntyre. Profits from the anthology will benefit a charity that promotes literacy for children all over the world.
Bright Morning
An Anthology of Hopeful Tales
In Honor of Vonda N. McIntyre
from the Treehouse Writers
edited by Deborah J. Ross
Order Bright Morning from your favorite bookseller
Award-Eligible Works by Treehouse Residents
As 2021 draws to a close, writers in the Treehouse want to call attention to the new works they published this year. These works are eligible for writing awards based on year of publication. These works include three novels, a novella, and three short stories that are already in print.
Additionally, four of the stories in the forthcoming anthology Bright Morning, which will be published on December 20, 2021, qualify as short stories. Bright Morning, edited by Treehouse resident Deborah Ross, honors the late Vonda N. McIntyre. All proceeds go to Room to Read, a nonprofit supporting literacy and education for girls.
Novels:
A Valentine for One – book 8, Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries, by Patrice Greenwood. August 2021. (mystery)
The Green Children Help Out, by Gillian Polack ( (fantasy)
For the Good of the Realm, June 2021 by Nancy Jane Moore (fantasy)
Novella:
“Intermezzo – Household Matters” – novella, tie-in to Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries, by Patrice Greenwood. January 2021. (mystery)
Short Stories:
“Mannikin,” by Madeleine Robins in the March/April 2021 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. (science fiction)
“The Missing Forget-Me-Nots,” – mystery short story, tie-in to Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries, by Patrice Greenwood. August 2021. (mystery)
“Karen’s Secret Story,” by Gillian Polack (science fiction)
Original Stories from Bright Morning (forthcoming December 20), all science fiction:
“Sanitizing the Safe House,” by Leah Cutter.
“More Lasting Than Bronze,” by Judith Tarr.
“Panacea,” by Pati Nagle.
“Harden,” by Gillian Polack.
Readings From the Treehouse
Treehouse residents Nancy Jane Moore, Madeleine E. Robins, and Gillian Polack are all reading on Sunday, July 25, beginning at 5 pm PDT as part of FOGcon’s Authors Read.
Nancy is a featured reader along with San Francisco author Claire Light, and Madeleine and Gillian are part of the rapid-fire readers participating in FOGcon’s ongoing virtual event program.
The current schedule is three rapid readers, followed by Claire, then a break before three more rapid readers. Nancy will close the readings. There will be time for questions and the event will close with breakout rooms with each of the featured readers.
All of this takes place on Zoom. Register here to get the Zoom link.