Quick Sips 12/16/2022

Snow. It has officially returned here where I live in Wisconsin, and I’m not a huge fan. I don’t exactly hate the snow. I’m well used to it now, really, having lived with it for so long. But it’s also a pain in the ass, and shoveling it is never my idea of a good time. But it’s here, and that’s what’s happened. Sigh. Other than that…well…there’s not a huge amount to tell.

Quick Sips 12/09/2022 Eligibility Post

It's the end of the year so I guess it's time that I do an eligibility post? That is what people do, and as much as I am struggling at the moment with most things, I will push myself to try. Because, while it's possible I did a little less in 2022 than 2021, it's not like I still haven't done...a lot. My fiction output might not be the highest, but I've still written many reviews, lists, and other things to help people navigate short speculative fiction, as well as co-edited with the amazing L.D. Lewis the second volume of We're Here: The Year's Best Queer Speculative Fiction. So for ease, I'll separate out my award eligible work into three categories.

Quick Sips 12/02/2022

Still here. Still trying. That’s basically my mantra as we move toward the end of the year. There’s a lot yet to do (so, so much yet to do), but I’m determined to do it, and to maybe catch myself up some. Patrons will have noticed that I slid way behind on Sips of the Week, and I’m starting to catch back up. Hopefully I’ll manage to close the year out strong on that. Some other things are still in the works. My recommended reading list is A Mess. My extra projects likewise. But I have gotten through worse. I will get through this. Thank you so much to everyone’s support during all this. You’re wonderful.

Quick Sips 11/04/2022

Wow I’m behind on a lot of things. Hmm. I mean, I guess it’s about time to check back in with how the year is going, and what’s working, and what’s not. After all, I’ve made some big changes over the last year, effectively stepping back from Quick Sip Reviews and stepping into my role as a columnist at Locus. I’ve also been settling in as series editor of We’re Here, and that’s been something as well. But…well, we’ll get there.

Quick Sips 10/28/2022

Apologies for skipping last week, but things have been a bit busy around here. After the dog-tastrophe that happened a few weekends ago, there was the car trouble, and after the car trouble (or more like around the car trouble), there's been helping my husband get through some surgery and recuperating, and after and around that, M'Ress has a little cold. That, and *still* dealing with the non-profit drama with the local non-profit, though that hopefully will be improving (I live in hope). Just general screaming, really.

Quick Sips 10/14/2022

I’m a bit late in writing this up this week, mostly because it’s a weird time of year and this week has just been A Bit Much. First, one of our cars broke down and has been in the shop for the last week, which means we’re back to sharing a car. It…mostly works, in that Matt works 3rd shift (nights) and I work either 1st or 2nd shift (mornings or evenings). Because of my evening shift, and because that’s what I work more often, there’s really no conflict there (unless Matt gets called in by the hospital). But when I work mornings there’s really no time in between our shifts so I have been having to get in a little late and stay a little late. Not a huge deal, but I was also running an event for National Coming Out Day and have in general been trying to do other things and just…yeah, it’s a bit much. But I’m trying.

Quick Sips 10/07/2022

We made it to October! Spooky season can officially begin! Though in truth, I’m not 100% sure I know how to celebrate. At the moment, I’m trying to enjoy that we recently bought a new bed frame (our first big “adult” furniture purchase), which is indeed quite nice. Unfortunately, our dog Leia has been sick and that has meant having to clean a lot of carpet with Resolve and ewwwwww. Anyway, that aside, I’m also rather deep into a number of projects and trying to take moments to appreciate just how awesome it is to have a gold Ignyte Award medal of my very own (so cool!). I’m here, trying to try.

Quick Sips 09/30/2022

For those who hadn’t seen it yet, We’re Here 2021 is now released and out in the world! It is super pretty thanks to cover artwork by Paul Kellam, who did a fabulous and colorful cover for Fiyah and whose Insta is incredibly gay and thirsty so obviously it was a fabulous fit for the second year of We’re Here. I do recommend people check out snag a print copy as soon as possible, because they tend to go fast. But it’s exciting launching year two now that the inaugural volume is a Locus and Ignyte award winner. Onward!

Quick Sips 09/23/2022

It turns out We’re Here 2020 won an Ignyte Award! Which means that I, as one of its editors, gets a shiny gold medal! Fucking right! I am incredibly honored by this, and incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to work with C.L. Clark and all the authors featured in the anthology. I was a bit too shocked and fuddled during the ceremony to make a great speech (in part because I think I was booted from the stage before I could and then wasn’t sure what was happening so I panicked to some extent), but basically what I was trying to say is that I’m incredibly grateful that I can do something that I love, that is all about reading great stories and sharing them. The hard work, that of the authors who wrote and got the works published previously, is arguably the more difficult, but I’m really happy all the same to be a part of it, and am floored that the We’re Here 2020 went undefeated for the awards it was up for. Thanks to everyone who voted for it!!!

Quick Sips 09/16/2022

So I’m back to being behind on things…kind of. I mean, I did catch up on Sip of the Week posts (and hope to have another one out today for patrons, but I also just feel behind in general. Most of that is purely personal—for whatever reason there’s a lot going on. Some of it’s good, some of it’s not so good, and all of it is taking something of a toll. So the struggle bus continues to roll its way.

Quick Sips 09/09/2022

Well, I didn’t win a Hugo Award. Indeed, Quick Sip Reviews ended up tied for fifth place with the estimable The Full Lid. Which is about as high as I’ve ever placed in the Hugo Awards. So it’s humbling in many ways—in that I’m humbled to be honored as a Hugo finalist, and in that I’m faced once more that I’ll probably never reach that particular brass ring, or at least not as a dedicated short fiction reviewer. Which…fair. As I’ve said before, what I do is rather niche, and it’s hard to be particularly angry that it means that it’s always going to be a far stretch to compete with projects/blogs/writers who cover a wider (and arguably more popular) field.

Quick Sips 09/02/2022

So it’s WorldCon week and alas I am not going to be there in person. It’s my fifth year as a hugo finalist, and I’ve only been able to attend in person once, though for the past three years that has been at least in part pandemic related. The rest has been down to not being able to afford to go. Indeed, the only way I attended in San Jose was because there was such an effort to get finalists there who couldn’t otherwise afford. It was incredibly appreciated, and definitely a highlight in my time as a finalist. I had hoped, what with Chicago so close, that this year was going to be a sure thing, but some complications, including a lingering pandemic, have made it impossible. Boo.

Quick Sips 08/26/2022

[apologies this is getting up late, but Friday I wasn't feeling great and so I've been low key the last few days and starting to catch up now. Thanks for understanding!]

Hi all! This week brings a mild annoyance of my air conditioner not working, which is kinda blah as it’s been warm (though admittedly not nearly as hot as many places in the country and world where things are much more so). Perhaps not surprisingly it’s made sleeping more difficult, as I like to sleep in the cold and even in the basement it’s been warm. Sigh. Anyway, a service person is coming out and at least now the prospect of a bill of an air conditioner fix or even a new air conditioner isn’t something that’s doing its own kind of chilling. I’m sure we’ll be able to afford whatever it is, though it’s still rather unwelcome. Plops.

Quick Sips 08/19/2022

So there’s not a whole lot to report right now in the land of me. I am busily working to turning in my next Locus column, and have read a whole lot to get that done (another 90+ month). That has put me behind on some other things, like recommendations, but I hope to catch up on those soon too. Until then, I’m just trying to try.

Quick Sips 08/12/2022

Hello again! By the time this releases publicly, voting for the Hugos will have closed, and I hope if you had a membership you took the time to vote. It’s a slightly strange place to be in, as a finalist once more in the Fanzine category, in part because it’ll likely be the last time that QSR is up for that prestigious award, which means it might also be my final time as a finalist. Maybe not, but there’s a strong chance. Coming off of winning the Locus, I find that it’s a little harder to push down the hope that QSR might win this year, but I also know that historically my little review blog that could doesn’t fare well in the final voting, so I will try not to let myself hope.

Quick Sips 08/05/2022

So voting closes for the Hugo awards on the 11th, and that means there’s less than ten days left to get those ballots in. Of course, I am up in the Fanzine category for Quick Sip Reviews (for the fourth year in a row) and would definitely be honored by any consideration during voting. It’s a little weird, as this might be the last time that QSR will be really eligible, given that it’s most just my weekly hot takes these days. But for seven years it was a source of wide short SFF coverage, and last year was its biggest year to date.

Quick Sips 07/29/2022

So not a whole lot to report this week. Travel for some medical stuff (I’m okay) is taking up a lot of my time and otherwise I’m waiting to get a new phone after suffering through going to the Verizon store (twice) and finally picking out a new phone and plan. Not exactly my idea of a good time. That plus non-profit stuff and starting to get ready for the release of We’re Here 2021 (which got a nice review from Publisher’s Weekly) has meant that I’m busy without having a huge amount to show for it (though hopefully soon at least I’ll have that phone).

Quick Sips 07/22/2022

Hi all! The good news is that I turned in my Locus column for the month (on time! Woo!) and have been very busy releasing some exciting things in my non-profit work. It has meant that I’m probably not as far as I’d like in my reading for next month, which will be another doozy, but I think I’m not in the worst place to get it done. So things continue. In sad news, my ability to attend WorldCon in person this year has fallen through, and I am rather bummed about that because I was hoping I’d be able to, it being in my quasi-hometown of Chicago (I’m from the suburbs). So…yeah.

Quick Sips 07/15/2022

Literally I’m mostly just reading this week. June turned out to be a behemoth of a month for short SFF releases, and July is no slouch either, what with a lot of the quarterlies I cover putting out works. That means without even counting Lightspeed and Fantasy, which have been a little late in getting out review materials this month, I’m staring down over 100 works of short SFF, including 30 from Decoded Pride and another ~20 from Strange Horizons thanks to the fund drive issue. Eff. As such, I might be pushing off reviewing the August LS/FM until next month (which might also include the September issues if those are out a little earlier next month). Just another month in the life of a short SFF reviewer.

Quick Sips 07/08/2022

Greetings all! Time has a way of getting away from me, but I’m doing my best I swear. This week has been a mixture of all things—stress, despair, excitement, pain, ambition. It’s just…difficult to exist in a time where everything seems on the verge of collapse. Which isn’t really new, historically speaking. So I’ve been devoting more time to my non-profit work for the local queer center and pushing more so that we can hopefully move to help people locally in building connections and networks to survive and to fight back against oppression and injustice. Which…I mean, it’s work but it’s also I feel important work. We’ll see how it goes.

Quick Sips 07/01/2022

Hey, so I guess I’m a Locus Award winner, huh? Or, to be more specific, We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020, co-edited by C.L. Clark and myself is a Locus Award winner, with tons of thanks and credit to the authors whose works we were fortunate enough to help spotlight and promote. It really is an honor to win an award, and for a project that I am so happy to be a part of. Our very first year, and it’s phenomenal to see the support in this way. Wow. It’s my first award win in general, and my first as an editor as well, which is pretty fantastic. Just really really happy here. I’ll need to clear some space on my writing shelf.

Quick Sips 06/24/2022

Hi all! I’m trying to dig my way clear to daylight, but please bear with me as my schedule slowly unfucks itself. The good news is that I did manage to turn my Locus column in on time (covering work mainly from May, June, and July though with a quick look back at some April stuff I was made aware of). And I’m actually catching up on some reading outside of my Locus responsibilities (moving through the last two months of Nightmare, The Dark, The Deadlands, Uncanny, and Apex). So there’s lots of good reading I’m getting in.

Quick Sips 06/17/2022

So apologies that I missed last week. Truly I am a mess right now, and having had Pride last weekend and three different Pride-related events that I ran the week before that meant that doing much of anything…wasn’t happening. The good news there is that things did go fairly well! There was some weather that threatened to make our Pride celebration something of a wash-out, but it lifted into a beautiful day and in the end it was great! But the bad news is that I’m behind on EVERYTHING. And unfortunately I’ve not had a great time getting my Patreon to work on certain things and limited time and ability to really dig into fixing it. So the behind-ness continues. I will dig myself out! I swear it!

Quick Sips 06/03/2022

It's my birthday! Which probably isn't huge news to many people, but it's slightly a big deal to me. I'm 3...6? Yes, I think that's right. Part of the last few has been a general sense that time is made up so I did have to think about that and do the math to figure it out. Still in the meaty "mid-thirties" but by no means in my "early thirties" anymore. I mean, 35 is already not "early thirties" but you can almost pretend. The pretending is over now as I settle with grace into whatever weird categories of age I fit into now.

Quick Sips 05/27/2022

Hi everyone! I think we’ve hit a point where I’m just a mess, somehow animate from momentum and the will to not look down and realize that there is no ground beneath me. Meaning, of course, that I’m trying to get ready for WisCon, my first in-person anything since COVID began, plus all the work going on with my non-profit work getting ready for our biggest time of the year, and all that while trying to hit deadlines, help my overworked husband survive having worked in a hospital for the last three years while management continues to suck at approving PTO or hiring new people, and… it’s a lot.

On the plus side, I did indeed manage to turn in my sixth column for Locus, and it’s actually shorter than the month previous, which is a first for me. And as said above, I’m getting ready to attend WisCon this year. It will be my…fifth? Sixth? Anyway, definitely the convention I’ve been to the most, and I’m always excited to attend and get to bask in the creative energies. Very much looking forward to it. Which means I should probably share my schedule. So here is my full WisCon schedule, which makes for a very busy Sunday.

The Very Model of a Modern Mutant Metaphor? Capitol B • Power, Privilege, and Oppression • Sat 10:00 AM–11:15 AM

Let's dig deep into the mutant metaphor - where comics' mutant identity serves as a stand in for real world marginalizations like race, sexuality and disability. When does it work, when does it fail, and why?

You Must Be "This Bi" To Enter Capitol A • Power, Privilege, and Oppression • Sun 10:00 AM–11:15 AM

A pervasive anxiety for many bi and pan people is that we aren't bi "enough." Maybe we've mostly or only dated people of one gender. Or we're monogamously married and people tell us we've "chosen a side." Or we feel romantic attraction for all genders but sexual attraction for only one or two/or vice versa. Let's honestly confront these anxieties, together! What does your bi or pan identity look like? How have you felt the not-bi-enough pressure, and what have you done to push back against it?

Finding Queer Joy Amongst the Chaos Wisconsin • Power, Privilege, and Oppression • Sun 1:00 PM–2:15 PM

Queer people have unique coping mechanisms through community, creativity, and activism to negotiate everyday problems, and political and environmental challenges. How do we find, celebrate, nurture, and sustain queer joy? What could previous queer generations teach us about prevailing? What creative systems need to be created, uplifted, fixed, or destroyed to allow queer joy to thrive? And what current creative endeavors speak directly to queer joy in our chaotic political climate?

How Dead Is the Author? University B • Reading, Viewing, and Critiquing Science Fiction • Sun 2:30 PM–3:45 PM

In the age of social media, the boundaries between creators and fans have never been so porous. How do fans navigate this real or perceived closeness, and how does it influence our response to the work? Are we living in a new cult of author personality, and how does that affect what we choose to read? Does swapping fic recs and dog pics with our faves make us more generous readers, or is it really true that you should never tweet your heroes?

The SignOut Capitol/Wisconsin • Special Events • Mon 11:30 AM–12:45 PM

Come sign your works, get things signed, chat with authors, hang out, and wind down as WisCon ends.

Not too much else to report for now. Busy busy so I will cut myself off here. Cheers!

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Quick Sips 05/20/2022

Well there’s some good news to share—We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020 made it into the top 10 of Locus Finalists! Thanks to everyone who voted for our fantastically queer anthology! Alas, The Burning Day did not make the top 10, but it was still wonderful to see it on the recommended reading list. Super happy that We’re Here is not a Locus and Ignyte finalist! It’s a huge honor, especially as a debut editor. And We’re Here 2021 is marching closer to completion as well, and I can’t wait to share that with the world as well. Just a lot of joy here.

Quick Sips 05/13/2022

Hey, a Friday the 13th. Spooky. There’s not a huge amount to report at the moment, though. I do have some good news I cannot yet share with you all, but rest assured it is good, and news, and…uh…that’s about all I can say. I’m otherwise just mostly trying to stay on top of my various projects and such. A week to go until I turn in my sixth Locus column, which means I’ve been doing this for six months already, which is just wild. I…think I’m settling into things. I think. Maybe. Yes? We’ll go with that. It’s definitely more manageable than last year was.

Quick Sips 05/06/2022

So the news has been rather front and center lately, and though I probably won’t say much on social media about it in order to amplify and center voices most impacted by what’s going on, and in order to keep my own sanity as I work with my local non-profit and allies to push for change there, I do want to offer whatever hopes I can for justice and comfort both to people as a new round of fighting gears up for human rights. I support everyone’s access to abortion and medical care that’s appropriate and right for them. This is bullshit. We will fight.

Quick Sips 04/29/2022

Well everything is speeding right along this year, isn't it? At least it seems like there's a bit of a relentless tide of things to do and deadlines to hit these days. I did turn in my latest Locus column (what's that, my fifth already?), and I'm working on finalizing my We're Here intro/editorial. I've got some award jury things to start poking at (for the Eugie Foster) and there's convention programming surveys galore! I'm definitely on programming at this year's WisCon (I'll try to share my schedule sometime soon) and hopefully will be on programming at ChiCon 8 (I have filled out the long questionnaire thing). Meanwhile I booked the hotel for WisCon and need to get on that for ChiCon.

Quick Sips 04/22/2022

Well the good news keeps on coming this awards season—it went public on Monday that I am an Ignyte Award finalist! This is technically my third time being up for an Ignyte, which are probably my favorite awards around at the moment, organized as they are by the incredible Fiyah Literary Magazine. Though it’s the third time, it’s also a first for me—the first time that I’m up for an award as a fiction editor. Because rather than the Critic Award, I’m a finalist as part of the editorial team (with the fantastic C. L. Clark) of We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020 in the Best Anthology/Collection category. This is a huge honor, and I am humbled to be in some very very great company. Not only to be up with C. L., who is amazing (and also up in the novel category for The Unbroken), but amongst some wonderful other short SFF projects.

Quick Sips 04/15/2022

So I’m a 2022 Hugo Award Finalist!!! More specifically, Quick Sip Reviews is a finalist in the Best Fanzine category, but as I am the editor and sole contributor, that means for the seventh time (and fifth year in a row) I am up for the rocket. I am incredibly honored to be recognized like this and grateful to everyone who nominated me. Thank you!!! That does mean I’ll have to figure out what to do about a Hugo Voter Packet, which will probably be even more difficult than usual, because the structural changes made last year mean that most of my posts were quite similar. I’ll just have to pick some good ones!

Quick Sips 04/08/2022

Somehow we’re already fairly deep into April. How dare! Seriously it’s hard to wrap my head around the year already being a quarter over, but I guess here we are. I don’t necessarily feel all that much closer to my goals of “try to do less other things and write more creatively” but…uh…that’s largely my own damn fault, likely. I mean, it’s probably most to do with general burnout and just not being able to dig myself out of the hole that I created over the last few years. Especially with everything being a fucking crisis, from local elections to world events. But I’m trying. That’s…something.

REVIEW: The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg

I have been fortunate enough to be reading short SFF during a lot of the development and release of R.B. Lemberg's Birdverse stories. And doubly fortunate to get the chance to read the first Birdverse novel, The Unbalancing, which is dropping in September but is very much available for preorders now. Though releasing after the last Birdverse novella, The Four Profound Weaves, The Unbalancing reaches back into the history of the setting to look at the fate of the Star of the Tides, an event that has echoed through the Birdverse. Before I give too much away, though, let's dive right into the review!

Quick Sips 04/01/2022

Where I live spring is trying to make an appearance. The snow is melted, which is nice, but the temperatures are still rather cold. I do wish it would turn over fully to warmer weather because, while I don’t hate the cold of winter, it gets old around March and, well… here we are. The changing seasons has brought some expected and unexpected headaches with it. Car issues that have left us with one car for a bit over a week. Cat issues that have been…not great, though M’Ress does seem to be recovering from here…whatever it was. And I have been getting to some more reading, which is nice. Mostly not-for-review stuff, and there have been some strong issues out from Apex, Uncanny, Nightmare, and more. Good times.

Quick Sips 03/25/2022

Hi all! Apologies for skipping last week’s weekly update. There was some unexpected medical travel (I’m fine) that made for a bit of a crunch in my schedule, given my fourth Locus column was due on the 20th. So I opted to skip so I could get to what I wanted to get to for that (and even then, I wasn’t entirely successful, though I did get my column in on deadline if again a little over-wordcount). But I’m back now, not that I’m any closer to figuring out what I want to do with this space besides generally unwind and blog and touch on this or that. I might add in other things as I recover and get into a place where I’m not so…burned out all the time. Which, I mean…might be getting a little better? Sigh. We’ll see. I’m a work in progress.

Quick Sips 03/11/2022

Hi all. Happy week! Both too little and too much to report in my world, but I will make the effort. I’m moving through my reading for my next Locus column. I had some space and had received a review copy a while ago so I decided to add Reckoning #6 to the pile and have no regrets on that front. I’m actually mostly waiting for some review copies to slip free from April to finish up my reading for review. I do have a few ARCs to get through, though, either for review or blurbing. I am behind on a lot, though, and one of my goals for the next month is to organize my email and discover just what has slipped through the cracks over the last year. Sure to be a humbling situation.

Quick Sips 03/04/2022

Hi all! It’s weird, the world being what it is. I don’t tend to write much about politics or news outside of SFF in this space, and that’s not really going to change now. Not because I lack for opinions, and strong ones, but because I try to keep my actions in those areas more focused on doing rather than saying. And eff, there’s a lot to do.

My second column at Locus Magazine is out now, though. Check out the little teaser image below the bump if you want to see what I’m reviewing this month. It’s still weird to see my name in a publication like Locus, because for so long that’s been the Big Name SFF Periodical for me. I was so happy when I could afford a print subscription two years ago, and to now see me is a bit surreal still. But also exciting. I turned in my edits for my third column, and I’m busily reading for my fourth. Onward!

Quick Sips 02/25/2022

I do kind of apologize that in some ways these weekly updates are place holders. By that I mean that I do like to keep readers up to date on what’s going on with me, but I also feel bad that I haven’t quite figured out what to do in this space yet. For over seven years Quick Sip Reviews has been a large part of my day, of my life. Not just because it took a great deal of time and effort, but because I also needed it, needed the money I earned from it through Patreon and the other paid work I could get writing nonfiction, doing online classes, etc. It was regular, mostly consistent money in a time when more than anything that’s what I needed. And now…I’m not sure what to do.

It’s a good problem to have, really. Certainly it beats the alternative. Graduating in 2008 with an English degree, jobs weren’t exactly easy to come by. Trying to support my partner through some incredibly difficult times didn’t make matters much easier. It almost feels weird that I have the same job I got when I was still a senior in college, over a decade ago now. Starting at $9/hr and slowly getting more, though it would take some union arbitration on my behalf to actually get me on the right pay scale. Add the stress and stalking that Matt and I have been through, the difficulties with him finding work, going back to school, seeing to his own neglected and necessary healthcare, and…well, for a long time now it’s been just about all we could do to pay the mortgage and make sure we ate.

Quick Sips 02/18/2022

There’s a lot going on here despite not feeling like I have a lot to show for it. Which, I mean, is kind of my life in a nutshell a lot of the time. My work as a reviewer keeps right on moving along, and I’m about ready to turn in my third column for Locus Magazine. As I settle into my rhythm on the team I’m starting to figure out timing and everything. Though I cover less than I used to, it’s still a lot to get to, and timing can sometimes be an issue with a mix of releases that I get in advance and some that I get when they’re released publicly. I’m working on getting a schedule that works for me, but am still definitely settling in.

Meanwhile, there’s plenty of other things that I’m excited about and working on. I did see the preliminary cover for the second We’re Here and wow, it’s another absolutely stunning piece of original artwork. Definitely becoming one of my favorite parts of this because fuck yes art! I can’t give you a preview but it’s so good. You all will just have to bask in my reflected excitement.

Quick Sips 02/11/2022

Hello again! Welcome to Tired Town, population: me. Though, I mean, in some ways I’m doing pretty good. Just…waiting for the tiredness to pass. It’s so strange, taking these steps to try and maintain a healthy relationship with my reviewing work, with work in general. Healthy in the haha like capitalism allows for a healthy relationship with work but still, it’s a work in progress. I can at least report some updates, some successes, some excitements.

I have turned over a longlist to by co-editor (the phenomenal L.D. Lewis) for We’re Here. The longlist represents a large part of my editorial work for the series, because I’m supposed to be the one canvassing the field and finding as many queer stories as I can, and then reviewing the submissions we get through the portal and then refining that down. This year, my second doing it, was complicated by all the other things I was doing: trying to wrap up QSR, trying to hit deadlines for Locus, participating in the Locus Recommended Reading List, and a few other projects thrown in for good measure (that the Hugos were so late in the year and took a rather hard emotional toll were icing on that cake I guess). You’ll be able to read a bit more about the process and my thoughts on the field in this year’s editorial, so do look for that when the book drops later in the year.

Quick Sips 02/04/2022

Sooooooo...now what? It’s strange to think that after seven years of running this blog, that things will be changing so much, but that’s also exactly what I’ve planned, exactly what I need. So...here we are. Even as I say that, though, it will probably take me a few weeks, maybe even a few months, to really figure out what the new Quick Sip Reviews is really going to look like. Part of that is because at the moment I am waist-deep in reading for We’re Here, the Best Of reprint anthology that this year I’m co-editing with L.D. Lewis. So I’m reading. A lot. But also reading a lot of stuff from last year, so notes on what I’ve been reading from this year outside my Locus reviewing will be slowly trickling in as I catch up.

Which, I mean, we could start there. My first ever Locus column is currently available in the February 2022 issue! My second column, to appear in March, has been turned in as well. The three main short fiction reviewers for the publication (Karen Burnham, Paula Guran, and now myself) have had the conversation about who is covering what. And let me tell you, after years of doing as much as I could myself, the idea that someone else is covering a publication that I’ve been reading and reviewing for so long is foreign, but a bit welcome. I still plan to read very widely, but I suspect I will enjoy having a more defined and limited set of reviewing resposibilities. And I can still talk about other stories I come across that I enjoy, either here or through my Sip of Week on Patreon.

Quick Sips 01/28/2022

I made it! Kinda by the hair on my chin but I managed to close out my regular reviews for 2021. Not a huge week for it this week, but I manage to pick up the last of the 2021 Escape Artists podcasts, as well as the latest from Omenana. And really, given what a hectic time these last few months have been, this is something of a relief to finally close in on. A bittersweet relief, because it means that this chapter of Quick Sip Reviews is closing, but a relief all the same. This isn’t the end! Just a change. We’ll see what the future brings!

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 01/21/2022

Okay okay so I’m definitely back on my slow down as I try and hit some deadlines and focus on making sure I’m covering enough January and February content for Locus while also reaching back for some December stuff I haven’t gotten to yet. So the good news is that I’m covering the latest Zooscape and Mermaids Monthly here, each of which had some solid issues out in December (Mermaids Monthly was another last-day-of-the-year releases). The bad news is that’s all for now. Still, there’s a decent bit to get to and I’m getting to it, and there’s plenty of great content still to catch up on from 2021.

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 01/14/2022

After a slow number of weeks, I do pick things up a bit here, upping my total works covered and putting me within striking distance of closing out my 2021 regular reviews. That said, I’ll still be doing review posts through January. Here I managed to make it through December’s special Palestinian issue of Fiyah, plus December’s Clarkesworld, Tor, Anathema, and Fireside. So plenty of ground covered across many genres, with some real gems. Onward!

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!

Quick Sips 01/07/2022

Well the slowdown is still in effect, as this week was cut short due to the New Year’s holiday week. Still, I feel that I’m getting a bit more into the swing of things and did manage to get through a few publications. The largest of them is the December Apex, which is a special international issue. On that same note, Samovar is back with an issue to close out 2021. That plus regular releases from Strange Horizons, Diabolical Plots, Flash Fiction Online, and The Deadlands mean I got around despite being a bit crunched for time. Good times!

NOTE: This will be a recurring note that will run with every Quick Sips. First, please note that I don’t necessarily mention every story or poem out in an issue. I am giving myself permission to either DNF stories, or else finish and just not comment on them. Please don’t assume it’s because I disliked the work! There are many reasons I might chose not to comment on a piece, and I reserve the right to do just that. Second, you might notice the notations at the end of the micro reviews and wonder what the [c# t#] is. These are for the Scales of Relative Grimness and a full explanation of them can be found through the tab at the top of the page or through this link. With that said, let’s get to the reviews!