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!