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fakefrenchie was bemoaning the fact that a story in progress might veer away from the lighter tone and turn 'dark,' as she seems to think ALL my short fiction does. Does it? Hrmmm. In the interests of consumer eddification, I've done a quick rundown on some of my short fiction, from the author's point of view. I've tried to keep to the stories that are either still in print, or are available via fictionwise.com, or otherwise accessible.
(I'd love feedback from folk who've read the stories in question, actually -- see if we're on the same page, or in different books entirely!)
"Along Came a Spider" -- creepy and a little icky in the "ewwwww" way, especially if you have a thing about bugs, but it's actually (to my mind, anyway) a kind of funny and semi-sweeet take on urban legends ("spider eggs in bubble gum") and sibling rivalry.
"apple, not a fairy tale" -- more sad than dark, I think. About how sometimes the worst bear traps are the ones we set for ourselves. (this one's not out just yet, but hopefully will be soon, in Aeon)
"Apparent Horizon" -- again, about bear traps, but this one's about prying yourself loose, however painful the process might be. This is the story another writer said reminded her of John LeCarre. I still cherish that comment.
"Catseye" -- a very short look at an abusive relationship through the eyes of a very proactive feline. Dark? I suppose, because the topic is dark. But it's also about empowerment, so...
"Clean Up Your Room!" -- AI-as-mom, programmer as ungrateful child. What's not to amuse?
"Disposession" -- dark, yes, without anything graphic or horrible happening on the page. A serial killer and the man who might have saved her.
"Don't You Want To Be Beautiful?" -- Personally, I think this story's hysterical. LAG takes on the cosmetics industry, with hallucinations.
"Dragons" -- where biology might take us, and how sociology lags behind. Neither dark not fluffy, just serious.
"End of Days" -- another "Dragon Virus" story, but this one is dark, yes, by most standards of post-apocolyptic fiction. It's also one of the strangest stories I've ever written, stylistically.
"Every Comfort of Home" -- my first-ever published story, about why the first-ever human/alien contact failed. Not fluffy, no. Some day I'd like to go back and rewrite this, see what happens.
"Exposure" -- a vampire story with very little blood or wangst. In fact, it's all about Art and passion.
"Fire Rising in the Moon" -- Dark, yes. Maybe even depressing. I still think it's one of the best things I've ever written, at 750 words.
"Harvey and Fifth" -- written just before 9/11, about the ghosts of Oklahoma City. It's actually a story of hope, and love, and survival.
"In the Aftermath of Something Happening" -- another "Dragon Virus" story, where sociology is starting to catch up with biology. I think this is actually a pretty hopeful story, not dark at all.
"KidPro" -- an admittedly slight but (IMO) interesting take on the financial industry and the costs therein, written well before the current crash-and-burn. Dark only if you assume the financial industry and loopholes in child welfare laws are depressing...
"Rodeo" -- more post-apoc fic. Yes, dark, if in a melancholoy fashion.
"Serpent's Rock" -- kickass teen saves the day by being smart and listening to his Elders. Not even remotely dark, except that people die before the day is saved.
"Site Fourteen" -- the cost of dreams, in science. I don't think of this story as dark at all. A tragedy, yes, but not dark.
"Sleepwork" -- wouldn't it be cool if you could do your homework while napping? At the Magic Academy, you can! Not dark at all.
"Strange Playmates" -- another "Dragon Virus" story. Sociology overtakes biology. All right, this one's dark. And sad.
"Sympathetic Magic" -- if you could save another person by taking on their trouble, would you? How much would it cost? I'm not sure if this story's dark, the wayfakefrenchie meant. I didn't think so, but then, FF would say my definitions are warped...
"Talent" -- the darker costs of staying on top of your game.... probably not for anyoe who wants fluff, no.
"The Road Taken" -- my first foray into romantic fantasy without a HEA guaranteed....
"Turnings" -- another romfan sans HEA.... or is there? I go back to this one periodically and wonder, myself. I don't think this one's even remotely dark.
"Wolfling" -- Another "Dragon Virus" story. You know the drill.
And for the record,fakefrenchie, I don't think the story in progress is going to be dark, no. It has a canary with control issues! How dark can that get? (okay, don't answer that...)
fakefrenchie was bemoaning the fact that a story in progress might veer away from the lighter tone and turn 'dark,' as she seems to think ALL my short fiction does. Does it? Hrmmm. In the interests of consumer eddification, I've done a quick rundown on some of my short fiction, from the author's point of view. I've tried to keep to the stories that are either still in print, or are available via fictionwise.com, or otherwise accessible.(I'd love feedback from folk who've read the stories in question, actually -- see if we're on the same page, or in different books entirely!)
"Along Came a Spider" -- creepy and a little icky in the "ewwwww" way, especially if you have a thing about bugs, but it's actually (to my mind, anyway) a kind of funny and semi-sweeet take on urban legends ("spider eggs in bubble gum") and sibling rivalry.
"apple, not a fairy tale" -- more sad than dark, I think. About how sometimes the worst bear traps are the ones we set for ourselves. (this one's not out just yet, but hopefully will be soon, in Aeon)
"Apparent Horizon" -- again, about bear traps, but this one's about prying yourself loose, however painful the process might be. This is the story another writer said reminded her of John LeCarre. I still cherish that comment.
"Catseye" -- a very short look at an abusive relationship through the eyes of a very proactive feline. Dark? I suppose, because the topic is dark. But it's also about empowerment, so...
"Clean Up Your Room!" -- AI-as-mom, programmer as ungrateful child. What's not to amuse?
"Disposession" -- dark, yes, without anything graphic or horrible happening on the page. A serial killer and the man who might have saved her.
"Don't You Want To Be Beautiful?" -- Personally, I think this story's hysterical. LAG takes on the cosmetics industry, with hallucinations.
"Dragons" -- where biology might take us, and how sociology lags behind. Neither dark not fluffy, just serious.
"End of Days" -- another "Dragon Virus" story, but this one is dark, yes, by most standards of post-apocolyptic fiction. It's also one of the strangest stories I've ever written, stylistically.
"Every Comfort of Home" -- my first-ever published story, about why the first-ever human/alien contact failed. Not fluffy, no. Some day I'd like to go back and rewrite this, see what happens.
"Exposure" -- a vampire story with very little blood or wangst. In fact, it's all about Art and passion.
"Fire Rising in the Moon" -- Dark, yes. Maybe even depressing. I still think it's one of the best things I've ever written, at 750 words.
"Harvey and Fifth" -- written just before 9/11, about the ghosts of Oklahoma City. It's actually a story of hope, and love, and survival.
"In the Aftermath of Something Happening" -- another "Dragon Virus" story, where sociology is starting to catch up with biology. I think this is actually a pretty hopeful story, not dark at all.
"KidPro" -- an admittedly slight but (IMO) interesting take on the financial industry and the costs therein, written well before the current crash-and-burn. Dark only if you assume the financial industry and loopholes in child welfare laws are depressing...
"Rodeo" -- more post-apoc fic. Yes, dark, if in a melancholoy fashion.
"Serpent's Rock" -- kickass teen saves the day by being smart and listening to his Elders. Not even remotely dark, except that people die before the day is saved.
"Site Fourteen" -- the cost of dreams, in science. I don't think of this story as dark at all. A tragedy, yes, but not dark.
"Sleepwork" -- wouldn't it be cool if you could do your homework while napping? At the Magic Academy, you can! Not dark at all.
"Strange Playmates" -- another "Dragon Virus" story. Sociology overtakes biology. All right, this one's dark. And sad.
"Sympathetic Magic" -- if you could save another person by taking on their trouble, would you? How much would it cost? I'm not sure if this story's dark, the way
fakefrenchie meant. I didn't think so, but then, FF would say my definitions are warped..."Talent" -- the darker costs of staying on top of your game.... probably not for anyoe who wants fluff, no.
"The Road Taken" -- my first foray into romantic fantasy without a HEA guaranteed....
"Turnings" -- another romfan sans HEA.... or is there? I go back to this one periodically and wonder, myself. I don't think this one's even remotely dark.
"Wolfling" -- Another "Dragon Virus" story. You know the drill.
And for the record,
fakefrenchie, I don't think the story in progress is going to be dark, no. It has a canary with control issues! How dark can that get? (okay, don't answer that...)
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Date: 2008-05-07 12:44 pm (UTC)Actually, to be perfectly serious, you look closely at things that I see and prefer to avert my eyes. So when I read your short stories, it's very disturbing. Which was kind of the intent, I presume. So yes, you are a writer! LOL
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Date: 2008-05-08 03:11 am (UTC)Of course, I'm also the sort of person who watches SWEENEY TODD and starts craving pork sticky buns, so I may have a different definition of "dark" than most folks. ;)