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Okay, so I’m mostly a fantasy and supernatural horror reader, but I’ve been on something of a sci-fi kick lately. Thing is, it’s been long enough since I read sci-fi regularly that I’m not sure what the good modern options are.

I’m a fan of Jack McDevitt and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and I’m looking for more along those lines. That is, "harder" sci-fi than, say, Star Trek, but soft enough that it’s still character/plot-driven first (as opposed to being an examination of future tech/culture), and easily followed by someone who barely knows a nanobot from a megabyte. (The same touch of mystery one finds in McDevitt and Rusch is a plus, but not essential.)

So, go ahead. Sci-fi me up, baby.

Can you point me toward any spec-fic short stories–sci-fi, fantasy, horror; specific genre doesn’t matter–that are less than 10K long (preferably less than 6K), but take place over multiple generations or historical periods?

Yeah, I know. Oddly specific. 😛 I have an idea for such a short story, but as I’ve never tried writing one like that, I’d like to see how other people have structured it.

I wanted to offer my congrats to all the 2011 Hugo Award Winners–but most specifically to Lou Anders of Pyr Books, easily one of the top three editors I’ve worked with to date. 😀

Great job, Lou.

(So do we all get raises, now?) 😉

If you’re not already sick of hearing from me, I’ve got a new interview up at the page of the inestimable Phil Athans. Within, we discuss (among other things) the definition of fantasy, writing inspiration, gaming as it relates to writing, and plenty of other things that you may or may not find nearly as interesting as I do.

Click here to read.

So I don’t know if I’d be any less of a geek without Star Trek, but I’d certainly be a different geek.

Thanks, guys. Happy 45th. Live even longer and prosper-er. Or something like that.