Hi, friends! I’m so excited about today’s news.
But first—some quick housekeeping. If you’re seeing this on my website: welcome! If you’re seeing this in your inbox: sorry if it looks weird! This is my first time trying to send a blog post as a newsletter, so please let me know if anything looks busted on your end.
(If you’re baffled as to why this post is in your inbox: it’s been a while, but you probably signed up via the subscription link for a Buttondown-hosted newsletter I ended up never using. I’ve decided to instead use my blog as my newsletter—one less website to keep track of—and I’m a super infrequent poster, only sharing news or the occasional list of story recs, so I hope you’ll stick around!)
And with that…
I am so, SO thrilled to announce that my newest short story, “Lucinda Espinosa’s Twenty-Seventh Death,” is out today in issue 24 of Fusion Fragment! I feel like I’ve been waiting one million years to share this story, and I am over the moon about it.
“Lucinda Espinosa’s Twenty-Seventh Death” is sort of a multiverse story, sort of a space western, and sort of a tragedy. Mostly, though, it’s a story about love at its most wonderful and most terrible. Lucinda Espinosa is a criminal who’s resolved to finally make amends and leave her past behind once and for all. But she can’t seem to leave the woman she loves—the woman she knows she shouldn’t love—behind, no matter how hard she tries. After all, there’s no outrunning love.
And Luce may be a killer, a thief, and a two-bit crook—but she’s not the kind of woman who leaves her tab unpaid.
Not anymore. She’s trying to be better. She’s going to be better.
This was the first short story I ever attempted to write! It’s such a perfect example of “write the story you want to read.” I love stories about women doing awful things! I love the ugly intersections between love and hate and desire and grief! And (sorry in advance) I love when those stories break my heart! Credit for the idea behind this story goes to my wife, who suggested I write a science fiction story about a criminal trying to finish one last job. (She also led me to the Lucinda / loose ends pun that gave Luce her name.) Like my beloved Lucinda Espinosa, who can’t tie up loose ends, it took me ages to finish this story. I’m so glad that it found such a perfect home and that I finally get to share it with you.
Fun fact: not only is this the longest story I’ve sold, but it’s also the first and only science fiction (okay, science fantasy, please don’t read it for the nonexistent science) story I’ve sold. And it’s the only story I’ve sold that isn’t an adaptation of existing mythology or folklore! So, it has a special place in my heart. I’m equal parts excited and nervous to hear what people think about this one.
(I’m hoping to write a longer behind-the-story sort of post about this story when I get a chance. Given that I still have “write a behind-the-story post for ‘Linden Honey, Blackcurrant Wine’” on my to-do list from July 2024… it could be a while. Still, if you’d be interested in that, let me know, and I’ll move it up my treacherously long to-do list!)
Luce doesn’t have to look over her shoulder to know who’s standing in the doorway, but she does anyway.
Her heart jerks and twists like paper in a fire. “Not you again,” she says.
You can read “Lucinda Espinosa’s Twenty-Seventh Death” here. Fusion Fragment follows a pay-what-you-want model, which means you can download a digital copy of this issue for free. (Including stories by Albert Chu, Kate Lechler, and Avra Margariti, among other brilliant authors! What are you waiting for?? Go download this issue right now!) If you can afford to, though, I encourage you to throw a few dollars their way. You can even order a print copy! Working with Fusion Fragment has been a pleasure every step of the way, and supporting magazines who care about authors and are willing to invest in queer stories is more important than ever right now.
If you get a chance to read this one, let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you! I hope you enjoy it. And, hey, if multiverse romance isn’t your thing, stay tuned. I have three more stories coming out in the next month or so, including a queer Arthurian retelling, a fun (?) cannibalism-centric twist on Ovid, and a story about a very very good dog. I can’t wait to share those with you, too!
Until then—take care, be well, and do good things. (Like, say, calling your reps, supporting organizations like the Trans Lifeline or the National Immigrant Justice Center, or just watching out for your neighbors in whatever way you can.) And tell your pets I said hi.
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