Author: RCRuiz

Process

/ RCRuiz

Over on Chie and Weng Read Books, we’ve introduced a new feature called Process. We still aren’t sure how regular this feature will be, but we do want to publish these kinds of discussions from time to time. Do drop by as today we have Dean Alfar and Joseph Nacino talking about process and the challenges of Filipino SFF. 

Talking about process, I also recognize how working towards increasing visibility and working towards better representations and diversity in SFF is a lot of work. It also isn’t a work that can be done by one person, but it is a collective work. If you’re a reader, expand your horizons and go read something that’s outside of your comfort zone. 

If you are a writer of color or a queer writer, right now it may feel like everything is a struggle. We are struggling to make space for ourselves and for our narratives. Change is slow. We are still in process. But we will get there. Just keep on writing and telling your stories the way you want to tell them. 

To you who encourage us and keep us going. Thank you. Peace, love and courage. 

Something fun to keep me going

/ RCRuiz

Every now and then I groan out loud on twitter about how long it’s taking me to finish the novel. Well, that and I have other work that I also want to finish. But my ultimate goal is to complete work on the Body Cartographer’s novel. 

One of my former students has been a great inspiration to me. I’ve been following his progress and I check in on him from time to time. ( His parents are my godparents, so even if we’re not blood-related, we are family.) Anyway, I’ve been pleased to see that he’s taken the encouragement to keep up with his art and to witness his growth as an artist. His determination in the face of obstacles inspires me and I asked him if he would make me some art to keep me going while I write the novel.

You can read EJ’s story and see some of his artwork here.

Anyway, I sent him some snippets and he sent me his interpretation of those snippets. Here’s one of the characters from the Cartographer’s world. A warrior woman of the gods, named Gunn.  🙂

Image

**I’m posting this picture as a thank you to my Clarion West Write-a-thon sponsors. I didn’t make my fundraising goal, but I did get more than halfway there, thanks for your support and encouragement.

reviews, publications and super-secret projects

/ RCRuiz

Over at Chie and Weng Read Books, I review Sabrina Vourvoulias’s excellent first novel, Ink. I didn’t have time to post about this when it went up, but last week we also reviewed J.M. Sidorova’s The Age of Ice. We also have an interview with the author on the blog, so do check it out if you feel so inclined.

We See a Different Frontier, published by The Future Fire and edited by Djibril Al-Ayad and Fabio Fernandes is now out. It’s been getting some interesting reviews, including this one where my story gets called the “most vengeful” story of the lot. I’m quite flattered by that description actually. I mean, heads go flying in this story, so if people called it tame, I would be really worried.

Right now, I am reading the print proofs for What Fates Impose. I’m quite blown away by the work of my toc-mates and it’s quite a blast to find myself in an anthology with people whose work I admire. I am also quite impressed by Alliteration Ink, our editor Nayad Monroe and our publisher, Steven Saus.

Over the course of this summer break, I’ve written tons of words. I’m very close to finishing draft on a super-secret project and will post more on that soon, including snippets. Yes, I’m superstitious like that so that’s as much as I’m going to say about it before it’s finished.

My Nine Worlds experience

/ RCRuiz

Nine Worlds was amazing. I was there as a guest and in this post, I want to thank Tori Truslow who invited me to the con, and also the Con Committee who made it possible for me to attend the con.

While Nine Worlds was a busy con for me (I had panels on Saturday and Sunday and a reading on the evening of Friday), I came away from it feeling very much recharged, energized and challenged ( I did sleep all day afterwards, but that’s normal, right? ).

I have great love for the Queer space. I wish all cons had a space like this. I loved that there was this safe space you could go to and just talk and connect with like-minded people. I felt like I could really be myself, and that’s always a good feeling to have when you’re talking about issues you’re passionate about.

I don’t have any other cons to compare Nine Worlds to, except for Eastercon. But Eastercon has a very different thrust and I don’t think there’s any way to compare the two. Nine Worlds is Nine Worlds and Eastercon is Eastercon.

Tori Truslow’s workshop on Writing our Own Stories proved to be very inspiring for me. I found myself challenged to write a story which would express the multiplicity and complexity of self. This was the story that woke me up at 5.30 on Saturday Morning–a voice that just refused to let me go back to sleep. I was rather grumpy about waking up too and having to turn on my netbook and write words when all I really wanted to do was go back to sleep.

The discussions and the conversations I had at the con were so thought-provoking and inspiring and I am even more determined to go on and keep writing about the things I’m writing. If we want to reach a place where we’re all finally conversing on equal terms, we need to create more space for diverse voices to be heard and paid attention to.

This is why I still value very strongly the voices of those coming from within a culture above the voices of those outside of the culture. What I mean is: I’d rather see more of us writing our own stories. And while I acknowledge the value in those who write about us, it’s just not the same.

We need more writers of color, we need more queer writers, we need more writing from the perspective of those with physical limitations, and we need more women writing. We need these stories because these stories are what make Science Fiction richer and better.

chiereading at nineworlds

Update and Monday’s content on the book blog

/ RCRuiz

It’s Monday morning and I’m all packed up and waiting in the hotel lobby. Nine Worlds has been amazing. I’ve been so inspired and I have many things I want to share, but I’ll save that for when I get home. 

In the meantime, I’ve quickly posted my big sister’s review of On a Red Station Drifting by Aliette de Bodard. I have yet to argue with my big sis over a book. But we do have plans to do a book discussion sometime soon. Watch out for that. We may yet come to loggerheads over something. 

Happy Monday all. 

I’m having so much fun with this book blog

/ RCRuiz

We’ve got a new post up on Chie and Weng Read Books. Ekaterina Sedia gave us a fantastic interview and I just loved reading her answers. Do drop by and read when you have time. 

I’m enjoying this book blog a lot and I think it’s because reading books has always been a magical experience for me, and getting to know authors and interview them is a treat. 

Jan asked me why I thought up this idea to have a book blog and I realized that the book blog has its roots in the things I shared with my big sis. 

It was born from a desire to keep the ties that bind my sis and I together and sprung forth from the memory of sharing a room, fighting over the same books, debating the merits of whatever we’d read, and long conversations over the dining table. 

Each time I read something fantastic, I want to share it with my sis. Each time I visit a historical city, I wish my sis were there with me (because she is such a history lover). Growing up, we argued a lot. We were only a year apart. She didn’t like rock music, but she endured the season when I felt it was absolutely necessary to play Queen at full volume over and over again. And then there was the time she walked home all the way from the bank in sweltering heat because I’d hidden her bank book and replaced it with mine. (I was an evil sister).  When I said I was leaving for the Netherlands, she shouted at me: Well then, go already. 

My sister and I love books. We’ve just chosen this book blog as the space where we continue to conduct our conversations about books and the people who write them. And because it doesn’t get said enough, I love you, Sis. 🙂 

Nine Worlds Geekfest 2013

/ RCRuiz

Three more sleeps and it will be Friday. I’ll be leaving for Nine Worlds Geekfest and it promises to be an interesting and exciting weekend. 

Nine Worlds has published a full programme and you can see what’s going on during the entire con on Lanyrd. Of course, you can also follow the con by track on the Nine Worlds website. 

Where I’ll be at: 

Friday, 9 August:

10:15-11:30 pm. New Voices Slam Session: Friday edition

Location: Lobby Room, Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel

With Adam Christopher, Emma Newman, Barry Nugent, Danie Ware, Jennifer Williams, Hannah Chutzpah, Liz de Jager, Rochita Ruiz, Lou Morgan andStephanie Saulter

Saturday, 10 August:

11:45am to 1:00pm. Why is the Future so Binary?

Location: Britannia, Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel

with Tori Truslow, Alex D MacFarlane, Rochita Ruiz, Jude Roberts and Cel West

5:00-6:15 pm. Women’s Worlds: Feminist Utopias in Literature

Location: Caravelle, Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel

with Alison Morton, Tricia Sullivan, Alex D MacFarlane, Rochita Ruiz and Cel West

6:45-8:00 pm. Science Fiction Double Feature: Gender and Sexuality in SFF

Location: George I, Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel

with Rochita Ruiz, Roz Kaveney, Tricia Sullivan, Weirwolf (Jon Weir) and David Tallerman

Sunday, 11 August

10:00-11:15 am. Better History=Better Fantasy: Writing outside the Binary

Location: Britannia, Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel

 with Alex D MacFarlane, Rochita Ruiz, Koel Mukherjee and Hel Gurney

11:45-1:00 pm. Racefail 101

Location: George I, Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel

with Zen Cho, Tade Thompson, Anne C. Perry, Rochita Ruiz and Stephanie Saulter

3:15-4:30 pm. Writing the Other

Location: Britannia, Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel

with Stephanie Saulter

If you’re going to Nine Worlds, please feel free to say hi. 

An excerpt from Return to Metal Town

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Here’s a very first drafty excerpt from Return to Metal Town. This was one of the short stories that came to me during the Clarion West Write-a-thon. If you’d like to sponsor me, my write-a-thon page is here. 

Next week, I’ll post a first drafty excerpt from the novel in progress. 

Excerpt: Return to Metal Town

An alternate child will be a good addition to your home. Memomach industries works to create the perfect child to suit your needs. 

-Memomach Industry ad- 

#

Father wears the face of a numbered man. He wears the suit, he carries the briefcase, he drives the car.

 At home, he morphs into someone Mother argues with over their dinner.

 “I don’t see why you feel the need to indulge him,” Mother says.

 “He thinks it will be a good experience, and I agree,” Father replies.

 They are discussing Adventure Boy’s desire to visit Metal Town.

 Mother doesn’t wish them to go, but Father sees no harm in it.

 “I don’t understand why you want to see that place again,” Mother says. “I shudder when I remember how I almost lost you there.”

 “But you didn’t lose me,” Father says. “And we can’t deny him this. If he wants to know it for himself, then he should know it for himself.”

 “I won’t go,” Mother says.

 “If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to go,” Father replies.

 Adventure Boy lies on his back and stares up at the ceiling. He had bought a picture of the Remembrance Monument and Father had hung it from the ceiling. At night, the lines of the monument glowed in the dark.

Mechanic’s words rang in his ear.

“You can still hear the voices of those who have gone before.”