I have two things to share!

First up, here’s the terrifying cover of This World Is Not Yours! I normally answer emails first thing in the morning—guess what showed up at the top of my inbox on February 14. Getting an eyeful of this piece ruined my day in the best way possible.

Hesitant about buying a copy without seeing what my sci-fi horror is like? I’ve got you. If you’d like to try a sample of my writing, I had a short story come out today from Reactor (previously Tor.com).

With her friends vanishing and her home planet of Ayeshij crushed under the weight of occupation, gemologist-turned-con artist Mitayre’s planning a very special retirement–the kind with telepathic birds, sharp teeth, and gory retribution…

Although Avatar (with the blue people) has had a big impact on me as both a writer and scientist-in-training, Jake Sully is a textbook white savior. “You Don’t Belong Where You Don’t Belong” is essentially an examination of my complicated feelings about the movie through the lens of sci-fi horror. You can grab the eBook here, or read the story online here. 

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Some of what I’ve read recently:

• “Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station” by Caroline M. Yoachim. A wry Choose Your Own Adventure through a futuristic but all-too-believably dysfunctional healthcare system.
• From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back anthology. The standout for me was Seth Dickinson’s “The Final Order.” It’s the knife-sharp critique of imperialism in The Traitor Baru Cormorant, with a sci-fi spin.
• City of Bones by Martha Wells. In some ways, I’ve been looking for this story my whole life. While technically fantasy, this book has virtually all of my favorite sci-fi elements: desert planets, crumbling architecture left by ancient civilizations, hidden alien artifacts. Plus, the characters—and the bonds and banter between them—are fantastic. Wells excels at writing friendships; in fact, I can’t think of a single author I’ve read who writes platonic relationships better (or even as well). She explores these connections with the same level of care and respect as is typically reserved for romance, and I love it. She’s just incredible at writing snarky, hypercompetent outcasts who can and will murder anyone who messes with their friends. Although I avoid series like the plague these days, I’d happily read a dozen books set in this world.
• The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. Blood-soaked and beautiful. I’ll be thinking about this novella for a long time.
• “Evan: A Remainder”’ by Jordan Kurella. Weird and spooky and wonderful.
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. I read this book for a climate fiction course, but I’d been meaning to read more of Butler’s writing for a while. I really liked Dawn, but I avoided the sequel while editing This World Is Not Yours because I didn’t want to lift any of it unintentionally. Parable is excellent, no surprise there. What did startle me is how accurately Butler predicted the politics and attitudes of our current world. The story begins in 2024, and though the United States of Parable has almost completely fallen apart, the parallels between our politicians and Butler’s are uncanny.
• The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei. I spent an entire Sunday reading this book. By page 100, I kept telling myself that I would find somewhere to pause and eat something substantial. But there was never a good place to stop—I simply couldn’t tear myself away for longer than a few minutes. It’s been a while since I devoured a story like that. 
• Did not finish: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Well, there’s first time for everything. I got up to chapter 21, read the first few pages of chapter 63, and finished the last chapter. I have no criticisms or critiques; Demon is an incredible novel and I completely understand why so many people love it. But I made the mistake of picking up another book while reading it. Both stories deal with similarly traumatic content, but very differently: Demon with tenderness and grace; the other with thoughtless cruelty. Despite Demon handling its difficult subject matter much better, reading these books at the same time did something unfortunate to my brain. I don’t want to touch contemporary fiction laden with trigger warnings with a ten-foot pole right now. Maybe I’ll come back to this in a year or two, maybe not.
• “Tk’Tk’Tk” by David D. Levine. Unexpectedly heartwarming, with great worldbuilding and a fun classic sci-fi feel.
• “Time: Marked and Mended” by Carrie Vaughn. I really enjoy Vaughn’s Graff series. They scratch the same itch Wells’ Murderbot Diaries do.

What I’m reading now:

• Empress by Karen Miller. I’m only two chapters in, and… oof. I love a good villain arc, and I’ve really enjoyed a number of grimdark titles, but this book might be too brutal, even for me. We shall see.
• The World: A Family History of Humanity by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Currently reading about the deposition of Sultan Ibrahim in the mid-17th century.