I just got back from Balticon, my very first convention ever, and I had an absolute blast. I’m jumping right back into studying for my qualifying exam (wish me luck!), but before I do, I wanted to share some good news.

This is a whole month late, but The Splinter in the Sky won the Compton Crook Award. I’m honestly still quite shocked, because if you’ve read the other finalists, then you know every book on the shortlist was amazing.

Here’s the speech I gave at the ceremony:

Debut novels are tricky things. Ideally, they’re the worst thing the author ever publishes (otherwise, they’re not improving), but I feel they also capture the writer at their most vulnerable and, in some ways, their most daring. 

I recently saw The Splinter in the Sky described as “tear apart the empire with your bare hands” wish fulfillment. That’s exactly right. It’s a story about a woman who will do anything to save her family, even if it means taking an empire head-on.

I wrote this book to get through the pandemic. I was overwhelmed by everything going on in the world, and I needed a story in which an unreasonable amount of progress could be made in a single lifetime through simple hard work and cooperation. My goal was to write a story of impossible perseverance in the face of impossible odds.

The Splinter in the Sky was the escape I needed, and, on a basic level, I loved writing it. The book has a lot of anger in it—which you might expect, in a story about a tea specialist-turned-assassin on a revenge-slash-rescue quest. But it also has a lot of hope, and love, and terrible jokes, and, yes, tea. If reading it offered you some of the comfort writing it gave me, then I think I did an okay job.

I’m so grateful for this award, and frankly equally surprised to be standing here, given how fantastic every single book on the shortlist is. I’d like to thank my agent, Tricia Skinner, my editor Amara Hoshijo, and the whole team at Saga Press, especially the incredible Sydney Morris. Of course, I also need to thank my family and friends, who’ve supported me every step of the way. My brothers patiently listened to me describe the same story idea fifteen different ways as I reworked the plot. My mother, who spent countless hours reading to me as a young child, introduced me to storytelling in the first place. (Now that I’m an aunt, I’m really looking forward to doing to same.)

And, last but not least, I’d like to thank all of you. So, thank you!

I don’t think that most of the things we use to measure individual merit and/or success—awards, fellowships, college acceptances, etc.—actually indicate individual merit, and “success” is hard to define. Even though I’m just starting out as an author, the older I get, the more I recognize the general role of luck and the (often invisible and underappreciated) hard work of other people, in publishing and science and everything else. I have a great agent and great editors. Sydney Morris at Saga Press was my publicist for the hardcover edition of The Splinter in the Sky, and she went above and beyond for my debut. I could go on, but individual hard work and skill don’t matter as much as we’re often led to believe. It really takes a village. And a metric ton of good fortune.

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society is awesome. And I’m not just saying that because they gave me a shiny plaque! I met quite a few BSFS members at the con and they’re incredibly fun, nice folks. They’re fellow nerds! My people! I loved geeking out about all things science fiction and fantasy with them for four days. I’m honored they liked my book.

I’m starting to ramble here, so I’m just going to say thank you one last time for any support you may have given me (thanks!) and get back to studying. But before I go, here are some preorder links, if you’re interested in the paperback of The Splinter in the Sky and/or my debut novella This World Is Not Yours:

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What I’ve read recently:

• The Ascent to Godhood by Neon Yang. There’s some fantastic character work in here. I’m really hoping Yang has more Tensorate stories in store for us.
• Prism Stalker: The Weeping Star by Sloane Leong. This is the sequel to Leong’s amazing first volume, which has been aptly described as “Sailor Moon on acid.” I liked this follow-up even more than the first book. Highly recommended!
• “Of Flowing Stone, of Liquid Gold, of Justice, Ash, and Battle” by Malda Marlys. An all-too-short story about a deity, born as volcano, forged into a wrathful war god, and forced onto the throne of an emperor. I don’t know if the ending can be called happy, but it does feel powerful and true.
• “Quandary Aminu vs the Butterfly Man” by Rich Larson. What a wild ride. This was amazing. Show-stopping. The twist in the last third? Incredible. 
• “Sauerkraut Station” by Ferrett Steinmetz. This novelette is beautifully written piece of science fiction, equal parts wholesome, humorous, and heartbreaking. I was tearing up by the end.

Some cool new books:

• The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg. I met Sal after one of her panels. She’s very cool, and so is her book cover. Check it out!
• In Universes by Emet North (whom I also met at Balticon). Parallel universes and queer found families? What are you waiting for?