I found out by accident on Twitter of all places, that my short story, "Bottled Spirits," published in Buzzy Mag in June 2012 is the one of seven finalists in the 2013 WSFA Small Press Award finalists. http://t.co/4Q20yBErnL
I am still in shock. If you see, the other finalists are some big name authors and super editors. Congratulations to the other finalists:
- “The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species”, Ken Liu (Lightspeed 8/12)
- “Good Hunting”, Ken Liu (Strange Horizons 10/12)
- “Mornington Ride”, Jason Nahrung (Fablecroft)
- “Coca Xocolati”, Lawrence M. Schoen (ReDeus: Divine Tales)
- “The Six Million Dollar Mermaid”, Hildy Silverman (Mermaids 13: Tales from the Sea)
- “Astrophilia”, Carrie Vaughn (Clarkesworld 7/12)
As
says on the website: The award honors the efforts of small press
publishers in providing a critical venue for short fiction in the area
of speculative fiction. The award showcases the best original short
fiction published by small presses in the previous year (2012). An
unusual feature of the selection process is that all voting is done with
the identity of the author and publisher hidden so that the final
choice is based solely on the quality of the story. The winner is chosen
by the members of the Washington Science Fiction Association (wsfa.org)
and will be presented at their annual convention, Capclave
(capclave.org), held this year on October 11-13 in Gaithersburg,
Maryland.
You can read "Bottled Spirits" free here at
http://buzzymag.com/bottled-spirits-by-pamela-kinney/
Hope your 2013 will be a prosperous, happy one, full of great reading.
The
New Year is more than saying goodbye to the old year and hello to the
new one. There are superstitions attached to this time of the year. Of
course, 2012 has something special, with the Mayan calendar predicting
the end of the world.
But
let’s talk about normal legends and myths. Open all doors at midnight,
to let the old year escape without being stopped. Celebrate at midnight
with as much noise as possible, for it’s not just for celebration, but
to chase bad spirits away. Widespread superstition has it said that the
Devil and other evil spirits hate the din and will run away. Church
bells on a wedding day are rung originally for the same reason.
A
kiss at midnight with those close to us and whom we hold in affection
starts the New Year off right by making sure ties and affections stay
the next year. If no kiss is exchanged, it will mean a year of coldness.
Bills
must be paid off before midnight chimes to make sure the household does
not start off in debt. Same goes for personal debt, as they must be
settled before January 1 also.
It
is said that the first person to enter your home after the New Year is
the one who will influence how your year will go. It is best if the man
comes bearing gifts in either silver coin, a lump of coal, a sprig of
evergreen, some salt or a bit of bread. And he should be dark-hair, tall
and good-looking to make it a good year. But if he’s a red-haired or a
blond, well, he will bring nothing but a year of bad luck. As for a
female first guest, she should be chased away before disaster hits the
household. Hold the women off until a man cross your threshold. The
first footer should knock and be let in, but never use a key to enter,
even if he lives there. Then after he drops off his gifts and greets
those within the walls, he should then exit by another door than the one
he entered by.
Larders must be stocked and money in everyone’s wallet to guarantee prosperity.
Another
thing about first footers, they can not have flat feet, be cross-eyed,
or have eyebrows that meet in the middle (can this last one be a
werewolf thing too, since a werewolf can be identified by having brows
like this?).
Another
thing in regarding to good/bad luck for the New Year, is not to take
anything out the first day, not even the garbage. If have presents,
don’t even bring them in, but leave in the car until the second. This
means don’t shake a rug out or take out empties. Some people say that
it’s okay to take something out, long as something else was brought in
first, most likely a first footer.
Down
South, people make black-eyed peas to serve New Year’s Day to get good
luck and financial good fortune, especially to the diner. Other foods
such as ham hocks, cabbage, and collard greens can be added, but there
must be black-eyed peas as the key ingredient.
Other
foods considered lucky are lentil soup (due to looking like coins),
pork (pigs root forward while poultry scratches backwards and a cow
stands still), and sauerkraut (I grew up with a Czechoslovakian mother,
so I love this, as my husband is half Polish!). Definitely do not eat
chicken or turkey the first day, since the birds scratch backwards, this
means the diners will scratch in the dirt all year (meaning poverty).
Do
a token amount of what you do at work (even if you’re off from your job
and not near it even) on January 1st, but a small amount is enough, as
to engage in a serious project that day is considered bad luck. Don’t
even do your laundry or even wash dishes, as this may wash away you or
your family members in the home (death) during the coming year.
Wear
something new January 1st, to insure you receive more new garments
during the year. Do not pay back loans or lend money or other precious
items on the first day of the New Year, otherwise you’ll be paying out
all year. Avoid crying too. That will mean that will be the tone of the
next twelve months and do not, I stress, do not break anything the
First, otherwise the rest of the year will a life of wreckage.
So
far, sounds like your first day might be best spent in bed after
letting in that dark-haired man. But you need to get up to examine the
weather that first day. Yes, even the weather can make things bad or
good. Like if the wind comes from the south, times ahead will be
prosperous times and great weather for all year. But if the wind comes
from the north, that means bad weather all year. Wind from the east
brings famine and calamities with it while from the west, it brings milk
and fish a-plenty, but will also see the death of an important person.
No wind, a joyous and prosperous year!
As for babies born on January 1, they are insured luck always.
Now, what will you do to insure good luck for 2013? Or do you don't even care?
