Walking into the Ninety-Fifth Annual Ladies’ Mysticality Society Tea Party with her granddaughter at her side, Hyacinth Gartner had never felt prouder.Her granddaughter had never looked more miserable.“Why so nettled, Calanthe?” Hyacinth whispered.“It’s Callie.” The thirteen-year-old scowled. “And I look like I’m wearing a salad on my head.”“Poppycock.” Hyacinth surveyed the kettle brim hat decked […]
Extension Cord.The robot was secondhand. Because its solar unit was too complicated to fix, it was just easier to plug it in and forget about it.Cleaning supplies.It had a job to do, you needed the help.Tape.Your daughter screamed one night at 2 a.m. She just wanted a glass of water. The machine’s eyes, red like […]
Before the start of market day, the Market unfurls its ribbons in the tender light of dawn. Today, it’s nestled in a seaweed forest on an unnamed planet. Yesterday, it was hidden behind an asteroid bright with unmined ore. Tomorrow, it will be elsewhere, finding the place it fits among stars and galaxies and superclusters.The […]
When the last copy of Little Jasmine at the publisher’s warehouse was pulped, the color bled out from our world. My ruby red cheongsam and my husband’s officer’s uniform dampened into gray.“Is this the end?” My American husband steadied himself against the wooden doors. His white skin looked even more pale in monochrome. In the […]
Agatha Poyrot watched the policemen pack the murderer into their funny little car and speed off to the station. Another brilliant series of deductions, inductions, and preductions. She uncovered the culprit who daringly murdered Tweety Post during the very luncheon Tweety hosted for an exclusive list of almost fourteen guests. Not only that, but she […]
Thirty years after the War of Broken Crowns and the fall of the White-Gold King: Sun-Li had a new adversary to face.“So what do you like to do?” he asked his granddaughter, Antha.Antha had been riding on horseback all day with her mother (his daughter) and wisps of hair were sweat-stuck to her small, round […]
The titular character of the thirteenth-century Le Roman de Silence is born female, at a time when women cannot inherit. To avoid disinheriting his child, Silence’s father raises him as a son. Personified Nature and Nurture quarrel over what gender Silence should be. Silence was lost for centuries until, in 1911, a copy was discovered […]
Our big trip this summer was to Washington State where, among other things, we hiked, swam, kayaked, and reconnected with family. And also where, on a rainy day in downtown Friday Harbor, I found the San Juan Island Museum of Art, a small collection that showcases indigenous artists. Themed “shapeshifters” and taking the trickster Raven […]