Author: Jo

What a year it’s been! Here’s a quick rundown of everything I published this year, so you can catch anything you missed. (If you’re nominating for awards, all of these are eligible as 2023 calendar year publications.) Below, I’ll share some reflection on the year behind and the year ahead.

Novels

After a lot of hard work and waiting, I published my first two novels this year: space operas Warped State and Dissonant State, books 1 and 2 of the Gifted of Brennex trilogy.

I’m immensely proud of them, so if you’ve enjoyed any of my writing, I hope you’ll snag Warped State and give it a read. If you’ve read them, thank you so much!

Short Stories

I’ve published six stories this year, including my third Analog story and my second in Lightspeed. Some are sweet, even sugary (literally, in the case of “Sweet Beauty Bakery”), while others are cutting, gnashing their teeth at the roots of wealth and power.

If you read just one story of mine this year, I hope you’ll check out “A Catalog of Gifts from a Crow,” which is strange and sweet and seasonal (if you live in a snowy climate) and all about connecting amid loneliness.

• “A Catalog of Gifts from a Crow” in Apparition Lit
• “Simmered in Their Wealth Like the Richest of Sauces” in Lightspeed
• “Top Reviews of Sweet Beauty Bakery, Home of Extraordinary Gender Reveal Cakes” in Worlds of Possibility
• “Guilty Until Proven Victorious” in Game On! anthology
• “Like Emeralds Between Their Teeth” in Analog (May/June 2023)
• “No Rescuers for an Aging Princess” in Wyldblood

Reflections

It turns out that publishing a book is hard work? (I know, who would’ve thought?) I’ve been laser focused on getting Warped State and Dissonant State out into the world, while also finishing up book 3, Ravenous State, so it can soon follow its siblings.

As a result, I haven’t had much time to play with short fiction. I finished three stories this year, two of them quite short, all in the early part of the year. Novels trump stories, for me, and it’s been absolutely thrilling to release these books and hold them in my hands and hear from people who are enjoying them.

But I’m also looking forward to doing something different, now that the trilogy is nearly done. Ravenous State will be out in the first quarter of 2024, and I’m excited to play in some different worlds, and work on something fresh and new.

Happy new year to all of you, and happy reading!

I’m so excited to share with you the cover for my first novel, Warped State, coming this September!


Are you ready?



Here it is!

Thanks to the fantastic Wendy Nikel for the cover design. I’m super thrilled with how it came out. A few of my favorite details:

• The literally warped stars in the background
• The subtle, ominous factory landscape
• The defiantly rising spaceship
• The silhouette for Jasper, the main character — as a reader, I’ve always disliked seeing characters on a book cover if they don’t match what’s in my head, so I love the silhouette approach as an alternative.

I describe Warped State as “activists in space,” full of LGBTQ characters, evil corporate shenanigans, and a sentient ship with anxiety issues.

I can’t wait to share this book with the world! Sign up here to get updated when it’s released (plus a free prequel story just for subscribers):

It’s been a good year for me for short fiction! I’m slightly mind-boggled to count these up and find that by the end of this year I have… eight?? Yes, eight new stories out.

All of these are eligible in “short story” categories and first published in 2022:

“The Day the Birds Flew Home” in Fusion Fragment is a cozy blend of sci-fi and folklore that looks ahead to a more magical future.

“Santa Knows” in Fantasy & Science Fiction, November/December 2022 is a lighthearted heist where Santa Claus takes on a Big Tech surveillance company that’s doing evil in Santa’s name.

“Scientists Confirm: There’s a Black Hole in the Center of Your Heart” in Lightspeed is a race to escape the overwhelming pull of toxic masculinity.

“Her branches reach for the stars” in Nature Futures is a sweet, cozy story about grief, family, and showing up for the people you care about.

“The Four Laws” in NeoSapiens, from New Myths takes down Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics as a robot archaeologist digs into their society’s history.

“The Trail to Youth’s Fountain” in Flash Point Science Fiction is a cozy flash in the form of a trail guide.

“The Skycalled Will Save the World” in Wyngraf is another cozy flash where the Chosen One isn’t quite so special as they think.

“The Sweetness of Berries and Wine” in Future Science Fiction Digest brings more cozy flash with one woman’s determination to hold a proper Passover seder in space.

2021 has apparently taken its cues from 2020, because this has been a tough year for actually writing, but a surprisingly good year for selling short stories! I’ve had five stories published this year, which are eligible for awards covering 2021: