klwilliams

Release date for the magazine my story will be in

Sun, 02 May 2021 23:57:11 GMT

There's a new genre magazine coming out soon, called ParSec, edited by Ian Waites. This is the magazine that bought my story "A Bayesian Analysis of Wishes", and Ian posted the TOC for the first two issues. If you're interested, here's what will be there. I'm gobsmacked at the names of the writers who will also have stories next to mine. This looks like it will be a great magazine.

[From Ian Waites]
So, just from curiosity, do you reckon this is a reasonable ToC with which to launch a new genre magazine?

Gunbelt Highway – Dan Abnett
Down and Out Under the Tannhauser Gate – David Gullen
Nineteen Eighty-Nine – Ken MacLeod
The Lichyard – Harrison Varley
Time Traveller’s Shoes – Yuliia Vereta
Tesla on the Grass Alas – Esther Friesner
We Have Forever – Redfern Jon Barrett
The Power of 3 – Anna Tambour
Nova Oobleck Surfs The Second Aether – Paul Di Filippo
Interview with Christopher Priest

and how about this for #2?

The Summer Husband – Angela Slatter
(Title To come) — Aliya Whiteley
But Once A Year — Ramsey Campbell
Portuguese Essay — George Tom
Neighbourhood Watch – Neil Williamson
All That’s Red Earth – Mike Carey
Five Ways to Accidentally Save the Earth from Alien Conquest – Gareth D Jones
The Elektron Mill – Sean McMullen
A Bayesian Analysis of Wishes - Karen Brenchley

And to subscribe: https://www.pspublishing.co.uk/parsec-digital-magazine-issues-14-subscription-5204-p.asp

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I'm interviewed in the Washington Post!

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 21:34:25 GMT

A while back, I noticed a self-driving car turn right from a left turn lane, so I sent my observation to the Mr. Roadshow column in the local paper. He forwarded my letter to a woman writing an article for the San Jose Mercury News on testing autonomous cars in Sunnyvale. Apparently, a local reporter for the Washington Post saw that, and asked to interview me. The link is below (and Chaz is mentioned as an award-winning science fiction author), for the story and for an accompanying video (where I look old and fat and pale, but I think I sound smart).

There's a paywall, but it's very cheap.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/03/silicon-valley-pioneered-self-driving-cars-some-its-tech-savvy-residents-dont-want-them-tested-their-neighborhoods/

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I've defined a new poetry form: the Pi Poem

Thu, 01 Mar 2018 22:47:54 GMT

I've invented a new poetry form, the Pi Poem, based on the digits of pi. The basic rules are: each line should contain the number of words/syllables corresponding to the digit of pi so far, while the second line of the poem should always be the word "point". You may go as far along pi as you'd like. You can rhyme or not. The idea is to use the spirit of the number to control the form, but the words are all yours.

Here is my initial foray. My last line is a bit of a cheat, though I think it fits the form very well.

I've encountered that
point,
one
implied, inherent, even promised.
One
never sought. Not a gift.
The peaches I have dared lie eaten, sticky memories,
blue ribbons
molding in a muddy cardboard box.
What do I dare as
my next peach?
So little time to claim
between this morning's aches and when I join
infinity.

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What happens when you get what you desperately wanted?

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 20:13:02 GMT

I've been accepted by Clinica Ruiz in Puebla, Mexico, to enter their program to receive what's called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. What that means is that the treatment I'll be undergoing is the chemotherapy used for leukemia patients. What happens is that the doctors will give me something to stimulate stem cell growth, then will harvest some of my stem cells. That will be followed by ten days of chemo, which will target my blood cells, essentially killing off my immune system. Immediately following chemo my harvest stem cells will be reintroduced, thus giving me a rebooted immune system.

What this means in practice is that in three weeks I stop taking Tecfidera, my main MS drug, which has been keeping me relapse-free for four years. This drug inhibits white blood cell growth, so I need those healthy when I get my stem cells harvested. Not taking the medicine will affect my ability to walk even more, and I may even have a new relapse. I hope not. I'll be trying to stay relaxed, eat right, and exercise before I go. It also means I'll be stepping down from my board position at the American Bookbinders Museum, though I'll still be going to jury duty every Thursday.

Oh, and I'm raising money, because just the treatment alone will cost almost $60,000. My friends started a fundraiser for me, if you're interested: https://www.youcaring.com/karenwilliamsbrenchley-847292.

One thing I've learned over the years is just how awesome my friends are.

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My BayCon panels

Tue, 23 May 2017 17:34:38 GMT

This upcoming weekend in the SF Bay Area is the long-running science fiction convention BayCon. My husband Chaz Brenchley and I will be going (I'll be there as Karen Brenchley - I even have a badly-in-need-of-updating website), and I hope a lot of you can make it, too.

The overall schedule is here, and my panels are below. The panels on the singularity and on story-to-screen were my suggestions. I think they'll be a lot of fun.

Friday, 3:00 p.m.
Critique: How to Give and How to Take
Karen Brenchley discusses the ins and outs of critique from both ends. Come learn how to give effective critique and how to appropriately process and apply what you get.

Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
Will [big] data cause the singularity?
More data dramatically improves the predictive power of machine learning techniques. Now computer programs have beaten humans at Go, Chess, Jeopardy, and now poker. Will the huge and growing amount of data push computers into true sentience? What would that look like?
Karen Brenchley [moderator], Prof. David McGaffey, Andrew Clark, Michael Siladi

Sunday, 4:00 p.m.
Story to Screen
Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" was made into the movie "Arrival". Philip K. Dick has had many of his short stories made into Hollywood movies. What sff stories are ripe to be the next major sff movies?
Karen Brenchley [moderator], Bradford Lyau

Monday, 11:30 a.m.
The Eternal Importance of Research
SO, what would have happened if the Brits won the War of 1812? Well, actually - they kind of did. Research before you write alternatives to the wrong history. What's Greek Fire? Or fusion vs fission? The Schwarzschild radius? The Great Californian Mulberry Collapse? Find out before you write your foot into your mouth. Research matters - Also, someone may have thought of your idea before you.
Kathleen Bartholomew [moderator], Karen Brenchley, Bradford Lyau, Laurel Anne Hill, Gregg Castro

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No, not from Mars

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 05:54:00 GMT

My cat, Mac, and I have a ritual we perform. Tonight when I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth I found him waiting for me in the dark seated on the edge of the tub. Usually he just follows me in, but I guess I was late. Once I'd turned the light on and gave him proper scritches, he jumped up onto the edge of the sink and licked up some of the water already in the sink. After a bit he moved to the side so I could turn on the tap just a bit, so then he started lapping up the water as it pooled in the sink. Then he was done, so I turned off the tap and he jumped onto the toilet seat, where he waited for me to open the door. So I did, and he jumped out.

I have such odd rituals with this cat. I've never known another one like him.

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I'm still on LJ

Tue, 10 Jan 2017 01:47:31 GMT

I may or may not move over here. At the moment I feel like all my friends have moved away.

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