Tag: rocks

The Loneliness of the Groundling Luchador (Sketch of the Week for Week 13 of 2025)

Sorry again for the long break; I was sick, and then I was at a conference in Florida, and then I was on vacation in Michigan’s UP, and now I’m back.

My son was emphatic that this was the sketch of the week, because he liked the composition and the implied narrative and the fact that there was dialogue:

A luchador ("Mexican wrestler") leaping from the ropes to smash down upon his opponent outside the ring. That opponent gazes back up at his imminent ass-whooping and mutters "oh damn"

I’m not so sure. From a technical standpoint, I think this sketch of a single stone on a Lake Superior beach just outside Porcupine Mountain Wilderness Area is the better sketch:

A pencil sketch of a stone on a sandy outcrop over water. The stone is brightly lit, and its shadow is sharp and deep.

I have the grit on the sand all wrong (I got sloppy, and the technique was no good to begin with) but I feel like I got the depth of the shadow right for maybe the first time ever.

Anyway, it’s not really my call which is “best”; that’s for you. I get what I get out of them in the drawing, and in sharing them with my son.

Two Pics, Two Points: New Story, New Rock

First, as you may recall, I was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award this year.

🚨SPOILER ALERT!!!🚨 I did not win.

But I did learn that all of the finalists get a “token”: a nice smooth river stone, suitable for all your smoothest, roundest river stone needs. Pictured above is mine.

Second, on the day this came in the mail, I also got my contributor copies of the Sept/Oct 2023 Asimov’s Science Fiction, featuring my most recent novelette, “The Dead Letter Office.” That’s shown below. Look for your copy wherever delightful nonsense is sold.

Asimov’s is also running an interview with me about writing in general, this story in particular, and my history with the magazine, who’ve been publishing my drek for about 13 years now (my first pro sale was to Sheila Williams back in 2008, although that story didn’t see print until 2010, I guess).

The cover of the Sept/Oct 2023 issue of "Asimov's Science Fiction" shows a eerie swampy forest with a wolf stalking in the distance, and hails this as their "Special Slightly Spooky Issue!"