Ryan Maguire's heavily damaged by fire

I was shocked to find out (via Bill Shunn's blog) that Ryan Maguire's Ale House, the place where we went every month after the New York Review of Science Fiction Readings at the South Street Seaport, was terribly damaged by fire last night. This was a lovely, welcoming bar that made us feel at home whether we showed up with five people or 50 -- good food, good drinks, and a wonderful staff.

Ironically, February was the last month that the NYRSF readings were held at the Seaport -- because it no longer could offer its facilities, the readings are moving to the SoHo Gallery for Digital Art starting next Tuesday. And what we kept saying that we'd miss the most wasn't necessarily the space at the Seaport, but going to Ryan Maguire's afterwards.

All my best wishes to the owners and staff at Ryan Maguire's, and I hope that they are up and running again very soon.

"In the Gingerbread House" reviewed in Tangent Online

Tangent Online, "the genre's premiere review magazine for short SF & Fantasy since 1993," has reviewed Electric Velocipede 17/18. Impressively, they actually covered every story in the double issue by giving a section to each of three reviewers. My story "In the Gingerbread House" didn't do so badly. Here's the review, by Kathleen M. Kemmerer:

The story “In the Gingerbread House” by Barbara Krasnoff is an urban fantasy set in Nazi Germany. A little girl taken backstage at the Berlin Opera is given a ”magic” paste jewel off the floor of the stage by her slightly older brother as a ruse to get her to stop crying. Unknown to those around her, however, the jewel talks to her and tells her the fate of each person she meets. This is at once a delightful whimsy and a fearful prospect in the tragic ends that these characters will suffer in the horrors of that period of world history. The story is a compelling and original triumph.

Not bad, huh?

Issue 15 of Crossed Genres now out!

I'm pleased to announce that my story "The Seder Guest" is now available in Issue 15 of Crossed Genres. It features five stories and an article:

FICTION
The Turk in the Basement by Jason S. Ridler
The Seder Guest by Barbara Krasnoff
Keeli’s Ordeal by Scott H Andrews
Caretaker by Marilou Goodwin
The Prince of Artemis V by Jennifer Brozek

ARTICLE
Writing Our Own (Alternate) Histories: Fanwork As Folklore by C.A. Young

That, and a whimsical piece of cover art by Nicc Balce. Enjoy....

A few notes about "Waiting for Jakie" and other stuff

If you would like to read my story "Waiting for Jakie," it's still available on the Apex Magazine Web site (just click on the story's link).

Speaking of Apex, this weekend is your last opportunity to vote for the Apex Story of the Year (2009). "Jakie" is one of those eligible, and it would be cool if I weren't the only one voting for it. <g> You can place your vote here.

If you like the story, and the other great stories that are on the site, and want a nice printed copy (as opposed to printing it out from the Web site), they've all been collected into an anthology called Descended From Darkness: Apex Magazine Vol. I. You can click on the link to order it.

And finally, just FYI -- nominations for the Nebula are open until February 15th.  If you're eligible to vote, you should -- there is some really great stuff in the running. At the very least, looking through the current nominations offers a list of where to go if you need something to read.

"Seder Guest" sold to Crossed Genres

I'm pleased to announce (that sounds really formal, doesn't it? Oh, well) that I've sold my story "The Seder Guest" to Crossed Genres magazine, and that it will be available in Issue #15, online and in various formats, on February 1st.

Something nice to think about as I brave JFK airport tomorrow on my way to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas...

Apex running contest for best fiction

Apex Magazine is celebrating its first year of becoming a professional-level digital magazine by running a contest for the best original fiction published by the magazine. The winner will be chosen by popular vote -- and needless to say, I'd be happy & flattered if I got a few votes somewhere in there...

Anyway, even if you don't feel like voting, you can still read my story (which ran in the April issue): Waiting for Jakie.

Wanna vote? Just go here.

(Note: Apparently, Apex changed its poll service; I've fixed the link to reflect that.)

Jumping onto the PEIR

On Tuesday, I'm going to be attending a class at PEIR -- about one of my stories. PEIR -- Personal Enrichment in Retirement -- is a program at Hofstra (located on Long Island) where seniors create their own classes, taking advantage of all the academic learning and life experience that they've accumulated.

This is a class about literature, and they're actually going to discuss my story Waiting for Jakie; when they're finished dissecting it, I get a shot at defending myself .

How/why do I know about this? My mother has been a part of the PEIR program for years now. So I'm actually appearing in my character of "Dorothy's daughter."

I'll let y'all how it goes.