2020 Awards Eligibility

December 5, 2020 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

It’s that time of the year! Here are my works eligible for the 2020 awards season:

Let’s start with “Roots On Ya” (FIYAH Issue #13, Winter 2020) about a rootworker in rural Virginia in the early 1900s. It is being reprinted in Apex Magazine in January 2021. Reviewer Charles Payseur said “If this were the pilot for a TV show, I’d be sold.”

Next is “Rule of Thirds” (Fireside Quarterly: Winter 2020; Magazine: Issue 77, March 2020) about a scientist who finds out more than she bargained for in unexplored underwater tunnels deep beneath the earth.

And then there’s “A Clink of Crystal Glasses Heard” in the SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire anthology, ed. by Nicole Givens Kurtz (Mocha Memoirs Press). A lighthearted coming of age story about legacy and learning about yourself. This story would also be eligible for MG or YA short story awards.

I’m also going to include my nonfiction essay “On Vision and Audacity” and poem “Hidden” that appeared in Chosen Realities (vol. 1), the literary journal of the Diverse Writers and Artists of Speculative Fiction (DWASF).

I hope you’ll consider nominating these! This has been a tough year for us all and here’s to the next year of more stories, more creativity and more writing accomplishments!

What I’ve Read: Trail of Lightning

January 21, 2019January 21, 2019 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

Hey there everyone. I thought I’d keep on telling you about the stories I’ve been enjoying by specfic writers of color. This week, let’s talk about Rebecca Roanhorse’s debut novel Trail of Lightning! I, like so many others, loved her Hugo, Nebula and Campbell Award-winning short story “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™.” After I finished it, I simply said “Goddamn!” So when she came out with Trail of Lightning, I knew I had to read it.

When writers of color tell the stories of our own worlds, of our own cultures and experiences, readers are treated to something different and new because the well the author is drawing from is deep with unheard stories. The world that Rebecca Roanhorse, who identifies as Black and Pueblo, draws from for her Sixth World series is an Indigenous one filled with Diné mythology, tradition and every day life.

Protagonist Maggie Hoskie is pretty much a loner–or has preferred to be. A no-nonsense monster hunter, she is called upon to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, setting things in motion. Maggie tucks in the ends of her moccasin wraps, puts on her leather jacket, grabs her Boker knife and gets things done. She is not alone, joined by the handsome, smooth-talking, healer-in-training Kai (okay, can we talk about how damn fine Kai is supposed to be??) who, like Maggie, has clan powers that they use to their advantage.

Together, they travel through a Dinétah nation protected from the outside world by a wall constructed with help from the gods. The rest of the U.S. has been devastated by an apocalyptic flood. Who is creating the monstrosities that are running rampant? What the hell is the trickster Coyote/Ma’ii up to now? Where is Neizghání, with whom Maggie had shared so much? What is going on? There are gods and monsters, and she has to deal with them both as they figure it out.

The second book in her Sixth World series, Storm of Locusts, is coming out this April and is now available for pre-order. If you haven’t gotten into them yet, get on it!

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse, 2018. Simon & Schuster.
Find out how to get your copy HERE.

***Getting that To Be Read List down one book at a time!***

What I’ve Read: A Ruin of Shadows

January 13, 2019January 21, 2019 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

What do I know about doing reviews? Nada, as this is my first one, but I can tell you about specfic books and short stories I’ve read lately–especially ones by writers of color like me. My colleagues are putting out some great stuff that you should know about if you don’t already, so I thought I’d start something new for the new year on my blog.

Let’s get this party started with L.D. Lewis’ novella A Ruin of Shadows, which gives new meaning to the lament “I’m too old for this shit.”

Gen. Daynja Édo has been whooping ass and taking names left and right for a long time, doing what has to be done and doing it very well. She has a magical mask that adds to her fame as well as the Shadows, her team of assassins that she personally trained. With folks eyeing her position and questioning if she’s still capable, she is given an official order. Gen. Édo rejects it like “Nope!” and the hunt is on, with the Shadows and a whole army at her heels.

I love that Gen. Édo is an older protagonist. Her bones pop and creak. She runs a hand through gray hair. But the most important thing is that she knows exactly who she is, what she can do, and has the wisdom to see through BS. No wondering and angst. We don’t often get a chance to see older women being as badass as possible in specfic and she definitely is. That whole chase and ending was like “Goddamn!” and had me cheering. Pick it up for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.

Hey L., when/if you come out with its sequel…I. Am. So. THERE.

A Ruin of Shadows by L.D. Lewis, 2018. Dancing Star Press.
Find it on Amazon, B&N, or an independent bookseller near you.

***Getting that To Be Read List down one book at a time***

LH Moore’s 2018 Awards Eligible Stories

November 26, 2018November 26, 2018 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

It’s that time of the year and I have works that are eligible for 2018 science fiction, fantasy and horror awards (such as the Nebula, Hugo, and Stoker) this year. Oooo! Ahhhh! I am hyped. I really do hope that you’ll consider them and add them to some lists!

Short Story: “With These Hands: An Account of Uncommon Labour”
FIYAH Magazine, Winter 2018 (Issue #5: “Ahistorical Blackness”)
As the symbol of a new country is constructed, all is not what it seems.

Inspired by a painting and informed by history itself, this story is currently on the Nebula Suggested Reading List and was chosen by Jason Sanford as one of the “Best SF/F Short Fiction, January through June 2018.” Here are some more reviews about it: “Weekly Fiction Rec Roundup 6” by Jeff Xilon and “Quick Sips: FIYAH #5 (Ahistorical Blackness)” by Charles Payseur. (And psst…”Labour” with a “U” in the title is intentional. It was also published like that as well as it is set in the 1790s.)

Novelette: “Peregrination” (co-written with Chesya Burke)
Chiral Mad 4 (Written Backwards), October 2018
Editors: Michael Bailey and Lucy A. Snyder
What makes us special. What we will do to protect the ones we love.

There’s dimensional plane-jumping and spending a little time in the void. Not to mention a twist on what constitutes family (especially when they aren’t quite…human) and the lengths to which they will go. All set during the Red Summer of 1919. Check it out!

And please consider Chiral Mad 4, the groundbreaking anthology that it is a part of, too: four short stories, four novelettes, four novellas and four graphic adaptations–all collaborations. It is seriously something!! More info about Chiral Mad 4 can be found at https://blog.nettirw.com/2018/10/19/chir4l-mad/ or by contacting editor Michael Bailey.

Short Story: “Here, Kitty!”
Black Magic Women: Terrifying Tales by Scary Sisters (Amazon)
(Mocha Memoirs Press)
Editor: Sumiko Saulson
What’s lost should probably not be found.

Wrong place. Wrong time. Or was it? I always enjoyed those “Take a hint, run!”-type stories and had a blast writing one myself. I hope that you will enjoy and consider it too.

The Black Magic Women anthology is also eligible for awards as well. If you are a juror and would like a free eBook of it please email editor Sumiko Saulson at sumikoska@yahoo.com. For a hard copy, contact publisher Mocha Memoirs at mochamemoirspress@gmail.com.

Thank you for considering my work!

Post-Panel Thoughts: Balticon 2018

May 28, 2018June 9, 2018 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

Ooo, I just love going to cons. It’s always nice being surrounded by folks who love scifi, fantasy and horror as much as I do, so when our Diverse Writers and Artists of Speculative Fiction (DWASF) group was invited to participate, I was more than happy to go. Some of our members (B. Sharise Moore, K. Ceres Wright and Chad Eric Smith) were on an “Afrofuturism 101” panel (along with Stephanie Burke and Nicky Drayden) that was standing room only!We also had a readings event where DWASF members John Edward Lawson, Stafford Battle, Chad, K. Ceres & I read selections from our works. I read an excerpt of “With These Hands,” that was published in FIYAH Magazine.

We love telling others about our group and had a really fun meet and greet event. We’re talking food, trivia, giveaways and fun. I know I had a great time chatting with attendees about how to submit and where to find markets and about representation in specfic.

Lisa Adler-Golden, who is head of programming for Balticon, stopped through. She shared with us how important to her it was to have these events going forward. “It is not just about straight, white males,” she said. “Our membership is graying and the future of our organization depends upon recognizing the diversity and concerns of our younger members.” Hearing that so many attendees were happy to know our group existed was fantastic!Thank you for having us Balticon! I know that I had a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to returning next year!

I’m a Scary Sister

January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

Hey there…Just wanted to let y’all know how excited I am about my short story “Here, Kitty” being included in the Black Magic Women: Terrifying Tales by Scary Sisters anthology edited by Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press). For years, Sumiko has been keeping track of us scary sisters out there writing horror and supernatural suspense stories (because we do) with her “Black Women in Horror” series. Black Magic Women is a selection of stories by authors profiled in her guide (me included!)

I support her project and love of the genre and I am proud to be a part of this. You can support Black women horror writers too. Get yourself a copy of this e-book ASAP!

Until next time!

~L.

Walk Down the Path

September 23, 2017September 23, 2017 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

I’ve been struggling with what to write in these posts, so I think that I am going to just go ahead and get personal with it. Let’s talk about perseverance.

This past year has been one of the hardest of my life. My husband needing a double lung transplant. Caregiving. Moving. Helping my son with autism transition through these changes. Feeling financially nervous (who doesn’t?). Finishing my thesis and graduating from grad school. A sick mom. Now needing to move yet again.

Yet, through it all I have been positive as an writer and now I’ve been recognized as a poet as well. Had a story come out in an anthology (Sycorax’s Daughters) and a poem published in Apex. And then there’s a project that I can’t even discuss yet. These are exciting, encouraging times for me right now. I see this momentum. I’m gonna walk right on down the path it’s taking me on. It might seem hokey, but writing has been my constant in the face of upheaval.

There have been times I have doubted my existence. There have been times that I wanted to close my eyes and just be done. We all have these moments of crisis when we are overwhelmed, when we are confused, scared, or want to give up. But that is just it. Please don’t.

The Ancestors are looking out for you. The Creator/Universal Energy that we are all a part of has a path for you to follow–and there is room along the way for your dreams. For writers and other creatives out there who are struggling: I know that it feels hard, but don’t give up.

Make it happen.

It will.

Until next time…
~L

NYC Book Signings!

March 17, 2017 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

Last weekend I rolled up to NYC for signings in Harlem and Brooklyn for Sycorax’s Daughters! The first was at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. I was joined by authors and poets (from l. to r.) Kiini Ibura Salaam, Nicole Sconiers, Joy Copeland, Amber Doe, Tracey Baptiste, K. Ceres Wright, Zin Rocklyn and Sheree Renee Thomas.We had a really nice turnout and a great crowd! We read excerpts and answered questions and had a lot of fun…
Saturday night we were at Quimby’s Bookstore in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. It’s a great little bookstore that you have to check out if you’re there. Here we (A.J. Locke, Sheree, me and Kiini) are with the shop’s owner Steven Svymbersky…Had a good time laughing and chilling out in the corner with the fantabulous Sheree!
I had so much fun in NYC and it was wonderful meeting and being in the company of so many talented writers and poets. So much good energy going. Hope we cross paths again soon! Thank you to both venues for having and supporting us! Want to read Sycorax’s Daughters? Contact your local bookseller or grab a copy HERE.

DC Signings!

March 5, 2017January 29, 2018 / LH Moore / 1 Comment

I joined K. Ceres Wright, Joy Copeland and L. Penelope at the Howard University Bookstore in DC for the first signing of our anthology Sycorax’s Daughters!We then headed over to Sankofa Video Books & Cafe for the second signing. Being two blocks from where I went to high school felt like being back home! Was I hyped? Yes. Definitely yes. Just look at me…
Sankofa is devoted to writers of African descent, founded by filmmakers Haile and Shirikiana Gerima. The vibe there was so nice and that cafe! Mm-MMM! We have to support independent booksellers!
For this signing, we were also joined by L. Marie Wood. She’s looking pretty serious in this pic, doesn’t she? We were actually smiling and laughing a lot. Book signings are especially exciting when there are more than one of you.
We all really enjoyed reading excerpts and discussing the book with everyone. We had a great time taking questions and talking about the craft and how we view horror and speculative fiction. What you will find in the anthology is a range of what horror can be. To me, it is a redefinition…and that’s a whole other post for another time.

Contact your local bookseller or pick up a copy HERE!

Available for Pre-Order!

February 9, 2017 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

Dancers at Crystal Caverns, Washington, DC in 1932. Inspired my story. (photo: Library of Congress)

Oooo yeah!! Sycorax’s Daughters is now available for pre-order HERE!

From Cedar Grove Publishing’s site:

“A powerful, revealing anthology of dark fiction and poetry by Black women writers. The tales of what scares, threatens and shocks them will enlighten and entertain you.

Sycorax’s Daughters’ stories and poems delve into demons and shape shifters from Carole McDonnell’s “How to Speak to the Bogeyman” and Sheree Renée Thomas’ “Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight” to far future offerings from Kiini Ibura Salaam’s “The Malady of Need”, Valjeanne Jeffers’ steampunk female detective in “Mona Livelong: Paranormal Detective II” and others.

These thought-provoking twenty-eight stories and fourteen poems cover creatures imagined— vampires, ghosts, and mermaids, as well as the unexpected price paid by women struggling for freedom and validation in the past—slavery to science-fiction futures with transhumans and alternate realities.

Leave the lights on and join these amazing authors as they share their unique vision of fear.”

So excited to be a part of this groundbreaking project!