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!***

So Nice It’s Out There Twice…

January 9, 2019 / LH Moore / 1 Comment

To start, Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to the Thunderdome…I mean, 2019!

News on my end is that my story “With These Hands: An Account of Uncommon Labour” has been reprinted in the January 2019 issue of Apex Magazine! You’ll be able to read it online on January 24, but you can get a copy of the issue at any time. You know you wanna. I mean, look at this beautiful cover by artist Tangmo Cecchini…

You can also find stories by Beth Dawkins, Lavie Tidhar, Marian Coman, Aja McCullough and an essay by Daniel M. Bensen. Check them out!

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!

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.

Post-Panel Thoughts: Blerdcon 2017

July 2, 2017May 28, 2018 / LH Moore / Leave a comment

I had a really good time at Blerdcon! Our “Afrofuturism and Black Speculative Fiction” panel on June 30 had a really good turnout! Animator and comic artist Uraeus, author K. Ceres Wright, actor/director Chad Eric Smith, and head of the Afrofuturism Network, moderator William Johnson, and I had a great discussion.
We talked about what those terms mean to us, representation in the genre, do’s and don’ts, and our thoughts about being Afrofuturistic content creators. I’ll go more in depth about my own thoughts in future posts.

I have SO much love for Blerdcon. There were some amazing cosplayers there! Many of the panels focused on diversity and inclusion. This was its first year and there was such a laid-back vibe with everyone enjoying themselves and having fun geeking out together. I know I felt like “My peeps!”

It felt good to be there and I look forward to coming back next year! If you’re into comics, gaming, anime and speculative fiction, you should go too!

My Hypeness is Real…

April 6, 2017 / LH Moore / 2 Comments

The latest issue (April 2017, Issue 95) of Apex Magazine is out!

I am incredibly excited because my poem “Vox” is published in it! Not only does this mark my debut as a poet, but I am so honored to be in it with luminaries such as Walter Mosely! Guest edited by Maurice Broaddus, it has fiction by Sheree Renee Thomas, Chesya Burke, and Kendra Fortmeyer and poetry by Linda Addison. It also has an essay by Tanya DePass and interviews with Sheree and artist Angelique Shelley, whose cover is stunning! My hypeness is SO REAL!

From the site:
“Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released the first Tuesday of every month.”

Please check it out and also support Apex‘s subscription drive so that you can continue to get wonderful, quality publications such as this!

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!