It has been one hell of a beginning to 2023!
To be fair, I’ve had a run of unbelievable luck that started last December, when Android Press bought my scifantasy novella, The Unbearable Taste of Fruit and Wine. Then in January, an editor reached out about a slush submission and that has culminated in my getting an agent and being signed to Harper Voyager! I have a scifantasy duology coming out with them next year. For now, I call the series The Waters of Lethe, and the first book will be The Nightward.
In the midst of all that, I found out my novella, Bishop’s Opening, has been nominated for not just a Nebula, but a Locus Award as well! It’s my first time on both ballots and I can’t believe it’s happening in the same year. I’m the first locally based Trini author to be nominated, the only one who has lived her entire life in the islands, and I’m so proud and happy to be able to represent for my country like this.
It’s especially meaningful to me to have accomplished all this during the most difficult period in my life, while I was jobless in the wake of breast cancer surgery. Most of last year, I was doing chemo. I’m only now recovering from that and still have no dates for the next two surgeries I will need to do, but I hope to get them done soon. My house also literally started falling apart, and I had no money for repairs. So I’m especially grateful to my friend, Arula Ratnakar, a talented scifi writer, who helped put together a Go Fund Me last year. Because of the generous donations of friends and kind strangers, I was able to stay afloat and begin repairs to my house.
I still have a great deal of work ahead of me, personally and in terms of the house (if you’d like to donate, you can click here; I would really appreciate it as I’m far from my goal and every little bit helps). I have to edit and write a book. I have to find a way to do this while most likely recovering from surgery and dealing with disruptions from house repairs. I have to get my health back on track while doing hospital visits every month for follow up cancer treatments. The road ahead is not going to be easy.
But I feel blessed and lucky. Lucky to be alive. Lucky to feel my brain coming back online so I can write again. Lucky to have family, friends and loved ones who supported me through all this, and kind strangers who recognized my work and donated to help save my life and my home.
I’m the luckiest person in the world right now. And I have you to thank for it.
If you want to know a bit about the stories that will be coming to you soon, read on for the announcements!
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
R.S.A. Garcia 