Anna Frost's Blog

Some of you may be aware that the publisher who picked up my steampunk Across the Serpent Sea was bought out by a larger company last year. This turned out to be a bad thing for my manuscript because the new owners don’t want to publish it. At this time I have no idea what’s going to happen. I’ll post better news if I get any.

Everything in publishing moves very slowly, something I’m still trying to get my family to understand. (“Is your book out now?” “I told you, next year!”) But it does move! I’ve turned in my first round edits to my editor and am now sitting around wondering if I did a good job or the worst job ever. (I hope my editor isn’t weeping right now.) There’s also been COVER STUFF happening. I don’t know when we’re going to share.

In other news, we’re leaving for Japan in a bit more than a week and I’m feeling pre-tired. The flight is going to be brutal both ways. I look forward to the part in between!

Spirits Abroad (ebook) by Zen Cho

Collection of  gorgeous fantasy stories by a Malaysian author. I go through short stories like candy so they rarely stick with me. This collection, however, really stands out. A few of the stories also feature a lesbian protagonist. Recommended!

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

This is a ridiculously fun wild west steampunk novel with a YA vibe. It features a lesbian protagonist who is also a prostitute (it’s just a job to her and while she doesn’t shy from commenting on it, there is no on-page sex). Our intrepid heroine and her friends start out trying to find a serial killer and end up fighting the Evil Villain to stop his Nefarious Plot. Diverse cast, including a trans lady.

The Awakened Kingdom N. K. Jemisin

A fun little novella set after the events of the Inheritance trilogy. I recommend reading the entire series. It’s got a complex plot, interesting world-building, a racially-diverse cast, a genderfluid god (mostly presented male in the first book but this changes later), a disabled character done well (the main character in the second book)… It’s good stuff.

Next I’m going to read The Infinite (Gates of Thread and Stone Series Book 2) by Lori M. Lee. The first book was a fun read so I’m looking forward to more adventure. The cover is great too, look at it!

I just got news that Musa Publishing is shutting down on February 28. This means that you have until then to buy the Kitsune Trilogy. Right now I don’t know if they’ll ever be available again. The books are also 80% off on the publisher’s website so you can get the entire trilogy for $3.

Links:

Fox’s Mask

Fox’s Quest

Fox’s God

Do look around for other books you might like to pick up. They’re all 80% off.

I’m happy to say I achieved all of last year’s resolutions. This year I’m not going to be terribly ambitious. My two goals:

1. Query my new project, the urban fantasy with lesbians.

2. Write something new. (I have nothing planned right now, which makes me anxious. What if I never get a novel idea again??)

Today only, my publisher is having a 50% off sale on their website. That means that each of my books are priced at $2.50 instead of $4.99. I’m not sure if it’s still in effect but last I knew new customers registering on the Musa website got a small gift certificate as a welcome so you might pay even less.

Direct links:

The Fox’s Mask

The Fox’s Quest

The Fox’s God

Here’s our list of things to do/see for our Japanese trip slash honeymoon. With a Japan Rail Pass, it’s cheap and easy to hit as many cities as you like. It’s also significantly faster than by car or bus.

In Tokyo

-Tokyo National Museum in Ueno

-Imperial Palace Garden

-Visit Sensoji Temple during the sanja matsuri (spring festival)

Side-trip from Tokyo

-Sign up for this tour, or an equivalent tour, to see Mount Fuji and Hakone

In Kyoto

-Old Imperial Palace

-Explore historical Higashiyama District and/or Gion District

-Nijo Castle

-Fushimi Inari Shrine

In Kanazawa

-Ninjadera

-Kenrokuen Garden

-Nagamachi District

In Fukui

-Dinosaur Museum

In Osaka

-Museum of Housing and Living ( Info at the bottom of link)

-Osaka Aquarium

In Hiroshima

-Peace Museum and Ground Zero

-Hiroshima Castle

Side-trip from Hiroshima

-Ōkunoshima (Also know as “bunny island” because of its large rabbit population. They seem to behave a lot like the deers in Nara–they know humans have the good food and they want it.)

This post is getting long so I’ll make a separate post for the last leg of the journey, where we’ll hit Okinawa.

I spent a month in Japan several years ago and it looks like we’re going to repeat the experience next year for our honeymoon. Now, it won’t be a very romantic honeymoon because my father will be with us for most of it, but we’ll have the last week to ourselves.

I’m going to talk a lot about our trip preparations in coming months, but for now here’s a few general things to consider when going to Japan:

1. Many places, even some restaurants and boutique hotels (like ryokans), won’t accept your credit or debit cards. You absolutely need change for public transportation too. Carry plenty of yens.

2. When you need to withdraw more cash, do NOT go to a bank. They don’t have the right ATMs. Instead, learn to identify post offices by their T-shaped logo and use the ATMs there. (Warning: their keypads don’t have letters on them so you can’t ‘spell’ your password.)

3. Don’t rely on finding English speaking staff everywhere you go. Restaurants in large cities often have picture menus so you can point at what you want, but for everything else it’s a bit tougher to communicate. Prepare for that however you see fit. A vocabulary list of words you might need can go a long way.

I’ll post our itinerary when I’m done fiddling with it.

I’ve been fairly quiet online lately. I’m working full time at the moment and that sucks the energy right out of me even at the best of times. There’s also the fact I got engaged in June, spent July planning the wedding, and got married in August. Even a small wedding takes a whole lot of detail wrangling!

So how much writing have I got done since June? None. I’m getting rather cranky about it. I have a week off in mid-September and I fully plan to spend it chained to my computer!

I think I’m in love with Aldnoah Zero. The general plot is pretty classic sic-fi fare (Mars colonists VS Earth, war over resources, etc), but I love the way the protagonist basically uses a mobile suit with training wheels on it and still manages to win by using his wits in battle.

I’m also excited about the new Sword Art Online season. Kirito with a lightsaber, squee!!  The ambiguous gender of his new game avatar is interesting, though sadly it’s only used for laughs so far. I can’t wait to find out who Mysterious Bad Guy really is.

Now, the disappointments. I wanted to like DRAMAtical Murder because queer MCs are always shiny to me, but I lost interest after two episodes. The other new shows of the season don’t really grab me but I might try a few anyway.