Beth Wodzinski Hi, I'm Beth. I create: words and art. I do yoga. I cook tasty food. I publish Shimmer magazine. Now 37% more purple.

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Monthly Archives: October 2009

World Fantasy: We Have Arrived!

Published October 29, 2009 - 5 Comments

“Let’s just drive to San Jose,” we said. “Flying sucks and it’s not that far.” Famous last words, etc. Probably the most horrible part was the death-defying narrow concrete chute of construction I had to drive through at dusk on Donner Pass, but there were dozens of other annoyances.

There were some bright spots. We had a lovely lunch at the Winnemucca Pizzaria, an unexpected oasis in the middle of Nevada. Our hotel room is very nice. And best of all, the Fairmont offers free parking if you have a hybrid (regularly $26 a night! Eeek! Or the hassle of finding other parking.).

So I’m even more delighted than usual to have arrived at World Fantasy, and am eager to take on the world tomorrow — after a nice long sleep.

“Munsil and the Minotaur” in Escape Clause

Published October 13, 2009 - 4 Comments
Escape Clause

Escape Clause

The  Escape Clause anthology is out, and it’s got one of my stories in it: “Munsil and the Minotaur.”

The story was written in a series of flash challenges over at Liberty Hall. My thanks to the real Munsil for providing a great space to play, and for letting me borrow his name. (I swear the real Munsil is nothing at all like the one in the story!)

To celebrate the release, I’ve posted another Minotaur story. “The Minotaur’s Rabbit” appeared in Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest back in 2006. The events in “The Minotaur’s Rabbit” occur many years after those in “Munsil and the Minotaur.”

Read! Enjoy! And then go grab a copy of Escape Clause for more Minotaur goodness.

Escape Clause is almost 300 pages long, with 26 stories and a lovely sprinkling of illustrations. It was produced by Kit St. Germain and Clelie Rich, who were absolutely delightful to work with.

I can’t wait to read the rest of the stories!

The Wedding FAQ

Published October 6, 2009 - 12 Comments

Q: Ahahaha, you got married? That’s a joke, right?

A: Nope! Sean and I really got married on Monday, Oct 5. All witnessed and photographed and legal and everything.

Q: Wow, why so sudden? Why didn’t you plan a big wedding and/or tell me? Are you pregnant??

A: We always figured we’d get married with little fuss someday when the time was right; I guess the time was right. Sean needed health insurance, so we figured we might as well.  We did not get a chance to tell everyone we wanted to, though we did talk about it on our blogs, twitter, and facebook (so follow us there if you want to know what we’re up to!). I am not pregnant.

Q: Did you wear shoes to the wedding?

A: Yes, Mom.

Q: So how was the ceremony?

A: It was really nice. We were joined by our friends Keri and Jeff, Skipper, and Chris and his lovely wife Brenda. Chris took photos for us, and Keri and Skipper were our official witnesses. The ceremony was the standard one written by the county clerk, and it was great. Afterwards, we went to Ruth’s Diner and ate way too much food.

Q: So are you changing your name?

A: No, no. I’ll retain my own identity instead of being subsumed into Sean’s. I’m casting off the shackles of patriarchal hegemony and keeping my “maiden” name, given to me by my father.

Q: You really crack yourself up, don’t you?

A: Oh, yes.

Q: So, uh, we didn’t get you any presents. What can we get you?

A: Aww, that’s sweet, but you don’t have to get us anything. We’re cool. We’ve got everything we need and a lot that we don’t need, including a hot dog toaster.

If you must get us something, Sean would love a pizza. We would also make good use of gift certificates (to pretty much anywhere, including Ikea, local restaurants, hotels, bookstores, etc).

Or, channel your generosity to people who really need it: support organizations working for marriage equality in all states, so that all couples can just run off and get married if they want to.

A: Where are the photos?

Q: Sean’s got a few up on his web site; there will be more.

Getting Married on Monday

Published October 4, 2009 - 5 Comments

Monday morning I’m getting married. Sean and I have been living together for two and a half years or so, and have always figured we’d get married someday. Might as well be Monday, eh?

The decision to do it now started as part of a discussion about how Sean needs health insurance — so if this doesn’t work out, I shall blame the Republicans for blocking health care reform.

So tomorrow I’ll be a boring old married lady. See you then!