I’m posting this early because I won’t be around in the morning, and I’m taking care not to include any spoilers. Not that I tend to write shocking surprise endings, but someone told me last year that they wished I hadn’t told them anything about this story before they had read it.
So, what can I say about “Slumber” that isn’t too much? First, that you’ll only get to read it on the 10th if you’re subscribed to Daily Science Fiction. If you’re not, you’ll have to wait until the 17th, when you can find it at DSF’s website.
What else? While looking over the galley earlier this week, I thought a lot about where stories come from, and how they translate to readers. “Slumber” arises from any number of places–family mythology, my own interests as a reader, a fleeting image. Things get stuck in my head and churn around there until they cohere into something solid.
Those things, they’re important to me, but once the story goes public, they vanish. The story becomes something else, filtered through the brains of others. Sometimes that something else amazes me. Sometimes it puzzles me. Mostly it’s a strange process, this handing off of story to the world at large.
All of which says nothing about this story, does it? I’m talking around the point. For me, “Slumber” is about relationships, about their seasons, about what it means to wake up and be able to say “you stayed.” It’s not beauty, it’s not wit–it’s seeing beneath the skin of someone, and, just as much, beneath your own. It’s the things you relinquish and the things you gain in staying. It’s very much about the darkness I’ve passed through, and what it means to have someone waiting on the other side.
I think that’s enough of non-spoilers and non-answers. Have a spectacular weekend!
January 10, 2014 at 2:31 am
Hi Jennifer,
I made my way over here after reading Slumber.
It’s gorgeous. Held me spellbound.
I look forward to reading more of your works.
Best,
Lynn.
January 10, 2014 at 8:25 am
Thanks, Lynn! It’s wonderful to hear you enjoyed it.
January 10, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Ms. Mason-Black —
I cried while reading Slumber. You know, the kind of crying when you feel that you know the world and the world knows you; the kind of crying when a writer strips all excess from a story and tells truths about you and the world. That kind of crying. Thank you for a wondrous story,
Gerry M. Allen
January 10, 2014 at 4:55 pm
And that, Mr. Allen, is exactly the kind of comment that every writer longs for when they send their stories into the world. Thank you for letting me know it touched you!
January 10, 2014 at 1:49 pm
You forgot to mention the most important thing about this story: it’s wonderful! Congrats.
January 10, 2014 at 4:52 pm
Thanks, M.E.. I don’t think I get to include qualifiers like wonderful about my own stories. I save them up for other ones. 🙂
January 10, 2014 at 4:53 pm
Slumber is gorgeous, beginning to end. Thank you!
January 10, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!
January 10, 2014 at 8:04 pm
… just … beautiful! 😀
January 10, 2014 at 10:29 pm
Thank you! 🙂
January 10, 2014 at 10:17 pm
i don’t want to wait until the 17th!
January 10, 2014 at 10:27 pm
Dear Fussbudget, you should have subscribed to Daily Science Fiction then! (Haven’t you read it already? I, erm, can’t tell you what it’s about, but there’s a plane in it? If that doesn’t sound familiar, email me.)