S.B. Divya's Blog, page 7

A number of historians and political analysts have come forward to point out that the USA is falling into an old political trap: divide and conquer. We are an increasingly polarized nation, treating each other as if we're fans of opposing sports teams rather than a whole society looking to its best interests. As the left and right move apart, they leave a gap in which a demagogue fits perfectly.

Human nature lends itself to tribalism, but a nation needs to see itself as a tribe or it will fall...

It's that awkward time of year for published authors in genre fiction. The Nebula and Hugo Awards are open for nominations. After having a reader be incredibly generous enough to buy a WorldCon membership to nominate Binaries, I felt that I would be remiss not to make this post. 

All of my stories from 2016 are eligible for the Nebulas and the Hugos. I am no longer eligible for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Foremost for your consideration, in the Novella Category, my debut standalone...

I've been on LiveJournal for over 10 years now, mostly using it as a semi-private ("friends-Locked") record of my life. Besides keeping my writing skills honed, it's been great for looking back and remembering years past. 

When I started on LJ, it was a thriving and active community that included many of my friends, but those numbers dwindled - especially after Facebook took off - and are almost down to zero these days. Given that, I decided to poach snippets from my LJ to recap my 2016.  

Janu...

I am a feminist. I believe in the right of all women to be treated as equal human beings to men.

Since my adolescence, I have often found myself the only girl in the room (and after I moved to Minnesota, the only non-white person in the room). In college, I was the only girl in the physics lab or EE lab or neurobiology lab. At the workplace, the only woman in the meeting or the only woman in the entire company who wasn't an admin. 

The only girl reading that science fiction book. The only woman...

Alyx Dellamonica was kind enough to host me for an interview about my favorite fictional heroine(s). Many other authors preceded me so I tried to pick two that no one else had mentioned (yes, I have more than two favorite heroines). Here are some hints as to my answers:

You can read the full interview on Alyx's site: S.B. Divya's Heroines.

Launch day is here for the indie game Rogue Wizards by Spellbind Studios! This was my first foray into the world of game writing, and it's been a great experience.

For Rogue Wizards, I wrote the story and most of the character dialogue, which turned out to be an interesting challenge when compared to writing narrative fiction. In this game, the primary vehicles for telling the story are text-based dialogue, scrolls, and letters. The dialogue happens on-screen, but the scrolls and letters are w...

I'm noticing an interesting divide between the older generations and the current crop of twenty-somethings when it comes to discussing social issues in the USA. Today's conversations are mostly about things like unconscious bias, equal representation, and authenticity of experience. We've come a long way from even a few decades ago, when most progressives were concerned with sexism and racial prejudice.

Before that (before I was born), people fought to get basic human rights. Half of the popul...

I will be at the World Science Fiction Convention (MidAmericon2) in Kansas City, MO. I have a packed schedule full of great panels and social events, and I'm not sure I could be more excited - short of having a Hugo nomination! The list of where & when you can find me is below.

In addition, I'll be volunteering at the SFWA suite from 9-11pm on Wednesday.

Thursday 14:00 - 15:00, 3501D (Kansas City Convention Center)

What is the theory of faster-t...

Quick post for those following along via feeds: my very short (flash) fiction piece about family, posthumans, and powers of 2 is now up on Lightspeed Magazine: Binaries by S.B. Divya. It's also appearing in print and ebook in their special issue, People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction! 

Please consider buying - and reading! - this issue as a show of solidarity against movements like the Rabid Puppies, who think that the only reason non-white, non-male authors are winning awards these days...

Today is the big day. My first book (of many, I hope!) is out in the wild, wooly world, ready to be read (and loved or hated). I'm feeling like a parent whose child is on her first sleepover - proud, excited, and a wee bit terrified. 

Runtime features cyborgs in a grueling race through the wilderness, set against a backdrop of new immigrant laws and a gender-neutral social movement. You can read the first part for free at Barnes & Noble Readouts, and then delve deeper into the challenges of lo...