Author Archives: Jeannie Lin

Ken Liu’s “Paper Menagerie”

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Sometimes I read something so amazing that I feel like just a hack. I learned about Ken Liu’s Hugo award winning short story “Paper Menagerie” while browsing a review for Diverse Energies, an anthology with some of my favorite new authors.

I don’t want to say too much about it other than that I was deeply moved. The story seems pretty widely available online. I double checked to make sure I’m not reading and pushing a pirated copy and I believe this is freely available. If I’m not correct, please let me know ASAP!

Ken Liu – Paper Menagerie

Inspiration for the day

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Hubby must have been in a particularly warm and fuzzy mood this morning:

Hubby: How’s the book going? *rubs my back affectionately as I stare at the computer*
Jeannie: I’m 50,000 words in and it’s crappy.
Hubby: Well, don’t hesitate to start over from the beginning.
Jeannie: *casts evil eye*

This is the same guy who tells our ten month old twins that, “It’s going to hurt like that every time until you learn how to control that head” when they knock their baby noggins against something.

So I’m taking a bit of inspiration from two kick-butt ladies today.

First, Nora Roberts, who when asked what she does if a story doesn’t work out answered, “That never happens. I make it work.”

And Shannon Butcher. At a panel for our local chapter, someone asked her what she does when characters get unruly and don’t behave as she wants them to. As someone who doesn’t believe in characters who talk to me, I loved her answer: “My characters are my bitches.”

There you go. Picking up my big wobbly head from the desk and setting off to make it work, no matter what.