It’s that time of year again, so here’s the thing: In the Palace of the Jade Lion made the Locus Magazine Recommended Reading List for 2012 in the Novelette category. Which mostly means that at least two of the magazine’s staff and reviewer pool thought it didn’t suck. I would say it also means that the story is eligible for the annual Locus Award in its category, but that would be deceptive. Frankly, any story that was published last year and otherwise met eligibility requirements is eligible in its respective category. What being on the Locus Recommended List really means in this context is that the story will be listed directly on the Annual Locus Poll and survey, where readers can vote on their favorite stories, and you wouldn’t have to do it as a write-in. That’s pretty much it.
So if you read “In the Palace of the Jade Lion” and also thought it didn’t suck, you could follow the link above and, you know, vote for it in the poll. You don’t have to be a subscriber to vote; that’s open to anyone, and the poll is open until April 15th. And if there are any more stories or books that you liked last year, you can vote for them, too. Frankly, we could all use the support, so it’s all good.
Okay, I’m done. Next post I’ll try to have something less self-serving to say. No promises, though.
Richard Parks 
I was given your book “Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter” for my birthday this Feb 9th and I’ve finishing it tonight, this is a great read and I want to thank you for writing it. I’m very picky in what I read and if I’m not interested with in the first few pages I never finish the book, I can say that you had me from page one! I do hope to see more from Lord Yamada no Goji.
Vance Nesbitt
Scottsdale, AZ
I’m very glad you enjoyed it, Vance. If everything goes well there should be more Lord Yamada out by year’s end. Stay tuned.
Actually I really enjoyed the story – so I did vote for it as #1 in the category. I was amazed how much was written last year that I had never heard of let alone read.
Thanks!
I’ve been told that it was once possible to read everything published in the sf/f field, but that was long before my time, and I’m no spring chicken. It’s hard to complain about a surfeit of riches, but it’s too easy to get lost in the sheer quantity of it all. Which means we all have to read selectively, which means good work and writers get overlooked.