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.