Hope wherever you can find it

[mrissa]

New story out in Clarkesworld today: The Music Must Always Play. The Minnesota River Valley, alien tragedy, figuring ourselves out one piece at a time.

Comments

[sartorias]

Really enjoyed that story!

[mrissa]

Thank you!

[pameladean]

That was wonderful and I loved it, aside from a lingering resentment about the probable destruction of Minneopa Falls. But I loved the grind and serendipity and necessary optimism of scientific work here.

I read this right after "Blue Ribbon," which I had somehow missed before, and the combination did me in for the day.

P.

[mrissa]

Thank you so much.

The thing is that it was important to me that the destruction matter to me personally. Minneopa Falls, yes, and the Coffee Hag and a bunch of things that are not of global significance but matter to me. The location choice was VERY specific that way.

My late grandmother loved fall in the Minnesota River Valley. We were never alive at the same time, we never breathed the same air, but--oh God I love it too, I have said to her memory so many times, "pretty great, isn't it?" Because it mattered that she was here, even though she was gone. So yeah. It had to be Mankato.

I didn't know Fade was going to repost "Blue Ribbon" because of the State Fair, yeah, that's quite a combo. That one has been translated into, of all things, Vietnamese. So Vietnamese people can also feel gut-punched, they're welcome I guess.

[pameladean]

Oh, I hope the Minnesota River Valley may tell her hello for you from time to time, if that is a thing that sounds good.

I've only been to Mankato as a way to and from Minneopa State Park, but there were pieces that made me think, "We could stop there next time." We never did, though since aliens have not been there in this reality, perhaps we may.

I love the bits of the Minnesota River Valley that I know, but I do not know so much of it.

P.

[pameladean]

The ways of translation are strange. The first Liavek volume was translated into Japanese. (Very pretty volume indeed.) I don't think later ones were. I really wonder how it seemed. Less gut-punching, I think, overall. P.

[lydy]

This was lovely. Thank you. I was never that fond of Mankato, anyway.

[mrissa]

Thank you!