Happy Halloween, everybody, and Happy New Year's Eve to those of you who share my particular calendar. May the Great Pumpkin smile upon you tonight, bringing you candles which burn brightly, candy that never goes stale, corn mazes as complicated as the twisting choices of the heart, and costumes that are inventive, interesting, and warm enough to keep you comfortable through all the long, dark hours of the evening.

I measure my life from Halloween to Halloween, instead of in candle-ends and coffee spoons. It's odd, but it works for me, and it's been one hell of a year, hasn't it? I left my day job (and still have no regrets; the tighter finances are more than balanced by the fact that I can finally sleep, I can finally be productive; it's amazing). I roved through Europe, eating all the cheese that I could get my hands on (and losing twenty pounds in the process, all hail the lack of high-fructose corn syrup in European breads and deli meats). I announced several awesome projects, and pursued several more.

I buried some beloved friends. I don't know that I'll ever stop wanting to call them, or reach for them. Lilly has joined the legion of cats that I try to cuddle in the middle of the night, when my dreams turn melancholy. Human or animal, I wasn't ready to let any of them go. Yes, death is a part of life, but that doesn't make it hurt any less.

I hope that all of you out there are ready to have a happy Halloween, full of all the thrills, chills, spooks and spills that you desire. I hope that you've had a glorious year, and are looking forward to a wonderful holiday season. Most of all, I hope that you're well.

Thank you for sharing this past year with me.

I was delighted when John Joseph Adams asked me to be the guest editor for the special Queers Destroy Science Fiction issue of Lightspeed Magazine, following on last year's incredibly awesome and successful Women Destroy Science Fiction. (And I admit, I paused before saying "yes," since being the editor means I can't submit.) But in the end, the opportunity to be a part of making this a real thing in the world was too much for me to pass up.

We just opened for submissions.

The submission portal is here, and includes links to the overall guidelines: http://submissions.johnjosephadams.com/queers-destroy-sf/submit/

It's important to remember that while we do not require the stories to have queer content, we are actively seeking stories by queer (QUILTBAG) authors. It's my great hope that we will have representation from most of the letters in the acronym and beyond, since demisexual and pansexual authors are also queer. ("A" is for "asexual," not for "ally.") All stories must have science fiction content.

Submissions are open through February, which is also when I and my team will be making final decisions. Don't rush to submit; make sure your story is awesome and ready to rock. I want to see the widest possible range of stories and authors.

This is our issue. Let's rock it.