"The Screwfly Solution" on Showtime

When Alice Sheldon wasn't writing under her James Tiptree, Jr. pseudonym, she also wrote as Raccoona Sheldon. One of the scariest R. Sheldon stories, which was later collected in Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, is the extremely scary (but excellent) "The Screwfly Solution." On Friday, December 8th, Showtime's Masters of Horror series is debuting The Screwfly Solution, an original TV episode based on the Sheldon story.

I have high hopes for this. The episode is a collaboration between director Joe (The Howling, Gremlins) and writer Sam Hamm, (Batman, Batman Returns). There's a very thoughtful interview with Hamm on The Sideshow. The episode stars - get this - Elliot Gould and Jason Priestly.

If you've never read "The Screwfly Solution," the story is still up on SciFiction.

I'm not used to being an early adopter. I got my Arkham House edition of Her Smoke Rose Up Forever as a gift over ten years ago (thanks, Jacob). Tip/Sheldon has been one of my favorite writers ever since. And now she's veritably slammed into the zeitgeist. Weird. But I'm very willing to share.

Which reminds me that The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3 is out. Geoff Ryman, Ursula Le Guin, Ted Chiang, Dorothy Allison and more. Plus, more controversy. We love the controversy.

Jill