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Semiosis

The Planet Pax

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Author: Sue Burke

Writer and translator.

Spring is the most impatient, exciting, exultant season

Water is life. So say plants, at least.…We grow. The sensation is pleasurable, in fact jubilant.… Spring is the most impatient, exciting, exultant season. We celebrate life.… We have rain, we have peace, we have life. We grow. — From Semiosis, page 282 hardcover

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Sue BurkeLeave a comment

Here’s where you can read Chapter 1 of “Dual Memory”

My next novel, Dual Memory, comes out May 16. The publisher has posted Chapter 1 on its blog. It’s short, 1200 words, and ready for you to read here. Find out how Antonio Moro came to have no job, no friends, no family, no money, no clothes, and an incomplete idea of where he was … Continue reading Here’s where you can read Chapter 1 of “Dual Memory”

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Sue BurkeLeave a comment

A high body count

My husband jokes that my fiction often has a high body count. It’s true, and I’m sorry about all the people I kill. One particular death made me cry as I wrote it. Right now, I’m drafting Usurpation, the third book in the Semiosis trilogy, and like the others in the series, there’s a lot … Continue reading A high body count

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Sue BurkeLeave a comment

The lyrics to Higgins’ song, “Grief Evergreen”

Photo by Sue Burke In the novel Semiosis, Chapter 3 ends as Higgins says: “I would go out to share some truffle with Pitman soon, and I would sing him a sad song about fear and hope, failure and healing, about sweet and fresh sap in leaves evergreen with grief. Maybe I could teach the … Continue reading The lyrics to Higgins’ song, “Grief Evergreen”

Posted on February 17, 2023February 17, 2023 by Sue BurkeLeave a comment

At last! Cover art for “Dual Memory”

Here’s the cover for my next novel, Dual Memory, available May 16 (but you can pre-order now). I love the art by Mike Heath—the combination of organic and inorganic minds tells you a lot about the novel. The colors and motif suggest a frigid island with waves whipped by stormy winds. Under the stars, someone … Continue reading At last! Cover art for “Dual Memory”

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Sue Burke4 Comments

Where to find me at Capricon

I’ll be at Capricon, a Chicago science fiction convention that’s been held annually for the past 43 years. This year it will be downtown from February 2 to 5 in the Sheraton Grand Chicago. The theme is “Eternity Awaits…” “For centuries, writers and artists have speculated on What Comes After; some with smug anticipation, others … Continue reading Where to find me at Capricon

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Sue BurkeLeave a comment

Barnes & Noble pre-order sale, 25% off

From January 25 to 27, Barnes & Noble is taking 25% off the price of all pre-orders: dead-tree books, audiobooks, and ebooks. This includes my next novel, Dual Memory, available May 16. The coupon code for checkout is PREORDER25 Soon, my novel will have cover art. I’ll explain the delay later. Meanwhile, it’s a good … Continue reading Barnes & Noble pre-order sale, 25% off

Posted on January 25, 2023January 25, 2023 by Sue Burke2 Comments

What do plants think of vegetarianism?

Among the many arguments against eating meat, one seems undeniable: Animals don’t want to be eaten. What about plants? Sometimes, plants do want you to eat certain parts of them. Most fruits — apples, watermelons, and avocados — depend on animals to take the fruit, eat it, and deposit the seeds in a place where … Continue reading What do plants think of vegetarianism?

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Sue BurkeLeave a comment

My Goodreads review: “In Defense of Plants”

In Defense of Plants: An Exploration into the Wonder of Plants by Matt Candeias My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Plants are nothing like us, which is part of the reason why I like them so much.” That quote comes from Chapter 5, The Fight for Survival, in which author Matt Candeias describes how plants … Continue reading My Goodreads review: “In Defense of Plants”

Posted on January 6, 2023 by Sue BurkeLeave a comment

Behold the tree!

Because I live in a small apartment crammed with books and plants, I have very little room for holiday decorations, so each year one of the houseplants volunteers to play the role of Christmas tree. This year the Dracaena sanderiana saw it as an opportunity to live out its secret aspiration to be a real … Continue reading Behold the tree!

Posted on December 23, 2022 by Sue BurkeLeave a comment

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Why “Semiosis?”

Here’s a definition: “Semiosis (from the Greek verb sēmeiô, ‘to mark’) is any form of activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, including the production of meaning; an action or process involving the establishment of a relationship between a sign and its object and meaning.” Semiosis encompasses more than semantics, which focuses on language. It can include both human and nonhuman systems that use chemical, auditory, visual, or tactile signs to pass on information.

That is, Semiosis is about communication.

Why the name “Stevland”?

Stevland took his name from Stevland Jamil Barr, the first to die on the voyage to the planet Pax. Colonists agreed that the planet’s most important life form would be named after him.

Stevland Jamil Barr got his first name from the musician Stevie Wonder, whose full name is Stevland Hardaway Morris.

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Learn more about Sue Burke at sueburke.site

Recent blog posts

  • Spring is the most impatient, exciting, exultant season March 20, 2023
  • Here’s where you can read Chapter 1 of “Dual Memory” March 17, 2023
  • A high body count March 3, 2023
  • The lyrics to Higgins’ song, “Grief Evergreen” February 17, 2023
  • At last! Cover art for “Dual Memory” February 10, 2023
  • Where to find me at Capricon January 27, 2023
  • Barnes & Noble pre-order sale, 25% off January 25, 2023
  • What do plants think of vegetarianism? January 20, 2023
  • My Goodreads review: “In Defense of Plants” January 6, 2023
  • Behold the tree! December 23, 2022
  • I have flowers in December December 9, 2022
  • How to begin a story November 25, 2022
  • My Windycon schedule November 10, 2022
  • Goodreads review: “How to Write a Sentence” by Stanley Fish November 4, 2022
  • Speculative Fiction: The Future Happens Everywhere October 21, 2022
  • Dump no waste! October 7, 2022
  • Points of view and “Immunity Index” – almost too many? September 23, 2022
  • Very tall and spicy: a succulent in bloom September 9, 2022
  • My schedule at Chicon 8: come say hi! August 26, 2022
  • Fan art by Storm Munk-Hind August 23, 2022
  • Sue Burke & Problem Solving with Plants by Pip Talk August 18, 2022
  • How wine saved my life at the writer’s retreat August 10, 2022
  • The Tallest Trees in the World July 29, 2022
  • Meet my house guests July 15, 2022
  • Interviewed in Panel Magazine July 1, 2022
  • I’ll speak at the Current Research in Speculative Fiction Conference 2022 June 22, 2022
  • “Ludlow Charlington’s Doghouse”: an anthology supporting Friends of Chicago Animal Care and Control June 12, 2022
  • An Ode to Summer Air Conditioning June 10, 2022
  • Behold the prairie! May 27, 2022
  • Reading at Strong Women Strange Worlds on May 19 May 13, 2022
  • Counting every orange… April 29, 2022
  • Barnes & Noble preorder special for “Immunity Index” April 20, 2022
  • Come to Chicon 8! April 8, 2022
  • Euphor… April 1, 2022
  • Impatient springtime March 18, 2022
  • I’m interviewed at Tales From the Bridge March 4, 2022
  • Stars you think you see February 25, 2022
  • My very own crinoid February 11, 2022
  • Where to find me at Capricon 42 February 2, 2022
  • Join me at Stabbycon on February 1 at Reddit January 28, 2022

Plants? Really?

Years ago, one of my houseplants killed another plant. At first, I thought it was my fault because I should have been more attentive, like a proper indoor gardener.

Then a few months later, now vigilant, I caught a philodendron about to attack another plant. So I did some research and learned that plants are horrible and vicious to each other – and when it comes to animals, they’re coldly manipulative.

Horrible, vicious, and manipulative – on Earth. What would happen on a different planet with a little more time to evolve?

I still have houseplants, by the way, but I don’t trust them.

Spring is the most impatient, exciting, exultant season

by Sue Burke March 20, 2023

Here’s where you can read Chapter 1 of “Dual Memory”

by Sue Burke March 17, 2023

A high body count

by Sue Burke March 3, 2023

The lyrics to Higgins’ song, “Grief Evergreen”

In the novel Semiosis, Chapter 3 ends as Higgins says: “I would go out to share some truffle with Pitman soon, and I would sing him a sad song about fear and hope, failure and healing, about sweet and fresh sap in leaves evergreen with grief. Maybe I could teach the pack to coo along.…

by Sue Burke February 17, 2023February 17, 2023

At last! Cover art for “Dual Memory”

Here’s the cover for my next novel, Dual Memory, available May 16 (but you can pre-order now). I love the art by Mike Heath—the combination of organic and inorganic minds tells you a lot about the novel. The colors and motif suggest a frigid island with waves whipped by stormy winds. Under the stars, someone…

by Sue Burke February 10, 2023

Where to find me at Capricon

I’ll be at Capricon, a Chicago science fiction convention that’s been held annually for the past 43 years. This year it will be downtown from February 2 to 5 in the Sheraton Grand Chicago. The theme is “Eternity Awaits…” “For centuries, writers and artists have speculated on What Comes After; some with smug anticipation, others…

by Sue Burke January 27, 2023

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