I once again regret not taking pictures of all the wonderful people I spent time with this year. If you’re not pictured, please forgive me and come back for another visit — I’ll try to remedy the mistake! Click on the first picture and click through like a slideshow if you want to see the …
I didn’t do much traveling in 2016, but I’m grateful that so many of my friends found their way to Portland. It was a difficult year for me personally, but it was not without its moments of joy and love.
From Booklist: “At the heart of the collection are contributions that plunge deeply into dark recollections…these essays bear out how superheroes are powerful psychological receptacles, helping us define the crucial strength we need to survive—a sentiment which will be of great value to many soul-searchers…There’s ample insight to be found here, not the least of which is that superheroes have a deep, resounding place in our cultural and individual psyches.”
2015 was a year of massive upheaval wherein my life changed in a number of profound ways.
I came to Los Angeles over fifteen years ago, when I was 29. I’d returned home from Clarion, gotten a divorce, and fled west with nothing but my car, my cat, and a desire for change. I certainly found it. Life in Los Angeles was the opposite of my life in Maryland, where I’d felt …
Back in 1997, my BFF Sally Felt suggested we attend a week-long workshop at the Split Rock summer camp in Duluth: “Cover to Cover” taught by (the now late) Shereen LaPlantz. We were both really into paper arts at the time, and a whole week making handmade books sounded like heaven. It was not heaven. Shereen worked …
Chris says it best: Many years ago, when Jenn and I started our writing careers, in different parts of the country and different lifetimes, there were two flagship magazines to which all new science fiction and fantasy writers aspired: Asimov’s Science Fiction and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Our careers took different paths …
Padded envelopes and boxes from one’s publisher are among the best surprises to find in one’s mailbox. Today, I received the gorgeous paperback edition of Above World book 3, Horizon. (My reaction faithfully reproduced in Photobooth triptych, above.) The front of the book looks just like the hardcover, but the back has the covers of books 1 …
2014 wasn’t a great year for my career, but it was wonderful for everything else. I called it “the year of doing things and going places,” and that’s what I did. Here’s a small sampling of my adventures.
One of my White Lotus Kung Fu classmates went back to college a few weeks ago and requested a photo before he left. Of course, he requested it after class, when we were all disgusting. Still, we were more than happy to oblige. Here, then, is a rare shot of some of my kung fu …
One of the birthday presents I gave myself this year was to finally start designing t-shirts and putting them online… not necessarily to sell to other people, but so that I could start wearing more of my own stuff. [Edited to add:] If you’re interested in any of these designs, you’ll find purchasing options here: …
Last week, I attended the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop in Laramie, Wyoming. Here’s the description: Launch Pad is a workshop for established writers held in beautiful high-altitude Laramie, Wyoming. Launch Pad aims to provide a “crash course” for the attendees in modern astronomy science through guest lectures, and observation through the University of Wyoming’s professional …
This summer, in a galaxy far, far away (aka Laramie, WY), I’ll be attending the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop! Launch Pad is a workshop for established writers held in beautiful high-altitude Laramie, Wyoming. Launch Pad aims to provide a “crash course” for the attendees in modern astronomy science through guest lectures, and observation through the …
For the last few years, I’ve struggled to make sense of my online life. How much of my social media posts are professional versus personal, how do I keep multiple websites updated when it’s so easy to click a button and post something to Facebook, that sort of thing. A few months ago, I disabled …
Well, here we are, in the last month of 2013. I have a personal goal of writing the first draft of a new novel every year, and unless I get some serious time with the keyboard, I’m in danger of failing. Therefore I’m dubbing this “Daily December” and pledging to write 1,000 words a day …
Yesterday, I was at brunch with nine other people: friends I know through Chris, and their families. We all sat around a huge table. While I was talking to Meghan and her baby on my right, Chris was talking to a 10-year-old girl on his left. The girl’s mother said something along the lines of, …
Catch me at the Middle Grade Book Party panel from 12-12:45pm on October 12th, along with Kristen Kittscher, Barbara Brauner, James Iver Mattson, Ned Vizzini, and moderator Cecil Castellucci. Stay for pizza and cupcakes!
West Hollywood Book Fair celebrates its 12th edition on Sunday, September 29th. This year’s festival will feature literature, art, music, performance and community in an eclectic presentation. A total of twelve outdoor stages and indoor venues, throughout West Hollywood Park and West Hollywood Library, will host literary and arts programming that will appeal to a …
Last Tuesday, I picked up my first farm box since signing up with Savraw. Here’s what I got: I’d never cooked with most of these things before. Heck, I didn’t even know what some of them were. But the Internet is pretty great for this sort of thing, and so are my friends. I crowdsourced …
Inspired by a desire to eat better and support local farms, I joined a CSA/Farm Box organization. The way it works: I signed up and told them what I wanted — a small box of mixed veggies and fruits. (There are large boxes, boxes for juicing, and fruit-only boxes, as other examples.) I added on …
Today marks seven years since I met Chris at Worldcon in Anaheim and we started dating. They’ve been the best seven years of my life. We’re celebrating with mini parties for the next month, and with two beautiful new rings: The inlay of Chris’s ring is a layers of dark gray, whereas mine is inlaid …
One good thing about having the walls and ceiling of your office space soaked, torn down, and rebuilt is that you get to rethink the space a bit. For example, I replaced the outdated chandelier — my office would be a dining room for most people — with a ceiling fan with clean, modern lines. …
In March, I posted about Herb Garden Season 2, my second attempt to grow an herb garden on my tiny apartment porch. Season 2 opened to great ratings and high marks for quality. I was particularly proud of my sage, as I’d struggled with it during season 1. In season 2, it thrived. Take a …
June: the Bad Version Well, June was a rough one, no lie. I spent the month recovering from surgery, displaced from my home by the repair crews, while Chris and I dealt with insurance companies, contractors, subcontractors, and lawyers. I got a jury duty summons somewhere in there, and my surgery followup with the doctor …