Some time ago, a writing mentor of mine encouraged me to tap into my working-class background as a “differentiator,” to help promote myself. It has not really paid off. I think the only people who care are those who picked up on my background already through my writing, and I Read more
His name was Eduardo, and he was from Argentina. I immediately liked him because he looked like a high school friend, also named Ed. We met on the sidewalk by my dorm because he was loudly making fun of bad American Spanish, “Ho-La! Coh-ma eestah?” and I said, “Ay! Terrible!” Read more
Looking back, the teasing I endured at school had more to do with hygiene than a lack of fashion sense. We were dirty kids. I mean me and my twin sister. There was an overall assumption around the house that grooming us was optional, wasteful, even. We weren’t made to Read more
“You seem to really like writing,” my friend Matt said to me recently. “So many of us, we want to write, but we also hate it.” It surprised me, because he was right. After years of burnout, I made a very conscious decision to re-capture my love of writing and Read more
I set out to write an unpublishable book, and it has become my greatest success. For years, I tried to create a novel that would land me an agent. I tried to write urban fantasy because that seemed to be a popular thing, then I tried to write harder science Read more
I have commissioned the coolest Hellcats swag, Gang Jacket Patches. Dante Luiz, an Ignyte winner and Hugo finalist, designed a logo for me for the Galactic Hellcats gang, based on the traditional designs for motorcycle gang colors, with “SC” for “Spaceship Club” instead of “MC” for “Motorcycle Club.” I then Read more