cartoon Marie on her laptop
  • Author Bio
    • Contact
    • Newsletter
    • Awards
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Novels
  • Other Works
    • Stories
    • Comics
    • Poems
    • Games
    • Non-Fiction

Blog

Woman at table holds up book with text Join my author newsletter, get free stuff!
project

The Dreaded Self-Promotion

So there I was, in the middle of teaching a class on selling short stories, and on my “post sale” slide I included “announce sale on social media after contract is signed” and “post again when the story is live, Read more

By Marie, 2 yearsApril 22, 2024 ago
Writing

It’s Not Romance I Dislike

blog topic suggested by Nyla Bright. “Everyone says the writing in romance novels is bad but in my experience it’s no worse than a lot of genre fiction. The people it bothers the most are those not engaged— Or better Read more

By Marie, 2 yearsApril 17, 2024 ago
cartoon heart
Cartoon girl playing with mud and bricks
Life

My Love Affair With Radishes

My mom always had a garden. Her mom always had a garden before her, and for a time they were one in the same, as we lived with my grandparents. I have fond memories of snapping peas with grandma on Read more

By Marie, 2 yearsApril 11, 2024 ago
Writing

The Snap of a Purse – Crafting the Perfect Ending

That endings should be “surprising yet inevitable” has been often quoted writing advice (some attribute it to Flannery O’Connor, but I cannot verify that.)  My friend and fellow science fiction writer Charles Oberndorf – a more accessible source – said to Read more

By Marie, 2 yearsApril 4, 2024 ago
a cartoon chest full of fanciful things like a rocket ship and a robot
Positronic Toaster banner with cute retro toaster
Blathering

Fonts: a rant

Blog topic suggested by Zac Crofford. This isn’t entirely a rant. An anti-rant? This is a happy rant. I frickin’ love fonts, and I love when I open a book and the typeface is pleasing to my eyes. Unlike many Read more

By Marie, 2 yearsMarch 22, 2024 ago
Writing

Oh My Gort, Stop Doing This

Expletives are a shorthand for emotion, and modern American speech is peppered with them. I tried to remove “god” from my vocabulary a few years ago, since, as an atheist, I felt I was being disingenuous. I started saying “Gort” Read more

By Marie, 2 yearsMarch 21, 2024 ago
Marie lays on a chalk drawing of angel wings.
Usula Whitcher eating tacos and beer by the Chicago River
Writing

North Continent Ribbon

My dear friend and a fantastic author and mathematician, Ursula Whitcher, is launching her first short story collection, North Continent Ribbon as part of Neon Hemlock’s 2024 novella series.  Ursula is quiet and casual and unassuming, just as she was Read more

By Marie, 2 yearsMarch 13, 2024 ago

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 10 11 12 … 66 Next

Events

Marie’s Calendar

  • Twinsburg Author Festival

    June 23, 2026  5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
    Twinsburg Public Library 10050 Ravenna Rd. Twinsburg, OH 44087

    Authors set up after 5pm. Open to public 6:30pm

    See more details

  • Confluence

    July 24, 2026 - July 26, 2026  

    See more details

  • DragonCon

    September 3, 2026 - September 7, 2026  

    See more details

  • Signing at the Learned Owl Bookshop

    September 26, 2026  11:00 am - 1:00 pm
    204 N Main St, Hudson, OH 44236

    Join me in Hudson at a cute bookshop!

    See more details

  • North Olmsted Library Event

    October 15, 2026  7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
    North Olmsted Branch, 27403 Lorain Rd, North Olmsted, OH 44070, USA

    Join me for an intimate discussion and signing at the North Olmsted Public Library. Books will be available via Mac's Backs

    See more details

Follow me:

Instagram

Bluesky


Hestia | Developed by ThemeIsle