Other writers frequently ask me how I get so much done, what my schedule or writing practice is like. I decided to actually track my activity for a week and see what it looked like so I was answering honestly. It was a little bit of a weird week, I Read more…
I was too young to babysit, and had no allowance, so all the money I had came from the sidewalk or from returning glass bottles to the corner store. The week of Mother’s Day I shook out my tootsie-roll shaped bank and found I had $1.18. The year before, I’d Read more…
I was in college, and hanging around Theta Chi fraternity was my major pass time. I had this belief these boys my own age were somehow older, wiser, more sophisticated than me, and I wanted to be like them. [Ah, past me, have more self-esteem!] It was a boy named Read more…
A year ago, Brian and I became the legal guardians of our niece, Jennifer. It was a difficult and emotionally fraught journey, and in the end, we were overwhelmed with gratitude that we were able to provide shelter, stability, and love to this amazing young woman. But something a little Read more…
Being a science fiction writer was all I wanted, since as far back as I can remember. I was hailed as something of a prodigy by my school teachers, who I recall holding up the fat stacks of my hand-written “short story” assignments in dismay to other teachers. “I have Read more…
Whoops … I had promised to blog about my experience at Confluence this year, but the time has flown. Confluence is a very nice science fiction convention in Pittsburgh, specifically it’s at the Airport Sheraton, which is a smaller hotel for conventioning, but it boasts a lovely large salon on Read more…
My friend Patrick, who went to Clarion with me in 2013, is the president of the Alpha Young Writer’s Workshop, which is a ten-day intensive workshop for teens to learn the craft of speculative fiction. Every year I listen to him talk about the stress and joy of the workshop, Read more…