Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
 I’m trying to tie up some loose ends and get organized before leaving for Balticon on Friday. I’m participating in two readings, and I’ll be teaching a seminar on Saturday on How to Sell Short Fiction. I’m very excited.
One thing I’m doing is going through all the unfinished manuscripts on my desk. I want to take some with me to the hotel. Even though I’ll be busy, I’m certain to have some downtime to work on a few things. The question is, what should I take? Without wading through all the garbage here (the physical and the electronic), and tidying up a little, I don’t have a clue.
It’s a little like cleaning up before going on vacation. Are you familiar with the concept?
When I was growing up, my Mom made us clean the house top to bottom before we went on vacation. I hated doing that. (Hi, Mom! You knew that already, right?) It wasn’t the cleaning that I objected to, it was the time lost that I could be doing something else, like writing, or reading, or well, just about anything other than cleaning, that I really hated giving up.
But I have to admit, my Mom had it right. There was nothing better than coming home to a clean house when you arrive exhausted from vacation.
So that’s what I’m doing now, cleaning off the desk, filing away some papers, shoving various versions of WIPs into folders and putting them away (or into my rolly bag to go with me to the con). I’m also tackling that thumbdrive with three hundred files, all on the root.
I’m looking forward to the convention, but I’m also looking forward to coming home to a clean desk, my mind all juiced by nearly four days of sci-fi and fantasy fun. With a little luck, I’ll know just what to do — and have all that “convention high” enegy — to finish the WIPs and start something new.
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
 I received my Balticon schedule today. This is tentative, but I think it will be pretty close:
Friday, May 28, 10:00 p.m. – Broad Universe Reading with Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Roxanne Bland and Gail Martin.
Saturday, May 29 – Free all day! Wanna have coffee?
Sunday, May 30, 10:00 a.m. – V: The Old Series vs. The New
Sunday, May 30 7 – 9 p.m. - Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory Book Launch
I’m looking forward to ALL of these events. I’m especially intrigued by the “V” one… (I can picture my high school buddies all shaking their heads right now…my locker used to be wall-papered with “V” stuff back in the day!)
Of course, reading with the other Broads is also a great gig, as is being part of a book launch. My story “Selk-Skin Deep” debuts in Bad Ass Fairies 3: In All Their Glory.
Balticon takes place over Memorial Day Weekend, May 28-31, 2010. Hope to see you there!
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
 Reviews
Occasionally, I write reviews for SFreader.com.
(It’s a fabulous place, by the way, packed with information and reviews for SF & F readers and writers. You should check it out.)
SFReader.com just posted my review for Jeremy Lent’s Requiem of the Human Soul.
I thought about dual-posting the review here, but decided against it. Instead, I urge you to go to SFReader.com and read the review….while you’re there, look at all the other stuff SFReader.com has to offer.
(Short Review: Fabulous. I couldn’t put it down. For the synopsis (rather long, due to the complex plot) and my full review you really need to go to SFReader.com.)
Have I said it enough times yet? Go read the review!
And, in case you missed it, my review for Kimberly Raye’s Just One Bite is also available on SFReader.com here. (Not my usual cup of tea…but I thoroughly enjoyed this one, too.)
Keep Your Fingers Crossed
I got an invitation to the Bad Ass Fairies 3 launch party today. That means that my story “Selk-Skin Deep” is under consideration to be published in that anthology. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Won’t you do the same?
The party will take place the Sunday evening of Balticon, which I’d already planned to attend. My schedule is going to be jam-packed…but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Friday, January 15th, 2010
Yay! I’ve been invited back to Balticon this year. I’m so excited.
I had a lot of fun being on all the panels last year, and reading from Blood Soup in the “Rapid Fire Reading” with other women authors from Broad Universe. (You can read what I had to say about last year’s awesome convention, here and here and here and here…)
This year I’ve proposed to run a critique session, (both a “how to critique” and a “how to start a critique group” seminar — based on a chapter I wrote for the book “How to Write Paranormal” (forthcoming!) and my own experience with my face-to-face critique group.
(Hi, guys! I know you’re reading!)
I’ll keep my fingers crossed, waiting to hear back from the Balticon folks about whether they’d like to host such a seminar. In the meantime, if you have questions about critiquing, or how to start a critique group…fire away. I’ll be happy to answer.
On Another Note
I’ll also be reading with some Broads at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC later this year. The date hasn’t been set in stone, but it looks like either April or June. If you’re in the DC area, I’d love to meet you. I hope you’ll stop on by to hear us read!
Friday, October 16th, 2009
 I’ll be at Capclave tomorrow, reading from Blood Soup.
Capclave is hosted by the Washington, DC Science Fiction Association and promotes short fiction. Their motto is: Where reading is not extinct!
The convention tends to be small and literary, but enjoys participation from big names in the field. This year’s Guest of Honor is Harry Turtledove.
I’ll be reading with other members of Broad Universe, including Jean Marie Ward, Roxanne Bland, Victoria Janssen and Diane Arrelle. We’ll be doing a “Rapid Fire Reading.” Each of us will read for ten minutes or less from out works.
And, we’ll have chocolate.
If you’re in the Washington Area around 1 p.m., please join us. I’d love to meet you.
Thursday, August 6th, 2009
I got it!
I received my contributor copy of Triangulation: Dark Glass in the mail yesterday. The cover is even more powerful up close and in person. It’s smooth and slick and the colors are a rich, deep, gorgeous darkness…I feel like I could step right into it and ask the guy if I can have a look-see through his spyglass.
Just so you know, Triangulation: Dark Glass is the 2009 edition of PARSEC Ink’s internationally acclaimed anthology series… I’m thrilled to have snagged a place in the line-up: only sixteen tales were chosen out of more than 500.
I’ve been reading the stories, right from the beginning…and I have to say…they’re really good.
(I haven’t gotten to my own yet…so I’m not bragging. Mom taught me not to brag.) But the rest of these tales? Really good so far.
Had you been at Confluence last weekend, you could have picked up a copy (they were printed especially for the Conference). But you can order yourself a copy on line if you’re still interested.
In Other Writing News…
I heard from my editor about a non-fiction piece I wrote on critique groups for a “how to write” book. The book is ready for print. A bio from me and the other contributors, some links to on-line resources for the chapters, and they’re ready to go… I’m excited about that one, too. I’ll put up the cover when it’s available.
Monday, May 25th, 2009
I really enjoyed myself, met a lot of great people, but (oh, boy!) am I tired.
Many attendees have already made their way back home, and attendance is light on this, the final, day.
I attended Networking 101 in the morning (fabulous!), and spent the afternoon in a four-hour seminar called How to Teach Science Fiction and Fantasy. Catherine Asaro presented an excellent session on including hard science in stories if you’re not a scientist (a common complaint of young students.)
I’m not a teacher, by training or trade, but I found the seminar useful on so many levels…
Tomorrow: a trip to BWI to send-off my friend…and then back to the mundane grind.
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
Author Roxanne Bland carries the dragon head mask she won at the Reading is Fundamental auction.
Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
Today I moderated a panel on Pitching One-Liners to Sell Your Novel with several really good authors and publishers:
Jonathon Mayberry
David J. Williams
Nancy O. Green
Neal Levin (Small Press Publisher)
The panel drew a fairly large audience, many of whom appeared to be seeking representation. The panel was easy to moderate with such good members and thoughtful questions.
It epitomized what I love about intimate cons like Balticon: the speakers provided excellent information during the panel and then offered to provide additional info via email for anyone who was interested.
(And Jonathon came up with a really good pitch for a book I’d love to read: “Curious George Meets Hannibal Lecter”)
I was also on the What is Social Media? panel. The other panelists were clearly friends and had worked or hung out together a lot: always an awkward situation for the odd-man-out. My experience stemmed more from my day job than from a fiction perspective, but I think overall it was well received. Many thanks to the moderator, Tee Morris, for keeping me involved in the discussion. (Tee is the author of Podcasting for Dummies and other technical and fictional things…)
Finally, I and several members of Broad Universe, read from our writing. The room was small, but packed. Readers included Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Trish Wooldridge, Gail Z. Martin, and Jean Marie Ward, who, like me, read from a dragon tale.
Later in the evening I got to attend a panel on Start Up Rituals for Writers. I thought it would be a lot of fun to discuss the various quirks of famous writers, but the panel quickly devolved into a talk about ‘what to do for writers block.’ There was also a lot of discussion about finding inspiration in a hotel bar.
The best part of the panel was meeting Brian Koscienski and Chris Pisano who produce the “Trail of Indiscretion” Magazine and run Fortress Publishing, Inc. Brian’s title is “CEO, CFO, President, Editor-in-Chief, Writer, Megalomaniacal Genius.” Chris’s title is COO, CCO, Vice-President, Writer, Spiritual Philanthropist.” (This means he gives hugs.) So…judging from their titles, you can guess that these guys were a lot of FUN. They really livened up the panel. (Chris and Brian will write you a haiku for a nickle if you buy a copy of one of their books,” but I handed Brian a quarter and bribed him to write me one based on “Curious George Meets Hannibal Lecter.” Here it is:
(I did buy the latest copy of “Trail of Indiscretion”…great short stories and some awesome comics. It’s well worth $5.)
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
I had no panels or readings today, but found myself busy enough that I fell into bed exhausted by the end of the day.
I picked up my fellow-writer-friend Trish Wooldridge at the (Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) at 8:30 a.m. (!) and we scooted down to the Inner Harbor for coffee and Italian almond cookies at Vaccarro’s in the Light Street Pavillion.
Being the writer geeks that we are, we headed over to the Edgar Allen Poe House and Museum – unfortunately located in a not-so-great part of the city. A manned police car sits outside all day long so that visitors aren’t accosted by the locals. In order to enter the museum, you have to knock on the door and wait for the curator to unlock it and let you in.
The house is tiny, and it’s hard to imagine how five people lived in the household without stepping on each others nerves.
Except for one item, all things in the house are reproductions, but it’s still interesting to see the photos and city directories and playbills.
The one authentic item in the home is Poe’s lapdesk which he used when he attended University of Virginia. The curator referred to it as Poe’s “laptop.” (This satisfies both my writerly geekiness and my tech geekiness….can’t get any better than that!)
Here’s a photo of me (my hair wild from Baltimore humidity) standing beside Poe’s laptop.
Of course, after we visited Poe’s House, we had to visit his grave. Here it is…
Poe is buried in the Westminster Hall Cemetery which is an old, estasblished graveyard. Age and elements have eroded most of the slender gravemarkers, but there are large monuments protecting the mouldering bones of several former Baltimore residents famed for their part in the Revolutionary War.
(I love graveyards. They’re beautiful and serene…and wonderful places to sit down write (quiet and inspiring!).
After the Baltimore tour, we drove to the Con and met up with other writers from Broad Universe and got our schedules straight for the rest of the weekend.
Tonight is the Steampunk Ball. Here’s a photo of Jean-Marie Ward (and some guy I don’t know!) in their dance finery.
More tomorrow as the convention continues…
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What I’m Reading PROJECT FILL IN THE BLANKS:
OTHER:
The LAST Sacrifice, Hank Hanegraaff & Sigmund Brouwer
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