Speculative Fiction That Asks Big Questions
It only just dawned on me in the last couple of days that I hadn’t blogged in a couple of months. Holy Continuity, Batman! Where does the time go? In my defense, I’ll say that this has been the busiest few months I’ve had for quite some time! In early September I began a beta-read…
NOTE: This post is about acknowledging the fact that I still have a lot to learn. In the first few paragraphs, I address a sensitive matter involving animal husbandry. Though I’ve tried not to go into great detail, and made every effort to maintain respect for the animals, if you think the topic will be…
Most writers I know aren’t only writers. They’re also working professionals in a variety of other fields. They are parents, siblings, spouses, friends, neighbors. They have everyday obligations that can’t be put on hold or neglected. Time to write, when it can be found, is golden. So when a writer has more ideas than they…
(or: My Teachers Were Right All Along) My husband has read (rather, heard) the epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan, more than once, and spoken highly of it each time. This year I finally decided to listen to his recommendations. I began reading Eye of the World, the first novel in…
I have a handful of short stories in my query list, ones for which I’ve been trying to find homes for months now. Each time I’d get a rejection, I’d shake my head and submit that piece elsewhere. Last week, I opened one of them to re-read it (it’s been a while). What I found…
I’m back! Didja miss me? After four weeks of a flash fiction class where we had homework every week, another week of preparing to teach a class for a friend, and three weeks of non-stop editing/re-reading/re-editing, I’ve finally sent off my latest draft to the next round of readers. Now I’m at a point where…
Every now and then I see posts on Twitter or Facebook asking whether or not Scrivener is a good project development program for writers. I always chime in with a resounding “yes!” Not because I’m being paid to say so. I’m not. I just know a useful tool when I see one, and I want…
What?? Monday got past me without posting on my site??? I think somebody spun the clock ahead (and not just for daylight savings time) when I wasn’t looking. How did I lose a whole day? To be honest, things are going to be cranking in my life for the next month or so. After I…
I mentioned in my last post that I was traveling to Guatemala with friends who do humanitarian work on behalf of the Masai American Organization through proceeds from the Dream Shop and other sources: providing basic health, dental and visual checkups; building new schools and elder centers; supporting local women’s co-ops who create hand-dyed and…
After a long dry spell, I’m writing again. At the moment, I’m working on a short story with specfic elements (my norm), and a new, non-specfic novel which I intend to write as a series of letters. Single first-person POV telling a tragic story that will probably be the hardest thing I ever write, so…