On Saturday December 18, 2021, they presented the awards for the 2021 Hugo Awards. For those who don’t know, they’re sort of the Oscars for the field of science fiction and fantasy. So, for genre writers and nerds (like me) they’re a pretty big deal. The first award was presented in 1953, and together with […]
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I’m early as I always am. My training as an NPR reporter insists that I maintain this discipline. I want my hand seen. I want to see the speaker and her body language. Tone matters. Inflections matter. Everything that occurs at a presser carries a message. Even as a radio reporter, all five senses count. […]
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What fun! I really didn’t know what to expect when I accepted the Author of the Year recognition from the Baltimore Faerie Faire, but there was belly dancing, big bands, folk music, a hoard of really cool/fun people… AND I was given a key to the Faerie Kingdom! It all started when I received a […]
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So, you’ve finished your manuscript, addressed the concerns of alpha readers, beta readers, your critique group, and conducted countless bouts of self-review. Now, you stand upon the parapet. Before you lies undiscovered country, all the foreign states of agency. A lush forest whispers of fruit, but carries the snarls of werewolves. A wind carries the […]
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I was recently asked to lead a workshop on humor for the Silver Spring Writers’ Meetup Group and while I’ve been lucky enough to sell my humorous commentaries on NPR or find a publisher to print my fictional riffs like any good writer, reporter, or author the first thing I did was hit the books […]
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Catherynn Valente’s works bring me joy. Her clever and intricate wordsmithing, sense of humor, and the humanity of her stories appeal to me in a big way. I’ve been a reader of hers since I worked on a piece about NANOWRIMO for NPR and almost managed to include her as one of the guests. It […]
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Last year at Mars Con I sold to a guest a copy of A Climbing Stock, telling him my novel was in the mold of Spaceballs and Princess Bride. He told me those were his two favorite movies and if the book didn’t measure up he’d find me and kick my ass. I am proud […]
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Great time at the Olney Library! I was one of six local writers invited to be part of a reading. To my delight, we had a full house. They organizers asked me to lead off and so I chose a silly, humorous piece about robot dinosaurs and a master sculptor who happens to be a […]
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Okay guys, I think I hit the big time. A Halo of Mushrooms is a featured part of a major exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery! Visitors who enter the central room on the second floor are welcomed to mellow other-worldly music and a series of kinetic, glowing, prismatic mushrooms. If you stand on their […]
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It was a hot day at the Maryland Renaissance Fair and not only because it was 105 degrees plus humidity. Some of the heat emanated from the amazing acts, the cosplay, and the phenomenal pieces of craft on display like life-sized chain mail version of the Maryland state flag by Brian Galloway. But mostly it […]
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