I’ve decided once again to participate in the Month of Letters Challenge started by Mary Robinett Kowal. Of course, being that this is February 1, I’m already behind. While I didn’t make the full 23 letters mailed last year, and I probably will fall short again this year, I did certainly have fun. There’s something magical about getting real, ( Read more... )

It’s funny the way memory works, and the random things that come back at the oddest of times to lead your mind off on a tangent…

Back when I was around twelve or thirteen, I would drag my mother to Star Trek conventions. I was the only one of my circle of friends who was into anything remotely sci fi-related or geeky. Most of my friends were into ( Read more... )

Ever notice how television shows with a female main character tend to be the exception rather than the rule? Ever notice how television shows where the female characters outnumber the males are rarer still?

The balance has improved in recent years, but still, it’s not quite where one hopes it would be. The disparity seems particularly bad when it ( Read more... )

Sophia McDougall wrote a brilliant post about rape in fiction and the realism argument. It eloquently gets at the heart of so many problems with rape as a narrative device (because, honestly, nine times out of ten, it is used as a convenient device, so let’s call it what it is) and I strongly encourage everyone to read it. One of the points ( Read more... )

Well, the month is almost over, which means, among other things, the Month of Letters Challenge is drawing to an end. This was my first year participating, and in this case, bowing to peer pressure turned out to be a good thing! I can’t say I conquered the challenge. I know I didn’t mail a letter every single day mail was delivered, and I certainly ( Read more... )

Bowing to peer pressure (but mostly because I wanted to do it anyway, and just needed a little encouragement), I will be participating in The Month of Letter Challenge this year. You can read about it more eloquently at the link I’ve just provided, but the short version is: In February, I will send people letters. Real letters. Actual physical ( Read more... )

It’s not exactly a new year’s resolution, but I do plan to make an effort to try more new recipes this year. Between the day job and the commute, I have a bad habit of getting stuck in food ruts. I make whatever is easy and convenient, therefore missing out on new things. So my goal that isn’t really a goal is to make weekends food experimenting ( Read more... )

This post will not be anywhere as epic as the title implies. This is mostly to say I survived Philcon last weekend, including the rather hectic panel schedule. And I was not at all sad to see one of the panels mysteriously disappear from the schedule at the last minute. A few highlights, in no particular order:

Attending readings by Fran Wilde, ( Read more... )

The lovely and talented Lucas Mangum tagged me in his Next Big Thing blog post, which means, I need to (terrifyingly) talk about my current work in progress. (Why did I think this was a good idea, exactly?)

The general concept, whether I think it’s a good idea or not, is that I talk about my WIP, and tag other authors, and ask them to talk about ( Read more... )

Sunday is a good day for pimpin’. I’m pretty sure that’s in the bible somewhere. Today, I’d like to bring your attention to several awesome things my friends are doing in various spots around the web. Heck, maybe I’ll even try to make this a weekly thing. Unless I get distracted. That never hap… Ooh! Look! Shiny!

First, there are only 62 hours left ( Read more... )