When Books Collide

by | Jun 25, 2013 | Uncategorized

I was doing my darnedest to write a scene all day. I had it outlined; I knew what I wanted to do with it. But the dang thing was doing a “digging to China with a rusty spork” routine on me. So I gave up and let it go where it wanted to go. And dang if what...

Back to the Fall!

by | Jun 16, 2013 | Uncategorized

It’s time to really dig in and finish The Fall. I’ve had lots of ideas, while I was working on other things, for ways to complicate the plot, and I’ll have lots of time with little distraction over the next two weeks while the husband is away at an...

Snoring at the (Space) Opera

by | Jun 13, 2013 | Uncategorized

I recently asked my Facebook friends for recommendations on something space opera-y to read. At random, I picked one, read the excerpt on Amazon, and decided to buy it. While the excerpt left me wanting more, I’m having trouble getting through the book. Every...

The Marann: Take 2

by | Jun 9, 2013 | Uncategorized

I’ve been working on The Marann. My publisher asked me to give it a pass. I approached the file with no small amount of trepidation, because I think I read the thing 137 times before releasing it last October, and I wasn’t anything like eager to make it...

Writing Upside Down

by | Jun 1, 2013 | Uncategorized

A friend of mine on Facebook admitted this morning that she was terrified of making changes in her unpublished epic (which is, as I understand it, under contract). I’d be terrified too, methinks, and I feel her pain. While The Fall isn’t anywhere near epic...

MisCon Wrap-Up

by | May 28, 2013 | Uncategorized

As horrifying as the 6-turned-20-hour trip to Missoula was, MisCon more than made up for all the stress I had to endure to get there. One of the first things I did was buy a Resistance pin and attach it to my name tag. Now, this may not seem like much. But I tell you...

Clusterfrack

by | May 24, 2013 | Uncategorized

I’m just a wee bit too tired to censor myself. So here I am in Denver. I’m supposed to be in Missoula, Montana, mind you. I’m in Denver because my plane out of Pittsburgh was 3 hours late, and I missed my connecting flight. Did I mention that I...

Word, Interrupted

by | May 16, 2013 | Uncategorized

So I just posted this status update on Facebook: “At irregular intervals, Word decides that every word I’ve told it to ignore is suddenly a gross violation of the order of the universe and underlines them all in red again. At that point, I must go to each...

The Perils of Science Fiction, Part 2

by | May 15, 2013 | Uncategorized

Last month, I got a little excited because I discovered Tolar wasn’t possible where it was. Its orbital period – 2.03 Earth years – was too long to be in the habitable zone of its star, Beta Hydri. Turns out I had mis-copied the equation. I was using...