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the only sci-fi anthology you need
I haven’t read science fiction in many years–to be honest, non-fiction has consumed what little reading time I have. But the other night, I rediscovered, tucked behind some other books on my shelves,...
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Back from Germany, and various writerly items….
I spent the last two weeks (or so) in Germany, visiting with family and sightseeing. I went over with my wife and younger daughter, Ally Jane, to meet up on spring break with our older daughter, Beth,...
View Articlewhose culture is it, anyway?
So Selena Gomez, whom I’m familiar with thanks to my younger daughter, has honked off some people by wearing bindi during a performance at the latest MTV movie awards. The comments quoted in the...
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along came a whiner: james patterson wants the feds to bail out books
Recently, mega-author James Patterson took out an ad in the New York Times Book Review asking for the government to bail out libraries and the book publishing/selling industry. If Patterson’s name...
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sci-fi or fantasy? how about sci-fi AND fantasy?
There’s a long (but well-worth reading) post on the blog of sci-fi writer John C. Wright wherein Wright tackles the age-old question of what differentiates science fiction from fantasy. It’s a thorny...
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last week’s highs and lows of being a budding author
Last Tuesday, I was invited to attend “Career Day” at my younger daughter’s middle school, where parents would come in and spend about a half hour presenting to, and taking questions from, the kids on...
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flowers for uncle jerry
Once upon a time, reading science-fiction was frowned upon by older people. Growing up, I had many a teacher or other grown-up tell me, “Stop wasting your time on that garbage and read something...
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back from balticon
I spent most of the weekend at Balticon 47, peddling copies of Dragontamer’s Daughters. Many years ago, I used to hang out at the after-hours parties there, but I hadn’t been to the convention proper...
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a pair of belated birthdays
Various things have kept me too busy until now to note that June 1, 2012 was when I published Dragontamer’s Daughters, Part 1: Pearl and June 2 was DTD 2: Stormcaller. Though there have been some...
View Articlenot going “under the dome”
Stephen King’s books are like KISS records: loud, not very smart, but occasionally fun. Also, the best ones were done 35 years ago. So no, I did not watch the premiere of Under the Dome last night,...
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“no way” to the sfwa
Casual fans of sci-fi and fantasy might not be aware of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, a group founded in 1965 to promote the interests (primarily financial) of writers in the...
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when the world was young: the “trilogy of terror” doll
The latest in a series about influences from my childhood Fantasy/sci-fi/horror writer Richard Matheson passed away earlier this year, and I had been meaning to write about that when I saw that...
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teacher appreciation: verlyn flieger
In honor of the kids going back to school, this will be the first of several posts about the great teachers I was fortunate enough to have in my academic career. To kick things off, let me tell you...
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thug notes: a new take on old books
(hat tip to Mary Robinette Kowal) When I was in high school and college, I sometimes found it difficult to appreciate certain classics. Great Expectations did nothing for me; likewise for Crime and...
View Articlelearning social media, and upcoming events
For the past few months, I’ve been getting together with Brent Lewis and some fellow writers to research and teach each other about social media: Facebook, Twitter, Google +, etc. We’ve been meeting...
View Articlelearning from “tropes vs. women”
I swear, I’m forever behind the curve on pop culture things. I only realized how awesome Led Zeppelin was after they’d broken up. I only saw maybe one or two episodes each of Cheers, Friends, and...
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teacher appreciation: j.r. salamanca
The latest in a series recognizing the best teachers I had I was stunned and saddened to learn that on October 30 of this year, just a few weeks ago, the great J.R. Salamanca passed away peacefully...
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save the date: authors’ night, 12/5/2013
Come join me and a slew of great Eastern Shore authors on Thursday, December 5 for a book sale and signing at Fisherman’s Inn at the Kent Narrows (3116 Main Street, Grasonville, MD). We write lots of...
View Articleso i got that goin’ for me, which is nice
Yesterday, I received some appreciation from the folks at Wattpad.com, where anyone can read both Dragontamer’s Daughters books. As I’ve mentioned before, Wattpad is a site where anyone can upload...
View Articlepublishing “dragontamer’s daughters” (the traditional way)
The process of trying to get a book published has been very educational. After I had finished (or thought I had finished) writing Dragontamer’s Daughters in August 2010, I set out trying to get it...
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