Tag: life

Spring 2024 Author Update: Writing, Publishing, and More!

It’s been way too long since I last posted anything here. Since late December, to be exact. Even longer since I posted any kind of an author update. Sorry about that.

Trust me, though, it’s not because I’ve been sitting on my butt eating chips and watching Netflix (okay, I’ve done a bit of that) or trying to become a TikTok sensation (Gods no, I don’t even have an account). Truth is, I’ve been deep in the trenches of personal creativity and professional commitment these last two months. Between the endless whirlwind of teaching that never seems to slow down and my attempts at–you know–writing, there’s been little time for much else. But it’s been good, and I have things to share. Spring 2024 Author Update

Getting Back into Gear with My Creative Writing

While December is my “rest and recover” month following my fall trimester of teaching, January is the month when I get back into my creative writing by diving headfirst into the Codex Writers‘ annual winter Flash Fiction Challenge. Holy wow, did it kick my ass back into gear. Four new pieces of flash fiction later, and I’m feeling like I’ve been through a literary boot camp. I won’t lie; I’m not exactly throwing a parade for the stories I churned out, but damn, it felt good to shake off the cobwebs and get those creative juices flowing again. After a three-month hiatus from writing, finding my way back to my keyboard always feels like trying to start a car in the dead of winter—frustrating, but oh-so-satisfying when it finally roars to life.

2023 Continues to Bear Authorial Fruit Spring 2024 Author Update

I have jaw-dropping news—at least, it made my jaw drop. My short story, “A Wielder Does Not Know Regret,” was chosen for the Metaphorosis Magazine Best of 2023 Anthology. Can you believe it?! My first professionally published story, picked to be in a “Best of” anthology! I’ve always had a soft spot for this story, even though it’s a bit out there. Getting this nod has been a huge confidence booster for me, squashing those nagging doubts that I’m a hack and reaffirming my identity as a competent author. I bought three copies of the anthology, because this definitely feels like a milestone moment in my writing career. One copy, I gave to my parents (which my mom loved and my dad… well, I think my creative writing adventures confuse and irritate my dad, to be honest). Another, I donated to my school’s library. The third copy is mine. Just for me. To put on my bookshelf and look at and think, “Hell, yeah, I did that!”

Then, just when I thought things couldn’t get any more amazing, my flash story “Between the Mountain and the Sea” landed a spot in the Metastellar Best of 2023 Anthology! The publication date for that anthology hasn’t been released yet, but still. Two of my stories making it into “Best of” anthologies in the same year? It feels kind of surreal.

First Story Sale of 2024

2024 is off to a great start. My story, “A Pharaoh’s Curse to End the War,” found a home in issue 19 of Unnerving Magazine! After what felt like an eternity of revisions and rejections, I was giving serious consideration to shelving this one. It’s a campy horror story about zombies on a plane (sort of) and these days most magazines have negative interest in zombie stories. But just when I was ready to give up on it, Unnerving’s editor Eddie Generous decided to give my splattery tale a chance. The story dropped on March 13th, 2024, and with a killer graphic to boot. I’m delighted. Horror is what drew me to writing in the first place, so this feels like a major goal accomplished. You should go read it. It’s free!! Spring 2024 Author Update

Current Writing Projects

As for what I’m up to now? Well, I’m elbow-deep in revisions for another horror story that’s been stubbornly resisting publication as a flash piece. I’ve got a hunch it needs more room to breathe, so I’m ditching the flash format and expanding it into something meatier. Whether I’m actually improving it or just muddling it further, only time will tell. Meanwhile, I’m also working on a sequel to “The Portal in Andrea’s Dryer,” featuring more ridiculous adventures with my favorite quartet of gal-pals. Think precognition, parental anxiety, and some dubious dairy products. It’s shaping up to be a fun piece. You should go read the first one.

So, that’s the scoop from my corner of the universe. What have you all been up to? Any personal victories, minor or major, that you’re itching to share? Let’s celebrate our triumphs and face our challenges together, shall we?

Until next time, keep chasing those dreams, no matter how elusive they may seem. Cheers to writing, to creating, and to living this beautifully chaotic life.

March 15, 2024
Author Update: Joining the SFWA and Balancing Life as Writer and Teacher

Sharing a quick update (just kidding, this is definitely TL;DR) on what I’ve been up to this past month or so with regard to writing, teaching, fitness, and other stuff.(SFWA Writing Teaching Boskone)

I Joined the SFWA! (SFWA Writing Teaching Boskone)

I decided to apply for an associates level membership in the SFWA a couple of weeks ago. It’s a little pricey for me ($100) but ever since I discovered that the SFWA existed and saw the credential in the bios of a few SF authors I was reading in SF&F and Asimovs and Analog, etc. way back in the early aughts, I’ve wanted to be able to list it next to my own name. So silly, I know. Completely childish. “So and so is in the SFWA! Some day I’m gonna be in that organization, too!”

Whatever. Childish or not, it was a perceived goalpost of success that I wanted to reach. So, a few weeks ago, when I realized I’d finally sold enough work to qualify, I went for it. I mean, why not? My $100 supports an organization that I think is doing good work, so if nothing else I can feel good about that. They got back to me pretty quickly, too. I’m in!

I do feel a little thrill of satisfaction now that I can go into all my bios and social media profiles and add “Member SFWA” to them. If I never get another story published again, at least I can say that in 2023, I was successful enough at writing to earn myself an associates membership in the SFWA.

(SFWA Writing Teaching Boskone)

Teaching Continues to Challenge… (SFWA Writing Teaching Boskone)

Teaching is taking up way too much of my life this year. On top of my two regular science courses, I inherited a couple of trimester elective science classes from a teacher who was let go last year (for reasons I won’t dwell on other than to say it was a poorly handled situation on all sides). The teacher in question left a TON of materials in a highly disorganized state. So while there’s a ton of resources for me to utilize for these two courses, I am essentially rebuilding both courses from the ground up.

It’s incredibly time consuming and draining, and it’s all I can do to stay a few days ahead of my students. I’ve had nothing left in the tank when I get home for anything other than shoveling food into my face (thank Thor for a supportive spouse who cooks meals), collapsing onto the couch to zone out for an hour or so while I periodically check my watch and wonder, “Is is late enough that I can go to bed without feeling guilty about it yet? 7:48pm? Nope, not yet. Let’s try to make it until 8:30pm.”

But… though I’m still mired in developing a T2 course while I’m also teaching it (a sucky situation), my fall coaching duties have ended and my winter afternoon responsibilities are much lighter. A couple of afternoons each week I run the scoreboard for JV basketball games. Piece of cake. That’s given me back several more hours in my day, and those few extra hours make all the difference! I have energy again! I can think about creative writing again! Heck, I might even have time to start working out again!(SFWA Writing Teaching Boskone)

Getting Back into a Fitness Routine (SFWA Writing Teaching Boskone)

Fitness… ugh. I am currently in an unfit, detrained state. Two years ago, I tore my shoulder labrum. Hurt like a son of a bitch when it happened. Took me a year to get it officially diagnosed. Turns out labrum tears don’t heal and surgeries to repair them have a 50% success rate. Not being a young person with ambitions of a college or pro- sports career, I opted NOT to undergo the highly invasive surgery. Instead, I opted for a couple of dry needling sessions to release the muscles that had semi-permanently tensed up around the injury. Hot damn, did that work! I was astonished. And then I got the bill. Oof.

Now, a year later my shoulder is starting to hurt again. My PT told me the effects of dry needling would wear off over time and that I’d probably need another session, but I’m struggling to justify dropping the fat wad of cash to get it done again. I suppose when it gets bad enough that I get trapped trying to take a sweatshirt off (which it what precipitated me finally getting my shoulder checked in the first place), I’ll suck it up and pay the money to make myself functional again. Until then, I’ll just stick to lower body stuff as I start working out again, which I finally have time to do!(SFWA Writing Teaching Boskone)

Looking Forward to Boskone in February (SFWA Writing Teaching Boskone)

Okay, last thing. I’ve started thinking about and getting excited for Boskone. I love this con a lot. There’s a whole bunch of nostalgia tied up in it for me. It was the very first convention I ever attended, back when I was a starry-eyed grad student dreaming of authorial fame and fortune. I don’t dream of authorial fame and fortune anymore (which actually feels kind of good. These days, I’m writing and submitting my stories just for the fun of it). Anyway, Boskone was my first con, and for that reason it holds a special place in my heart. I even buy new “con” clothes each year. Well, article of clothing, singular; let’s not be ridiculous. Still, Boskone is a special event for me, so I like to “dress up” for it. My spouse ribs me about this, but whatever.

This year, my plan is to commute via train in and out of the city on Friday night to try and save some money, but I reserved a hotel room for Saturday night because I had such a fun time hanging with con friends last year that I don’t want to have to cut my Saturday night short again this year to catch a train home. Of course, I’m making those plans assuming the same folks are attending again this year and that they will want to get together to socialize and catch up again. Fingers crossed that turns out to be true. (SFWA Writing Teaching Boskone)

So, that’s my update. What’s everyone else up to these days? Will I be seeing you at Boskone this year? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by and as always, happy writing to you!

December 17, 2023
Fall 2023 Writing Update: More Publishing Success and Some Winter Fun

It’s been a minute since I last posted, so I figured it was time for a quick fall 2023 writing update. This has been a whirlwind year of publishing progress and milestone moments.

My Clarion West Fundraising Efforts

My fundraising efforts for Clarion West were partly successful. Though I didn’t meet my $1,000 target, I did raise over $500 for them – a feat for which I’m pretty damned proud. The whole experience was fantastic. I learned a lot, had fun, did a ton of writing, and helped out a very worthy cause. I definitely plan to do it again next summer.

Published Stories and My SFWA Mentorship

Excitingly, my flash fiction piece, “The Colony Ship’s Companion,” found its way into Radon Journal, and “The Portal in Andrea’s Dryer” graced the pages of Uncharted Magazine. That brings my total number of stories published in pro- or semi-pro magazines up to four (all four of which came in 2023).

My summer mentorship through SFWA under Julia Rios‘ guidance wrapped up in early September. The experience was phenomenal. Truly transformative. Julia helped me SO much as I worked to flesh out the middle-grade steampunk novel I’ve been noodling about with since 2017.

The Cycle of Balancing Teaching and Creative Writing Continues

There are definitely some seasonal cycles at work in my life. For example, fall is a four month season of teaching, coaching, and family commitments. As such, September requires I pause in my creative writing endeavors. The months between August and December require head-down determination and a focus exclusively on lesson planning, grading, and (this year) volleyball. Interestingly, seeing two of my stories in print during my no-room-for-writing fall season has acted as a creative beacon for me. It reminded me that the exact same thing happened last year. I had to put my personal interests down for several months. Yet despite that fallow period, I ended up with four new short stories written and published. As a result, I’m feeling slightly less burnt out than I usually do at this time each year. Perhaps a few months away from writing every autumn is a good thing.

Upcoming Writing Events and Engagements

As November wraps up and December approaches, my excitement to get back to my creative endeavors is growing. The Codex Writers’ “Weekend Warrior” flash fiction challenge will be starting up in about a month. It was through that challenge last year that I generated all four of my published stories for 2023.

I’m also looking forward to taking part in Boskone – a highlight in the science fiction and fantasy convention scene. That convention is such a shot in the arm for me as a writer. It always recharges my creative energy. I’ve attended as a fan, and as a volunteer, but this year I’m hoping to step into the role of a program participant. With some actual publications under my belt, I think I can do it without feeling like a complete and utter fraud.

What Have You Been Up To?

Now that you’re caught up with what I’ve been up to, I’d love to hear how all of you have been faring. What’s your Fall 2023 Writing Update? Have you found time for writing amidst life’s demands? If so, what have you been working on? Share your accomplishments and triumphs in the comments section so we can celebrate our collective journeys together.

Until next time, keep writing, keep dreaming.

November 19, 2023
Three Times the Publishing Charm!

I’ve been grinning a lot these days. It’s been hard not to. I had a big publishing milestone this past April when I received my first story acceptance at MetaStellar Magazine. For someone who has dreamed of being a published author since childhood, that first acceptance really is a very big deal. It comes with thoughts of, I did it! I finally did it! and a sense of unbridled joy and satisfaction that only comes when something you’ve been working at for ages finally happens.

I remember spending the summer of my 11th year trying to hit a baseball all the way across my yard from between the two peach trees to under the outer most bows of the white pine. In truth, it wasn’t a far distance, but to 11-year-old me it was grand slam material, and I wanted to be able to hit a ball that far so badly. So every day I went out and swung and hit and swung and hit until I was dripping sweat and had to stop. I remember the day the ball soared up in a high and perfect arc, came down within spitting distance of the target. I will never forget the feeling of victory, of bone deep pride and satisfaction that exploded inside of me when I saw that ball vanish into the bows of that pine tree. After weeks of swinging and coming up short over and over again I did it!

That’s how it felt when I got that email from MetaStellar. I f**king did it.

Once is a Fluke, Twice is a Stroke of Luck

Funny thing, though. A couple of weeks went by and I found myself mentally minimizing my publishing success, doubting it. Once is a fluke, I thought. Once doesn’t mean anything. But then it happened again. Another acceptance showed up in my inbox in early May, this time from Metaphorosis Magazine. It’s been an amazing spring season. I mean, to get even one story published was amazing, but two? And so close to one another. The acceptances at least; the first one’s coming out in mid-July. I don’t yet know when the second story will be published. Still, that little voice has been nagging at me. What if this second sale was just a stroke of dumb luck?

Three Times is the Charm!

Two weeks ago, my spouse and I went to an art opening at the Salem Art Association in Salem Massachusetts. He’s a member and had/still has art in the show. I was still glowing from news of my second story sale, but when Lover introduced me to someone and called me an “author,” I immediately felt compelled to clarify that I was a teacher, not an author. Calling myself an author felt hubristic. After all, I’d only had two stories accepted for publication, and neither of them have even come out yet.

But this past Tuesday I got a third acceptance email! A cozy sci-fi story I wrote back in February is going to be published in Uncharted Magazine!! I can’t believe it. Maybe the next time my spouse introduces me to someone as an “author” I won’t feel the need to demur.

In the meantime, I’ve got a story I need to get back to and do some work on, then send it out on submission, see if I can ride this recent wave of publishing success. But I had to take a quick moment and share the news.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, happy writing!

June 2, 2023
Author Update: Milestone Moment (Part 2)

Last time I posted, I shared some general life milestone moments culminating in the discovery that I need reading glasses. This time, I have far more exciting news to share.

Life: A Long and Winding Road

I started submitting short stories to science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazines in 2000. Back then, the internet was clunky and only accessible via dial-up modems. Barely recognizable compared to what it is today. Most (all?) fiction magazines only accepted submissions via regular mail. I remember making multiple photocopies of my stories at Staples, buying manilla envelopes and business envelopes in bulk, and regularly hitting up the post office to buy stamps. If you think the submission process is slow now, Odin Allfather, you have no idea.

For about a year, I wrote and submitted a lot of stories. Sadly, I was too full of self-doubt to sending anything to Asimov’s or Analog or the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I mean, I loved writing, but I was a nobody, so I spent that year submitting my stuff to non-paying markets. Two pieces found homes in small zines that paid in contributor copies. Boneworld Publishing (no longer extant) gave me my first authorial milestone moment when they accepted a mother-daughter-survivor’s-guilt ghost story for their magazine, Barbaric YAWP. The second venue I landed a piece in was Samsara: The Magazine of Suffering. Have a look at my very first acceptance letter! Handwritten on what looks like a piece of scrap paper. No contract sent or signed or anything. It was a different time back then, for sure.

Then, a whole bunch of general life milestone moments happened. In 2000, I started teaching high school science–biology, chemistry, and physical science. I had no background in teaching at all, just a bachelor’s in science. To say the learning curve was steep would be an understatement. For about two years, my life looked like this: Wake up at 6am. Eat breakfast, go to work and teach until 3:30. Go home and sleep for 3 hours. Wake up and eat dinner. Grade and lesson plan until midnight. Repeat. There was no room for anything else. Creative writing fell by the wayside.

In 2003, I got married and switched schools. I gave birth to my first child in 2006. In 2007, my spouse went back to school. The banks went belly up in 2008. The economy tanked, and I switched schools again. In 2009, I switched schools yet again. In 2010, I had another kid…

I didn’t return to writing and submitting stories until 2016. Even then it was only in sporadic and inconsistent bursts. Between 2016 and 2021, I wrote a total of five short stories and submitted them unsuccessfully to a total of eighteen places. Five stories in five years is underwhelming. I would be embarrassed by that lack of productivity, except I don’t really count 2019 or 2020 (or even 2021). I’m a teacher, remember. The pandemic was a time of fear and confusion and frustration and many moments of despair for me. I’m still not fully recovered from the trauma of it (who is?).

So, a flurry of writing and trying to get my stuff published a little over two decades ago and then a whole lot of not much. Until this past year.

Having a Community to Support and Motivate You Matters

In the summer of 2020, trapped in the isolation of the early days of the pandemic, I joined an online community of writers and authors called Codex Writers. The effect of doing so was immediate and motivating. I started writing more consistently than I had been, and I started submitting what I was writing with more intentionality. It was great, but it was also kind of terrible.

The Codex Writer’s community is largely made up of published speculative fiction authors, and I’d kind of snuck in because I’d gotten a masters degree in creative writing in 2018 (a fact I felt barely qualified me for membership). Despite trying my hardest to write something good enough to get published in a pro- or even semi-pro market, the rejection letters piled up. Very occasionally, I got a personalized message from an editor. Usually not. That’s just how it goes, but I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t been slowly wearing me down. Failing because you aren’t trying feels a lot different from failing when you’re trying your hardest, you know?

In interacting with other members of the online Codex group, though, I felt supported and encouraged to to keep writing and keep submitting my stuff.

Milestone Moment: This is the Year I Get A Story Published (and Get Paid for It!)

One of the stories I wrote in 2020 was a slipstream piece of science fiction that I loved, but it was tricky and difficult and experimental. I wanted it to find a home so badly. It had a couple of near misses, but I just couldn’t seem to place it.

At the very end of December 2022, B. Morris Allen over at Metaphorosis magazine sent me a revision invitation on the story. The offer wasn’t an acceptance, but it was a huge step in the right direction. It felt pretty great to know that someone saw potential in the piece and wanted to work with me to make it great. Let’s call that R&R a “mini” milestone moment.

I spent a lot of this past winter juggling work shenanigans and family demands, but every so often I was able to draft a revision and send it Morris’s way. Each time, he responded with very encouraging feedback, suggestions, and a follow-up revision request.

Meanwhile, the Codex Writers Group announced a mid-winter, six-week-long flash fiction challenge they called: Weekend Warrior. Here’s how it worked. Every Friday evening for six weeks, the contest runners posted five writing prompts. Participants (who registered and got sorted into groups) then picked a prompt and wrote a not-longer-than 750 word story that had to be submitted by Monday morning. Your story got read, rated, and given constructive feedback by the other 15 to 20 people in your group. It was amazing. Amaaaaaazing! I wrote six stories and got encouraging and helpful feedback on them from successful and talented authors, some of whom I secretly harbored (and still harbor) hero-worship-style crushes on.

Truthfully, I had no intention of doing anything with any of the stories I wrote for that challenge. I’d never written flash fiction before. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I certainly didn’t expect to produce anything good. I took part in the challenge to keep myself writing, try something new, and make some new friends.

The thing about communities, online or in real life: They nurture and support you and build you up. After the competition, I kept reading posts by other folks who were submitting their “WW” stories to magazines. Apparently, it was a common thing to do, and some very kind and incredibly talented authors (Carol Scheina and Phoenix Alexander) told me I should, too. Okay, I thought, why not? Out I sent them, with no real expectation of anything coming of it.

In April, however, I opened my email inbox and gasped like they do in the movies. A flash story I’d written had been accepted for publication. That little voice in my head that had been saying, “You really should stop this nonsense,” went “Huh, maybe you aren’t a complete hack.” You know what that means? Not counting the two stories I sold for contributor copies, 2023 is the year that I get a story published and get paid for it, because it was MetaStellar who took the story! They’re one of the top paying pro-level magazines out there, and the stuff they print is damned good. You should 100% check them out.

Milestone Moment #2: This is the Year I Get TWO Stories Published!!

Less than a month after getting the great news from Metastellar, B. Morris Allen emailed me with an official offer of acceptance on that strange slipstream SF story he’d been editing with me since December! That makes not one but two story acceptances in 2023, both in paying markets. Metaphorosis isn’t a top-paying magazine, but they publish equally fine stories, and I just can’t believe mine will be one of them!

I’m thrilled. I’m also quietly terrified that I won’t see anything else published for another 20+ years, except I know that won’t happen. I’ve still got several other stories out on submission, and now I have actual evidence that I can in fact write publishable stories, so I’m feeling highly motivated to keep at it. Consistency really is the key, it seems. Maybe I’ll give the Ray Bradbury method a try and attempt a story a week for 52 consecutive weeks.

Summer vacation is right around the corner, too. The timing of all of this couldn’t be better. This spring is the first time since we all went into lockdown and life went sideways that I’ve felt mentally healthy again. Not 100%. I take life one day at a time now, but this is the first time in a very long time that the good days outnumber the bad days. I’ll be going into the summer months feeling fresh and excited and ready to go.

2023 has been quite the year for milestone moments so far. Let’s see if I can’t create a few more great ones in the coming months.

That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, happy writing!

May 26, 2023
Author Update: Milestone Moments (Part 1)

In the months since I last posted an update, I’ve experienced a few milestone moments and thought I’d share. Some have been related to general life stuff, but some are exciting and relate to writing. Both merit some words. This is part one of my milestone moments update. I’ll get you caught up on the exciting writing-related stuff in part 2.

General Life Milestone: This is the Year I Get Readers

According to my eyes, I’m officially becoming Sophia Petrillo from the Golden Girls. Or, my 8th grade math teacher, who–come to think of it–looked a lot like Sophia Petrillo.

First, Let’s Back Up a Bit, to 1992

Since middle school I’ve been nearsighted with astigmatism. I actually remember the day I found out I needed glasses. It happened during 8th grade math. It was it’s own milestone moment. The school nurse was doing the hearing and vision tests, calling kids out of their classes in small batches. You know, I’m sure. You probably remember it yourself.

So, I was in math class with totally normal vision, following along with what the teacher was writing on the chalkboard. The nurse called me down to get tested. I ran through the vision test and she told me I needed glasses.

Uh, no I don’t, I thought. My eyes are fine. You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lady.

But when I got back to math class, I could no longer read what the teacher was writing on the chalkboard without squinting. I was horrified and furious. Clearly, the school nurse had cursed me because my eyes were fine until she told me they weren’t. That’s how I remember it, anyway, and we all know how trustworthy memories are. Take it with a grain of salt. Anyway…

Jump to 2020

Me looking happy in my glasses, mask free.

I switched from wearing glasses to wearing contacts when we all masked up. As a teacher, the mask combined with teaching/talking equaled breath-fog clouding up my glasses all day. So, contacts.

Had my eyes dilated when I was fitted for contacts

They worked great, until…

Fall of 2022

I found myself squinting to read the text on my computer screen. The font seemed ridiculously tiny and out of focus. Leaning in closer to the screen almost helped, but it was still a struggle to read the screen. By the end of the day my eyes were literally tired. I’d never experienced that sensation before. Tired eyes. Huh. Who knew it was actually a thing and not just a turn of phrase.

Hoping the issue would resolve itself, I switched back to glasses to “wait out” the strange phenomenon. At first, everything was fine again. All I needed to do was take my glasses off and then I could read the screen no problem… Well, the text still seemed smaller than I remembered it being. But if I zoomed everything in to 125%, I could read stuff no problem with my glasses off.

Winter of 2022

At some point in December, however, I came to the startling realization that I’d fallen into the habit of not only taking my glasses off but also leaning in ridiculously close to whatever screen I was trying to read.

Have you ever seen an “old” person with their glasses hanging off the tip of their nose, their chin dipped to their chest, phone screen three inches away from their face as they tried to read the tiny print with their “old” eyes? If you have, I bet you’ve had the same thought I did. I am never going to let myself do that. Joke’s on me. I’d been doing it for months and not noticing.

Odin help me, I thought. Do I need reading glasses?

Turns out, yes.I do. Because I’m old. Which is fine. What’s not fine is how flipping expensive it will be to get bifocals. (Which have been rebranded, apparently? They’re called “transition” lenses now. Because that sounds less “old” than bifocals, I guess.)

My question is this: Why does insurance in this country cover the cost of finding out you need glasses to see clearly, but then you’re on your own if you want to actually buy said glasses? Who decided that clear vision is nonessential for good health? If I buy a new pair of glasses (frames and lenses) from my optometrist’s office, it will cost me almost $1000 dollars! If I use an online service or go to a Target or Walmart place, I can likely cut that down to $500, but still. What the heck! I cannot afford to pay $500+ dollars to see clearly.

And so, for the past several months, I’ve been living with my glasses dangling off the tip of my nose while I hold my phone three inches from my face to read my text messages and AP News articles.

Spring of 2023

My beloved partner-in-crime recently suggested I swing by Walgreens and pick up a set of readers from the spinny rack next to the pharmacy counter.

“Great idea,” I said sarcastically. “How about I pick up a couple of dangly neck straps, too, so I can look just like my 8th grade math teacher.”

A pair of readers hung around her neck on a bejeweled strap while she wore a pair of distance glasses. Each time she turned back to the chalkboard to write something, she’d switch between them. When she turned back to the room, she switched again. Just like her, I’m sure I’ll be switching back and forth between sets all day, so like her I’ll need not one but two dangly glasses straps. And just like 14-year-old me thought my math teacher looked ridiculous with her two pairs of glasses, I’m sure my 14-year-old students will think I look utterly ridiculous, too. What goes around, comes around.

Actually, there’s an oddly comforting symmetry to this year’s milestone moment. A cycle of some kind is completing itself. It feels karmic and proper, if inconvenient. I’m getting old. My eyesight is failing me. I can’t afford a proper pair of bifocals, so…

This is the year I get readers.

Which is good. I need them. I’ve been spending a lot of time at my computer this year, writing. And, if this year is any indication, I’ll be spending a lot more time at my computer moving forward, too. Exciting things are finally starting to happen. I’ll tell you more about them in my next post.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, happy writing!

May 21, 2023
#IWSG – The Path to Publication

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, which means it’s #IWSG day! That would be the Insecure Writer’s Support Group if you didn’t know, started by the esteemed Alex J. Cavanaugh. Be sure to pop over to the website and check it out. You’ll find a fantastic community of like-minded writer types, all at varying stages of their writing careers. You’ll also find resources up the wazoo on all things writing and publishing related.

The awesome co-hosts for the September 5 posting of the IWSG are Toi Thomas, T. Powell Coltrin, M.J. Fifield, and Tara Tyler! Visit their sites, say hello, and give them a big thank you for hosting.

The question prompt this month is…

What publishing path are you considering/did you take, and why?

That’s me, dreaming of making it in the publishing world.

At this stage in my writing career, I’ve got my sights set on the traditional publishing route.

I just finished up a manuscript and submitted it to Pitch Wars, in fact! I’m pretty darned proud for having entered a competition of this magnitude. Over 3,500 people submitted this year. My chances of being selected are slim, to say the least. But if you don’t try, you fail by default, right? And, if my manuscript is chosen, I’ll work on it with a talented author mentor for a few months. Then, come February, I’ll post it in the agent showcase. Who knows what might happen?!

I want very much to secure agent representation. Getting my manuscripted picked up by big five publishing houses is a dream of mine. My reasons are simple: self-publishing sounds like a massive amount of work.

Not that securing an agent and then working with a team of folks at one of the big houses wouldn’t also be a tremendous amount of work. From everything I’ve read and heard, things just aren’t what they used to be.

Debut authors are being asked to pick up way more marketing and publicity weight much earlier in a book’s release and run with it. But, still. That weight is not 100%, as it is with self-publishing. And then there are the editors and copy editors and proofreaders and cover designers and people who know when the best time of year to release a book is. Stuff like that.

I’m not sure I’d have either the time or the energy to try and do all that. As with teacher, self-publishing requires a particular type of

person. Don’t know that it would be a good fit for me.

I’m thinking about my “other” life as I contemplate all the work that would go into self-publishing a novel. As a high school teacher, my year just started yesterday.

The new crop!

A new crop of students filled my classroom, and I had to do all the stuff that needs doing to be ready for them. And once it begins, it’s really just a continuous, barely controlled fall to June. Not unlike jumping onto a treadmill cranked up to maximum speed. With a broken deceleration button. You can’t ever slow down. I suspect self-publishing is like that.

It’s that way for big name authors, too, I know. Folks like Victoria Schwab and Jason Reynolds come to mind. They’re red hot in the traditionally published world right now, and they’re both exhausted all the time. Jason flat out told me during my final residency at Lesley University that he’s living an unsustainable life at the moment. He doesn’t know when he’ll collapse, but he feels it coming. Victoria has said much the same thing in a few of her videos over on Instagram.

So, yeah. I’d love, love, love to travel the more traditional publishing path, but life does run in straight lines. Who knows how I’ll feel about this question in a week, a month, a year…

How about you? Are you published? Traditionally or via self-publishing? Or, maybe you’re an aspiring author, like me. Which path are you hoping to travel?

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, happy writing to you.

September 5, 2018
Refilling the Creative Well – A Must for All Artists

If you hadn’t yet realized, I’m a big fan of Julie Cameron’s book (and 12-week, self-guided course) The Artist’s Way. I took it as an interdisciplinary course my first semester in Lesley University’s MFA in Creative Writing program. It changed the way I thought about myself, about my creativity, and about the creative life in general. And one of the biggest lessons I learned in taking the class was this: creative individuals need to nurture their creative spirit by “refilling the creative well.”

The Act of Creation is Tiring

It is a common misconception among non-creatives and casual creatives that artists don’t “work” at what they do. From an outsider’s perspective, creation looks like play, and to some degree it is, but it is anything but casual play. It is active, and focused, and intentional, and draining.

That last point is essential to understand. Tapping into your creative mind is tiring, though many of us don’t notice that we’re fatiguing until we’re lying face down like a stick of butter that’s been left out on the counter in August. Letting ourselves reach that point is damaging and dangerous and difficult to recover from, so how we avoid it?

Try scheduling activities into your life that will nurture your creative spirit. Not use it, mind you. These are moments in which, as an artist, you receive rather than produce. Julie Cameron calls them “artist dates.” She advocates one per week. I agree, though I fall far from accomplishing that once-a-week schedule myself.

An artist date is anything that lets you to take in and enjoy the external world. Go out to eat at a nice restaurant. Go for a walk in the woods. Visit the beach. See an art installation at a local museum. Attend a concert. These should be private moments when you can be alone. For me, that’s difficult because my beloved is a visual artist. We tend to bundle our artist dates, which is fine but not ideal. Doing anything with anyone else necessarily involves moments of compromise, small or large. Artist dates are supposed to be 100% about you, so my co-dates aren’t ideal, but they’re certainly better than nothing.

Investing in Yourself as an Artist

The purpose of giving yourself an Artist Date is to “refill your creative well.”

Whether you’re a composer, a painter, a poet, or a novelist the act of creation uses energy. Literally. It also uses neurotransmitters. If you’re continually working on your art, you’re activating and reactivating the same neural networks in your brain again and again. The cells of those neural networks talk to each other via chemicals that are manufactured at night while you sleep. Over time, you can deplete your store of neurotransmitter by using them faster than you can make them.

That’s the fatigue that sets it. The lethargy, the creative block, the depression, the doubt. You’ve been working so hard creating beautiful art that you’ve exhausted the parts of your brain involved in the process. Athletes know this as “overtraining.” They avoid it by building “off days” into their training programs. Creative folks would be wise to follow suit.

I’m a writer, but I love the visual arts. Photographs, sculpture, painting. When I feel like my creative energies are waning, I hit up the Boston Museum of Fine Art or look for a local photography exhibit to attend. It gives me a chance to witness, take in, and be emotionally touched by what others have created without activating the pathways I use when I’m writing. Ideas enter from the outside world, not from the inside world. They get in there, bounce around in my subconscious, and mingle with my own ideas like colors swirling on the surface of a bubble.

The creative well begins to fill once more. When I’m ready to sit back down and start producing again, all kinds of new and exciting things might emerge from having experienced the products of other artists’ creative acts.

Art Festivals are Your Friend

When is the last time you attended a local art festival? Summer is upon us, folks. It’s the high season for art associations to exhibit their members’ works. I can’t recommend them enough as a place to go to be recharged and reinvigorated as a creative spirit.

This past weekend, my beloved and I walked into downtown Salem and got to see some fabulous art at the Salem Artist Festival. We also listened to talented musicians perform and sparkling dancers dance. The square crackled with creative energy and positivity. I soaked it up like a sponge and found myself breathing deeper and smiling more widely on the walk home. Life was, is, good. My creative well is brimming. Check out the photos I took along the way, and if you’re local try to get down there this weekend and check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

On my walk into town

Sometimes Salem reminds me of Copenhagen

Themes of mortality displayed in a gallery I passed by.

Arrived at the Old Town Hall, site of the art show

A great turnout at the artist reception and show

This wall was all oceanic, including the epic paper sea dragon!

Best artistic representation of cows I’ve ever seen

Look at the marvelous synergy between these two pieces

Hauntingly beautiful

Cycles of the feminine creative spirit captured in a repurposed clock

Mixed media painting of a paper mill. Note the paper mixed into the paint.

Outdoor dancing in the square

These women were amazing performers!

Festivities continued into the evening with live music.

Lovely evening shot of the harbor on my walk home.

When’s the last time you did anything to refill your creative well? What did you do? How did you feel afterward?

Thanks for stopping by, and happy writing to you!

June 4, 2018
Surviving the Creative Wilderness—Attitude is Everything

How Not to Die in The Woods

I own a book called “Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Wilderness Survival.” It’s a great book. It doesn’t teach you how to read a map or use a compass. It doesn’t explain what gear is essential for an extended wilderness trek. It does explain how to keep yourself alive in the wilderness if you have absolutely nothing with you but the clothes on your back. And for creative folks navigating this life, isn’t that a great analogy for how we must exist? We’ve got nothing but the clothes on our back. Metaphorically only, I hope.

Tom Brown’s book is divided into four parts, arranged in order of importance from the perspective of not dying. Parts two, three, four, and five are (in this order): Shelter, Water, Fire, Food. If you stop and think about it, that order makes perfect sense. You could die of exposure in the first few hours without shelter from the elements. You could die in three days without water, give or take. You can go for a long time without food, but most of it will kill you if you don’t cook it first, so fire comes before food.

The first part of the book, and therefore the most important in terms of not dying when lost in the woods, is Attitude. It’s all about psychology. About the inner voice that gets louder and louder as things get tougher and tougher, whispering, stating, screaming that the situation is hopeless and we’re stupid, that we deserve to die out here. Tom Brown argues that most people who get lost in the wilderness and die do so because they give in to a creeping attitude of defeat.

Why, you might ask, am I writing about a wilderness survival guide? Because I’m a creative writer. I’m a creative person. I spend a lot of time wandering around in the wilderness of my psyche. And, like all creative artists, I find myself, from time to time, lost in those woods. Tom Brown is right. Whether the forest is real or psychological, attitude is the first and most important determiner of whether we’re going to make it out alive or not.

The Creative Life is a Hostile Wilderness

Between January 8^th and May 7^th, I wrote and revised 51,000+ words of a YA fantasy novel for my MFA thesis project at Lesley University. My goal was to finish an entire first draft of the novel by April. That, I’m sad to say, did not happen.

The writing process for grad school is interesting, especially during the thesis semester. Most students enter their final semester with a first draft of their thesis already written. They’ll spend four months revising it before submitting it. They’re traveling a well-worn path by that point.

I didn’t do that. I started from scratch. I took the road less traveled.

Let me tell you, the less-traveled path is not easy-going. It’s grown in and full of brambles and twisting roots to trip on. It’s hot and buggy, and most of it is uphill on a treacherous slope. There are many places where the trail just peters out and vanishes. And there’s quicksand. No one tells you about the quicksand!

My most excellent mentor!

For this final semester, I found myself wandering, slightly lost in the forest, losing the path and then stumbling upon it again. And as someone who does not plot well, I rarely knew in which direction I was traveling. But, I did manage to write 51,000+ words of a story that, with the help of my incredible mentor—Chris Lynch—was of graduate-level quality. I’d bushwhacked my way through some pretty dense, unforgiving territory.

I formatted everything according to spec, typed up the synopsis for the rest of the story as I imagined it, the path I thought lay before me, and I sent it off. I was out of the woods!

Losing the Way

And then I stopped writing.

Which wasn’t supposed to happen.

See, in my head, I’d have the rest of the novel written by June 1^st. It was going to be excellent. But, my brain was experiencing a level of fatigue I wasn’t prepared for. I just… couldn’t do it. Couldn’t even write a blog post. I looked around, and realized that I wasn’t out of the woods quite yet, as I’d thought.

A week went by. Okay, I thought, Time to get back to it.

Nope.

Two weeks. Surely, now. Two weeks must be enough time to recover from the mad dash I’d just been through, but no. In fact, something new had snuck into my brain to replace my mental exhaustion. As I stood looking around and what now seemed frighteningly unfamiliar territory, something snaked its coils around my chest and started to squeeze.

Fear.

Each time I thought about sitting down to work out the details of the next chapter of my story, my pulse quickened, and not with excitement. I started shying away from the story out of fear, though fear of what I didn’t know. Heck, I didn’t even know what was happening at the time, only that it had suddenly become very important that I not work on my writing. My writing was stalking me like some unseen creature in the underbrush.

As the days continued to slip by, a horrible pressing guilt settled on my shoulders. I should be writing, I chided myself, but I’m not. I’m failing. This is me, failing. I’m awful. I’m a loser. A joke. I’m never going to succeed at this because I’m supposed to be writing and I can’t even muster the simple will power needed to do touch my fingertips to a keyboard. It became a nasty feedback loop. Each day I didn’t sit down and write made it that much harder for me to get back to the chair, sit down, and write. I started hating myself. I stopped trying to get my bearings. I sat down on the cold, wet ground and started to let the ruinous forest of my blackest doubts leech from me my will to continue.

Odin help me, I was lost! Lost in a hostile forest, with the shadows of fear, doubt, and self-hate blinding me so that I couldn’t see a path forward, couldn’t even remember how I’d gotten there. I was becoming more and more certain that my journey was at an end. It was awful, and it felt inevitable.

The thing is, getting lost is a hazard of living a creative life. In some ways, getting lost really is inevitable, because the creative path is not well-travelled. I’d argue that if you’re doing things right as an artist, you’re blazing a new trail through the deepest, darkest woods of your own psyche. There are no paths here, children. Only shadows, and stones, and giant trees that might eat you if you get too close, and creatures too beautiful and terrible to look at directly. And, wait, haven’t I gotten snagged in this same bramble patch before? Oh, Thor! I’m going in circles! I’m lost, and it’s cold, and the sun’s getting low, the night creatures are coming, and I’ll never find my way out of this forest. Why did I think this was a good idea? I’m an idiot. I’m going to die in these woods, and no one will mourn my demise.

Countless talented artists wander into the creative forest with good intentions and never make it out again. They get lost, hit that moment of doubt and despair, give up, and die. Metaphorically.

For me, May has certainly felt like a slow death in a wild and inhospitable landscape.

Finding My Way Back

But then I received my feedback letter from my thesis reader—Jason Reynolds.

That’s him, the self-professed hater of fantasy stories. And the guy who got me moving again!

Quick back story. At the residency program back in January, Jason sat in a classroom with a bunch of us from the Writing for Young People concentration, and went off on a (gentle) tirade about how irritating he found the fantasy genre. Details are not important here. Suffice it to say, the man is not a fan. As he spoke, I sat with a polite smile cemented to my face and did my best not to freak out. You see, by that point, I already knew I was going to be writing a YA fantasy story for my thesis, and I’d already requested him as my thesis reader. A guy who hates fantasy is going to put final eyes on my fantasy thesis. Fantastic.

Anyway, four months later, I’m slipping into creative hypothermia, curling up in the fetal position, and making peace with my end, when I open his feedback letter and read it.

I was expecting lukewarm but professional feedback on my prose, my character development, my pacing, scene structure, etc. You can hate a story, after all, and still give constructive feedback on the writing, right? Lukewarm but professional feedback was not what I got.

For almost three weeks at that point, I’d been lost in the shadowy part of my self-made forest, under thick canopy, feeling the slow creep of horror setting in as I realized that the trees were endless and I was a hopeless, pathetic fool. Jason’s feedback was like discovering a high-powered flashlight in my back pocket, switching it on, and finding out that I’d been following a path the whole time without realizing it.

I can see again. Maybe I don’t have to die out here all alone in the cold, unforgiving forest of my mind. The book I’m writing is my destination once again. Chris Lynch had been my shelter. A few close writing-friends I’ve connected with through the program had been my water, my spouse is my fire, and all the fine books I’d been reading this semester have been my food.

So, with the help of Jason Reynold’s incredibly generous and encouraging words, I’m standing up, brushing the duff off my backside, and moving forward again. Sun’s up. The canopy is starting to thin out again, and I’m pretty sure this trail is not leading to pit trap filled with poison-tipped spikes. If it is, I know I can find a way to disarm it. I’ve shifted my attitude. I’m getting out of this alive.

Have you ever gotten lost in the darker parts of your creative forest? How long did you wander before finding your way out?

May 29, 2018
Boskone 2018 – A Phenomenal SFF Writers Convention
It’s the day after the 55th Annual Boskone Convention wrapped up, and I just realized I haven’t written a post for some time. To commit my thoughts and observations in the “permanent” annals of the internet, I thought I’d talk about my experience at my very first writing convention. I met and heard from some amazingly talented authors, editors, and agents in the fantasy and science fiction genre.

What Is Boskone?

No one I knew had ever heard of Boskone and, truth be told, neither had I until my Fantasy and Science Fiction professor at Lesley University told me about ReaderCon, which happens every summer in Quincy, Massachusetts. In researching that, I stumbled upon Boskone. Right there on the homepage, I saw enough to get me to register: Mary Robinette Kowal and Tamora Pierce.

Mary–the charismatic co-host of my favorite podcast, Writing Excuses, and Tamora–one of the best YA fantasy writers ever! Done. I’m there.

Then, I kept finding bonuses as I perused the long list of program participants. I kept getting more and more excited, but I really had no idea what to expect. I’ve never been to a writing convention before. Heck, I’ve never been to any kind of convention before.

In early January, they posted the schedule for the weekend, and I started picking out which panels I most wanted to go to. Odin knows, I had trouble choosing. More often than not, several fascinating panels were happening at the same time. I kept having to remind myself that this wasn’t the one and only convention I’d ever get to attend in my life. No, this was just the first (of many, I hope).

Where was Boskone?

You can click the link for their website, but I’ll tell you that, at least for this year, it took place at the Westin Boston Waterfront hotel, right next door to the Boston Convention Center. Boskone was in the hotel, though, not over in the convention center. The New England Boat Show was happening over there.

The Westin was beautiful… what I saw of it. I didn’t stay there. Living just 30 miles north, I couldn’t justify spending $200+/night for a room when I could walk and train it to and from for $15.00 a day. But, based on some of the hotel patrons I observed while sitting in the lobby wishing I was better at striking up conversations with people, I’m willing to guess their rooms were equally beautiful.

Boskone events occupied all the conference and banquet rooms in the hotel’s east (north?) wing on all three floors, which were reasonably sized and clean. I was impressed with the quality of the mic systems the hotel provided for the event. The shrink wrapped carpets in the Galleria (in and around where snacks were put out each evening) amused me.

The Social Scene

To all you people who go to conferences more often than I do, or who are perhaps published authors who attend conventions as participants: how do you talk to each other?! I’m not referring to asking questions during panel discussions. That’s easy because that’s a venue with limits and expectations and rules for conduct, etc. I’m talking about striking up casual social conversations that might allow me to actually meet other established or aspiring authors.

I spent most of my time between panel discussions watching groups of people mingle and chat and laugh with each other. I saw so many authors in the halls with whom I desperately wanted to strike up a conversation, but all I could do was smile and manage to whimper out a feeble “hello.” How do you all do it?! I’m in awe and completely jealous of folks with, you know, social skills.

Is there some secret handshake I don’t know about? Do the folks who attend conventions all know each other from elsewhere? Same for the authors; do they all know each other already?

Friday evening, there was an art show and refreshments opening event that I went to. My beloved went with me for moral support and to see the art. At one point, we were standing up on an elevated level that looked down on the rest of the floor, packed with people. And everywhere I looked, people were sitting together at tables or standing in clusters with authors mixed in. All happy, all chatting. I felt very much like an outsider, but I just couldn’t must the courage to march up to a bunch of people I didn’t know and start talking.

I randomly struck up a conversation with K. Stoddard Hayes while looking at beautiful art, but she was alone and we were admiring the same painting simultaneously. She was so nice, by the way! My claim to fame is now that I lent K. Stoddard Hayes a pen so she could bid on a painting at Boskone. Great as that was, I can’t hope for that kind of happy random encounter over and over again!

Event Highlights for Me

Okay, I’ll start with the two people who initially drew me to the convention: Mary Robinette Kowal and Tamora Pierce. I did get Mary Robinette Kowal to sign my copy of Ghost Talkers (fantastic book), and struggled to form coherent words and sentences while talking to her at the autograph table. Hope I didn’t come off as too much of a bumbling weirdo.

I also got to listen to Mary’s Guest of Honor interview (she was interviewed by an Astronaut, by the way. I’m not kidding!). She is articulate and well-spoken (shocker since she’s an audiobook narrator as well as author and professional puppeteer) and charismatic and genuine. She even broke out one of her puppets during the interview! Her parting thoughts at the end will stay with me for a long time. “Don’t be ashamed of your voice.”

I was not able to get my copy of Tempest and Slaughter signed by Tamora Pierce, sadly. The line was ridiculously long and I naïvely thought that if I just slipped out of the “Ensemble Casts and Continuing Characters” discussion panel at 4:40, I’d have 20 minutes to get down to her autographing session and get my book signed. Pshaw right!

Ah, well, as I kept reminding myself and will continue to remind myself, this was just the first writing convention I’ve been to, not the only one I’ll ever go to. At least I got to hear her talk about her thoughts regarding sex in YA fiction. Her thoughts (and I’m paraphrasing): what’s the big deal? It happens. She was smart and funny!

The art, people. Thor Almighty the art! Absolutely fantastic. Jaw-droppingly good stuff. I didn’t take pictures, because I feel a bit dodgy about posting photos of someone else’s art online without getting explicit permission, and most of the artists weren’t around during the multiple times I ambled through the galleries. You’ll just have to take my word for it. The art was amazing.

The panels were incredible, too, and I wish I could have gone to them all, but alas, I haven’t yet managed to steal the Time Turner. Anyway, here are some of the great takeaways that I jotted into my notebook during various panels:

“The teen libedo longs to escape and run free. That’s just a biological reality.” – Darleen Marshall during the It’s Not Always About Sex panel.

During the Sex and Romance in YA Fiction panel, Barry Goldblatt said there’s a strange hierarchy of what kind of sex on the page is okay and what isn’t. Rape? Fine. Masturbation? Deal breaker. I find that utterly bizarre! What does that say about our culture in America that we’re okay letting teens read about sex that’s violent and painful and damaging but not a sexual act that is safe and pleasurable and private?

“If you want your secondary characters to be memorable, you have to give readers something to remember!” – Kenneth Schneyer during the Ensemble Casts and Continuing Characters panel.

“All the members of an ensemble think they’re the protagonist and they all get time on the stage to show their story.” – E.C. Ambrose during the Ensemble Casts and Continuing Characters panel.

During the Governmental Structures in SFF panel, Nik Korpon pointed out that SFF authors tend to gravitate toward totalitarian/dictatorial/monarchist systems of government because they’re easy to write, and I understood what he meant, but then Susan Jane Bigelow pointed out that in reality, those structures are inherently fragile and difficult to maintain and so the systems created by those in power to hold onto their power are actually incredibly complex. All the panelists agreed and agreed that authors rarely address much beyond the big, bad overlord villain and his closest henchmen.

“Agents want to see what’s there ‘in the rough’ for a manuscript. They want to see what you produced, not what you and a professional editor produced.” – Richard Shealy during the What Good is an Agent panel.

“My agent works for an agency that gets 40,000 queries each year. So, don’t get discouraged if you don’t land an agent in the first 10, 20, 100 queries.” – Hillary Monahan during the What Good is an Agent panel.

During the Forgotten Topics in YA panel, the panelists all listed off topics that they didn’t see being addressed in YA fiction but needed to be: non-romantic formative relationships, interracial couples, and voices of the impoverishes/severely disenfranchised.

“The Ultimate theme of all YA stories is Person versus Self (coming of age stories).” – Carlos Hernandez during the Forgotten Topics in YA panel.

“Each book needs to be a story in its own right, with its own compelling arc, but each book also needs to fit into the multi-book arc of the series.” – Marshall Ryan Maresca during the Ending a Series panel.

Those were just a few of the many gems that caught my attention.

I’m not sad it’s over. I’m happy it happened.

Sure, but I’m still a little sad it’s over because while I heard from and (in very rare circumstances) spoke to and connected via twitter with a bunch of interesting and talented people at Boskone this past weekend, there were many more with whom I didn’t.

I’ve already go my sights set on ReaderCon in July of this summer.

Here are all the folks who struck me as particularly cool people, which is not to say that all the other participating authors/agents/editors/etc aren’t also cool people; I just didn’t get a chance to experience them this time around.
Final Thoughts

I am so happy that I decided to push myself outside my comfort zone and attend a writing convention. I’m even more happy that my first experience with a writing convention was Boskone.

If you get a chance, you should get to Boskone56 next year. You won’t be disappointed. It’s the longest running fantasy and science fiction convention in New England and worth traveling to experience. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Did you attend Boskone55? If so, what was a highlight moment for you?
February 19, 2018