You know the scene in adventure movies where the protagonist, digging feverishly where the "X" on the map has led, hits metal in the mud? That was me last weekend, only I wasn't excavating earth, just the closet in my home office. And the telltale clunk wasn't a spade striking a strongbox, but an heavy... Continue Reading →
From “Drought Town” to “Blue Karma”: 25 Years of Cli-Fi
Last month, book blogger Alex at ScribblesAndStories posted a delightful retrospective of her childhood writing projects. Her unflinching but affectionate review hits all the classic points in a writer’s early evolution, from those first forays into fiction starring ourselves and our friends, to the imitative works inspired by a favorite story, to the more deliberate... Continue Reading →
Book (and rocket) Launch: “Transient Phenomena” now available
My new book has launched! Transient Phenomena, part one in the Syzygy novella series, is now available on Amazon. Appropriately, it's not the only thing blasting off today. At 10:05 EST, NASA will test a powerful new rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS) intended to propel astronauts to Mars. It's an eerie confluence: like the... Continue Reading →
Groundhog Day: Recurring Draft Doubt and How to Beat It
As if insults on a chocolate foil weren’t enough, now cough drops are attempting psychotherapy. Unwrapping a lozenge yesterday, I found the paper printed with aggressive encouragements: “You can do it and you know it!” “Flex your can-do muscle!” “Fire up those engines!” It read like a lemon-and-menthol Jillian Michaels. I laughed because just moments... Continue Reading →
Passion and Possession: Thoughts on Writing from My Former Self
Moving one’s residence is stressful enough without the complications of a historic snowstorm! Between shoveling, packing, and shuttling carloads of stuff down icy roads, I’ve hardly touched my computer all week. However, I did make a discovery that merits sharing. While boxing up the home office, I found several old journals, including one I kept... Continue Reading →