Hey there! Thank you for all your responses to my email about why we’re drawn to story! I especially appreciated that a few of you pointed out that when I got all “English lit major” on the deep purposes of Why We Read, I missed something fundamental about science fiction. It’s just plain fun. Escapism and fun are, I would argue, the biggest reason that most people read. It’s the main reason I read or watch movies — I want to be entertained. That’s also why I write. I’m here to see if Jay can...
11 days ago • 2 min read
Hey there! I need to tell you about a massive free book event in a minute, but first... I’ve been thinking a lot about the stories we tell as a society, and the function they serve. (Forgive me a moment. I’m about to do a deep dive into writer nerdery today.) This started because I’ve been reading John Truby’s Anatomy of Genre, where he breaks down the beats, tropes, and expectations of stories by genre. Every genre — detective, fantasy, western, memoir, coming-of-age, love, comedy, etc —...
25 days ago • 4 min read
Hey there! Happy September, y'all. I'm slow-rolling back into work this week, waiting for my brain to catch up with the fact that I'm back in Pacific time, not GMT. Today I slept until 6:15, which was a major win! I think I'm back on track. My husband and I spent the past month in Scotland. The first week was at a conference — WorldCon, which will be held in Seattle next year! The following three weeks were spent squelching our bikes around the Scottish countryside, being pummeled by what...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hey there! I first heard about the butterfly effect in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Interesting Times, where he introduces the quantum weather butterfly (Papilio tempestae). According to the Discworld wiki, these butterflies "have wings of an undistinguished yellow with black mandelbrot patterns, and fractal edges of infinite length." They can create weather by flapping said wings. Normally these butterflies use this quality for courtship or survival, but, from what I recall about the...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Hey there! Monday, July 15th was the one-year anniversary of my eye injury — so I’ve been dealing with a whole lot of feelings this week. Many of them have been light and joyous, as I reflect on my amazing community and how incredibly lucky I am. But also... it's been a year, y'all. Celebrating my "pirate birthday" (as my husband has been calling it) has got me thinking a lot about perspective and point of view. By complete coincidence, my ocularist Christina King (the artist who makes my...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Hey there! One of the big reasons I wanted to put together the Bulari Saga Travel Guide was that I wanted an excuse to write another Starla story. Starla's one of my favorite characters to write. She's just so well-adjusted, with a no-nonsense attitude that makes being in her head a joy. There are no complicated mind games or murky emotional traumas with Starla. She's the kind of woman who knows what she wants and goes after it, and she tends to have a lot of fun along the way. Writing from...
3 months ago • 14 min read
Hey there! My Aunt Lauri (hi Aunt Lauri!) recently asked me how I develop characters. I'd said in an interview somewhere that I don't feel like I create characters so much as I get to know them — which I understand sounds absolutely unhinged. But it really feels true. I meet every character when they first arrive on the page — just like the reader does. And through writing, I get to know them. It doesn't seem like I'm making up details about them, so much as uncovering those details one layer...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Hey there! I have some exciting news about the Kickstarter — but first I need to tell you about an amazing person. Last weekend, I had the chance to catch up with one of my childhood heroes. A woman who helped bend the arc of my life towards writing science fiction. She's the one. The only. Librarian Joyce Cowin. Mrs. Cowin posing with — and I quote — her "two favorite library assistants": me and my sister Lacey Mrs. Cowin was the librarian at my elementary school, which means she got to...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Hey there! Last week, I attended a very different sort of writers conference. It was called the Writers Police Academy (WPA), and it was held in Appleton, Wisconsin. As a sci-fi writer, I was one of the odd ducks out — most of the other attendees write crime and mystery. (Though you may know sci-fi crime writer Heather Texle and urban fantasy writer Elicia Hyder, who were also both there!) Normally when I go to conferences, my main goal is to network with other authors and be social. I often...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hey there! My husband and I have a fairly solid arrangement when we're both home and our schedule is firing on all cylinders. (Which, to be fair, is 50% of the time at best given both of our travel schedules.) He makes lunch, because by the time noon rolls around I'm normally a) starving and b) still super into my work. If left to my own devices, I'll normally just grab the fastest thing that resembles food from the kitchen and eat back at my desk. (This is why leftovers are the best) My...
4 months ago • 2 min read