December 2026 update
December 3, 2025
Reminder: this is mirrored from my Patreon page!
We’re in the homestretch! This has been such a long year. A strange year. Not much left to do but move on. That’s been my motto lately: Get some rest, try again tomorrow.
December’s Lesson is going to be on theme. It’s funny, I can’t remember discussing this one much. I talk about it all the time when I do critiques for people, but I haven’t summarized it in general. Let me try to do that this month. (This is still connected to the ongoing plot discussion. Theme is the “why” of plot.)
It’s gift giving season, and I have some suggestions! If you’re like me, lots of people in your life are downsizing and decluttering, and they don’t want more “stuff.” Turns out, we can give them nice, thoughtful gifts that they’ll appreciate that aren’t “stuff.”
- Subscriptions to online magazines like Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, and many others.
- Memberships to museums and arts institutions. I myself have a membership to The Denver Art Museum, but there are lots of other museums, zoos, botanic gardens, symphonies, and so on.
- Did you know you can gift Patreon memberships? Maybe there’s a writer in your life who might like a certain page, hint hint? Haha…
- Zoo animal adoptions. Especially from zoos that are local to the recipients, so that can visit “their” critters. For the Colorado Front Range I like the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
- I really like local holiday and craft markets. I always find fun and unique things, and get to give money directly to artists and creators.
And…I don’t care how much stuff you have, books always make great gifts. When I worked in the bookstore, I loved the holidays. Especially Christmas Eve, believe it or not. Panicked customers walked in, dazed, a whole list of people they needed presents for, and I’d help them find good picks. Picture books for kids, books of word puzzles, biographies, gardening books, beautiful cook books and coffee table books. Something for everyone, and they’d leave so happy and relieved.
You can buy online from Bookshop.org and still support independent bookstores.
As I’m writing this, the first big snow of the season is falling. I’m snugged up with a blanket, listening to my holiday music streaming channel and thinking of making some tea. After lunch, I’ll go out and shovel the drive. Ah yeah, it’s definitely December…
November 2025 update
November 6, 2025
Two more months left in 2025. How are we doing? Good? Flustered? Both? Holidays? What? What?
This Month’s Lesson: Plot. We’re going to go from the basics to the big picture. Novels, series – plotting over the long haul.
What I’m working on: I’m trying not to, at least not too much. MileHi Con went very well but it took a lot out of me, and now I’m trying not to pile on too much for the rest of the year. I saw a Christmas commercial the day after Halloween, and it was actually nice. My family didn’t really get a holiday last year. Let’s see what we can do this year. (My Dad and I have talked about this, how we basically missed an entire season, and this autumn feels strange because of that.)
I’ve written a few short stories in the last couple of months, and those are about ready to revise and send out. Poking around some little stories feels pretty good.
Media consumption:
I’m reading C.J. Cherryh and Jane Fancher’s Alliance Unbound, the second of their recent books that are something of an origin story of the Merchanter series, that includes Cherryh’s fantastic award-winning novels Downbelow Station and Cyteen. I love this series. It’s very meaty, complex, and immersive. I think it’s one of the best space operas out there because it’s about living and working in space in a way that focuses on the mundane – families, economy, travel. I just love it.
I’m watching the Great British Baking Show, because of course I am. For a while I was on this “if I want to try that I guess I’ll have to make it myself” kick, but I got away from it last year for obvious reasons. I’m feeling the urge to get back into adventurous baking. I did a flourless chocolate cake a few weeks ago that turned out really well!
This week I tried making a lemon tart. Didn’t work, and it’s my own fault for trying to kitbash a couple of different recipes, badly. And then I decided to make giant meringue out of the leftover egg whites. Y’all, what have I done. I never would have tried this before GBBS.
Something Wicked This Way Comes: Film based on Bradbury’s novel. I hadn’t seen this since the 80’s, but of course it stuck with me for its striking imagery – Mr. Dark with the faces of the boys tattooed on his hands, that kind of thing. I didn’t realize Mr. Dark is played by Jonathan Pryce, because I wasn’t paying attention to that sort of thing then. I’d avoided watching this again because I wasn’t sure how it would hold up, but it holds up just fine. It’s genuinely creepy, and it has a big heart. The core of the story is how Will and his father really do love each other, that’s clear in every frame, but for various reasons they have trouble communicating that until the climactic moment. It works.
I think I’m going to add this one to my list of really great fantasy movies of the 80’s, which for me was something of a golden age of fantasy films. After Star Wars raised the bar on special effects, but before CGI took over everything. Filmmakers did the best they could with the rudimentary effects they had, and as a result you get these really unassuming, charming, character-driven stories that stick in your brain.
Now, I think I’m going to go take a walk and jump in some leaf piles or something.
October 2025 Update
October 7, 2025
I did it! I finished the Novel Rewrite That Would Not End! Got it all to work and sent it to my agent! Aaaaahhhhhhh! Now, to figure out what to do next… Maybe I’ll just take my notebook to a coffee shop and scribble? Hmm…
This month’s Lesson: I’m starting a series of lessons on plot, which seems to be the thing that holds a lot of fiction writers back, the thing we have to figure out before we can really break through to the next level. It definitely was for me. This month: I’ll recreate the exercise that made the plot lightbulb shine for me. I hope it’ll do the same for you.
Onto the news:
October’s a big month. Lots happening. The big one: my new novel, THE GLASS SLIDE WORLD, is out October 7! It’s the sequel to THE NATURALIST SOCIETY and is full of intrigue, adventure, and clairvoyant plankton!
On October 19, I’ll be at the Bookies bookshop in Denver, speaking with Fran Wilde.
Mile Hi Con is at the end of the month, October 21 – November 2.
I’m also celebrating the 20th Anniversary of my first published novel, KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR. There will be shenanigans at Mile Hi Con!
I have a new short story in this month’s issue of Clarkesworld: “The Job Interview.” This is kind of a fun story with kind of a fun background – I wrote the first version of this something like 25 years ago. Trunked it when it didn’t sell, and pulled it back out to rewrite it earlier this year, just to see if I could. I’m a much better writer now than I was 25 years ago, and I think this proves it.
Now here we are, in the fourth quarter. Barreling toward the holidays, and the first anniversary of losing my Mom, who I think about every single day. I think I may take the rest of the year off. Or maybe not entirely off. But I do feel the urge to snuggle up with a pretty journal, my knitting, some nice tea and relaxing music, and try to be gentle with myself.
Thanks for sticking with me through the journey.
September 2025 update
September 4, 2025
I’m getting ready for Mile Hi Con and the 20th Anniversary of Kitty and The Midnight Hour. Shenanigans are afoot!
I’m STILL working on that novel revision. In June I thought it would take me a couple of months. But I didn’t realize that I’d be rewriting most of it. My guess is only about 10% of the previous draft has survived. Why so little? It turns out, when you rewrite the first chapter so that the main character stabs a man, when he didn’t before, everything else changes. This is the thrill and agony of a major rewrite like this. You can change one thing that is a necessary thing because it lights a fire in the whole story that wasn’t there before. But it’s like the butterfly’s wing and the hurricane. The main character is on a different path now, and the story has to reflect that.
Along those lines, I’m rewatching Andor, and the plotting in the first season is just so sharp. So many places where there’s a clear path in one direction or another, and the path taken changes everything. Andor shoots the Pre-Mor guard. Syril decides to pursue the case against the orders of his supervisor. Timm turns in Andor. None of those things had to happen, but they did, and they change the story. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
I’m also thinking about a horror movie that a friend made me watch. I’ve really gone off horror lately, but this friend has good taste and will frequently turn on a movie when I’m just sitting there and not let me argue. The Void is low budget – in fact, I’m sure it primarily happened because the filmmakers had access to a defunct hospital and were able to make a movie there before it was torn down. It’s eldritch, a nameless cosmic horror from beyond leaking into our world and causing blood and havoc, etc. I can’t stop thinking about the two main characters, who were kind of really brilliant, because they were so normal. One is a very average small-town sheriff stuck in an impossible situation. The other is the night-shift nurse at the small rural hospital where the action takes place. We find out that they used to be married, and the break up happened after they lost their baby. All that’s almost secondary, blink and you’ll miss it backstory, but it provides a depth of character that these kinds of movies don’t always have. Their relationship, their struggle, their outlook and perseverance, really drive the whole thing, and because of that the film has stuck with me.
Autumn is coming: the leaves are starting to change, the birds are on their way out. My last outing, the blackbirds were quiet. I didn’t see swallows, orioles, or warblers. The goldfinches are getting all the late summer seeds. I did nab a couple of Western Kingbirds, but they’ll probably be the last ones for the year.
Onward.
August 2025 update!
August 7, 2025
Quick update this week. If you want more of my verbal processing, check out Patreon.
As I mentioned last week, I’ll be at Worldcon in Seattle. Looking forward to a bit of a break from the routine!
The novel revision is progressing apace. I’m halfway through, and I’m hoping the second half will go faster. The pieces are falling into place. The only thing that makes writing a terrible first draft bearable is knowing exactly how to fix it.
I went to the movies TWICE last month! I’ve also had the startling realization that all the movies I’ve seen in the theater this year are superhero movies. This is strange, given that there are other movies I’ve wanted to see, like Sinners and The Accountant 2. I just didn’t get around to them, alas. I should really try to see something that isn’t superheroes this year.
However, there is something to be said for comfort viewing. Which might be why I’ve been watching a lot of Nat Geo documentaries about sharks and penguins.
Anyway, back to superheroes, I have a lot of thoughts about this year’s crop of supers, and might be noticing some new trends that I quite like. Is there a shift happening? Is Hollywood finally finding new ways to tell these stories? I’ll talk about that next week.
And then…and then the seasons will shift again. I’m still not sure what the second half of this year holds. I’m making some plans, and that feels pretty good. Meanwhile, I’ve got a couple of other story ideas cooking when I’m finished with the novel revision. Keep on swimming…
July 2025 Update
July 7, 2025
The year is half over. Yikes, how did that happen? It happens every year, I don’t know why it’s always such a surprise.
I have a couple of requests to start with:
About half my Patreon subscribers have signed up under the “free” option. I really appreciate everyone who signs up for my pages and supports me and my work any way they can! In the attention economy, every single hit matters. But if you’re a free subscriber, you’re only getting a fraction of what I’m writing about on the site. I write posts every week – recently, I’ve posted reviews of the books I’ve been reading, what I’ve learned about knitting, and a couple of short story writing challenges I set for myself. I’m constantly learning and trying to figure stuff out and taking my subscribers along for the ride. Just $1 a month gets you a peek behind the curtain, and $5 a month gets even more. Think of it as buying me a cup of coffee!
Also, if you know someone who might enjoy my work here on Patreon, spread the word! Pass along some of the emailed posts, recommend the page to writer friends or anyone who enjoys discussions about creativity and living a creative life.
Thank you all so much. Now on to the rest of the update.
I might have mentioned—I mostly stopped writing while Mom was in hospice and right after she passed. I managed to get revisions and copyedits done on THE GLASS SLIDE WORLD, but that was about it. I just needed to let my brain rest. I started up again in March, maybe? Slowly, anyway. A few hundred words a week. Starting small, just feeling my way. Even so, I’ve finished and submitted four short stories since the start of the year, and that feels huge. I’m now diving into a novel rough draft from earlier last year. It was broken, but I figured out how to fix it. That should keep me busy for a while. No pressure!
Birding update: I’ve had some really nice sightings this summer. On a short trip to Maryland I got my lifer Pileated Woodpecker and Scarlet Tanager. The woodpecker was a bastard and only let me see its head for a couple seconds before flapping off. But the tanager was very cooperative and sat right out in the open. Gosh, that’s a bright red! Love it. Locally, I spotted two Eastern Kingbirds on a nest, a Bobolink, and a flock of Bushtits. I was standing on the trail and they swarmed around me. You’ll never see just one Bushtit—they travel in manic flocks, foraging seeds on dense shrubs. They’re drab, tiny, not much bigger than hummingbirds, but they act more like chickadees, bouncing from branch to branch, hanging upside down, being generally adorable. I didn’t need my binoculars, they were that close. It was otherworldly.
The journey continues.
June 2025 Update!
June 5, 2025
Reminder to check out my Patreon for more!
Summer! Let’s do this thing!
Manic crafting continues. I have so much yarn, so many projects. These gloves turned out great, I think. So cozy! The gray yarn is handspun from Shapinsay, one of the Orkney Islands. The red is from Whitby, a gift from a friend. Both came from last year’s Scotland trip. What a nice remembrance! (The pattern is Earl Grey Mitts by Bristol Ivy.)
Here’s what’s going on writing-wise:
ARC’s of The Glass Slide World are in the house! The sequel to The Naturalist Society is available for preorder! It’ll be out in October, which seems like a long way away. (Bookshop.org link is here.)
More knitting! SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, is having a fundraising auction. I’ve donated one of my knitted Octopus creatures. You can place a bid and make it your own! Lots of other cool stuff is available, too.
This month’s issue of Lightspeed Magazine includes my story, “A Week at the Raven Feather Salon.” You can read it for free starting June 19th – or buy the ebook and read it right now! In fact, I encourage you to subscribe to Lightspeed or other online magazines if you like reading short fiction and supporting the community. This is a gentle fantasy story directly inspired by “Her Brush,” an exhibit at the Denver Art Museum a couple years ago that focused on Japanese women artists. I talked about it in a seminar post here.
I’ve written four short stories so far this year. I’ve done it slowly, just 500 words at a time, sometimes more, sometimes less. I’m starting to think about diving into more involved work. I have a novel manuscript I wrote in the first part of last year that needs a ton of revision (raising the stakes, adding tension to the plot, etc.), and I’ve figured out how to do it.
It’s a process. Maybe I’ll talk about that process in next month’s Lesson.
Meanwhile, summer will be trips and family visits and crafting and being outside and taking things slow.
May 2025 Update
May 4, 2025
Check out my Patreon if you want to know more!
This month’s lesson: I want to talk about numbers of viewpoint characters in a novel. I had some recent thoughts while doing a beta read for a friend. Come watch me think out loud!
New story alert! “Woolly” is the cover story for the May/June issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction. And I gotta tell you, I’ve never had a science fiction story be so relevant and timely. “Woolly” is about cloned and genetically modified miniature woolly mammoths. I understand a certain public figure recently made a statement about wanting a cloned genetically modified miniature woolly mammoth? Actually, my story is about a miniature woolly mammoth rescue sanctuary. Because the minute these things become commercially available, the next thing you’re going to need is a rescue organization.
What else, what else… Still manic crafting. Also manic decluttering and manic organizing. I’m going to take twenty years’ worth of old records to a local free shredding event. I’ve compiled all my grandparents’ and mother’s family history records and things and packed them up in reasonable order. I don’t think anyone’s touched it all in 50 years.
It’s emotionally draining but also satisfying. The next person to get this stuff will have an easier time, I hope. Also, I found some treasures. My grandfather’s Ph.D. dissertation. The baptismal gown used by my grandmother and all her siblings. A hundred-year-old collection of crochet lace samples. Families are fun. Families are wild.
I’ve watched a slew of random movies with one-word titles: Twisters (It’s urban fantasy! The heroine has storm-predicting powers and has to overcome her traumatic past to hook up with the bad boy!), Spotlight (Amazing. Really good. Deserved its Best Picture Oscar.), and Dunkirk (Tom Hardy pilots a Spitfire. ‘nuff said.).
I need to get back to the theaters, summer movie season is coming up! What have you been watching? Any recommendations?
April 2025
April 3, 2025
A quick update, since I’m trying to do a dozen things at once and it’s not working out too well. Baby steps, one thing at a time, etc. etc. But I have cover art for you!
THE GLASS SLIDE WORLD is available for preorder. Publication date is October 7. It’s starting to feel real.
One other bit of news. I got new binoculars and I LOVE THEM. All this time I’ve been using the binoculars my grandfather got me when I was a kid. They’ve got to be forty years old at this point. I kept thinking I needed to get new ones. Better materials, better lenses, etc. I just never got around to it. Until now. (Since losing Mom I’m doing a lot of things I’d been putting off. It feels strange, to be honest. Nothing to do but roll with it.) The old ones were 7×35. The new ones are 8×42. That second number is lens diameter, and I have to tell you, those extra few millimeters make a huge difference. The image is so much brighter and cleaner. I went out with them earlier this week and got a great view of a northern harrier. So good! The killdeer are back, I’ve heard a couple of Say’s phoebe. So glad I have the new binoculars in time for spring migration!
Trees are starting to green out. Crocus and daffodils in the yard. Spring storms rolling through. Ah, we’re so close! I hope you’re getting a chance to get out and enjoy it!
Update! March 2025, or Is It Spring Yet?
March 9, 2025
I’ve had some new short stories published:
“The Fairford Duck,” at The Sunday Morning Transport. This was inspired by an Anglo-Saxon replica pendant my friend made: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1787102225/fairford-duck-anglo-saxon-replica-bronze
“Ninth Life,” a contribution to a website celebrating the work of Charles de Lint. A story about Esther the Cat, who really thought she would get to rest this life. Yes, this is the same Esther who lives with Frida and Judi in the Kitty series.
“Bravado,” Reactor Magazine, another story about Graff, a gay hedonistic secret cyborg. This is his origin story. More Graff stories are on the way. I love that guy so much.
This month’s lesson: Some thoughts on publicity. Hint: I don’t know anything about publicity. Nobody does.
And… I’m working on a couple of new short stories. I’m a big believer in “write every day” but I took a break from writing last month. It was the right call. I needed to let my brain rest. Like a runner who’s pulled a muscle, you know? But I’m slowly coming back to it, with freewriting and brainstorming, going over old notes to pick up threads that got dropped. I accepted an anthology invitation; the deadline is in April. So back in the saddle it is.
I saw a couple of movies. I really liked Captain America: Brave New World, more than a lot of other people did. I think it’s because it went back to some classic superhero tropes, battles, and plots. Mutated villain who uses secret mind control to infiltrate the government? Yes, please! Familiar characters, good actors, just all around competent without a lot of the complexities the MCU has gotten bogged down in. No multiverse, huzzah! And… it’s chock-full of non-toxic masculinity. Three generations of men mentoring each other and helping each other. At the lowest point in the movie Bucky tells Sam, “I love you,” honestly and unironically, like good friends do, and it was beautiful. I didn’t know I needed to see that until it happened.
Atlas on Netflix was dumb as a pile of bricks and the less said about it the better. Except that the AI mech suit should have been the protagonist.
Filling the Well 
