Hello, my friends, it has been a while. I was foolishly optimistic to think this time at home would mean many a splendid day writing until my heart sang. The reality is, it’s been tough. My husband is high-risk so we have been hermits, and it’s been hard to see all that’s going on globally.… Continue reading (WIP) “Peter, Peter”
During MarsCon in January 2020 one of my panels was Get Out of Your Way. I decided to run a panel about how to get unstuck. Sometimes you become your own obstacle. To my surprise, when it came time for my panel I looked out on a full room. This in great contrast to some… Continue reading Get Out of YOUR Way
Today’s book review is one of the few times I step away from picture books. Nicole Ordway is a very talented writer, one of HCS Publishing‘s author/editors, and a good friend of mine. She is passionate about her writing and a very fun Con buddy. I loved her most recent published book Civil Dusk and… Continue reading Book Review: Civil Dusk by Nicole R. Ordway
Today is a research day, though I also realize I haven’t put up a blog in quite some time. I thought I might go into a little about how I am putting this Steampunk anthology together. The idea came about after writing two origin stories for nursery rhymes for HCS Publishing’s anthologies. So far, I… Continue reading Research
I found this gem while going through my writings. This was a prompt. The title was all that was given along with the instruction to write it like a news article. I’m assuming I wrote this Thursday, May 23, 2013 based on the wonky date I made up. Enjoy! Thaylorsday, Maylu 23, 4313 Rovella Boykin… Continue reading Three-Eared Rabbit Belches a Battle Cry
If you were a queen, would you fill your castle with cats? In Ruth Sanderson’s delightful A Castle Full of Cats, the queen adores her dozens of cats to distraction. She hosts them at her table, paints their portraits, applauds their art, and encourages their attempts to befriend the king. The cats “tried their best… Continue reading Book Review: A Castle Full of Cats by Ruth Sanderson
My husband was in the hospital. It was his second day of what would end up being six, following a shocking onset of rhabdomyolysis. I was spending time in the clubhouse pool with our toddler and his mother, trying to ignore the dark thoughts. I didn’t know my daughter was old enough to ask, “Is… Continue reading We Mark Ourselves
Of all the short stories I will write for my “Steampunked Nursery Rhymes” anthology, this will have the most of me. I started writing it a few months after my miscarriage, and it deals with that anxiety and sorrow. As the name suggests, “Falling Down” is for the nursery rhyme London Bridge is Falling Down.… Continue reading (WIP) Falling Down
Having studied Children’s Literature, I knew the impact The Snow Day had on representation in the history of picture books. Keats’ protagonist, Peter, became the first non-caricatured black child to appear in children’s books. Peter enjoys exploring the soft crunch sound his feet make in the snow, and spends the day outside. Peter features in… Continue reading Book Review: Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
I am working on an anthology of “Steampunked Nursery Rhymes.” What started as my first short story published in HCS’s Steam & Steel: Thirteen Riveting Tales became a project for me. “To Fetch A Pale of Water” was my version of the origin story for that nursery rhyme. “Along Came A Spider” came after for… Continue reading (WIP) “Jack, Be Quick!”