Ten Things I've Learned About Working From Home

10. It's possible to fit two computers on my desk.
9. I drink less tea while I'm at home.
8. I might drink less tea at home because I have to boil water whenever I want a mug (as opposed to having hot water instantly available).
7. I don't miss driving to work.
6. I do actually miss being able to do some of the paperwork and filing that are a normal part of my job.
5. I don't have time to write on my lunch hour because I have to make my son's lunch and do the dishes.
4. Sometimes accessing the network feels like the biggest accomplishment of the day.
3. When using the mouse, I write equally poorly with both hands.
2. Why, yes, I will try working on Sunday evening if that gives me more time later in the week.
1. I need a better office chair for my home office--I'm not used to sitting it in all day!

Books in the Time of COVID-19

Whether you've been following the spread of COVID-19 since it first made the news or just realized its impact recently, we're all affected by it now. School is cancelled for my son, though he's doing e-learning this week. He was supposed to go on a class trip to Washington D.C. during spring break, but they cancelled it a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, we got a refund for almost all the money we spent on it, so hopefully he'll be able to go next year. I'm not sure yet what my work schedule is going to be like, so child care may be a challenge.

Our local library is also closed, so I won't be able to pick up any more paper books until March. Maybe this means I'll finally start working on my pile of To-Read paper books. Of course, I have plenty of eBooks available through my Kindle account and library apps. Between books, crochet, and writing, I should be able to keep myself occupied at home.

Speaking of books, if you need something to read, I'm putting all my novels on sale. If they're not free, they're $0.99. This includes Ordinary Wonders: A Fantasy Short Story Collection, Twinned Universes, Seasons' Beginnings, Chaos Season, Fifth Season, and Summon the Seasons. Even my Season Avatars box set, which contains five novels and four short stories, is half off (normally $9.99, now $4.99). These links are universal, so you can go to your favorite eBook vendor.

Stay healthy, everyone, and we'll get though this together.

Dozing with the Dinos 2020

This year was the final time my son was able to participate in the annual Dozing with the Dinos event at the Field Museum. The event is for kids age 6-12 and their adults, but my son will turn thirteen at the end of May. Although I've enjoyed going behind the scenes at the Field Museum, I will not miss the poor sleeping conditions.

Saturday afternoon, Alex and I took the Metra downtown to connect with my husband.Since my husband works on Saturdays, it's easier for us to do this instead of making him drive back home to pick us up before we go to the museum. We ate dinner, then drove to the museum. We got there early, which made check-in easier and allowed us to pick a prime spot in the evolution exhibit.

After orientation, we had a special behind-the-scenes tour of the lab where they prepare fish specimens for study. We don't get to choose in advance which tour we take. We hadn't been in this part of the museum before, and since Alex likes fishing, this was a good match for us. We got to see many specimens prepared in different ways. Some were preserved in formaldehyde, while others were treated with special stains to make different parts of their bodies visible. We saw several sharks, a puffer fish, and my favorite, a coelacanth.

After snack time and buying a few souvenirs, we explored the museum, both with and without flashlights. By the time we were done, we were so exhausted we went straight to bed. Unfortunately, our air mattresses all had leaks, despite my attempts to patch them. My mattress was so bad I just deflated it completely instead of having to deal with a rocking mattress. At least it was ready to pack in the morning. We had breakfast, then left. We may not able to sleep over again, but we'll always have the memories.

IWSG: Family Traditions and Stories

Whether or not March came in like a lion or a lamb in your area, it brought in another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. You can learn more about the IWSG on their website, Facebook, or Twitter account.

This month's hosts are Jacqui Murray, Lisa Buie-Collard, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and Shannon Lawrence.

Our question this month is Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs in your stories? 

One of my short stories, "Bugged Out at the Museum," was inspired by our annual tradition of attending Member's Night at the Field Museum. Members are allowed to go behind the scenes to see how exhibits are set up and how research is conducted. One of the biggest attractions of the night is the "Insect Petting Zoo," where members can hold hissing cockroaches and other creatures. I drew on this to write "Bugged Out at the Museum." It was originally published in a bugs-theme issue of Indie Writers Monthly and republished last in my fantasy short story collection Ordinary Wonders.

 
Do you write about your family's customs or traditions in your stories? Feel free to share your answers in the comments.

A Writer by Any Other Name?

Although fantasy and science fiction are my favorite genres, I also like to read mysteries, especially cozy mysteries. It's probably not surprising that I've come up with an idea for a cozy mystery series. I'm trying to do more worldbuilding and plotting with this project, but even before I write the first word, I also have to consider the marketing aspect. Should I publish these stories under my own name or a pen name? Traditional thinking has always been that you need different pen names for different genres so readers can distinguish them. However, this doesn't seem to be too much of a concern for indie writers. Honestly, I have enough trouble doing social media and marketing for one name; doubling it would make it even harder. Book covers and blurbs do a better job of signaling genre than names, and I would put different books on different pages of my website.

Do you use a pen name, or have you thought about it? Let me know in the comments.

Third Flatiron Best of 2019 Now Available!

I mentioned a couple of months ago that my short story, "Specimen 1842," had been selected for Third Flatiron's Best of 2019 anthology. This anthology is finally available, though currently only as an ebook on Amazon. It's free if you're in Kindle Unlimited or only $2.99 if you're not. Here's the cover, and below is the description from Amazon:

Third Flatiron Anthologies presents fourteen of its best speculative fiction stories from the year 2019. Contributors include Tom Pappalardo, J. D. Blackrose, Brian Trent, Bruce Golden, Mack Moyer, Arthur Carey, Maureen Bowden, Edwina Shaw, Elizabeth Beechwood, Evan A Davis, K. G. Anderson, Philip John Schweitzer, Sandra Ulbrich Almazan, and Samson Stormcrow Hayes. Edited by Juliana Rew.

I'm still waiting to get my copy, but I'm looking forward to reading it. Here's hoping you check it out too.

Letters to Psyche--A Valentine's Day Read

Looking for a short story to read for Valentine's Day? How about one told by the God of Love himself? This short story of mine actually features two famous couples: Cupid and Psyche, and Romeo and Juliet. Here's the blurb:

When the Greek god Cupid visits Verona, he foresees no problems uniting the Montague and Capulet families. But when Elisabeth Capulet and Giovanni Montague's love ends in tragedy, Elisabeth places a powerful curse not on just the families, but Cupid himself. Unable to visit his wife Psyche, he sends her letters detailing his efforts to undo the curse. Can the two of them save another generation of lovers, or will Cupid and Psyche be forever parted?

You can buy it as a stand-alone short story for $0.99, or get it as part of Ordinary Wonders: A Fantasy Short Story Collection, for $2.99. Both links are universal.

IWSG: The Art Behind the Story

January sure seemed like a long month, didn't it? Here's hoping February will be better. Let's get the month off to a good start with the Insecure Writer's Support Group. You can learn more about them on their website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed. Our hosts for February are Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes (no link available), Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson.

Our question for this month is Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?

I've been wracking my brain for a while, and all I could come up with is a writing assignment from seventh or eighth grade. I don't remember the details very well, but the photo was of a dark hallway. I wrote a story about walking through my school at night, and I think my dog made an appearance at the end (I think I was looking for her, though I don't remember why she would have been at school.) Since I graduated from school, I assumed I finished the assignment.

Most of my story inspiration these days comes from either anthologies or exploring established characters and worlds. Occasionally, I do find photos that deserve to inspire stories or be book covers. One of them was posted to Twitter in December; I saw it on my Facebook feed. It's a pair of brides, one in a purple/gray dress, the other in white, each facing outward while holding swords one-handed and clasping their free hands behind their backs. If you haven't seen the photo, check it out at the link; it's gorgeous. Since this photo was part of their actual wedding, I won't share it here. It would make a great book cover, however. You can follow the pair on Twitter at Bisexuals of the Blade. Perhaps someday that photo will inspire me to write a story about a pair of bisexual women in a similar pose but with different weapons. (I already know who they would be, though I'm not sure if that scene fits their story.)

Have you found art more inspiring than I have? If so, feel free to discuss it in the comments.

How Many Drafts?

Last week, I talked a little bit about a problem I was having with a short story. I think I've got some new ideas for it, though it will change the theme of the story a little from what I'd originally planned. I started making some of the changes, but I have to finish revising the entire story before I can decide if it works.

I plan to submit this story to an anthology, though I don't want to go into details at this point. The submission period closes next month, though. I wrote the first draft of this story in October, but I've held onto it because it didn't feel to me like it was ready. This will be the third or fourth version of this story, so I thought it might be interesting to ask other writers how many drafts they typically do of a story. For novels, I'd say I go through at least three or four drafts (rough draft, read on Kindle and make big changes draft, possibly another draft before preparing a paper proof, final version) though the revisions become fewer and less extensive with each pass. Many indie writers might consider this slow, but as a panster, I need to write the first draft to figure out the story. I will say I feel like I'm going through fewer drafts now than when I first started writing, so I consider that progress.

How many drafts do you usually need for a story? Feel free to share in the comments.

Books or Reading--Which is More Important?

I'm working on a science fiction short story that's got me frustrated. It's set in a future where the vast majority of people rely on a computer-brain interface and network to accomplish daily tasks, including reading. A few people who are unable to obtain the implant can read independently, and this skill is treated as something worth preserving. I'm trying to decide how (or if) to recruit more people to carry on this skill. If they do, is it more important for them to decipher words on their own, or is it the fact that they're taking in stories through words (when most stories are told in visual media) that is worth preserving? I'd appreciate your thoughts on this matter.

Interview with Across the Universe Editor Randee Dawn

Today I have an interview with Randee Dawn, a member of Broad Universe and the editor of Across the Universe: Tales of Alternative Beatles. The book is available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble. Across the Universe will also be available for sale at the Broad Universe and Fantastic Books tables at Arisia in Boston, from January 17-20. Randee will be appearing on several panels during the yearly convention, and her schedule can be found here: https://randeedawn.com/appearances/ For more about Randee, visit her website, Facebook page, Twitter, or Instagram.

Sorcerers, superheroes, and zombies.

Out of work, out of luck, out of practice.

Gods, clods, or four simple lads.

Here are the Beatles as you've never known them before: singing for their supper, singing for their souls, and singing to save the world.

Join 25 remarkable authors as they take you Across the Universe.

Featuring the stories of: Spider Robinson, Gregory Benford, David Gerrold, Allen M. Steele, Pat Cadigan, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Jody Lynn Nye, Gregory Frost, Cat Rambo, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Gail Z. Martin, Bev Vincent, Brenda W. Clough, Alan Goldsher, Gordon Linzner, Beth W. Patterson, Christian H. Smith, Sally Wiener Grotta, Kenneth Schneyer, Charles Barouch, Carol Gyzander, Patrick Barb, R. Jean Mathieu, Eric Avedissian, and Matthew F. Amati.

Here are some of the questions I had for Randee:

Please tell us about yourself.

I'm an author and entertainment journalist based in Brooklyn. My fiction veers wildly around the road like a dog driving a minivan, and can be either icky horror or (hopefully) funny fantasy, and everything in-between. I write what I'd like to read, which may explain a lot. As for the journalism, I write about movies, TV, music and (occasionally) books for the LA Times, Variety, Today.com and Emmy magazine primarily; I've been doing that work since I was in college, and I find it fulfilling – but not nearly as much as being a fiction author.

Please tell us about your latest work.

In early December 2019 I published my first anthology (co-edited with Michael A. Ventrella), Across the Universe: Tales of Alternative Beatles, a speculative fiction collection of tales using the Fab Four as inspiration to tell bigger-picture stories. Fiction-wise, I have a funny fantasy about mythical creatures running a soap opera starring humans called Tune in Tomorrow and am rewriting a draft of my near-future-ecological-disaster-noirish-mystery novel, A Different Light (working title).

What drew you to writing?

Just having stories to tell, I guess. Not everyone finds a creative outlet, and maybe not everybody just spontaneously makes up stories, but I don't know how to do it otherwise. I've always just loved sitting down with characters in my head and finding a way to translate them onto the page – and I've been doing that since elementary school.

Do you have any writing habits, such as writing in a certain location or time of day?

I'm fortunate to work from home as a freelancer. I have a set contract job that takes up my early afternoon, so I get up early and try to write from 7-9am every morning. In the evenings after dinner, while my teacher husband grades papers, I sit down again from 7-9. Not every day is as successful, but I think I get at least 1-2 hours a day to myself.

How do you get the inspiration for your stories?

My husband likes to say, "No one is safe around a writer." Which is to say: from everywhere and everything. Having a bit of a framework helps – last October I wrote 100 word drabbles every day of the month, which gave me a length and a topic – but after that it's up to the subconscious to push my buttons until something comes out.

Of all the stories you’ve written, which one is your favorite and why?

This may sound twee, but my favorite story is always the one I'm still working on. After they've flown the nest and been published, I love them from afar. That said, my first sale, "Home for the Holidays," was one of those magic stories: Two drafts, a sale to a podcast, printed in an anthology and my own short story collection, and a perennial favorite to read.

How did you come up with the idea for an alternative Beatles anthology?

It was one of those great moments of sychronicity. I'd been thinking about it for a couple of years, but not sure how to do it – I'd never edited an anthology – or whether it would be prohibitive for copyright reasons. So I went to my friend Ian Randal Strock, who runs the indie press Fantastic Books, and pitched the idea of stories based around Beatle songs – not using lyrics, per se, but let's hear more about, say, Lucy who lives in the sky with her jewels. He was interested, but I was intimidated and didn't immediately pursue. Meanwhile, another author, Michael A. Ventrella, who'd just finished the Release the Virgins anthology on Fantastic Books, came to Ian with a very similar idea. He put us together at World Fantasy in Baltimore at the end of 2018, and we agreed to work on it together.

What is it about the Beatles, as individuals and a group, that makes them suitable for alternative stories?

The Beatles are in the water. They're part of the shape of our lives, whether we're fans or not. For about 60 years now, their story, their songs, their lives and their music has become part of the fabric of the way we live. And as part of our dreamscapes, they're both people who actually lived – and also archetypes. Like different angles of a mirror, they reflect ourselves back to us, which makes them perfect to tell stories of other worlds, and other ways of thinking.

Have you met any of the Beatles or been to any of their solo concerts? If not, is there a particular song or album of theirs that has had a significant impact on your life? 

Truth: I was not a big Beatles fan growing up. I tend to rebel against anything that the Whole World seems to embrace as The Greatest Thing Ever. (It took me a long time to care about Bruce Springsteen, for example.) But as I noted earlier, they're in the air, impossible to ignore. Over the years, I learned to appreciate what they'd accomplished, and even love lots of their songs. I think Paul's music – solo and for the band – was my gateway drug when I was younger; the goofiness and earnest pop he created was so easy to like. As I've gotten older, John and George's more complicated emotional and musical landscape has had different appeal. So they've grown on me, organically. But I never came to this as the No. 1 Beatles Fan Ever Ever Ever. I don't think I could single out one particular song or album as being most important – but my husband (a major Beatles/George fan) and I did enter our wedding reception to "All You Need Is Love." As for meeting them or going to their concerts: No, and no. The closest I've come to meeting a Beatle is when I interviewed Sean Lennon on the phone probably 20 years ago.