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With X being a growing cesspool of fascist scumbags, a lot of people are finally moving over to the Bluesky platform. Of course, why people didn't leave shortly after Musk bought the company is beyond me. They only started trickling out of there a year and a half ago when Twitter started charging for the blue checks.  A spot-on meme from the show Community. There are those who voice objections to moving over to Bluesky because some evil dude is one of the major shareholders of the app, saying that it's just as bad as X. But that is really comparing apples and oranges (or mangoes and durian). Sure, one of the shareholders of Bluesky is an evil a-hole, but the actually owner of X is an evil a-hole who is in bed with the incoming "president." And said owner makes sure that the algorithm is skewed to elevate the voices of hate and disinformation. Nobody is doing any algorithm over at Bluesky. So please don't tell me the two are equal because that must be some sort of logical fallacy, or should be if it isn't. Luckily, as I mentioned, many have finally left X and moved over to Bluesky. One such group is Manuscript Wish List. Those of you who write might be interested in joining for the following event:  I'm personally looking forward to it. My books with Penguin Workshop came about because my previous agent had found a call out like this from an editor on social media, so I'm hoping that I will find something of interest to pursue on #MSWL Day!
And, totally unrelated, but if you want to win a copy of my upcoming graphical biography of Bruce Lee, pop over to Heather Dawn Torres's interview of me about the Clouds in Space book! NOTICE: Because many blogs I follow also release posts on Fridays, I'm going to switch my postings to Wednesdays starting next week.
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Sure, I was raised by Star Trek, but I'm also fully immersed in the Star Wars universe (and if you don't know the difference between the two, I'm sorry, but we can't be friends anymore 😆). All the various movies and spinoffs from the original trilogy have been hit or miss. I won't mention the duds, but I will say that among my top favorites are the animated series "The Clone Wars" and its spinoff "The Bad Batch."*  Not only is the animation amaaaaazing, but the storytelling is also top-notch. If you've learned about writing compelling, sympathetic, and complex characters and you want to study an example, look no further than checking out this series. (It never ceases to amaze me that one single voice actor, Dee Bradley Baker, did all the voices for every single uniquely awesome clone in those series.) Aside from intricate character development, the story arc also provides an excellent model on how to insert subplots that don't detract from the central narrative while providing momentum and interest to each episode. * If you want another incredible example of Star Wars storytelling that is also a lesson on how to fight fascism and authoritarian regimes...highly important as the US is transitioning to scary times...go watch/study the series Andor.  Happy New Year, friends! Because most of us (okay, me...) aren't fully back to work yet, at least not mentally, this will just be a brief post on what you can expect this coming year in terms of blog content. I plan to share some background stories on each of my upcoming books this year--how they came about, the processes that went into them, and other anecdotes I might think of. As well, I'll talk a bit about writing processes in general...maybe some grammar pet peeves. Hah.
I also hope to share things about botany, particularly plants that I want to draw for a 2026 calendar. Because I intend to do more surface pattern design, you'll likely see. few posts about those, too.
And much as I dread this year (and the next few) politically, I will not talk about it on the blog. In case anyone wants to know, I share my despair on Bluesky. If there's anything else you'd like me to write about, just let me know in the comments! It's the weekend before Christmas, and it's far too late to order this fun fabric for this year, but it's a perfect time to order it so you're ready extra early for next year! And if Christmas is not your thing, I have some spring motif patterns you might like. Just check them out at my Spoonflower shop!
Have a restful, low-stress holiday season. See you in the new year!
Making these lists is truly an early Christmas present for me...one that I didn't know I wanted so much!
Thanksgiving at our house was mercifully quiet and uneventful. We ended up with a turkey this year, along with the usual sides like cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and even a green bean casserole. But the highlight for me is usually dessert. This year, I made a pecan pie and...oddly...a strawberry pie. We had a bunch of strawberries in the freezer from our abundant summer harvest and it seemed like a good idea to clear some out.  And because Kid1 was home for the holiday, I also made cinnamon buns (a very close facsimile of the famous University of British Columbia ones). Mmmm!  Last weekend was a whirlwind of activity at the National Council of Teachers of English conference. In addition to doing a book signing for Queen of Physics at the Union Square booth, I also presented at a panel on writing poetic nonfiction. For fun (as much fun as an introvert can have anyway), I attended a Candlewick Press author reception, met up with author/illustrator friends, online critique partners, and some editors, and ate some tasty seafood! Since I'm still digesting my Thanksgiving meal, and need to go make some sourdough crackers, I will keep this short and not show you the desserts I made for yesterday until next week.
I hope you had a lovely and low-stress holiday! Last weekend, I was at the annual Books By the Banks festival in Cincinnati where I signed books and also appeared in a panel called Scientifically Speaking: Science Nonfiction along with Carmella Van Vleet and Jillian Scudder, moderated by Mary Kay Carson.  I also got to see a bunch of author friends. From the Kidlit For Growing Minds group, there's Katie Mazeika, Debra Shumaker, and Keila Dawson. In the photo on the right is me and Robin Newman.
The left-hand photo is of me and Laura Gehl. Annnd, I got to meet THE John Scalzi (you sci-fi folks will know why I'm geeking out).
This weekend, I am in Boston for the National Council of Teachers of English conference. I'll be at the following panel (see below) as well as signing copies of Queen of Physics at the Union Square booth (#704) today (Friday, Nov. 22) at 10:30 a.m. So if you're there, stop on by!  The lovely and talented Lydia Lukidis featured an interview of me about my newest book, Clouds in Space, on her blog this week. Be sure to check it out as there is a giveaway! And if you're near Cincinnati, OH, tomorrow (Saturday, November 16), do drop on by the Cincy Main Library for this spectacular annual Books By the Banks Festival. I'll be there signing and am also a panelist for a talk called Scientifically Speaking: Science Nonfiction.  Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the death of a country and its morals. Don't mind the ground shaking; it's just the bodies of all the World War II veterans rolling over in their graves.
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AboutI'm in the process of moving content from my Wordpress blog to here. I'd love for you to follow me here; we will have fun together! Archives
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