I was looking at a forum thread about “story theory.” Things like theme, structure, and charter vs. plot were discussed. I just finished reading Samuel R. Delany’s “Tales of Neveryon,” and was feeling particularly thoughtful. As I knew I would after reading it. Here’s my story theory. A story is the map of an island. [...]

I’ve been beavering away, writing. No new publications, but I won a contest! Speaking of beavers … Searching out pictures to convince Nick that hamster soldiers are real, I ran across references to the Hamstalfar, and thought I’d share. https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/new-civilization-for-ff.319605/ It’s an example of the sort of thing I got up to before writing made [...]

Actually, I was the one who received some seasonal kindness. Virginia Marybury shooed me away from Facebook when I should have been writing. I’m afraid I went back a little later – but only briefly! The mood of impotently stewing over the world’s injustices that marks the Facebook experience had been broken. As proof that [...]

Just that I’m actually planning out a novel to some extent. That’s the surprise I’m referring to. I think the color coding was a waste of time. We’ll see.  

I’m feeling sanguine about pumpkin spice everything, everywhere you go, because … well, first, because I never go anywhere. But also because I’ve got three stories being published this month or soon after. I’ll post links as they become available. “The Cage,” a literary magical realism story,* won 87 Bedford’s Foreign Setting Short Story Contest. [...]