RITA ® Award-Winning Author of Fantasy Romance
//It’s release day for NEVER THE ROSES!! I’m mostly burbling about that, the importance of having author friends and how they’re showing up for me. And how I’m leaving on book tour tomorrow!
//At last getting to share the news: I’ll be at San Diego Comic Con! Very excited to be on programming there. Also, working on this revision still and how I’m contemplating hosting writing retreats.
//I’m back from travels and writing hiatus, and mulling what it feels like to have not written anything in all this time, what it means to aggressively refill the well, and becoming familiar with the odd sensation of feeling less stressed.
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I used this photo (Thanks to Craig Chrissinger for taking it!) a couple of weeks ago, but it’s too appropriate for this week’s topic to pass up using it again. Our topic at the SFF Seven is our fantasy dinner party. We’re asking which SFF authors and characters you’d invite to a soiree.
The thing is, one of the best perks of being an author is getting to make other authors be your friends. So my fantasy dinner parties have mostly happened! Case in point: above I’m having dinner with Martha Wells, Darynda Jones, and Kelly Robson. Yes, it was a great conversation. I feel so blessed and fortunate that I pretty much get to have my fantasy dinner parties on a regular basis now.
Last week I got to have dinner with Amanda Bouchet, Maria V. Snyder, Jennifer Estep, H.R. Moore, and Maria Vale. On another evening, I sat between Juliette Cross and Chloe C. Peñaranda, later joined by Carissa Broadbent.
The one person I have yet to meet in person – and hopefully have dinner with! – is Neil Gaiman. But I do have his cell phone number and have chatted with him on the phone, which gives me all kinds of happiness right there. Since it’s a fantasy, Anne McCaffrey, Tanith Lee, and Vonda McIntyre could all come back from the dead and join us.
My younger self would be thrilled.
//A round-up of the wonderful weekend at the Jack Williamson Lectureship, including connecting with other authors, sharing advice and stories, and how all of that refills the creative well.
//A special podcast today with fabulous author of fantasy, science fiction, and horror: Kelly Robson! We talk about the definition of fantasy vs. other SFF genres, tone, theme, choosing subgenre, and the difference between writing novels and shorter works.
//Shaking my cane today at the concept of being “yanked out of a book” by something or other and in particular by what someone thinks is “not fantasy language.” Spoiler: there is no such thing as fantasy language and I’ll tell you why.
//My weekend at Bubonicon: great conversations with other writers and coming home ready to put a new project into motion. Also, how some members of the SFF community treat Romance like antimatter.
//I’m explaining how to decode the message when agents & editors say a genre is dead. Also thoughts on whether writing cross-genre is actually hip these days, why Murderbot is cool, and an exciting new cover reveal!
//I’m doing a deep dive into Taoism today, comparing translations, and talking about concepts of desire and letting go in terms of my year-end evaluation and setting goals for next year.
