Author Interview Series #63 – Lisa Goldstein

July 5th, 2010

Last fall at the World Fantasy Convention, I took the opportunity to attend the banquet, where the World Fantasy Awards are presented.  One of my charming dining companions was author Lisa Goldstein, who won the American Book Award for her novel The Red Magician in 1983. Since then, her books span multiple genres and milieus, from the historical to the purely imaginative.

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Reading with Two Local Authors

June 18th, 2010

Whaddaya know! Who’d have thought this many spec-fic authors lived in Omaha?  Yours truly will be doing a reading with local authors Marcus Pelegrimas and Matt Rotundo.

When: Sunday, July 18th, 2010

Where: 13th Street Coffee Shop, 521 South 13th Street, Omaha

So come, enjoy some good stories and support your local talent!

“The Hammer” Hits Home

June 1st, 2010

I am delighted to announce that my science-fiction novelette, “The Hammer”, appears this month in issue #24 of OG’s Speculative Fiction magazine.

This is perhaps my favorite short piece thus far, and marks a turning point in my writing and life.  I so enjoyed Horace “the Hammer” Harkness that there’s a good chance he’ll show up in other stories someday, maybe even a novel.  So check it out and let me know what you think.

Writers Jam at Krypton Comics

May 27th, 2010

I’m looking forward to hanging out with other Omaha-area authors and writers at the upcoming Writers Jam at Krypton Comics. The Writers Jam will feature Chloe Neill, Marcus Pelegrimas, Matt Rotundo, Kylie Kinley, and yours truly.  We’ll discuss writing as a craft and a business at this Writers Jam, possibly the first of a series.  So come on down and jam!

When: June 12, 2010, Noon-2 p.m.

Where: Krypton Comics, 2819 South 125th Avenue, Omaha, NE

Contact information for the Deerings

April 6th, 2010

If anyone was scammed by the Deerings in that big literary thing please contact me and I can give you their current contact information as of 4/5/2010. I have reason to believe they are currently endangering someone I care about and will be happy to help you get your day in court. Anonymously of course.

Upcoming Reading

March 29th, 2010

I will be reading some of my creative nonfiction as part of the UNO Writers Series.  This reading highlights creative nonfiction works by five writers at UNO.  I’m really looking forward to taking my first crack at reading some nonfiction work alongside some talented writers.

The event runs from 7:00 p.m. to ~8:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 1, 2010, and will be held in the UNO Writing Center, Arts and Sciences Hall at the University of Nebraska Omaha, Room 150.

Author Interview Series #62 – Kat Richardson

March 4th, 2010

Kat Richardson is the national bestselling author of the Greywalker paranormal detective novels. Yours truly ran into her last fall at the World Fantasy Convention in San Jose, amidst floating schools of writers and publishing industry professional.  One meets the most interesting folks in hotel bars, particularly at industry conventions (long-time readers of BtM may notice a repeating theme…).  How many people have you ever met that live on boat?

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Author Interview Series #61 – Elaine Isaak

February 7th, 2010

The thing for young and/or inexperienced writers to remember is that is soon as one starts treating your work professionally, as something serious and worthy of effort, not to mention respect, one can enter a world of other creative people who have the same struggles, goals, and roadblocks. We all go through the writing life in various stages, with similar milestones, similar roadblocks, but all with unique stories.  All one has to do is make that mental shift from closeted, cloistered, would-be fiction writer, toiling away forlornly in a lonely garret, to Real-Life Fiction Writer.  Once you make that shift, you discover your tribe, your peeps.

Yours truly met Elaine Isaak on Odyssey Writing Workshop’s Graduation Day.  She is an Odyssey alum herself and came to attend The Never-Ending Odyssey, a week-long summer workshop for Odyssey grads that takes place right after the six-week workshop.  I ran into Elaine again last fall at the World Fantasy Convention, where we joined the larger tribe of genre fiction peeps, fellow writers both further along the path and those just starting out.  Connections are made, and we all benefit from those connections.

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The hardest thing about a blog is . . .

February 7th, 2010

You kinda have to keep it up. :-P

The good news, I’ve been so deep into some creative projects that I’ve had to let Ye Olde Blog slide for a while. Apologies to readers!  More interviews and cool stuff coming soon!

Author Interview Series #60 – Cat Rambo

January 6th, 2010

At Readercon in Boston this past July, at a Codex Writers’ Group lunch, I was introduced to Cat Rambo. Cat Rambo’s stories have been described as “works of urban mythopoeia”, a mashup of mythology and urban fantasy. She has worked as a programmer-writer for Microsoft and a Tarot card reader, professions which, she claims, both involve a certain combination of technical knowledge and willingness to go with the flow. Her stories have appeared in Asimov’s, Weird Tales, Clarkesworld, and Strange Horizons, plus several anthologies and Year’s Best collections.  On top of all that, she’s the managing editor at Fantasy Magazine. Despite her editing, writers group, and authoring efforts, she managed to find some time to talk to yours truly about the writing life.

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Author Interview Series #59 – Tony Richards

December 8th, 2009

I ran into a pleasant British gentleman at the book launch party for Peter Straub’s American Fantastic Tales. He introduced himself as Tony Richards. Tony is a long-time author of horror and dark fantasy stories, these days numbering over a hundred short stories, novellas, and novels, with a career spanning thirty years.  His debut novel, The Harvest Bride, first appeared in 1987 and was nominated for a Stoker award. In addition to being a darn fine writer, he’s a great guy to share a conversation with over cocktails. Read on!

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Signing Books at Barnes & Noble

December 8th, 2009

How about a nice gift idea for folks in the Omaha area!  I’ll be having a special holiday booksigning at the Oakview Barnes and Noble on Saturday, December 12th, starting at 1:00 pm.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!