I had a wonderful time at the Beaverton City Library’s Local Author Fair this past weekend. 

I got to talk to so many people about what they enjoy reading, and I met some lovely fellow authors from the area.  Elizabeth Beechwood and I had side-by-side tables, and one highlight was when Mindy Hardwick, one of the other participating authors, came over to tell us she had taken our workshop Creating Nonhuman Characters while writing one of her children’s books, The World Is a Sniff—which features a dog narrator!  We also got to say hi to the always fabulous Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito as we visited each other’s tables. 

Later in the weekend, I finally visited Next Level Pinball Museum in nearby Hillsboro.  Several folks had told me how much I’d love it, and they were right!  It’s room after room of arcade games and pinball machines, with collectibles displayed over every inch of the walls. 

That was a lot of excitement for me in one weekend.  At least I have some time to recover before StokerCon… 

It’s another smorgasbord of updates! 

I had a wonderful time joining two classes at my alma mater, Santa Clara University, as a virtual guest speaker over the past couple weeks.  One of my professors, Kirk Glaser, whom I’d run into at the AWP Conference, invited me to speak to the Genre Writing and Literary Magazine Production classes.  We covered a range of topics (rather like this blog post), from special considerations in speculative fiction worldbuilding to contract negotiation.  I really appreciated the students’ engagement and thoughtful questions.  I also attended a virtual poetry reading Kirk did last weekend with Kimiko Hahn and Vijay Seshadri, and I was blown away by all three! 

Meanwhile, the lovely folks at The Hyacinth Review reprinted my poem “The Devil with the Golden Hairs Earns His Sleep,” a retelling of the Grimm fairy tale “The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs” in which we hear from the perspective of the poor unsuspecting monster. 

Later this month I’ll be participating in the Beaverton City Library’s Local Author Fair, along with my frequent partner in crime workshop co-leader, Elizabeth Beechwood.  If you’re in the Portland metro area, come out to my hometown and say hello! 

I’ve got a couple of StokerCon panels in the works, one for the virtual version of the conference and one for the in-person version in San Diego. 

And one last quick update, the Kickstarter campaign for Phantoms from the Sky is wrapping up soon, so if you want a copy of this science fiction anthology (along with some themed poems I wrote as a bonus), show your support now! 

Do you enjoy stories about aliens?  I have a story in the upcoming anthology Phantoms from the Sky, fourteen tales of first contact, and our Kickstarter launches today! 

My contribution, “Growing Up Under Ominous Skies,” takes a sideways approach to the topic, putting the focus where you might not expect.  You’ll have to read it to find out.  As a stretch goal, I’m offering a mini-collection of several new science fiction poems about UFOs to backers at $5 and above—expect a mix of traditional form, free verse, and perhaps even a video game poem in there (you know me). 

This is a rare chance to directly influence how much I—and all the contributors—receive in exchange for our art.  Please help spread the word!  I mean, just look at this awesome lineup: 

• Elizabeth Beechwood
• Shawna Borman
• Joseph Carro
• Paul Carro
• Shane R. Collins
• Renee S. DeCamillis
• Devin Gaither
• Derek B. Hoffman
• Rebecca McKenna
• Karen Menzel
• Katherine Quevedo
• Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam

Wyldblood Press has included my newest story, “The Sphynx’s Blind Date,” in their Wyld Flash series.  This story surprised me when I sat down to write it, because I initially thought it might be a poem.  Nope, it came right out as flash fiction, and I’m so delighted it took shape that way and became part of Wyld Flash. 

This story taps into my love of mythological creatures, as well as hot chocolate (although it’s one of my sisters who likes the spicy variety, whereas I prefer mine quite sweet).  I also wanted to write a character with a stronger voice than I’m used to using.  I hope you enjoy it!

I’m feeling very behind on things at the moment, so here’s my attempt to get more caught up. 

On the fiction front, I’ll have a science fiction piece, “Growing Up Under Ominous Skies,” included in an upcoming anthology of first contact stories, Phantoms from the Sky from Rogue Owl Press.  We’re launching a Kickstarter campaign later this month, but for now you can sign up to follow this project for updates.  

I’ll also have a fantasy story, “The Sphinx’s Blind Date,” coming out later this month as part of Wyldblood Press’s Wyld Flash series and am excited to share the link when it’s available to read.

On the poetry side, I have a free verse poem in the Winter 2024 issue of Old Moon Quarterly, “What They Don’t Tell You About Training to Slay.”  I like editor Julian Barona’s introduction about the role of death, not only in the sword & sorcery and dark fantasy of the issue but in the act of creating in general, with the influences of those who came before us. 

Also, The Hyacinth Review reprinted my poem “The Bowsprit Mermaid and the Stemhead Dragon,” originally published in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly. 

And here is the link to the recording of my Speculative Sundays StarBurst poetry reading.  By the way, in answering Akua’s question about sonnets, I was referring to an interview response from poet Shane McCrae in The Writer’s Chronicle. 

Okay, that’s all I’ve got for now.  Onward! 

I’m so excited to share that my mini-chapbook of poetry, The Inca Weaver’s Tales, is available for purchase from Sword & Kettle Press!  These seven all-new poems cover mythology, beginnings and endings, and female-centered themes, all inspired by my Ecuadorian and Peruvian roots on my dad’s side of the family. 

The Inca Weaver’s Tales has been two years in the making—I wrote the original draft back in March 2022, then I worked with the amazing editorial team at Sword & Kettle Press over the next year or so to get everything polished up.  Special thanks to Monica Robinson for her careful editing and for creating the lovely cover, to Naseem Jamnia for their stunning work on the layout, and to founding editor Kay Allen for overseeing the New Cosmologies series and including my work as part of it.  They’ve put in hours of work stitching each chapbook by hand. 

I’ve dreamt of having a physical book consisting of my own work, and I couldn’t be happier that this is my single-author debut! 

If you’re curious about more of the background that went into this—my research and family connection—I spoke about it on the Into the Looking Glass podcast, and also on last week’s Speculative Sundays StarBurst reading.  When I have a link to the latter recording, I’ll be sure to share it.

Registration just opened yesterday for the 2024 Willamette Writers Conference, and I’ll be participating as a panelist.  This was the first writing conference I ever attended, and it was a huge, eye-opening experience for me.  I’m thrilled to be speaking there this year.

In other news, I have a poem called “Ode to Hot Chocolate” in the Coffee, Tea, Cocoa issue of Still Point Arts Quarterly.  By total coincidence, this is my first of two pieces coming out this month that mention hot chocolate.  The other will be quite different, a fantasy story due out in Wyld Flash. 

And one more reminder for my StarBurst reading tomorrow as part of Speculative Sundays!

Mark your calendars for this Sunday—in fact, mark them for every Sunday in March!  Look at this lineup for Women’s History Month: 

Akua Lezli Hope hosts this free online reading series, and on Sunday, March 3^rd, I’ll share a bunch of my speculative poems and then have some time for conversation and Q&A.  I’ll include a poem or two from The Inca Weaver’s Tales.

You can register to attend on Eventbrite.  Hope to see you there!

This event is funded in part by Poets & Writers with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. 

Looky what arrived in the mail for me this weekend—the New Cosmologies series!  The awesome team at Sword & Kettle Press have been busy filling preorders, and soon these mini-chapbooks will available for new orders from their website.  You better believe I’ll be shouting it from the rooftops when they’re ready for purchase.  You can order a single book in the series or multiple (I couldn’t resist buying all of them).  There will also be ebook versions.

The latest issue of Exist Otherwise has reprinted my poem “Backward Compatibility (Quinceañera on a Generation Ship),” originally published in Apparition Literary Magazine.  This issue is loosely themed around the following quotation from Claude Cahun:  “I love you. That should be enough for the whole solar system.”  A lovely sentiment, and I’m glad to have my poem included.