Tomorrow afternoon, at 3:30pm PDT, I'll be moderating and participating in the "Forming and Sustaining a Successful Writing or Critique Group" panel at the 2020 SFWA Nebula Conference, which of course, is taking place online.

The panel topic is one that's dear to my heart, both in terms of becoming a better writer and in terms of building writer communities that can support us through this often challenging career:

Writing is often a solitary endeavor–and with the current pandemic, it has become even more so. Writing and critique groups don’t eliminate the aspects of writing that can only be done solo, but a good group can serve as both a social support net as well as providing trusted feedback. Panelists will discuss the factors that go into building a successful group, both online and in-person, and what they’ve learned about keeping one going.

My fellow panelists include A. T. Greenblatt, A.C. Wise, Vylar Kaftan, and Curtis C. Chen, which makes the majority of them finalists for this year's Nebula Awards, the ceremony for which takes place tonight at 5pm PDT. Regardless of whether they win or lose, they are sure to contribute valuable insight to this topic.

If you are an attendee of #Nebulas2020, you can join us at the link below tomorrow. The panel will only be available to attendees of the conference at this time.

https://events.sfwa.org/events/forming-and-sustaining-a-successful-writing-or-critique-group/

I hope to "see" you there!

It's the Nebulas Weekend! Rejoice!

I leave tomorrow for Pittsburgh, and though it'll be raining for the whole conference, I am excited to spend these next five days in the company of my fellow Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Last year, I hit up a bunch of cons to aid in promoting my first book, Wings Unseen, and the Nebulas Weekend was absolutely the most beneficial to me. It's essentially a professional development conference for speculative fiction authors, though the public is welcome to attend as well.

Last year, I just took in all that the Nebulas Weekend had to offer. This year, I'm dipping my toe into programming--not paneling yet, but I'll be available for consulting on what I've learned this past year, and over my several years of fiction writing and critiquing, and for the Mass Autograph Session that closes the weekend. You can access my list of events here: (CLICK ME!)

The quick overview is that I'll be holding Office Hours twice during the conference:

• Thursday, May 17th, 4-5 pm
• Friday, May 18th, 12-1 pm

During those sessions, I'll be available for any conference attendee to drop in for advice on my areas of expertise:

• Organizing book readings/tour
• Organizing in-person critique groups
• Submitting fiction and novels

And one area of expertise I forgot to add to my description...

• Blogging about food, drink, and travel, which I do primarily at the Gourmez.

Please drop by! I'm sure it'll be a little lonely in there...actually, I'm not so sure! Because the Nebulas Weekend is great networking for writers, no matter whether at a session or over the hotel bar.

I will also take part in the Mass Autographing Session for the first time, as this is the first time I have a novel available for signing.

I believe that image has all the info you may want on the Mass Autographing Session. Wings Unseen should be fully stocked in the onsite bookstore, though you can bring already purchased books-- so feel free to bring a copy of Dark Luminous Wings or Through A Scanner Farkly as well, the two anthologies that published my short stories last year.

I'll be ready and waiting to sign a copy for you. This session is open to the public, and it's a great opportunity to hobnob with a huge number of SFWA authors in one place.

Off I go to finish my last bit of packing! Will I see you there?

Hey, it's not a holiday season without an obligatory "Buy My Work!" post from an author. I swear it's in the contracts we sign in blood with our publishers...somewhere...I seem to have misplaced them.

Oh, I think I remember where...

In 2015, I added two new opportunities to purchase my work, which is one way of saying some very lovely people agreed to include me in their collections -- some even paid me for it! One is a short story in a magazine and one is a contribution to a cookbook...a cookbook with quite illustrious co-contributors from the Speculative Fiction galaxy. Being a member of a professional organization comes with some perks, just sayin'.

Consider this my purchasable compendium, reverse chronological order! Collect all five! And come this time next year, there will be a novel to add to this list, one way or another...

1. Ad Astra: The 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook

Fran Wilde and Cat Rambo edited this collection of 150+ recipes from speculative fiction authors of the past, present, and maybe even future. In it, you can find my Seared Peaches with Prosciutto and Basil; it comes with high acclaim from the NC Research Triangle area spec fic community. Purchase the cookbook from the SFWA website here or from Amazon.

2. "Thlush-A-Lum" in PULP Literature Issue #5

"Thlush-A-Lum" is pure horror that would qualify as flash fiction in most markets. The story came about when I challenged myself to write something more focused on the sense of sound than the other four I more commonly use in my writing. Many of those sounds are inspired by what I could hear from my own Southern bedroom window…and a few sounds that I swear I’ve been able to hear no matter where I’ve lived.

Purchase Issue #5 from the PULP Literature website or from Amazon.

3. "Blow 'Em Down" from Beneath Ceaseless Skies Double Anniversary Issue #131

"Blow 'Em Down" is the story I describe as a steampunk retelling of the Battle of Jericho with a jazzy feel circa Harlem Renaissance. It's been taught in a college class and brought me some of my highest compliments, so I certainly think it's worth the read. Beneath Ceaseless Skies is not available in print, but the e-magazine can be purchased through Weightless Books or on Amazon.

4. "Bother" in Bull Spec #5

"Bother" was the cover story for Bull Spec #5, and I'm honored to this day that the highly regarded Richard Case chose to illustrate it. It's urban fantasy about how a couple survives, or doesn't, when a dragon comes to roost on their city block. Luckily, there appears to still be back issues of Bull Spec available, although the magazine has shifted to a web-only presence. Order Issue #5 here or an e-version from Weightless Books here.

5. Maya's Vacation

The contemporary romance novella I never expected write, Maya's Vacation came to be in a dream about frying chicken, and I fleshed that dream out into the story of a woman in her fifties rediscovering herself after a divorce and relearning what she used to love through food, paint, and an old flame returned. Maya's Vacation, published by Clean Reads, is available on Amazon. Warning: No sex scenes in this romance! Just unrequited longing. Or is it requited? I'll never tell.

I may also mention that anything you buy that features my work is a gift to me as well -- word of tongue can only spread after eyes on the page have done their business. Of course, I also have plenty of fiction free to read online as well -- just click over to the Creative section to find it. Thank you for your support, and I hope to keep entertaining you in the future. I'm pretty sure I'll have some snippets to share by the end of next week as well...

Happy holidays, from me and Ben!

What's that? I share a contributor credit with such famous speculative fiction writers as Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Chuck Wendig, Mary Robinette Kowal, Alaya Dawn Johnson, and Jim C. Hines?

You bet I do! The Ad Astra 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook came to be when a few fellow illustrious Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America members decided it was high past time for another cookbook to come forth from our midst. Cat Rambo and Fran Wilde volunteered for editing duties and managed to gather up 150+ recipes along with some bonus specialties with ingredients that may be hard to find...

I'll let the Foreword speak for itself to give you a better idea of what this cookbook entails:

Within the science fiction and fantasy community, writers work wherever they can find a table, often among friends, virtual and face to face. It's a blend of friendship and business, of celebration and craft. It's messy sometimes. It's beautiful.

In celebration of fifty years of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Ad Astra: The 50th Anniversary SFWA Cookbook has collected recipes old and new from writers across the span of its membership. But this is more than just a cookbook. What you hold in your hands is a historical document. You'll find a history of SF/F entertaining that goes back more than fifty years. Some of it is funny; some (like the bash cake/Mars colony cake), is itself a historical document; some of it is conversations between multiple writers. Some of it is written in fanciful, or ... colorful language.

Here be Dragons.

Not everyone we wished to include are within these pages. But many are. We hope many more are to come in the future cookbooks.

The introduction to my Seared Peaches with Prosciutto and Basil definitely qualifies as one of those fanciful entries. It is a tribute to the speculative fiction writers and fans of the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina, which is where I began my fiction-writing career and where I developed wonderful friends and support from among many talented fellow key-pounders.

You can get your hands on this very unique, and very fun collector's item of a cookbook straight from the SFWA website here. Click to order through Paypal. Spiral-bound print is $19.95 and e-book is $9.99. I'd recommend the print myself.

Ad Astra is available for the same prices from Amazon as well.

All proceeds from the book are going directly to the SFWA Legal Fund, which is used to help SFWA members with court costs when the need for writing-related legal action is necessary--most of us don't make much in this gig, so the legal fund can be a career saver when our work needs to be protected.

Enjoy this fun collaboration, and I'll enjoy my moment of glory being among this fantastic group of recipe contributors.