12.14.23 It’s Madonna, bitch, and she’s two hours late
And there she was, rising up on stage in all black, bright blonde locks curled, flying her roots proudly and wearing a vertical halo-like crown — also black. And she was singing. An inverse angel, an icon from the last century. Madonna, of course. I grew up on Madonna. I wasn’t her most rabid fan…
Read More12.03.23 Solid new Italian restaurant Bread & Stone loves its pistachios and pasta
Note: My friend and I were given free dinners at Bread & Stone in exchange for (me) writing a post about the experience, but my opinions are my own and not influenced by anyone else. Bread & Stone 308 E. 6th Street New York Open Wednesday-Sunday, 4-10pm In my opinion, it’s hard to screw up…
Read More8.7.23 Telling past and present with my new ‘Jewish Futures’ story
Writers are magpies. Writers are miners. Writers are fabulists. It’s what we do, it’s how we get stories told: A little from Column A, a little from Column B, often a lot from Column X. The events I wrote about in my story, “Matzah Ball Soup for the Vershluggin Soul,” featured in the brand-new Jewish…
Read More6.11.23 J.R. Dawson takes us to the circus with debut novel ‘The First Bright Thing’
J.R. Dawson does really seem to like the circus. That’s evident in her debut novel, The First Bright Thing, about a big top that creates a safe space for artists, time jumping, and a dark threat looming on the horizon. But that wasn’t my only clue; J.R. and I met for the first time during…
Read More5.12.23 Joy E. Held explains why you need a study guide for your book
Joy E. Held wears a lot of hats: freelance editor, educator, Yoga Alliance registered yoga and meditation teacher, English processor, certified Journal to the Self facilitator and workshop presenter with over 500 articles published across trade magazines, newspapers and literary journals. But she’s also an author, with a historical romance novel (Message to Love) and…
Read More4.17.23 ‘I finally hit a wall’: Discussing doors and deals with Brenda W. Clough
Brenda Clough is a writer of many worlds, and a pretty amazing person. Her oeuvre ranges from science fiction to Victorian historical adventures, and she was nominated for both a Hugo and a Nebula award in 2002 for her novella, May Be Some Time. I first came in contact with her remotely while working with…
Read More3.22.23 Living in the gray areas, with more questions than answers
On March 10, 2023 I gave a virtual talk before an audience of members of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. Here’s a version of that talk, based on my notes (I’m sure I went off script a couple of times, but this is the gist). Greetings, everyone! Thanks to the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society for…
Read More3.07.23 Why I vetoed sugar (mostly) out of my food choices this year
In December, my husband and I attended a talk about sugar and learned that so-called sugar substitutes can be even more potent than sugar itself. (We also learned the great phrase “sour defeats sweet,” which finally gave me a reason to start drinking lemon water here and there — a little sour or bitter taste…
Read More1.19.23 Why ‘where do you get your ideas’ is such a strange question to ask writers
Today on Facebook, this photo popped up in my memories section: It’s from the SFF convention Arisia, which I attend pretty much every year, in 2017. While I’m blanking on the author on the left (my apologies, I’ll fix that if I remember her name, because she’s awesome) (edit: It’s Heather Albano, thanks!), the others…
Read More12.16.22 The No Judgment 2022 List of Books
All sorts of outlets publish “best of” or “favorite” lists of books this year, and as someone who had a book come out this year it’s not awesome to find your book hasn’t made those lists. But also, it’s not really a competition: I published Tune in Tomorrow this year in August, and it takes…
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