My “sf convention year” kicks off in February. I’m looking forward to Capricon 40 on Valentine’s weekend, Feb. 13-16, 2020, in Wheeling, IL. And I’m already preparing for panel discussions and the Art Show. My first Capricon was Cap 30, when my friend Lucy A. Synk was their Artist Guest of Honor. She invited me to attend as her guest. I had a lot of fun, but wasn’t able to go back for several years after that. Blogging a panel I tried to go back in 2017, but a…
I’m writing this post from the edge of Table Rock Lake, in the Hollister, MO area, at a resort managed by Bluegreen Vacations called Paradise Point. I’m enjoying a mini-writing retreat there with my friend Dora Furlong, who set up this trip. Here’s the view (across an arm of Table Rock Lake) from our balcony at Paradise Point. Neither of us is officially participating in Na-No-Wri-Mo, but both of us are trying to make progress on our current projects. And what a beautiful setting for our efforts! The physical beauty of the land…
I love participating in panel discussions at science fiction conventions–and I was part of several at ConQuesT 48, held this and every year in Kansas City on Memorial Day by my home science fiction group, the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. I participated in several panel discussions at ConQuesT. In addition to sharing an hour of reading with Sean Demory of Pine Float Press, my other scheduled panels all could be potential subjects for future blog posts. Please comment below, if you’d like to see more on any of…
Hi! Here’s a quick update to a very popular post I wrote last November. I’m gratified that many readers have read my post Three Great Ways to Thank First Responders. Thank you! My friend, fellow writer, and excellent resource for that post, Dora Furlong (have you read her book?), recently sent me another idea: 6-LED mini-flashlights with 9-volt batteries. Firefighters are dealing with 9-volt batteries all the time, so these little things are especially handy for them. Dora’s husband the…
It’s been a heck of a week to be a first responder. We started off Monday with a horrible school bus wreck that Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher described as “Every first responder’s worst nightmare,” and the next day we were confounded by the shooting death of yet another police officer, Wayne State University Officer Collin Rose, on Tuesday. On Thursday, while most of America was (we hope) relaxing for Thanksgiving with their families, our local Johnson County (KS) Sheriff…