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Tag: What’s Bred in the Bone

The Veggie Project on the ISS
Growing Rana Station’s agriculture

Growing Rana Station’s agriculture

Rana Station‘s agriculture is a big part of my vision for the primary backdrop of my characters’ lives. If you’ve read my first novel, What’s Bred in the Bone, you’ve possibly gotten an inkling that very little arable soil inside the tori of my characters’ habitat space station home lies fallow. Even small spaces are nearly all devoted to growing food. I’ve blogged in the past about how humans will feed themselves and provide enough protein to live permanently in space. I’ve long been an interested follower…

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Archon 43 had a lot to offer. Here are visual hints.
Will I see you in Collinsville?

Will I see you in Collinsville?

It’s early October, so it’s time for Archon! Will I see you in Collinsville? This year’s convention is the 43rd iteration of “The Midwest’s Premier Science Fiction and Fantasy Event.” After a hiatus of more than a decade, Ty and I returned for last year’s Archon, and quickly decided we wanted to come back. Will I see you in Collinsville? There’ll be a lot to see and do there. What will you miss, if you can’t come? Artwork As you know if you’ve followed this blog for any length…

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Report from the Swamp Thing

Report from the Swamp Thing

Some reports come from me as the Author Ascendant; this is a report from the Swamp Thing. On normal weeks, I like to write a thoughtful post about something that’s caught my attention or is part of a series, on Wednesdays. I think of it as my “main” post of the week.  This has not been a normal week.  Becoming a Swamp Thing The past two days have felt like wading through a metaphorical swamp. In the fullness of time, this’ll be “old…

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The Weird Sisters Publishing LLC logo shows a black-outline cartoon of two sisters with their arms linked. One holds an e-reader, the other a hardbound book.
Forward momentum on publishing efforts

Forward momentum on publishing efforts

It’s kinda like being pregnant. Except it takes longer.  No matter how much people tell you your life will change after the baby is born, you can never really “get it,” until after you’ve become a parent.  There’s this divide between “before baby” and “after baby” that can never be crossed in reverse. On the far side of that Rubicon is Terra Incognita (with or without dragons) that you’ll never understand till you get there. If my publishing efforts turn out as well as my kids did, I’m good. However, right at this moment the “contractions”…

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Trees on buildings: a growing trend

Trees on buildings: a growing trend

The Artdog Image of Interest Trees ON buildings? We’ve heard about trees around buildings, but something new has begun to take root in architectural circles. A major theme in environmentally sustainable architecture is the incorporating plants into designs. And that doesn’t mean just any plants. It means carefully chosen shrubs, grasses, and yes, trees on buildings Truly integrating them into the design requires some unusual logistics. But it creates such research-established advantages as mitigating urban heat islands, carbon sequestration, and psychological benefits. Especially for the people actually…

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Becoming Weird Sisters Publishing

Becoming Weird Sisters Publishing

Regular readers of this blog (if you are one, THANK YOU!!) may recall that I’ve published at least one guest-post by my sister, Gigi Sherrell Norwood (Orchestra Dreams).  What you may not know is that she is herself a talented writer, and she’s also the widow of science fiction writer Warren C. Norwood. Yes, we’re kind of a cottage industry all in the family (and that’s not even counting the emerging editorial expertise of my son and frequent sf convention companion Tyrell Gephardt).  It was perhaps inevitable that we’d do the writing/publishing…

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Glimpses of Archon 42

Glimpses of Archon 42

Halloween? No, just an active costuming contingent! I enjoyed my return to Archon, a St. Louis-area convention I’d often attended when it was scheduled in the summer (I know: back in ancient days!). In more recent decades, this convention has become a major event for restaurants and hotels near the Gateway Center in Collinsville, IL. The one I’m writing about here was held October 12-14, 2018. I enjoyed the costumes–but what I managed to catch in photos are a far cry from their full extent. For a better…

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Aiming for Archon 42

Aiming for Archon 42

Ty and I are about to go on the road again. This time we’re headed across Missouri to our final sf convention of 2018, Archon 42 in Collinsville, IL. After this the holidays start, and so does the “iffy” weather. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to Archon. For many years there were scheduling conflicts, but those problems are behind us now. I’m looking forward to heading back. I’ll be busy, that’s for sure. I’m on four panels (moderating three), plus I have a…

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Fencon Ho!

Fencon Ho!

Headed for Texas Ty and I are on the road once more.This time we’re set for the Westin DFW Airport Hotel in Irving, TX, and FenCon XV. It’s a new convention for us, but we hope to make new friends and meet up with some familiar faces. If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there! Please note: events on the schedule have been updated since this post was originally published. Please check the online FenCon schedule to make sure you have the most current version!…

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Crossing the finish line

Crossing the finish line

Hello. It’s been a while. I’ve been away from this blog for much longer than I wanted to be. I have prided myself on keeping up with my writing and art, as well as blogging here three (occasionally two) times a week, no matter what else life threw my way. I’ve managed it pretty consistently for a while. But I guess you know what they say about pride. I hate missing deadlines. But ever since the week after Worldcon I’ve had to let some…

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