I am finally a published author!

My short story, "The Huntress," was published today.  :-)

See it here:  http://www.sendyourscript.com/#!novels-short-stories/c12l9

I decided to time this post with tonight's episode of Sounds of Steam, because it is relevant.



Next month, I am attending my first convention. I'm excited - I've been wanting to attend anime, manga, and/or comic conventions since 2000, and steampunk conventions since 2010. Now, I have been to many various, large public events, and I am a very extroverted person. Socializing is fun for me.



Alas, it is not so fun for us when we…

I always enjoy new books. How about you? It's nice when I can purchase them from my wishlist on Amazon and add them to my already groaning-beneath-the-weight-of-books bookshelves, but sometimes I must be frugal and visit the library as well.



As a side note, I must say I am very grateful for our local library. When we returned to the U.S. in June (after living in England for 2 years), we chose to live in a very small town. When I say very small, I mean less than 10,000 people.…

That elusive first draft has been teased out of my fevered mind and I have given both mind and keyboard a couple of months to recover. But what now?

I'll be honest; this is usually the point at which I flounder. I find myself proud at having got this far but conscious that the manuscript isn't quite right and that more work is needed. After a while, with the sum total of zero publishers or agents banging on my door to snap up my work of genius for a gazillion pounds (I'm not bitter!),…

Now, for a limited time only, get the ENTIRE FALCON LORD eBOOK TRILOGY FREE in exchange for leaving your reviews on Amazon. Just go to BOOKS–Falcon Lord Book 1, Book 2, or Book 3. Great for a gift. Enjoy!  http://www.metrov.org/complete-falcon-lord-ebook-trilogy-free/…

What an exciting moment this is - I have the cover for Steampunk for Simpletons! Of course, if you're already keeping up with Simpletons via Facebook and Twitter, you've seen it. But if you aren't,  here it is:…

I love meeting and talking to new people, whether they share my interests or not. The internet gives us many mediums through which we can do that. Of course, the days of bulletin boards and chat rooms gave way to MySpace, which then gave us all the options we have now.



It can be tricky to keep up with social media, but most of it allows us to link our Facebook to our Twitter to our Pinterest to our... Well, you get the idea.



So if you would like to talk to me, here are…

There are many wonderful podcasts out there in the aether, but there is only one live weekly steampunk radio show, and that is Sounds of Steam. 



A mix of radio morning show and late night talk show, Sounds of Steam is like having a steampunk convention brought to your computer live every Monday night at 9 p.m. EST. Though if Monday nights are not convenient for you, the broadcast is also uploaded in recorded/podcast form for your…

Reading. I must admit, I have not done it nearly as much as I like thus far this year. But now, after a hectic writing schedule with Steampunk for Simpletons, things are settling down, and I am free to read a little.



Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro arrived yesterday. It was high time I splurged on a new book, and I read the Introduction last night. I cannot wait to read…

Ooh, that title sounds grim. But there you have it - the Steampunk for Simpletons Kickstarter is, indeed, in its final hours.



We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the pledges and the positive feedback we received on the proof version of the book! Thanks to everyone who helped us reach our goal and our first stretch goal. Now we're groping (ooh la la!) for that next stretch goal, which will allow…

I always feel woefully behind on news. For example, I had no idea Shirley Temple just passed away. I thought she died years ago, and people were just commemorating the anniversary of it.



It seems like I almost never know what's going on. Some of my friends and family ask why I'm out of the loop when it comes to news or pop culture. When they do, I blame not having network television service (I really must purchase an antenna; we have no desire for cable or satellite). Then they…

In The Chronos Clock (Book 1 of the Aetheric Artifacts), we find out love is not exactly something Demetra is... good at. Why? Because Francis broke her heart three years prior, an incident elaborated upon in the short story, The…

In The Daemon Device, Demetra and Francis finally learn the truth about Aetherals and, very specifically, what it means to be celestial or infernal.



The difference, as Drake explains it, is this:



1. All Aetherals are daemons, which is not at all a…

So, for my next steam punk adventure story, I have a gentleman explorer who finds a floating kingdom with a terrible weapon, but I need to decide on one of three different scenarios: a solar powered stone left over from a lost civ. that can scorch the earth, a storm machine, or the mythical phoenix , which has been captured and caged for centuries, but again could be released and used as a weapon.  Who wants to weigh in?

After a very busy January, my thoughts turn to events for the rest of 2014. Where am I going and what am I doing? Well, thus far there are 3 conventions I plan to attend. I hope to add more to this schedule.

April 25-27 - Steampunk Empire Symposium - In addition to simply, well, being there, Travis and I will also host an episode of Sounds…

Giant Octopus Still at Large! Feminist Party Stands Bifurcated!

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