WHAT'S NEW

November 2008
Check out my latest acquisition here.

I was planning to travel to New York in October to meet up with my friends for the two-day 39-mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. However, a trip to the orthopedist to check out some knee pain squelched that plan and, in fact, put me in physical therapy. Knee is much better but apparently will never be completely normal...

July 2008
I have been appointed to the position of Library Commissioner for the City of Walnut Creek. I represent the city on the Contra Costa County Library Commission. My goal is to ensure that libraries are doing what they can to stay relevant (but not try to compete with the other distractions) for teenagers...

February 2008
The move back up to Walnut Creek in December went fairly smoothly, and after a couple of months I landed a job as a Copy Editor/Copywriter and Larry is doing some consulting while we figure out what his as-yet-undiagnosed nerve condition might be.
A "real" full-time job with benefits. I haven't had one of those for seven years! It's taken some adjustment, but now that I'm feeling more comfortable and able to use my creativity in new ways, it's actually sparked, rather than squelched, some great story ideas. Unfortunately, the economy hit (including renting rather than selling the LA house) and Larry's health issues (leaving him physically unable to work a normal day) mean I might have to actively seek some consulting gigs (writing or editing--just updated my resume in anticipation) on the side, so my personal writing will probably have to wait...

2007 Carnifex Press's When the World Runs Thin science fiction anthology includes my story, "Synlig Usynlig," set in Oslo in the not-so-distant future. Order it here on Amazon.com.

2006

• I received my contributor's copy of the Encyclopedia of American Race Riots. I also wrote an entry for the Encyclopedia of the Reconstruction Era. Both articles are for Greenwood Press and their amazing collection of topical encyclopedias. This all came about because of two previous entries I wrote for their Encyclopedia of African American Literature.

• Sam's Dot Publishing's science fiction anthology Ecotastrophe includes my story, "Undiscovered Horizons." Best of all, my story is one of the blurbs on the back cover! You can order copies here.

• The Thou Shalt Not anthology by Dark Cloud Press includes my story "The Good Life," which explores what happens when you covet your neighbors' lives. You can order your copy here or on Amazon here.

• The good news is I had two stories published as part of the Scary Stories series! Book 1 includes my story "Crawlspace," and Book 2 includes my story "Fear of the Darkness." The bad news is that as of February 2006 the books are out of print..
  Read excerpts here.

• The 2005 premiere issue of Silent Voices includes my story and short story contest winner, "Nameless." You can buy a copy of Silent Voices through their web site or here on Amazon. Read an excerpt from my story here.