• Anthologies: I am editing my 21st anthology with the incredibly talented Cat Rambo. We’ve just finalized the TOC. (I know this one is a bit old but life is complicated.)
• Anthologies: Speaking of anthologies, The Reinvented Heart has a cover and it is beautiful! The artist is Christina P. Myrvold. I love it.
• Review of me: A very nice review of an old story of mine in WESTWARD WEIRD from DAW.
• Podcast: Interview with Writers Drinking Coffee. This was so much fun!
• Thoughts: We Hate You Now. Especially since I didn’t get to visit my mother last year. Now I won’t get to visit her ever again.
• Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.
As I'm going to be taking next week as a social media break, here's a bubble and squeek for you.
Call for Submissions: 99 Tiny Terrors. This is my 19th anthology and is the first open call in a long time. I like creepy and atmospheric. All guidelines are here. Call closes EOD, Oct 31.
Cool Distraction: Window Swap FTW. Sometimes you just have to stare out someone else's window. If you need an interesting distraction, this is the website for you.
Workshop: Writing for Franchises, Oct 24, 1-3pm. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to write fiction for your favorite RPG, movie, TV series, videogame, or comic book? The Writing for Franchises workshop can give you an idea of what it is like to write in a universe you do not own—the benefits, the pitfalls, and some of the details you should be aware of. This workshop is focused around writing short stories, novellas, and novels for popular franchises such as Shadowrun, V-Wars, Predator, Master of Orion, and Valdemar.
Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.
Today’s Bubble & Squeek is brought to you by galley proofs, workshops, and the letter “C” for cover reveals!
Cover reveal and Release: Pre-Order/Order Shadowrun: A Kiss to Die For. Meet Sartorial and Kintsugi. This happens the night they meet. The cover is by the ever fabulous Peter Tikos.
Review: Way of the Laser: Future Crime Stories. Five star review. “I’m very glad I picked this book up to review, and I know any science fictions fans will be glad they picked it up to read.” This one has the story, "When a Patch Won't Do" by me and Katie Cord.
Cover reveal for BattleTech: Ghost Hour. Jasper and Nadine are having a very bad time of it. The blonde is Lyric, Nadine’s girlfriend and all around “Death Pixie.” This is by the wonderful BattleTech artist Marco Mazzoni. He does such a good job!
Workshop: Clarion West - The Business of Writing, June 30. NOTE: However, sign-up will take place through a lottery system and you have to register for the Write-a-thon in order to sign up. They are closing the class lottery next Wednesday, June 17, so anyone interested needs to have signed up by then!
Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.
I need to re-outline BattleTech: Crimson Night for a fourth time--in the words of one of my SFWA mentees "to stop being precious about my writing"--and add in a fourth point of view character that will make all my problems go away. In the meantime, here's a Bubble & Squeek for you.
• Awards: A SECRET GUIDE TO FIGHTING ELDER GODS is a 2019 Bram Stoker finalist! Congratulations to everyone who got the nod. I'm so happy.
• Interview (Video): I’m interviewed by Dacre Stoker about my Bram Stoker nomination.
• Publications: “Lair of the Infernal Thief” AKA “Untitled Infernal Goose Adventure” in Mini-Dungeon Monthly #12, An adventure for two to five characters of 3rd-5th level. Yes, inspired by THAT “Untitled Goose Adventure…”
• Publications: It looks like Fantasy Flight Games did a reprint of the physical book of my Arkham Horror novella, TO FIGHT THE BLACK WIND, for those of you who were looking for it as well as the rest of them.
• Random Video: In honor of having my first lucid dream in years, probably brought about because of this video by Matt D'Avella: I learned how to lucid dream.
• Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day. Especially since most of my conventions have been cancelled this summer. Pretty please.
Awards: Woot! A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods has been long-listed for the Bram Stoker award in superior achievement in an anthology.
Blog: A Decade in Review. How does one review a decade of growth, change, expansion, and experience in a single career? Start with the stats and end with the lessons learned.
Podcast: Dire Multiverse, part 5 – A Wild, Hopping Tale. Answers and alliances come at the point of a gun as our heroes try to make it out with their lives intact while learning more about what’s driving Dana Lessington — and one of their own.
Publication: SEASONS, the latest Valdemar anthology, has my 7th Valdemar story in it, “One Town at a Time.” It's the opening story. I love having anchor stories in anthologies.
Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.
Spike in snow.
Life has been a bit rough lately. Not just for me. It is getting better. Slowly, surely, life moves on. Still working on BattleTech: Ghost Hour. The words are returning. In the meantime, here's a Bubble & Squeek for you.
• Podcast: The Dire Multiverse. I am voice talent on this urban fantasy podcast, mostly playing the character Dana Lessington…who you will find out is more than she seems. I occasionally play other NPC character parts, too.
• Podcast: ShadowBytes 06: Miyazaki – From DocWagon 19. The team rescues someone they know. Trivia: Miyazaki stars in the serialized Shadowrun story in GTM magazine, “Between a Corp and a Hard Place.”
• Podcast: ShadowBytes 07: Literal Milk Run – This is my play on a heist supposedly being so easy it’s like running out for milk. This is the penultimate episode of ShadowBytes.
• Publication: “Written in Red” by Jennifer Brozek and John Helfers. This is my first collaboration with John and it turned out be a good one. Tie-in story for Emberwind, the RPG.
• Recommendation: The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes. My blurb: “This book is messed up in all the right ways. It’s as if Pixar’s Inside Out mugged Toy Story in a surrealist Raymond Chandler novel. Weird, fun, scary, and a great mystery to boot. Hayes sticks the landing.”
• Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.
Spending a lot of time with my head down and fingers on the keyboard. Turned in a couple of lingering projects including an Emberwind story and another Shadowrun novella.
• Release: Shadowrun: Makeda Red has been released! I know this is old news, but I'm super happy with this book.
• Podcast: ShadowBytes 04: Hey Jude. This one is called "Hey Jude" and you learn about this ork's background and one of her surprising hobbies.
• Podcast: ShadowBytes 05: Hunger and the Hand that Feeds It. This is one of my favorite in the series. I think it really captures the fragility of life running the shadows.
• Review: Skiffy and Fanty review: A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods. They liked it.
• Review: Tor.com review of A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods – “Us and Ours” by Premee Mohamed. The snark is beautiful in this review.
• Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.
And a cat picture. Just because.
I'm writing, editing, traveling, and working on sekrit projects won't be secret for much longer. Here's a Bubble & Squeek for you. Reviews, Releases, Podcasts, and Interviews.
• Interview: With No Wasted Ink about BattleTech: Iron Dawn.
• Release: Here’s the How2Read link for all the different stores you can get A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods.
• Release: Here’s the How2Read link for all the different stores you can get BattleTech: Iron Dawn.
• Review: (Tor.com) Taking School Rivalries Seriously: Seanan McGuire’s “Away Game.” From A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods.
• Review: A new review of BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident.
• Podcast: ShadowBytes #3: Non-Compliant. And you thought being a shadowrunner in the 6th World was hard. Try being an office worker.
• Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.
I love it when my kitties get into the corner kitty condo.
Here's Pharaoh (top) and Isis (inside).
My Bubble & Squeek list got a little bit out of control this time. Still lots of fun stuff to read and enjoy while I work on Rogue Academy 2, BattleTech: Ghost Hour.
Fun: Still Alive - Frank Sinatra Big Band Swing Version (The 8-Bit Big Band). I like this. (YouTube link.)
Fun: TVTropes page for the Melissa Allen trilogy. It still thrills me to have my writing dissected on the TV Tropes website.
Podcast: Dire Multiverse, episode 3 – “Curiouser Still” Events take a heart-thumping turn when Ohmega, Kitty, and Lime just can’t leave well enough alone. Their curiosity lands them in a heap of garbage and carries them to the other side of the island in search of answers.
Podcast: ShadowBytes 02 – Chrome Holly. Except from DocWagon 19. Just a taste of some of the mysteries the High-Threat Response Team comes in contact with.
Review of me: Dreams of a Thousand Young. I love this. Can't tell if either reviewer actually liked the story (I think they did). The snark is strong within both reviews. Very spoiler-filled look at of my Lovecraftian novelette from JAZZ AGE CTHULHU.
Review of Captain Marvel: Captain Marvel is the Joyful Realization of a Woman Coming Into Her Power. I loved the hell out of this film and this article is a good summation of why. (Non-spoiler review.)
Shadowrun: Sprawl Stories, Vol 1 is out in trade paperback now! It includes DocWagon 19. Yes, I'm late to the party but, I have all year to celebrate Shadowrun's 30th anniversary.
StokerCon University: I will be teaching my “How to Pitch a Story” workshop at Stokercon in May. This was my standing room only workshop at WorldCon 2018. Thursday night.
Article: From Bookwraiths Author Spotlight – Observations of an American Military Brat. “For most of America, “kids don’t act that way,” but on military bases and in military academies, they do.”
Interview: Community Outreach – Interview with Jennifer Brozek, Author Of BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident. I love Sarna.net. I really do.
Publication: “An Open Letter to the Family” is live in Uncanny Magazine’s Disabled People Destroy SF issue. I love this story, even thought it was really hard to write.
Review: To Fight the Black Wind reviewed by Uncaged Reviews. Short but sweet.
Reminder: For the North Coast Redwoods Writers Conference, I will be reading in Crescent City on Friday the 21st at 7pm and teaching two workshops (The Principles of Tie-In Fiction and How to Pitch a Story) on Saturday. There are still openings in both workshops and the reading is free.
