And everything changes…

June 20th, 2016 · No Comments

I’ve been working full-time since I was twenty-two (that’s 35 years, for anyone who’s counting).  I started doing data entry at a sleazy mail order company whose principals eventually were arrested in the U.S. for mail fraud, moved to the magazine business in the circulation department, worked in magazine consulting,  and then ended up in […]

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Tags: Books · Gardening · News · Uncategorized · Writing

Ad Astra 2016 Update

April 28th, 2016 · No Comments

I’ll be doing a panel at 10:00 on the ongoing imaginative power of Camelot and then I’ll be around until mid-afternoon.  Say “hi” if you see me looking lost…

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Ad Astra 2016

April 18th, 2016 · No Comments

I’ll be at Ad Astra at the end of the month, but only on the Sunday (May 1st).  I’ll post my schedule when it’s available.  

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Wouldst thou live deliciously? Let me research that.

April 18th, 2016 · No Comments

The key question from The Witch, the movie most of my friends were seeing in February and March. I go along with the unanimous praise. Even the parts I didn’t think quite worked (I understood what they were getting at but the execution didn’t quite hit the mark) were thought-provoking. One of my coworkers and I came […]

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Tags: Books · Film · Uncategorized · Writing

Are you not entertained? Yes, we are.

January 29th, 2016 · No Comments

Spurred by reading Mary Beard’s book about Rome, SPQR, and by memories of our tour of the Colosseum, we decided to rewatch Gladiator the other night.  Not withstanding my affection for men in period armor (with wolfskins),  the film still works.  Oh, parts of the plot don’t make any sense, Rome was apparently to be […]

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Tags: Film · Influences · Writing

My odd little side project for January

January 23rd, 2016 · No Comments

  I’ve been buying clothes from Annie Thompson for years (probably close to twenty) and in that time I’ve gotten rid of no more than about ten items.   I wore one pair of pants out and have sized myself out of a few other items – though of course I’ve hung on to most of […]

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Tags: Fashion

The Best Things I Read this Year

December 29th, 2015 · 2 Comments

   Which is not precisely the same as the best books of 2015.  These are the books I read in 2015 that moved me to talk about them, recommend them, think about them, or buy my own copy. H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald I love good nature writing because the best of it is […]

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Tags: Books · Influences · Uncategorized

Reviews (Part II) and leaving the harbour again. Maybe.

December 6th, 2015 · No Comments

It’s been a year since Cold Hillside was released, which seems unbelievable.  (What, you haven’t read it? Go read it. f you have, thanks!) I would like to thank everyone who took the time to post a review on Goodreads or Amazon or reviewed it on their site. It’s been really gratifying that most of the people who enjoyed […]

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Tags: Books · Influences · Writing

Back in the World: Matriarchy Edition

October 17th, 2015 · No Comments

  There have been one or two comments about the fact that Cold Hillside appears to be set in a matriarchy.  One person objected to this, on the grounds that reverse oppression is not an improvement over the original brand (a fair opinion). I didn’t set out to create a matriarchical culture for Lushan.  The […]

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Tags: Books · Influences · Uncategorized · Writing

Back in the world: Italy Edition

October 3rd, 2015 · No Comments

It’s been a very long time since I posted here, obviously. I’ve launched the book, been to Italy, survived the summer in a blur of activity, haven’t completely imploded from my job and it’s already September. Time to get back in the world and start doing things again, even writing a blog no one reads. […]

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