Month: May 2013

For those not already in the know, June 2013 is official: Adopt a shelter cat month (just don’t do what I did and adopt a sheltered cat. Apparently that’s different…) Lane Courtesy Month. (Hello, Lane, it’s nice to meet you! Allow me to hold the door…) Corn and Cucumber month (please, not together.) National Ice Tea Month (You can make tea from ice? I didn’t know.) International Men’s Month (No clue why they picked June. I guess that makes it International Men – of Mystery! – Month as well) Accordion Awareness Month (though, really, is it possible to be unaware

Every year, I look forward to September, though not for the reason most parents of children do. I love September, because it brings me gold – specifically, the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Colorado Gold Conference. I’ve been to many conferences, from the Maui Writers Conference to RWA writing conferences and smaller, local “cons” but – in my opinion – Colorado Gold outshines them all, both for the high-quality workshops and for the people who make RMFW and its conference the most consistently welcoming conference I’ve ever attended. And that was as true my first year, when I didn’t know a

Summer conference season is upon us, and since it’s time to start a new Wednesday series, I thought I’d take the next few weeks to talk about conference etiquette, pitching novels, and a few of the legal issues that arise during conferences and events. If you have questions about conferences, or legal issues that arise there, please ask them in the comments and I’ll gladly answer them in the coming weeks! I’m also running a summer #Publishing Law contest through the month of June, and giving away two ARCs of Claws of the Cat – more details at the end

Over the weekend I acquired a new coral specimen for the reef. The blue, knobbly coral center at frame is a type of chalice (Family Pectiniidae), a colonial stony coral that grows in flat, plate-like shapes. Pectiniid corals grow well in reef aquariums. Most require moderate light and water flow, and although they benefit from “target feeding” of the individual heads (each of the lighter, almost yellow-colored, dots is a separate colony mouth) many can survive and thrive without such special care. Mine, of course, is in the process of “retraining” to eat in daylight rather than at night, and so far

I’m pleased to announce that the website now has an Events page listing all of my upcoming book and blog tour appearances! You can find it on the left sidebar of the website home page (it’s the link labeled “Events”) and also at the top of every page. In the weeks to come, we’ll be rolling out all kinds of extra features, including a Readers’ and Book Club guide for Claws of the Cat, a glossary of Japanese terms, and a page dedicated to the weapons of the shinobi and samurai. I’m also getting ready to announce some contests and

During my years as a reef aquarium keeper, I’ve learned a few interesting things about arts and crafts … as well as what happens when you forget that corals are animals (not plants…). I’m sharing those adventures today at The Debutante Ball. Don’t disappoint Emperor Max by not clicking through and reading it.

Once you have chosen an executor and written (and signed!) your will or trust, your estate planning job isn’t finished. An author usually knows where his or her work is located and/or sold, and who controls the publishing rights. But do your heirs know? If “the bus of destiny” ran over you tomorrow, would the people responsible for your estate know who to call or where to find your works? Would they even be able to access your unread email? Authors must have an estate plan, but they also need A List Of All The Things: the names, contact information and