Author & Ecologist
I'm very excited to report that Daughter of Aithne, Book Three of The Silver Web, has received the 2017 OZMA Award for fantasy fiction! A division of Chanticleer's International Book Awards, the OZMA Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works of fantasy. Winners were announced last weekend at Chanticleer's annual authors conference in Bellingham, Washington. It was a... Continue Reading →
I'm honored to announce that I've been invited as the keynote speaker for this year's ADELANTE conference, presented by Prospanica KC. Prospanica is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering the Hispanic community to reach their full educational, economic, and social potential. They also advocate the pursuit of higher education in all careers and advance Hispanic... Continue Reading →
I've been away from my blog and most things internet during July, enjoying a family vacation in Germany. By 'family,' I mean family in the broadest sense of the word. This was a very special trip, celebrating the 80th birthday of my father. We were able to bring together so many people over our three-week... Continue Reading →
Bee activity has spiked this month out at Jerry Smith Park. Our collection protocol brought in twice as many individuals compared to April and May combined! I'm also seeing bees I haven't seen before; notably, Svastra, a striking bee with very furry legs. (That "fur" by the way is what biologists call "scopa;" specialized hairs for carrying... Continue Reading →
All the true birders out there are going to say, "It's about time you got with the program!" And they're right. It's been a couple years since a friend and colleague introduced me to eBird, the wonderful app developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I'm not sure how long eBird has been around, but... Continue Reading →
Book Three of The Silver Web trilogy is out in ibook, Nook, and Kobo as well as Kindle. Now you can read the full, award-winning series in the ebook format of your choice - just in time for summer! Brief description and purchase links below. Enjoy! 🙂 Daughter of Aithne (Book 3 of The Silver Web) Winner of the... Continue Reading →
Saturday I attended a meeting of the Heartland Authors Guild, which goes by the wonderful acronym HAG. We did a flash fiction workshop including an exercise based on sensory prompts. Prompts were given to us by chance - drawn from a deck of cards. Mine read as follows: the sound of a garden hose What... Continue Reading →
It's been a month since I said good-bye to my friends at Virginia Beach, happy yet sad as we embraced each other in the bittersweet end to our annual gathering of creativity, womanly power, and meaningful companionship. I always come away from that week with a sense of renewal and at least one important lesson... Continue Reading →
After a rather slow start this spring, activity has picked up at Jerry Smith Park. Less than a month ago, not only were bees in short supply, but insects of all kinds were scarce. Now the prairie is buzzing, hopping, flying - even being chewed apart! The explosion of life in such a short space... Continue Reading →
Unbelievable - in just under 2 weeks, I'll be at WisCon! I'm very excited! So is EOLYN! This will be our first time at the Madison-based fan con that focuses on discussion of gender, race, and class in the context of science fiction and fantasy. Overall, the programming looks very interesting. Based on the panel... Continue Reading →
