Category Archives: conventions

5 March 2015 · 1:53 pm

What I’m selling, pitching, writing, and doing

Happy Thursday! I’m starting a new blog series today called “What I’m…” Every few days, I’ll update this site with what I’m selling, pitching, writing, or doing. Today I’ve got updates in all four categories!

What I’m selling

I’ll be at the Dayton Book Expo on April 25th at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, where I’ll have copies of The Red Eye available for sale (and signing, which I’m also happy to do if you’ve already purchased it earlier). If you can’t make it to the DBE but also haven’t gotten a copy of The Red Eye yet, you can purchase it via the DBE’s Amazon store to enter me into the running for DBE’s online bestsellers! And remember, too, that owning an Alliteration Ink title in print means you also own the ebook!

What I’m pitching

I’m nearing the end of my studies in Seton Hill University’s MFA program, and so I’m starting to see if my thesis novel can get any agent nibbles. The new web site Writer Pitch connects authors and agents. If you feel so inclined, you can share my pitch for The Curiosity Killers on social media to help me generate some buzz!

What I’m writing

In addition to making final tweaks to TCK, I’ve also got three short stories out on submission; two short stories, two novels, and one non-fiction book all in the editing phase; and twelve projects actively in the writing phase. Other projects are still being outlined or planned, but I wouldn’t call them “active” yet (and besides, I have to get through these other works first!). My 2015 goal is to finish all active works in progress before really digging into the next wave of planned projects. I’m really excited in particular about The Curiosity Killers, Blood Makes Noise (an urban fantasy novel), and the horror/mystery/urban fantasy novella The Skittering, which may just be the next work in The Red Eye series!

What I’m doing

In just seven weeks, I’ll be done with a graduate certificate in instructional design. This has been a challenging program, but I just adore it. I can now toss around fancy terms like “learner-centered teaching,” “course management system,” and “beyond bullet-point design” like a pro.

I’m also spending a lot of time with the kitten my husband and I adopted late last summer. She is a whirlwind and—parental bias aside—insanely cute. If you don’t already follow me on Instagram, head over there for an embarrassing amount of kitten-related amateur photography.

#PALitFest!

Next week, I’ll be appearing at the Pennsylvania Literary Festival, along with a lot of fabulous authors of a variety of genres. The keynote speaker is John Dixon, author of Phoenix Island, which was the inspiration behind the CBS series Intelligence, starring Josh Holloway. Lots of authors, faculty, alumni, and students from Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular fiction M.F.A. program will be appearing, including horror authors Michael A. Arnzen, Lawrence C. Connolly, Jason Jack Miller, and Stephanie Wytovich; science fiction and fantasy authors Ann Kopchik and K. Ceres Wright, and suspense author Randall Silvis. Leading the charge is science fiction author Heidi Ruby Miller, who just released Book 1 in her Ambassadora series, Marked By Light. I will be there to read excerpts from the first two volumes in my Red Eye series, The House on Concordia Drive and The Red Eye. I’ll also be on a panel discussing feminism in genre fiction, alongside Kopchik, J.L. Gribble, Carole Waterhouse, and Christina Fisanick.

This is one of my first such events on the other side of the microphone, as it were. I’ve done several readings/signings on panels with other Alliteration Ink authors. I also used to host a semi-regular reading series at a local coffeehouse, where I served as organizer, master of ceremonies, and read some of my own work, and I attend writing-related events and workshops as a student all the time. But I look at this event as an unofficial launch party for The Red Eye, in part, and it’s great to be experiencing such a thing with so many Seton Hill folks; this is my writing family in many ways, and the greater Pittsburgh area is becoming a second home.

There are events for folks of all ages, musical performances, and much to do every day, so come on out to the Uniontown, PA Mall, Friday May 30th-Sunday June 1. Hope to see you there!

Steampunk October: Preface (and news updates)

Last weekend, I went to Pandoracon, a new multi-fandom convention with a steampunk bent to it. I’ve been to probably four different “brands” of science fiction/gaming/fandom conventions at this point, but I’m only just now getting kind of into the steampunk scene, as it were. As a recovered goth, I must say I find the neo-Victorian elements the most appealing part of the cosplay and literature, and I do enjoy the optimism and dedication to research that steampunk engenders in its fans. I would also hasten to say that my multi-part story series The Curiosity Killers (which I hope to turn into a composite novel) is something I’d definitely call “steampunk inspired.” Over the next month, I’ll be shining a spotlight on both steampunk in general and how my story both differs and adheres to various steampunk elements. For now, I’d love to hear about people’s favorite steampunk-inspired television, film, literature, music, and artworks. What do dedicated steampunks think are seminal works that one should become acquainted with in order to fully appreciate the genre?

In other news, if you’re local to the Dayton, Ohio area, please come to Ghostlight Coffee this Sunday, October 7th at 7:30 pm for the next installment of GHOSTLIGHT LIT. Ten authors will be reading horror stories in anticipation of the Halloween season getting into full swing. I’ll be serving as M.C. once more and debuting a little flash piece that hasn’t even been published yet. We’ve got a great line-up of poets and fiction authors, so grab a warm latté and settle in for some scares!

Category Archives: conventions

What I’m selling, pitching, writing, and doing

#PALitFest!

Steampunk October: Preface (and news updates)

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