On Thursday, January 9, I took part in the monthly Tangelo Reading here in Chicago. We had a wonderful evening with talented and passionate readers and an engaged and friendly audience. I read the opening pages of Semiosis and then a little essay about houseplants — with a window full of beautiful houseplants behind me … Continue reading Do Your Neglected Houseplants Want Revenge?

I’ll be participating in the Tangelo reading series, held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, January 9, at The Martin performance space, 2515 W. North Ave., in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago. I plan to read from Semiosis and share a short essay — about what? I haven’t decided yet. The event, the … Continue reading Reading at Tangelo on January 9

I always enjoy destroying the Earth. Actually, I feel kind of bad about doing that. We have a nice planet. What I really enjoy are big ideas, so when I was asked to contribute to SSFWorld’s anthology Dying Earths, I thought, “What fun!” Specifically, I was asked by the editors, Andrew Leon Hudson and N. … Continue reading The ‘Dying Earths’ anthology – exploring a big idea

I have an article in Slate Magazine today: “Trees are smarter than we give them credit for, but they may not be smart enough for we’ve got coming next.” Trees — and plants in general — can adapt to changes in amazing ways, but the weather might be changing too fast. Read the article here.

One of Ancient Rome’s greatest poets, Ovid, wrote this fable, the story of two honored trees: Baucus and Philemon, an elderly couple in Greece, had little to share, but when two weary travelers sought a place to sleep for the night, they welcomed them into their hovel. This couple was pious, and hospitality was a … Continue reading Baucus and Philemon, or two trees in love

In Shakespeare’s play As You Like It, a character called Duke Senior has been exiled by his younger brother to the Forest of Arden. As befits a gentle comedy, he finds the woods a fine place, and he has “merry men with him; and there they live like the old Robin Hood of England: they … Continue reading “Tongues in trees, and good in everything”

Kill your darlings, they say. Cut the parts from your book that don’t move the plot forward, even if you love them. So, on the wise advice from my editor, I killed the final section of the novel Interference about some fippokats (well, they were going to die anyway) and write a different ending that … Continue reading Fippokats in space!