Often novels have one or two point-of-view characters. Point of view (POV) refers to the way a story is told: the perspective of the character or narrator telling the story. Often this is the main character, like Murderbot in the Murderbot Diaries; sometimes it’s the sidekick or observer, like Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes stories. … Continue reading Points of view and “Immunity Index” – almost too many?

Why so much work for a few little flowers? Coins are next to the planter for scale. Something’s blooming in my home: a Haworthiopsis venosa sp. tessellata. The diminutive green plant is named for the British botanist Haworth; venosa means “having branched veins”; tesselatta means “square mosaic tiles” and refers to the pattern on the … Continue reading Very tall and spicy: a succulent in bloom

I’ll be at Chicon 8, the 80th World Science Fiction Convention, held September 1 to 5 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago. Almost 5,000 people are expected to attend in person with 1,500 attending virtually. Hundreds of activities are planned. It will be a five-day party, and you can still sign up and come. … Continue reading My schedule at Chicon 8: come say hi!

Here’s some art about Semiosis — a reader shared these sketches with me, and I love them. Thank you, Storm! I asked her to say a little about herself: My name is Storm Munk-Hind. I live in Denmark and study psychology at the university of Aarhus (Denmark). I’m also an artist. I usually do gallery-type … Continue reading Fan art by Storm Munk-Hind

Pip Paris was kind enough to invite me to her podcast to talk about my favorite subject: the wonder and wisdom of plants. Pip Talk, a podcast on Anchor, hosted by Epiphany Paris (Pip): “Interviews featuring rebels, visionaries, mystics, outliers, change-makers, and people I find interesting. I aim to expose my audience to a wide … Continue reading Sue Burke & Problem Solving with Plants by Pip Talk

In the first week of August, I served as an instructor at the 2022 Speculative Fiction Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp and Writing Retreat, held near West Bend, Wisconsin. As part of the fun, the novelists could write a short creative work about the retreat and compete for the prize of a coffee mug filled with candy bars. … Continue reading How wine saved my life at the writer’s retreat

Learn more about these trees at Candide gardening.

A neighbor is away on an extended family visit, and she asked me to take care of her plants while she’s gone. She seems to think I’m doing it just to be nice. I think I’m doing it because I get to have more plants. I have them only temporarily, true, but look at these … Continue reading Meet my house guests

I’m interviewed in the latest issue of Panel Magazine in an article called “Lessons from the Future.” Published in Budapest, Panel is a magazine of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and the arts produced in Central and Eastern Europe and originally written in English or translated into English. Half the proceeds from Issue #9 will go to … Continue reading Interviewed in Panel Magazine

https://crsf2020home.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/crsf2022image.png I’ll be participating (virtually) in the 2022 Current Research in Speculative Fiction Conference held June 30 and July 1 at the University of Liverpool. The annual conference is designed to promote the research of speculative fiction, media and technologies. It aims to shine a spotlight on the research of postgraduates and early career researchers … Continue reading I’ll speak at the Current Research in Speculative Fiction Conference 2022