I’m the guest at this week’s Tales From the Bridge: All Things Sci-Fi podcast. Sam and Kevin were a lot of fun and asked smart questions about topics ranging from plant sentience to feminism in science fiction. You can listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Find it here: TFTB Ep.32: A … Continue reading I’m interviewed at Tales From the Bridge

What Hubble saw “We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened.” — from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. *** If you look up at the sky … Continue reading Stars you think you see

Little stone cylinders that looked like screw threads: those were my first fossils. By early grade school I knew what fossils were — and what excitement to find a real one! They were common in the local white rock that I eventually learned was limestone. My little friends and I would eagerly pick through dusty … Continue reading My very own crinoid

You’ll be able to find me in a variety of places at Capricon 42, a four-day science fiction convention held annually in the Chicagoland area. This year it will be from February 3 to 6 at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk hotel downtown — in person with proof of vaccination and a high-quality mask. (Also … Continue reading Where to find me at Capricon 42

My Reddit avatar looks just like me: green eyes, dark blue hair (dyed), glasses, and comfortable shoes. I’ll be participating in the second annual online Stabbycon convention at r/fantasy at Reddit. Specifically, I’ll be on the February 1 panel about “Unusual Biology.” It should open around noon. If you’re a redditor, drop in, join the … Continue reading Join me at Stabbycon on February 1 at Reddit

I’ve discovered that one more work of mine appeared in 2021, a republication of my translation into English of the short story “Francine (draft for the September lecture)” by Maria Antònia Martí Escayol, at Apex Magazine on December 28. This evocative, haunting story will make you wonder what’s real: after Renée Descartes’s daughter dies, he … Continue reading 2021 publishing roundup – update

Wildfires have a “30-30-30 Rule”: they most likely burn when temperatures are above 30C/86F, winds are above 30 kph/18.6 mph, and humidity is below 30%. That threshold is being crossed more often lately. What does this mean to trees? If we talked to them, we might learn their stories before the disaster. The eucalyptus grove, … Continue reading When forests burn

I had a few things published in 2021. Immunity Index, a novel, published by Tor. Library Journal gave it a starred review: “★ This dystopian biothriller reads like a 21st-century version of Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain, crossed with George Orwell’s 1984. The clone sisters and their creator each provide alternating perspectives of a chaotic … Continue reading 2021 publishing roundup

Ask not for whom the dinner bell tolls… Some of my houseplants have names. Steve, the lucky bamboo, was named by my sister-in-law. Coy is the aspiring gingko bonsai that does not reveal its growth plans. Swamp Thing is a palm tree native to wetlands. Bambino is literally its name: Alocasia amazonica ‘Bambino.’ The basil … Continue reading Don’t name these houseplants

Among my houseplants, large and small, is this little tillandsia, probably a Tillandsia ionantha, also known as an air plant. I got it several years ago, either at a local plant shop or the grocery store’s flower department. It’s easy to grow. Just dunk it or spray it with water once or twice a week. … Continue reading My tillandsia is in bloom!