Category: Essay
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A Tasting Menu of Speculative Fiction Delights
A Tasting Menu of Speculative Fiction Delights.
8 minute bites from 6 authors
May 1, 2026 at noon EDT
Free Event on Zoom
Featuring: Elly Bangs, Lauren Beukes, E.D.E. Bell,
A Y Chao, A.L. Kaplan, and Anne E.G. Nydam#SWSWQR
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My Saturday Norwescon Schedule
Here is where you can find me today
Autograph Session
10:00am – 11:00am @ Grand 2
T. Kingfisher, Geneva Bowers, Summer Ash, Bradley Englert / Orbit Books, Dutch Bihary ContoursFx, A. L. Kaplan, Alexander James Adams, Amanda Cherry, Andie Penn Romine, Andrea Weilgart, Brenda Cooper, Brianna Malotke, Carol Berg, Curtis C. Chen, Daniel H. Wilson, Daphne Singingtree, Dean Wells, Diana Ma, Dr. Mark Rounds, Erik Scott de Bie, Evan J. Peterson, Gabriella Buba, Gordon B. White, GregRobin Smith, J. L. Doty, Jack Skillingstead, Jeff Grubb, Jeff Sturgeon, Josef B. Wilke, K.I. Tolles, Kendare Blake, L.J. Melvin, Laura Anne Gilman, Lauren C. Johnson, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Leslie Lutz, Lily Meade, Lish McBride, Liz Argall, Lizzy D. Hill, Margaret Owen, Megan E. O’Keefe, Michael Michel, Miranda Levi, Nancy Kress, Neena Viel , Nicole Glover, Perla X. Caballero, Remy Nakamura, Rhiannon/R.Z. Held, Rosemary Jones, Sandra Rosner, Sean K. Reynolds, Sebastien de Castell, Shanna Germain, Shiromi Arserio , Steven Barnes, Susan R. Matthews, Tara Campbell, Timothy W. Long, Tori Sharp, Virginia Black, William Boulanger, Koji A. Dae, William Alexander, Thomas Ha
YA is for Everyone?
12:00pm – 1:00pm @ Cascade 6
The YA genre is technically for teens, but the profit comes from adults buying YA. How has this influenced the genre? What does this mean for what can and cannot be discussed in YA?
A. L. Kaplan (M), Margaret Owen, Kendare Blake, L.J. Melvin, Lish McBride
Prop Design & Materials
2:00pm – 3:00pm @ Cascade 10
Ever wonder how to build a six-foot-long sword that will fit in your checked luggage? Or how to take the wobble out of a wizard staff? Panelists will discuss some basic design concepts, tools, and materials.
Richard Stephens (M), Belsac, Ben Honeycutt, A. L. Kaplan, Melissa Nichols
Reading: A.L. Kaplan
6:00pm – 6:30pm @ Cascade 3
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SFWA Virtual Constellation Series March 21-22, 2026
I’ll be part of the SFWA Virtual Constellation Series On March 21, 2026
Registration is free.
Tracey Baptiste, Gabrielle Byrne, Michelle Knudsen, and I will be reading Saturday, March 21, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm Eastern Time.
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Did I Really Do All That Last Year?
One of my non-writing goals for 2025 was to work through my “to be read list.” There are still many books in that pile, but I did read 36 of them.
Here are the ones I finished in the order they were read .
You may notice some repeated authors.
Everything Changes: An Anthology of Climate fiction – Angie Dell
The Collapsing Empire – John Scalzi
Autonomous – Annalee Newitz
In Our Own Worlds: 4 Novellas by Margaret Killjoy, Ellen Klages, Kai Ashante Wilson, and Jy Yang. My favorite was Passing Strange by Ellen Klages.
Dark Touched: Book 1 of the Glass Star – Elle Lewis
A Language of Dragons – S. F. Willimson
Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy – Tui T. Sutherland
Dragonfruit – Makiia Lucier
Wings of Fire: The Dark Secret
Daughter of Darkness – Terry Brooks
Wings of Fire: The Brightest night – Tui T. Sutherland
Wings of Fire: Moon Rising – Tui T. Sutherland
Burning Down the House – Jean Marie Ward
Artificial Condition – Martha Wells
Gold Dust – Catherin Asaro
Sister of Starlite Seas – Terry Brooks
The Calling – Ken Altabet
Ink & Bone – Rachel Caine
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night – Amelie Wen Zhao
Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White – Amelie Wen Zhao
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale I – Art Spiegelman
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale II – Art Spiegelman
Wings of Fire: The Hidden Kingdom – Tui T. Sutherland
The Wings Upon Her Back – Samantha Mills
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Lilith’s Brood – Octavia Butler
The Study of Storms & Magic – Maria V. Snyder
Stain of a Nation – Bishop O’Connell
A School for Dragons – Amy wolf
For the Good of the Realm – Nancy Jane Moore
The Death of a Maven – Kathryn Johnson
Rogue Protocol – Martha Wells
Exit Strategy – Martha Wells
Fugitive telemetry – Martha Wells
Manufactured Witches – Michelle Rene
Network Effect – Martha Wells
I also:
Participated in 7 Conventions/Conferences.
4 Book Festivals/ Markets
1 Podcast
Published 2 books
I think that’s a pretty fine literary year.
Don’t forget to check out these books:
Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.
Especially when your powers can get you killed.
Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.
Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.
Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.
It’s Hanukkah, and Dragon is helping his family celebrate.
Have you ever made latkes or played dreidel? Come join the fun as Dragon makes latkes and lights the menorah. Then play the dreidel game and see where it lands!
Sometimes a blessing can be a curse.
Young Maya bears the mark of the moon goddess, a sign that would doom her to be sacrificed in her village where the death god is revered. Forced to dye her golden eyes dark, Maya lives in constant fear of discovery. To save her family and the village’s future, she must find the courage to stand up to the high priest before he can bring the death god into this world.
Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history.
One step toward understanding.
One stride toward survival.
One leap toward flying free from the past.
A Hidden Past – A Deadly Secret
Gifted with the ability to wolf-talk, Kara has lived with the wolves since she lost her memories eight years ago. Now at sixteen, snippets of her past send her searching for answers.
But the warm welcome she receives in the human village hides more danger than life with the pack.
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of peace.
A man of integrity.
In light of recent events, its even more important to remember Dr. King’s contribution to our country.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’”
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!”
“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”
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Star Touched is on Sale at Bookshop.com
Run on over to Bookshop.com and pick up a copy of Star Touched.
They also have Dragon’s Hanukkah and Mark of the Goddess
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Sour cream vs Applesauce
How do you eat your latkes?
I took a vote today at the Hanukkah Shuk and here are the results.
Sour cream: 43
Applesauce: 87
We’ll see what the votes say next week at the official book launch.
Hope to see you there!
