_______

Friendly. Useful. Current. And I’m in it with a long chapter on character development.

Put out by Dragon Moon Press in September 2011 and written by a collection of well-known authors for new authors, The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels: Volume 1 covers a wide range of topics necessary for building your first paranormal novel. Paranormal novels are found in all sections of the fiction bookstore. One of the most prevalent forms of fantasy masquerading as romances, mysteries, general fiction and urban fantasy, this guide has tips and topics specific to writing a variety of paranormal novels.

This guide will provide a solid path to completing that first novel by offering detailed help and reference material to get you writing.

Available now in paperback at AMAZON, GOODREADS, and IN KINDLE VERSION.

Many of you know I started this thing in New Zealand when I was there. I founded a national speculative fiction writing association, SpecFicNZ, because there wasn’t one. And every year we sponsor an event we call NZ SpecFic Blogging Week, a week when our members (and anyone else we can convince to come along for the ride) focus their blog posts on all things New Zealand and SpecFiccy.

To learn more about it, please head over to the SpecFicNZ website.

We welcome bloggers from all over the world to take a look at New Zealand speculative fiction and comment on what it has to offer. Don’t know who is writing Spec Fic in or from New Zealand? Do a google search and you mgiht be surprised.

New Zealand has become renownded as a location for shooting speculative fiction films. Don’t know which ones were filmed or digitally rendered in New Zealand? Take a look and you might  be surprised.

Ever wonder what it would be like to write from small island nation? What are the perks? What are the challenges? Follow our bloggin week and you just might find out.

We will be blogging September 19th through the 25th, and you can join us to link your blog posts or just follow and comment on the SpecFicNZ website.

I’ve recently had an interview published for the Partners on the Path blog series orchestrated by  Angelina C. Hansen.

Partners on the Path features the journeys and wisdom of YA authors who aren’t yet published but are seriously “on the path” to publication. In the interview I talk a little more about the process, challenges, and joys of writing my first YA novel, Ghosthand.

Ghosthand has been through the first reader phase, and is currently being edited for submission to agents and publishers.

I hope you will go read the interview and leave your comments there, and here.

As many of you know by now, the reason for my long silence here was the fact that I was moving. Due to spousal work changes and a few other minor issues, we found it suddenly and rather shockingly necessary to move back to the United States from our five year home in Christchurch, New Zealand.

So, after a grueling month of deconstructing our lives, our house, and our home, and an even more grueling 36- hour journey through air and across sea, we have landed in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon and are re-establishing a life in the Pacific Northwest area (Seattle, Porltand or Vancouver, BC).

Edits of the first draft of Ghosthand will resume soon, and I am looking forward to being in the US to snag an agent and publisher for it, rather than from overseas.

I will still be the President of SpecFicNZ- at least for this year- with the goal of turning it over to a Kiwi President at the next election.

It is amazingly good to be home.

If you are in the Portland or Pacific Northwest area, and you’d like to connect, let me know as I’d love to meet up with so many of you internet friends “for reals.”

It has come to my attention that I have not mentioned the results of this year’s Sir Julius Vogel Awards (held June 5th)

My apologies. With my parents visiting and various new earthquakes rumbling in the background, it slipped my mind. Granted, it wouldn’t have slipped my mind if I’d won an award this year. I’m sure I would have shouted that from the rooftops despite everything. But I didn’t (win, that is) so I didn’t (shout, that is).

However, I would still like to thank all of you who nominated my story, “The Future of the Sky.” and voted for it on the final ballot. It lost to Paul Haines “High Tide at Hot Water Beach” in the Best Short Story category. I was disappointed, of course, but not too disappointed. I do already have an SJV award, and perhaps one can’t be greedy. I had a wonderful evening at the banquet and a nice weekend at Context as a whole (though don’t ask me how many times my short story critique workshop was interrupted, or I shall go on a rather unpleasant rant).

I was thrilled to be able to congratulate my friend Helen Lowe for her win in the best novel category for Heir of Night. I was also happy to see my friend Anna Caro and Random Static take home an award for best publication, as well as Paul Mannering in the fan publication category, and Frank Victoria in the cover art category.

And while I would have loved to come home with another Weta designed short story trophy for my mantel, I feel content that I have moved on to novel writing, and it is going well, and the SJV’s certainly haven’t seen the last of me.

Tomorrow I’m off to Context in Auckland, New Zealand for the long Queen’s Birthday weekend.

This will be my third fan Con in New Zealand and, as always, I am eagerly looking forward to it.

And per usual, I’m not just attending. I’m also doing stuff.

Stuff being:

Friday at 8- an author’s panel on Writers’ Blogs with Helen Lowe.

Saturday from 9:30-11:00- Hand-On Critique Workshop: Whipping Your Short Story into Shape.

Saturday from 5-6:30pm – Running the SpecFicNZ Grand Meet-Up of which I am President and Founder.

Sunday evening – Attending the presentation of the Sir Julius Vogel Awards. I’m on the final ballot for Best Short Story for my work “The Future of the Sky”.

So, should be fun. And busy.

Then next Friday my parents come from the States for a 27 day visit with us, much of which I will spend touring the South Island with them in a camper van- just me and them. Hubby and kids will be staying home to attend work and school. I haven’t seen my parents in over three years, so I’m pretty excited about that too.

And no, I haven’t forgotten about Ghosthand. In the days between Con and Parents, I plan to finish a final edit and get it out to first readers.

The Ebook version of Tales for Canterbury is now available.

Tales for Canterbury is a short story anthology loosely themed around survival, hope and the future. All profits of this anthology will be donated to the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal. The anthology contains 34 stories, including my new magical realism story, The Bus to Nostalgia, (and of course, one by Neil Gaiman) and is edited by Cassie Hart and Anna Caro.

Wondering about the paperback hardcopy version? It is at the printers now. You can order the ebook version or pre-order the paperback at Random Static publishers.

I hope you’ll support my broken city, Christchurch, in its earthquake recovery, and me personally, by purchasing this wonderful book and spreading the word on your blogs and website, and to friends and family.

Well, we did it again.

Thanks to all of you who read me and support my work, once again a short story of mine has made it onto the final ballot for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards.

In 2009, my sci-fi story “The Derby” made it onto the final ballot for the 2008 awards.
In 2010, my novelette “Over the Rim” and my short story “Corrigan’s Exchange” made it onto the final ballot for the 2009 awards, and “Corrigan’s Exchange” tied for best short story and secured me my first SJV trophy shown below.

And now in 2011, my fantasy story “The Future of the Sky” made it onto the final ballot for the 2010 awards. “The Future of the Sky” was published in the wonderful collection A Foreign Country: New Zealand Speculative Fiction, which also secured a final ballot nomination for Best Collected Work. “The Future of the Sky” is available on free podcast HERE, thanks to SpecFicNZ member Matt Cowens and dear friend and fellow-writer Angel McCoy.

Thank you so much for all of you who read it, or listened to the podcast, and put in your nominations.

It means the world to me.

I am also thrilled to point out that members of SpecFicNZ, the national association of speculative fiction writers I founded, hauled away a whopping FOURTEEN FINAL BALLOT NOMINATIONS. The complete list of final ballot nominees can be found HERE.

I am so proud to be a part of such a talented community of writers.

Tales for Canterbury – a collection of short fiction published to raise money to help those affected by the recent Canterbury Earthquake (Yes, the one that hit my home city of Christchurch and the surrounding areas) – is now available for pre-order at Random Static.

Edited by local writers and SpecFicNZ members Cassie Hart and Anna Caro, the anthology is centered around the themes of survival, hope and a positive future. It includes fiction by overseas and local writers, including Jeff Vandermeer, Tina Makereti, Cat Connor, Sean Williams, Neil Gaiman, and Ripley Patton:)

Due out mid April, the ebook version will be in .pdf, .epub and .mobi formats and is $12 direct from Random Static. The print version is priced at $24.95 and includes free shipping within NZ (international shipping also available) and comes with a free giftwrapping option. Anticipated release date for the print version is the end of April.

I am happy to announce that my short story, A Speck in the Universe, is now available in the anthology Night-Mantled: The Best of Wily Writers Volume 1 being put out by my amazing friend and fellow-writer/editor Angel McCoy.

I love the cover because it looks like a combination of my hooded avatar and my actual picture. That is sooo cool!

It is available now at:

• Amazon

• Barnes & Noble Online

• Ebook in numerous forms including Kindle and PDF.

Out of the darkness come the monsters, the mysteries, and the miracles that engage our minds and engorge our hearts.

This collection of short stories from exceptionally wily writers will take you from looking over your shoulder to pondering the wonders of the universe and back again.

The WilyWriters.com Speculative Fiction podcast chooses only the best two stories per month from its submissions and records them for your listening pleasure.

This volume collects Year #1’s best of the best.

Author Lineup:

• Alan Baxter: “Stand Off”Jennifer Brozek: “Honoring the Dead”SatyrPhil Brucato: “I Feel Lucky”Nathan Crowder: “Ink Calls to Ink”Richard E. Dansky: “Small Cold Thing”Seanan McGuire: “Julie Broise and the Devil”Lisa Morton:“Sane Reaction”Ripley Patton: “A Speck in the Universe”Grant Stone: “The Salt Line”Joel A. Sutherland: “The Death of Captain Eugene Bloodcake and the Fall of the Horrid Whore”Bruce Taylor: “The Prey”Mark W. Worthen: “The Minimart, the Ruger, and the Girl”