Archive for May, 2013

Gardening update

Life! I put seeds in dirt and made life! I AM A GOD!

I started my summer container planting at the beginning of April (because San Diego), and this is what my royal burgundy beans looked like then.

Here’s what they look like now.

And it’s not just a plant. It’s actual food!

I really dig the deep purple color. But on the inside they’re bright green. They’re like green beans in stealth mode! And so delicious raw, right off the plant. Because I want to eat many of these stealthy beans, I went ahead and planted more, along with some snap peas, because I have a desire for those as well.

Other things I’m hoping result from my seed-dirt-resurrection rituals are New Mexico Big Jim peppers, patio tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and some random radishes, since I had some seeds and a spare pot and dirt.

And just this morning I was planning to toss out the serrano pepper plant because it looked sad and dead, but right before I did I spotted a couple of little peppers coming up, so glad I didn’t.

My micro lettuce greens continue to be easy and tasty, the red onion is starting to form blossoms, and the blueberry plant is still a stupid piece of BS.

I hope your gardens are obnoxiously bountiful.

Nice Phoenix Comicon

Back from a really fun long weekend as a guest at Phoenix Comicon. I heard there were 44,000 attendees this year, which would be hellish if there were 44,000 jerks, but I met not a single one, so it was all good. From my perspective, it’s a really well run con. The staff and volunteers take great care of their guests, and things ran smoothly and efficiently. If you’re thinking of adding a big show to your travel itinerary or you’re looking for an alternative to San Diego Comic-Con, I can’t recommend Phoenix Comicon enough.

This year I shared a table with Adam Rex. I’d met Adam before and sat on a few panels with him, but despite this familiarity and his chill vibe and friendliness, I can’t quite withhold my fanboy squee when I’m around him. He was drawing for Red Cross donations, so I got to watch him create incredible piece after incredible piece. And these weren’t just pencil sketches, but fully inked drawings with, like, shading and everything. He could have easily charged five times what he was asking and it would have still been a bargain. Lookie at what he drew me!


Isn’t that 48 different kinds of spectacular?

Timothy Zahn was doing a brisk and near-constant business at the neighboring table, but I did find a moment to introduce myself. Lisa told him that I once gave her one of his novels as a make-up gift after an argument.

Other highlights included watching John Barrowman walk past my table to sign a replica TARDIS. You know one thing about John Barrowman? He is a VERY HANDSOME man. And I kind of gawked at Nichelle Nichols from a distance. She. Is. Beautiful.

Another nice thing was finding out at the con that CALIFORNIA BONES is getting a blurb from a terrific and terrifically popular writer, which is nice for the regular reasons blurbs are nice, but also because this person doesn’t blurb a whole great many books, and this person certainly doesn’t owe me any favors. So, yeah. Nice.

Also nice was going out for drinks with people I either didn’t know very well or had never met prior to the con. Although I’m sad that I didn’t get away from the con to see my old Phoenix friends, it is nice to make new friends. Guess I’ll have to come back next year.

Phoenix Comicon

I’m going to be a guest at Phoenix Comicon and I INSIST that you be there and come to my panels and visit me at my booth (2524). My books will be on sale at the Mysterious Galaxy booth. I’m also bringing copies of my chapbook, Show and Tell and Other Stories, which I’ll have on hand for sale at my booth. It’s gonna be a hoot!

The con runs from Thursday, May 23 to Sunday, May 26, but please note I won’t be there Thursday until very late.

Here’s my schedule:

The Short and the Shorter of it: The Short Fiction Panel: Saturday 10:30am – 11:30am

Writing for Today’s Younger Readers: Saturday 1:30pm – 2:30pm

Historical Fiction and Dystopic Fiction:Similarities and Differences: Saturday 3:00pm – 4:00pm

Writing SF for the Younger Audience: Sunday 1:30pm – 2:30pm