appearances

2025 Year In Review

It's time for a 2025 Year in Review! The immediacy of social media means important posts are quickly forgotten in favor of the Next New Thing, and I think it's important to pause every now and then and celebrate the many good things that happened as the year flew by.

I published 2 novels: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN (wrapping up the Cosmic Shores trilogy of stand-alone sci-fi adventure novels) and LIMINAL SPACE (the first book in the final trilogy of the Amaranthe universe).

THE THIEF was a rock-star of a novel this year, winning the Indie Author Project Sci-Fi Book of the Year and being named one of the best Alien Sci-Fi Novels of the Year by Discover Sci-Fi. (Yes, yes, and there was a tiny kerfuffle around the SPSFC in which The Thief was thrust into a semi-starring role. Let me tell you, going viral on X is not for the faint of heart....)

Five of my short stories landed on the moon! Thanks to the incredible Lunar Codex project and Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines' groundbreaking missions, "Apogee," "Solatium," "Venatoris," "Re/Genesis" and "Chrysalis" will reside forever in the stars.

I was a Pro at Dragon Con again this year, speaking on some fascinating panels, selling books and meeting awesome readers and authors at what is seriously the craziest geek con on the planet. I also attended Lilac City Comicon and the Local Author Celebration by the Community Library Network, fulfilling a promise to myself to put down roots in my new Inland Northwest home by getting involved in the regional author community.

Oh, and I sold my 700,000th story. Thank you, all of you, for enabling me to do what I love!

Favorite book I read this year? House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds; I deeply love that book. But it was a reread, so favorite first-time read of the year? Probably Ancilliary Justice by Ann Leckie; it deserves all the accolades it received. Favorite non-fiction? The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene; the prospect of multiverses is real science, guys.

Favorite video game? Baldur's Gate 3, again. It should be Clair Obscur, but I disliked the narrative rug-pull at the end. Also, Kingdoms Reborn turned out to be a delightful city-builder of a game!

What about 2026? THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING will definitely release, and I'll start writing NAKED SINGULARITY, the final novel in the 25-book Amaranthe saga (* sobs *). More regional author events are on tap, including my first time appearing at Emerald City Comicon in Seattle. I believe there's another lunar landing or two (or...four??) on the schedule, too.

I'm genuinely happy with the year 2025 shaped up to be, and excited for the opportunities waiting to ambush me in 2026.

How about you? What were the highlights of your 2025?

Local Author Celebration

I had a fantastic time at the Local Author Celebration at the Hayden library last weekend! I talked all things writing SciFi and Fantasy on a panel. I sold some books, hung out with several author friends I’ve made since moving to Coeur d’Alene, and most importantly (my secret, true goal), got to meet a bunch more local authors - of which there are so many. I'm stoked to learn that the CDA/Spokane area has such a vibrant writing scene.

Thanks so much to the Community Library Network (the network of suburban CDA libraries) for hosting this inaugural event, and for all the hard work the librarians and volunteers put in to make it a success. Here's to many more!

A Dragon Con Tale in 2 Pictures

Dragon Con Day 1. 10 am, as the Vendor Hall opens. I’ve got the books (and many, many more books under the table). I’ve got the banner. I’ve got the first of 4 geeky tshirts. I’m ready to sell some books.

Dragon Con Day 4. 45 minutes left in the convention. The table is clear, all books safely in the hands of new owners. And I get to rest. ;)

Many other, non-table adventures were had over the course of the long weekend. I spoke on 4 interesting panels, sold yet more books at a SFF gala party Friday night, and hung out with other authors in the Westin bar every night. I got to meet my narrator, Pyper Down, in person for the first time! She was simply fabulous. All in all a great, and exhausting, time.

Lilac City Comicon

I had a booth at Lilac City Comicon in Spokane for the first time this weekend. Doing a “hometown” convention was so nice! I got to sleep in my own bed at night, and I knew where everything was, and I didn’t have to worry about forgetting anything. The Spokane Convention Center is a lovely venue, and I had a terrific time with my booth-mate and BFF, Katie Cross.

MisCon 2024

That's a wrap on another amazing MISCON (https://www.miscon.org/)! A huge thanks to Katie J Cross, the best friend and booth collaborator I could ask for, to Justin Barba for pulling off the herculean task of organizing a crazy, entertaining celebration, and to Robert Olson for keeping us all endlessly caffeinated and entertained. It was awesome to spend the weekend meeting readers, writers and fans of all things geeky, and hanging out with Kristine Endsley, Thomas Gondolfi, Hunter Cowles Wallace, Sanan Kolva, C E Chester, Grant Theron, and Peter Jones (I'm definitely forgetting some lovely people).

NOW, how about we do a "The Thief" launch this week?

(FYI: links are to Facebook profiles)

Northwest Indie Bookfest

I had a great time this Saturday at the Northwest Indie Bookfest. The wonderful Auntie’s Bookshop in downtown Spokane hosted the event, which included 5 regional writers’ groups and 20+ authors doing signings, readings and presentations. I got the total benefit of meeting new readers AND local authors (potential friends!). Props to Amber Laura for being an awesome table-mate and general collaborator. :)

I wish I could tell you what I was so, ah, enthusiastically describing in the second picture, lol.

Dragon Con Booth

Me at Dragon Con last week, doing Dragon Con things. All the thanks to Carole for the tremendous help setting up the booth, James Hunter and the guys at Shadow Alley Press for absolutely pwning a metric f*ckton of book boxes with brutal efficiency, Claire for holding down the fort like a pro when I had to act like a writer on panels, and of course Katie Cross for being a rockstar of a boothmate. It was a fantastic (and exhausting) four days of talking on panels, hanging out with author friends, and meeting so many awesome readers.

MisCon

I had a wonderful time at MisCon this weekend! Highlights include:

(1) the "Predictive Power of Sci-Fi" panel with sci-fi luminaries Robert J. Sawyer, CJ Cherryh, David Gerrold and James Glass, where we mused over the role of science fiction as prediction engine, research lab for ideas, and early warning system.

(2) the fact that I sold out of all the Aurora Rising novels and the Short Stories Collection. MisCon attendees *love* their sci-fi!

(3) all the lovely writers and aspiring writers I got to know, and hopefully helped them out a little on the road to achieving their dreams.

(4) such incredible cosplay! The costumes rivaled anything you might see at a much larger con.