A Brief Introduction

This blog was inspired by John Cotey's online chronicle, "The Skinny." Left a comment, became a blogger. I intend to be back from time to time.

Some of the vital stats:

I live in central Florida -- moved from Boston in 2003 after 20 years in Massachusetts. The weather's different down here. Originally I'm a Brooklyn gal. I acclimated to the heat & humidity more quickly than I'd expected -- we don't have heat islands around here (yet) and between the breezes and the greenery my walks in 90-plus degrees can actually be pleasant. Having ibises instead of pigeons helps, too.

I'm a baby boomer on the younger side of that demographic. My first political memory is being prompted by my parents to chant, "Shut up, Nixon," at our black-and-white dinette TV during the Nixon-Kennedy debate. I consider myself an Independent.

I've run a communications business (# employees=1) since 1988 but creative writing is my true love. I've had some success at it, mostly with publications in the small press. But I've also been published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Amazing Stories, and the first Full Spectrum anthology (Bantam Books). Most of those stories (and poetry) date from the 80s -- during the 90s I was working multiple shifts ("day job" plus freelance -- "day job" sometimes meant 16-hour days and I've experienced a 103-hour work week that I'd rather not repeat). Add in various family crises and my Muse went south.

So I moved south. We've had a very happy reunion!

I've been getting back in the groove -- have won some prizes for poetry in various state contests and those given by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. I've been published in the 2004 and 2005 We'Moon calendars. And I'm currently trying to sell a trilogy.

Update, 22 August 2007: Covenant, the first volume in my Deviations series, is now available from Aisling Press. More details are on my Deviations page.

Various forays into mixed-media art saved my sanity when I couldn't write; some folks actually found that artwork worth buying and I've exhibited in small galleries in the Boston area and down here.

I'm married, in every sense but legal, to a wonderful woman with whom I'll celebrate our tenth anniversary later this year. An earlier, "traditional" marriage was one of those "learning experiences." I look at the person, not the gender; I've found a good person this time. We serve the needs and whims of two senior cats who make sure to keep us in line.

Thanks for stopping by and have a happy Fourth. Time for me to finish polishing my synopsis....