For my fourth episode of Eating the Fantastic recorded during StokerCon, Linda Addison joined me at Yardbird, a Southern food restaurant inside The Venetian which Eater, a site I trust, promised that once you’re done, “you’ll feel like you just ate at your favorite Southern relative’s home.” Since I have no Southern relatives, I can’t attest to the truth of that statement, only that my Chicken ‘n’ Watermelon ‘n’ Waffles was excellent.

You may know Linda primarily as a four-time Bram Stoker Award-winning poet, but she is oh so much more, as you’ll learn should you give this episode a listen.

We talked of how someone who earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics transforms into a four-time Bram Stoker Award winning writer, the way a chance encounter with Grand Master Frederik Pohl during a New York is Book Country Festival helped her make her first sale to Asimov’s, why this acclaimed horror poet has now decided to go from micro to macro and write a science fiction trilogy, and much more.

Here’s how you can join us—though sadly, you’ll have to get your own Shrimp ‘n’ Grits. (more…)

I’ll be attending three conventions over the next two months—Escape Velocity, Readercon, and Worldcon—but before those roll around, I have a couple of things to share with you about the two most recent conventions in the rear view mirror.

First—I already shared pics of the remarkable suit I wore when the Horror Writers Association handed out its Bram Stoker Awards in Las Vegas last month. But would’t you like to see that suit in action?

Here I am with Weston Ochse, handing out the award for Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel … and immediately becoming a punchline for one of Jeff Strand’s jokes. Wait for it!

In another video recorded last month, I was captured wearing clothes of a decidedly darker hue. Check me out as I read the opening to my story in the latest issue of PostScripts, “The Man Without the Blue Balloon and the Woman Who Had Smiles Only for Him.”

And if you happen to be at Readercon next month, you might hear me read the entire thing!

A new convention debuts in D.C. next month from the folks behind the Museum of Science Fiction, and they’ve dubbed it Escape Velocity.

They’re trying to make it more than just a con, but rather “a micro futuristic world’s fair.” Don’t worry, though—there’ll be plenty of the expected panels as well. And I’ll be on two of them—

Star Wars: Then and Now
Sunday July 3rd 12:30
An open-ended discussion on the Star Wars universe following the inclusion of The Force Awakens to the series. How has the universe changed? How has it stayed the same? How did the returning cast do after so many years away?

Strangers in a Strange Land: What is ‘Science Fiction’ and Where Is It Going?
Sunday July 3rd 3:00
A free-wheeling discussion between panelists and the audience about what does—or does not—count as science fiction. Are there common misconceptions about what qualifies? Or are we too limited in our thinking? What does the vox populi consider to be science fiction versus that of science fiction aficionados? Ultimately, who’s to say what is or is not science fiction?

If you make it to the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center for Escape Velocity, be sure to say hi!

The livestream announcing the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2016 wrapped up about an hour ago, resulting in a surprise at the top, since the assumption was that #1 would go to one of the two restaurants which had been trading off that spot recently—either Noma or El Celler de Can Roca.

A personal surprise, though, was that I’d dined at more restaurants out of this Top 50 than any previous list. When the lists for 2013 and 2014 were announced, it turned out I’d already been to four of the Top 50 for those years, which rose to seven for 2015, and now for this year, that number has risen to eight …

And you can find out what I thought of each of those meals by clicking on the links below. (Note, though, that my visits took place on the dates of the individual posts, and not during the past 12 months.)

1. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy
2. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain
3. Eleven Madison Park, New York City, U.S.A.
4. Central, Lima, Peru
5. Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark
6. Mirazur, Menton, France
7. Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain
8. Narisawa, Tokyo, Japan
9. Steirereck, Vienna, Austria
10. Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain
11. D.O.M., Sao Paolo, Brazil
12. Quintonil, Mexico City, Mexico
13. Maido, Lima, Peru
14. The Ledbury, London, United Kingdom
15. Alinea, Chicago, U.S.A.
16. Azurmendi, Larrabetzu, Spain
17. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy
18. White Rabbit, Moscow, Russia
19. Arpège, Paris, France
20. Amber, Hong Kong, China
21. Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain
22. Test Kitchen, Cape Town, South Africa
23. Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand
24. Le Bernardin, New York City, U.S.A.
25. Pujol, Mexico City, Mexico
26. The Clove Club, London, United Kingdom
27. Saison, San Francisco, U.S.A.
28. Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark
29. Tickets, Barcelona, Spain
30. Astrid y Gaston, Lima, Peru
31. Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo
32. Restaurant Andre, Singapore
33. Attica, Melbourne, Australia
34. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin, Germany
35. Vendome, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
36. Boragó, Santiago, Chile
37. Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand
38. De Librije, Zwolle, Netherlands
39. Le Calendre, Rubano, Italy
40. Relae, Copenhagen, Denmark
41. Fäviken, Järpen, Sweden
42. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai, China
43. Biko, Mexico City, Mexico
44. Estela, New York, U.S.A.
45. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London, United Kingdom
46. Combal Zero, Rivoli, Italy
47. Schloss Schauenstein, Austria Furstenau, Switzerland
48. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocatino Hills, New York
49. Quique Dacosta, Deniam, Spain
50. Septime, Paris, France

I don’t think I’ll be able to get to any of the others before the 2017 list is announced … but I can always dream, can’t I?

Last month, I seemed to have fewer dreams than usual. Was it because of all the con travel, which included StokerCon and Balticon? Or because I spent more time writing and less time sleeping? Whatever the reason, in May I recorded fewer dreams than during any month since I began sharing them with you on Twitter back in 2009.

Which may also explain why it’s taken me this deep in June to harvest them for you.

In any case, last month I dreamt of Gary Gilmore, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Helen Mirren, Bill Gaines, and more.

May 2016




I dreamt I was at @Readercon, and saw Paul Di Filippo and Barry Malzberg in the distance … but I spent most of my time with Helen Mirren.
 May 28

I dreamt the U.S. Army recruited me to train a large, colorful South American parrot as a weapon of war … but we bonded … and rebelled.
 May 27

I dreamt I was with @Nalo_Hopkinson, in her library, surrounded by her books and awards, collaborating on a menu for a huge feast.
 May 25

I dreamt I was John Candy involved in a car chase through the streets of Los Angeles … but I woke before I caught whoever I was chasing.
 May 24

I dreamt I returned to my room after a long day at a convention, popped open a bottle of champagne, and sang Sondheim’s “Ladies Who Lunch.”
 May 24

I dreamt I was running from coast to coast across the U.S. without a break, constantly in motion with no rest or sleep. I was doing it, too!
 May 20

I dreamt @Lin_Manuel was thinking of adapting a story of mine about space gorillas into a musical and I was anxiously awaiting his decision.
 May 20

I dreamt I worked for NASA and missed something big in my mother’s life because I was in space. We were interviewed on TV when I returned.
 May 20

I dream it was NOW and I was writing a comics script in which Archie Andrews teamed up with Lenny Bruce to go on a wild road trip.
 May 19

I dreamt it was the ’70s, and I was in the Marvel Bullpen writing word balloons for an issue of the X-Men over art drawn by Barry Smith.
 May 19

I dreamt I showed up at @NextRestaurant with a huge wedding party, and they were able to seat us spontaneously. THAT’S an impossible dream!
 May 18

I dreamt I was walking with Al Feldstein when we spotted Bill Gaines. I asked Al if I could get a photo of them together — but he refused!
 May 18

I dreamt I helped @TimPratt clear out his house because of an approaching fire, and as flames neared, I suddenly paused to make egg salad.
 May 17

I dreamt I was visiting friends who lived next to a chemical plant when a poison cloud leaked, so we hid in the basement. Where I wrote.
 May 10

I had a complex dream in which Gary Gilmore was campaigning for Donald Trump … but remember little more than that. (And I should be glad.)
 May 3

I dreamt @John_Clute showed me a beautiful new book by @Liz_Hand which included woodcut frontispiece art and a blurb by Galway Kinnell.
 May 3

Are you up for lunch at a spot in Las Vegas once once dubbed “the best Thai restaurant in America” by Gourmet magazine? Then pull up a chair to the table at Lotus of Siam, where Mary Turzillo and I snuck away to during StokerCon for some great food—and great conversation. You can eavesdrop on the latter, but as for the former, the photos below will have to suffice.

I had the great honor of publishing Mary’s story “Mars is No Place for Children” when I was the editor of Science Fiction Age, and then the additional honor of being Toastmaster at the Nebula Awards banquet the year she walked away with a trophy for that very story.

We talked about whether there’s a Venn Diagram overlap between her horror and science fiction readership, how her Cajun Sushi Hamsters from Hell writers workshop got its name, why she won’t be self-publishing her unpublished novels, what Gene Wolfe taught her about revising her fiction, and much more.

Here’s how you can pull up a seat to the table— (more…)

Has it really been three years since I last shared any of my uke strumming? How did that happen? By now, you’ve probably forgotten I even own one of those weapons of mass entertainment.

Let’s remedy that, shall we?

I’ve been taking part in a local ukulele club here in the Eastern Panhandle since late last year, and Ernie Bradley invited us to join his Grassy Ridge Band at Orr’s Farm Market earlier today for the 10th Annual North Mountain Arts Festival. He asked each of us ukers to perform a song, and I chose a silly one I fell in love with when I was 10—“May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose” by Little Jimmy Dickens.

Having some bluegrass pickers who know what they’re doing sure does make me sound a whole lot better that I actually am!

Late last year, when I told you about the sale I’d made to the science fiction anthology You, Human, I failed to tell you the title of the story. That was deliberate.

Michael Bailey, the book’s editor, wanted to reveal the full Table of Contents at once. So I held off. Until now.

Because Michael has shared all.

And the title of the story you’ll be able to read later this year in You, Human is …

“101 Things to Do Before You’re Downloaded”

Check out the full list of authors—and the titles of their stories—over on the Written Backwards blog.

During the recent StokerCon in Las Vegas, I did what I always do during conventions—slip away as often as possible to chow down and catch up with friends. One of those meals took place in old-timey ice cream parlor Serendipity 3, and was recorded (as so many convention meals will be from now on) as an episode of Eating the Fantastic.

My dinner companion this time around was Maria Alexander, whose debut novel, Mr. Wicker, won the 2014 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. But in addition to being a novelist, Maria’s also a poet, screenwriter, games writer, swordswoman, and so much more—and I attempted to explore all those facets in this episode.

So join us as we discuss Mr. Wicker‘s transformation from a short story to a screenplay to a Stoker Award-winning novel, how she convinced Clive Barker to be her mentor, what’s wrong with most of the swordswomen we see on book covers and TV, and much more.

Here’s how you can pull up a seat to the table— (more…)

From the moment I arrived at the recent StokerCon in Las Vegas, I proudly wore a 5-Time Stoker Award Loser button which I’d made up proclaiming my 5-0 finalist status, as can be seen in this photo with Jennifer Brozek.

But everything changed the night of the awards banquet … (more…)