Month: November 2021

That feeling when you’re just about to declare yourself finished with edits on a book… only to stumble across a final note saying, “Search for the word ‘that,’ and remove as many as you can.”

Alas, this is not the first time THAT this has happened to me. Continue reading “That, Again”

It’s mediocre Christmas movie season!

So far, Pride & Prejudice & Mistletoe doesn’t noticeably have anything to do with Pride & Prejudice except for a few names sprinkled randomly throughout.

Danica McKeller’s presence in a Christmas movie, though, seems to be a good sign.

In spite of its many problems (too much realism), my spouse has managed to get me hooked on Stardew Valley. And the differences in how the two of us play are very revealing.

He has made everyone in town like him; I have killed enough monsters that I can wear a creepy bone mask.

Here’s a list of all the Award Eligible work Mary E. Lowd released in 2021, including approximate word counts and links to where the pieces can be found.

In addition to these works, Mary is also eligible for awards as the editor of Zooscape and for the Deep Sky Anchor podcast.

(Whether or not a work is furry can be a subjective question, but we’ve done our best to mark furry works with an asterisk next to the word count.) Continue reading “Award Eligible Work by Mary E. Lowd in 2021”

It has become clear to me that my Bengal cats have more respect for whichever human in the house stays up the latest. Usually, that’s my spouse, who simply needs less sleep than I do. Lately, it’s been me. The Bengals have seemed noticeably surprised and impressed.

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The kid’s high school health class: “Answer these 100 questions about the details of how every illegal drug works!” Continue reading “Tidbits from Cat Ownership and Parenting”

The eight-year-old has been carrying around everywhere a Lego mini fig that lost its head. They call it Sir Headless.

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I dug out my box of old 80s forest man Lego sets that’s been in the bottom of a closet, waiting for the kids to be of an age where they won’t just instantly destroy and lose them. Continue reading “Sir Headless vs. the Forest Men”

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: “What if… totally unexplained fighting, but it’s beautiful and studded with delightful one-liners?”

Me: “…okay… yeah, that apparently works for me.” Continue reading “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”

Sometimes these strange glowing boxes we hold in our hands let us be kind to each other — sharing love and good feelings across the esoteric realm of the internet — and when that happens, it’s nothing short of magic.

I don’t think I’ve read any books during my adulthood that brought me back to how much I loved reading — how I lived to read — when I was a child as much as Seanan McGuire’s.

As a child, I saw a copy of Watership Down with a starburst on the cover emblazoned with the words, “More than One Million Books Sold.

My child’s brain for one glorious moment interpreted that as one million -different- books.

One million sequels to Watership Down. Continue reading “Falling Into Reading”

Sometimes when I’m playing World of Warcraft, I stop and wonder: will I someday regret all the time I spend playing this game? Will I feel like I wasted it?

And, no, I don’t think I will.

I genuinely love playing Warcraft.

There was a time when I hated playing World of Warcraft. And I know, nobody was forcing me to play… but it was almost a game I could love? It was like I could see its future, in its bones. Continue reading “Video Games and Regret”