Author: marylowd

Theresa cannot believe the impudence of this kitten we got — not only does Hazel persist in existing and living in our house, but she has the sheer AUDACITY to be in the exact spot Theresa happens to want to be in right now.

Continue reading “Two Bengals, Separately”

Putting up the Christmas tree, and suddenly the kid looks very serious…

Me: “Is something wrong?”
Kid: “It’s about Santa…”
Me, holds breath.
Kid: “…and COVID.” Continue reading “Christmas Quarantine”

That feeling when you add fifteen words to your novel in progress… and somehow it’s still not done.

“Imagine two turkeys in a haunted house. They see a feast. Then -poof!- dead. Wait… that’s not even a joke!”

—the seven-year-old, trying to tell a joke

I want a dog with a mind like a diamond,
I want a dog who knows what’s best,
He is fast, thorough, and quick on his feet,
He’s touring the facilities and herding the sheep,
I want a dog with short ears and a loooooong muzzle!

Does anyone know of any authors who’ve had more than 36 stories published in Daily Science Fiction?

I’m trying to figure out if I’m the author who’s had the most stories published there, because it’s looking to me like there’s a good chance I am, and that seems worth knowing. Continue reading “Most Published Author in Daily Science Fiction”

It’s really hard with a free-form career like fiction writing—that also keeps changing under your feet—to know what to focus on to keep moving upward, or at least give yourself the best chance of moving upward. There are so many different paths and all of them are uncertain. And there are limited role models to follow, given how much the field keeps changing.

I am so burned out. I’ve been writing at a breakneck pace for more than a year, and I’ve had the kids home, bouncing off the walls, dealing with loss and fear caused by the pandemic for nine months.

But I keep dragging myself forward on the novel I’m writing.

I keep wondering if I should take a break. Surely, after writing three novels in fourteen months, I’ve earned a break?

And yet, writing is what holds me together. Believing the books I write matter is what pulls me forward. And I need to be held together and pulled forward.

Apparently, today is the day that I can’t take it anymore and start ranting wildly about Universal Basic Income.

Years ago I was asked while on a panel at a convention, how can a writer best go about making money with their book?

My answer remains the same:  put your book aside, go into politics, and fight for Universal Basic Income.

Writing is a terrible, awful, horrible way to make money, and it always will be. Continue reading “Universal Basic Income is Tenure for Writers”

#Scream Spoilers

If I had infinite money, I’d pay to get the people back together to make season 3 of the original Scream tv series. I want that season, revealing the original Lakewood murderer who pinned everything on Brandon James so much. Continue reading “Lakewood Scream”