sometimes I feel like people who freak out about keeping science fiction and fantasy separate and distinct are like that little kid who doesn't want the peas and carrots to touch on their plate. It's all imaginative fiction, folks. Most science fiction is a little bit fantasy and most fantasy is a little bit science fiction. It's all good and categories are fake.

birdwatching

You can't write a fictional character unless you're super curious about them and want to peel back their shiny mystique. But what if you already feel like you understand a character perfectly and there are no more secrets to uncover? My latest newsletter:

How to Fix a Character Who's Starting to Bore You

Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter! It’s free, but I’d be super grateful if you pre-ordered my novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster. Nicola...

still the best media company

Fictional villains: my motivation involves a complex backstory around lost love and a deep yearning to be understood Real life villains: being cruel makes me feel like a big strong man

Hot damn! Ms. Magazine named my upcoming novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster one of the most anticipated feminist books of 2025. (And yeah, it is pretty dang feminist, come to think of it.) Thanks so much to Karla J. Strand! Read the list here:

Ms. Magazine

Reads for the Rest of Us: The Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2025

Reads for the Rest of Us: The Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2025—new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

Historians have long believed that native Hawaiians greeted Captain James Cook as a god... until a spicy debate broke out 30 years ago. In my newsletter, I look into why neither side of this infamous debate included any Hawaiian perspectives. And why it matters.

They Debated Hawaiian Beliefs, But Didn't Listen to Native Hawaiians

Welcome, new subscribers! If you just subscribed to this newsletter as a result of my livestreamed conversation with Rebecca Solnit et al., then yo...

The other day, Google Maps told me it was safe to walk across a four-lane highway. No overpass, no underpass, no crosswalk. In my latest newsletter, I muse about what it means that tech companies are trying to warp our sense of reality itself.

Google Told Me To Walk Into Traffic

This newsletter is still free — but if you would like to support me, then please pre-order my upcoming novel Lessons in Magic and Disaster. (You ...

This Saturday! The Trans Nerd Meet Up welcomes everyone who self identifies as gender non-conforming and likes to geek out about anything. Zeitgeist SF from 12:30 until whenever 🏳️‍⚧️🚀

This coming Saturday afternoon is the first Trans Nerd Meet Up of 2025! We got a huge turnout in December. It was so joyous. If you have modded or customized your gender in any way, and you like to geek out about anything, please join us at Zeitgeist in SF.

Eventbrite

TRANS NERD MEETUP: January 2025!!!! !!! !

This is a mellow lovely gathering for everyone who identifies as trans/nb/gnc and as a nerd!