When I’m not working on my own stories or blogging about worldbuilding, I’m a professional editor and a third generation professional writer (my grandfather was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal; my grandmother, Margaret C. Self, published over 50 books; and my mother, Gincy Self Bucklin, is writing her 4th).
Currently I divide my time between writing business content through my company, Conjure Creative, and providing freelance editorial services, mainly for spec fiction writers. Previously, I spent a dozen years working in entertainment journalism, writing about many major SF/fantasy TV shows and movies, and interviewing all kinds of cool people including some Oscar and Emmy winners.
Current Projects:
Paramourtal 2, edited by Kevin Hosey and yours truly; Cliffhanger Books, Fall 2012. An anthology of original paranormal romances. There will be lots to love here, not just for romance fans but for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy adventure with plenty of solid mythmaking.
Impossible Dreams Publishing. I’m editing several books in development here, including Ice Age America, Canlandia, and Lavender Blue and the Faeries of Galtee Wood.
Publishing Highlights:
Gods of Justice, edited by Kevin Hosey and yours truly; Cliffhanger Books, 2011. An anthology of original superhero stories. My story The Dodge is the first print appearance of my space western world, New Colorado.
Paramourtal, edited by Kevin Hosey & Evelyn Welle; Cliffhanger Books 2010. An anthology of paranormal romance stories, including my contribution, The Fisherman’s Wife.
Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy., edited by Robin Anne Reid, Greenwood Press, 2009. 1 encyclopedia article.
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Gary Westfahl, Greenwood Press, 2005. Encyclopedia articles on 5 major genre TV series. Try summing up Buffy or Farscape in 800 words, or less. I dare you!
Entertainment Magazines and tie-ins. I have written articles for Titan Magazines‘ huge stable of licensed entertainment magazines since 1997, covering most major SF show in the late 90’s and 00’s, plus a few big movies. I’ve written interviews, behind-the-scenes features, reviews, story analysis, humor and in-universe pieces. I’ve also contributed to Sci Fi Wire and a couple of other news web sites.
Xena: Warrior Princess, The Complete Illustrated Companion. Titan, 2003. An officially licensed book, fun to write.
Smart Pop Books: I contributed an essay each to two titles in this BenBella Books anthology series: Five Seasons of Angel, and Farscape Forever! Sex, Drugs and Killer Muppets.
And More
Other biographical details that might be relevant to my worldbuilding interests and the kind of stories I like to tell:
I follow a wide swath of genre media entertainment, including TV, movies, books, art, and comics. Though speculative fiction is my first love, I’m also a fan of westerns and adventures of all kinds, and any story where character is more important than blowing things up or getting a cheap laugh.
I spent my childhood reading horse books and DC superhero comics and watching every Western on TV, which probably explains New Colorado. On the flip side, I discovered The Hobbit at age 9, and have been a passionate fan of Tolkien and other myth-building fantasy authors ever since. Khasran has always been part of that passion.
I majored in Medieval History (Europe and the Middle East) at Smith College, where I also took courses in medieval literature (I still read Beowulf, the sagas, and the Arthurian romances for fun). No writing courses, though, because college writing classes at the time were limited to Freshman Composition and the Literary Short Story. I wish Jane Yolen had been teaching at Smith back then!
I’m a bit of a language nerd, having been fluent in French, German and Spanish at different periods in my life; I also studied the history of English, and enough Latin to read a bit.
I’m also a third generation professional horsewoman (retired at the moment except for helping Gincy Self Bucklin promote her brilliant riding books and teaching methods). Now you know why horses are so important in Khasran and New Colorado.
(And I just started 5 paragraphs in a row with the same word. You can count on me to put meaning and style and what works best, ahead of grammar nazi rules, every time.)
Worldbuilding Rules! 