Odds And Updates

Mar

2014

Bloody Hell. A month since anybody heard a peep from me. Depression is a hell of a thing. Still, I have not been idle.

Writing

I’ve written a few new things, one of which has been rejected by three different editors. Pooh bears. But this year hasn’t been all bad news on the writing front. I’ve gotten an invite to submit to an anthology, which is nice. Not a guaranteed sale, of course, but it’s a good feeling to be included in an “inner circle”, so to speak. Also, one of my stories is under contract with a publisher. Basically that means they’ve got “dibs” on it and we’ve agreed to the sort of rights they’d be buying. Being new to this business, I’m not sure how much more I can share. I’m not expecting to hear anything more on it until closer to Halloween, as it’s that kind of story. I will most certainly update this site and blab about it on Twitter once I have more details.

Chaos

Our corgi-bear is hanging tough. His last three checkups with the oncologist have gone well. The air flow out of the infected nostril is strong and there are no signs of the tumor returning yet. His health has hit a few snags, though. We found a large mass on his belly the other week. The vet took of sample from it and it’s apparently just fatty tissue, but we need to keep an eye on it. Also, Chaos now refuses to go up or down stairs and he appears to have an odd swaying in his hips. Our regular vet was afraid that the tumor had caused neurological damage, but we got confirmation today that it’s not that. He most likely has developed either a herniated disk or is in the early stages of degenerative disk disease. He’s on some anti-inflammatory drugs and we’ve started doing exercises with him for range of motion. Also some heat therapy and massage. He’s lost none of his energy or zest for life. He’s just having a hard time moving around right now. Hopefully we can correct it.

Beer (because it gets its own heading on my site)

The Tipsy Techie was gracious enough to let me review another beer for her. You can read it here. Also, I’m planning on bringing a batch of To the Black with me to this year’s Steampunk Empire Symposium. I haven’t heard yet if there is going to be a home brew contest again this year (I won last year’s), but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have good beer on hand.

That’s it for now. I hope to have more news soon.

To The Black- An Evolving Homebrew Recipe

Jan

2014

I started home brewing beer about 9 years ago. It wasn’t long after that when I kicked Mr. Beer and his kit-based ilk to the curb and started crafting my own recipes. And being not only a writer of science fiction but also a fan, I wanted my beers to be inspired by the fantastical worlds I loved. Around that time, my wife and I were just getting hooked on Firefly (yes, we got our brown coats late, I know). I thought it would be clever to try and brew up some Firefly themed beer. Continue reading →

SES Afterthoughts and Beer

May

2013

Last weekend I joined my fellow members of the Airship Archon for some revelry and ribaldry at the Steampunk Empire Symposium down in Cincinnati. For those who aren’t from the area, the Symposium is a burgeoning Steampunk con run by Aloyisius Fox and the wonderful League of Cincinnati Steampunks. Like the previous year’s con, this year’s event was fantastic. Continue reading →

About That Beer in the Title, Pt. 2

Mar

2013

I just re-read my last blog post. I kinda went off the rails a bit there. But that’s indicative of how passionate I get about beer. Beer geeks such as myself often draw a bit of scorn from the mainstream because of how we express our knowledge and love. And, yeah, I’ve seen some fellow beer lovers get obnoxious on forums. I try to avoid that. But, for me at least, here’s where some of that misplaced enthusiasm comes from.

Imagine a bully has been lurking around you your whole life. Continue reading →