Hello and welcome! This is a space to celebrate the books and wonders that I find along the way. I fell in love with fantastical worlds when I was a little girl. I spent my summers in Ashland, Oregon, watching live Shakespeare, reading Ursula K. Le Guin and going for long wanders in the woods. By middle-school I was staying up late, hiding under covers with a flashlight and re-writing Tolkien to include the feisty female character I wished he’d written. Currently I write and wander in the magical landscapes of Colorado.
There are certain books that catch my fancy more often than others. I’m in love with the visceral terror and desperate comfort in Neil Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Lane, with the lyrical tone and poignant humor of Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland. I’ve been swept away by Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Boys. Richly drawn characters, a house full of psychics, a sleeping Welsh king, trees that speak Latin, ghosts and dreams that draw power from ley lines arcing through the wooded hills of Virginia. And did I mention the hot cars and and the drag racing? So in this blog I will be spending time celebrating authors new and old who get my pulse going.
Early modern human and Neanderthal skulls at Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Photo: CSPeterson 2013
I also love the research that goes into fictional world building. Maybe I love it a little too much. I am lucky in my job as a teacher who facilitates individualize field work experiences. I work with amazing students who have intense and passionate interests in topics from flowers to neanderthals, from medieval art to astrobiology. As a result I get to meet interesting people and go on adventures almost everyday. This keeps my insatiable curiosity somewhat satisfied. My journeys and adventures also inspire my writing. So, in this blog I will share some of the curiosities and wonders I stumble on in my slightly obsessive quest to build intriguing and authentic worlds in the genres of science fiction and fantasy.