F.A.Q.

What are your influences?  What do you like to read?

I love Science Fiction and Fantasy, especially sociological and women's SF&F.  I've read more anthologies and magazines than I name (usually because they now out of print or were never well know to begin with.)   I like popular science books,  history, and essays.  (One of my favorite magazines is The American Scholar.) 

Unfortunately, I can never predict what will show up in my work:  I see some Robertson Davies and Ursula LeGuin, I also see some Anne McCaffrey (an author I never set out to emulate, but I read all of her works at an impressionable age.)

How do I get published?

1) Cynically pick a genre.  Ruthlessly hone cranking out the perfect example of that genre.  Send to genre publishers.  Repeat from "ruthlessly".

2) Write what you know and love, spell check it, study online and print directories for publishers that may be a good match for your work (there is probably an edition of Writer's Market for what you write), read what they do publish, exactingly follow publisher's guidelines for formatting submissions to them, budget for postage -- lots of it, do not get discouraged, send out your work, read other authors like yourself -- especially what they've said about your kind of writing.  Read everything you can to teach you your craft and language at its best.  Do it for love and apply infinite patience.

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