MY 2022 YEAR IN REVIEW
I’m pleased to announce that I had a couple of items published in 2022:
- Etruscan Afterlife appeared in The Reinvented Heart, edited by Cat Rambo & Jenn Brozek
- The Holy Wars of Mathematics: A Secret History of the Calculus of Chicanery, which appeared in 99 Tiny Terrors, became available via Amazon.
My Virtual Appearances (still available to watch!):
- Go Indie Now panel on writing hard science fiction
- Go Indie Now panel on love interests in fiction
- Con-Tinual panel on archaeology, anthropology, and paleontology in fiction
My In-Person Appearances:
- Balticon 56 (science fiction convention in Baltimore)
- Chicon 8, (World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago)
- Multiverse (SF & fantasy convention in Atlanta)
Most Enjoyable Reads:
- Hot Moon by Alan Smale
- The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
- A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
- Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
Most Unexpected Pleasure:
- Being invited to write a regular column. Details soon!
Best Trips:
- San Diego to Seattle via plane, automobile and overnight train
- Runner-up: summertime spent at a lake in the Adirondacks
Best Educational Opportunities:
- Smithsonian Institution on-line classes about art, archaeology, and world heritage sites
- Close Runner-up: The Rambo Academy classes for writers at all skill levels featuring many different aspects of our craft.
Best Museum Experiences:
- Japanese American Museum in Los Angeles
- Royal Ontario Museum, especially dinosaur fossils and minerals
Most Entertaining Streaming Series:
- Wednesday
Guilty Pleasure:
- Enstrom almond toffee
Things to come in 2023: Watch this space for announcements about:
- Murder at the Westminster Dino Show
- Who’s a Good Hellhound?
- Other fun stuff I can’t disclose yet!
MID-WINTER BLUES AND SUMMER FROLICS
With the recent cold snap and pandemic seemingly everywhere, I’ve been huddling indoors making plans for all the places I maybe could visit when warmer weather hits. I’m mostly planning trips around science fiction and fantasy conventions, so my first task is looking at where I might be going: LA, Chicago, Atlanta, and New Orleans, if the universe cooperates. This led to updating my bio, which means figuring out who I am as a writer.
Don’t worry, the dinosaurs will always tromp through a fair number of my stories and essays. Nonetheless, I am branching out. Recently, I took a stab (pun intended) at writing a murder mystery as well as a screenplay. Sure didn’t see either of those coming. I’m also looking into a collection of my short fiction, some of which is out of print. Stay tuned!
PLAN B OR C OR W
My semi-regular blogging about dinosaurs and writing fiction will resume later this month. For now, I’ll be blogging about travel. I’m spending about ten days in several UNDISCLOSED LOCATIONS in the Caribbean with a travel buddy of mine.
Actually, I had no idea a week in advance that I would be visiting these islands, almost all of which are new to me. You see, we had arranged to spend New Years Eve in Panama City, then board a cruise ship and travel through the Panama Canal and visit various places in Panama and Costa Rica. However, the cruise ship we were going to board managed to run into some submerged rocks three days before Christmas, resulting in a flooded engine compartment and not so much fun for the passengers aboard. To say nothing of the coral reefs that are part of a World Heritage Site. The cruise line canceled our Jan. 2 excursion, but didn’t tell us until Dec. 28. So we ended trying to figure out whether to visit Costa Rica and Panama on our own on very short notice or whether to take a different trip on a different ship that had space, or postponing our trip until later. We ended up opting for a different cruise, particularly since the cruise line did offer various forms of compensation, including for re-booking airline flights. If nothing else, this is a reminder that one truly does need to be flexible when traveling. Also, it helps to have several different frequent flyer accounts with different airlines.
For anyone wanting to follow our travel, check out Mighty Din Travel Blog.
HANOI – SCARIER THAN PETTING TIGERS; HALONG BAY – INSPIRATIONAL
In Hanoi, I did something a lot scarier than petting a tiger – I crossed the street! In Halong Bay, I found unexpected inspiration for a fantasy story I’m writing. Here’s my account of visiting these places in Vietnam.
http://mightydin.com/2014/02/15/halong-bay-by-boat-hanoi-on-foot-and-by-cyclo/
ELEPHANTS AND TIGERS AND BRIDGES, OH MY!
Hi folks. I’ll be guest blogging from time to time over at mightydin.com, which is run by a good friend and fellow traveler. Check out my post on our time visiting Thailand.
http://mightydin.com/2014/02/10/elephants-and-tigers-and-bridges-oh-my/
ROSEMARY CLAIRE SMITH 