Blog

Writing is in some ways a strange process. First you tell the story you want to tell; when you’re done with that you have the option of sharing it with others who might enjoy reading it. (I’ve written about this Writing vs. Storytelling dualism before.) On platforms like Ao3, the “sharing with others” part is … Read more

After 30 years functioning as a systems analyst—driven to make procedures both efficient and humane—but being paid as a tech writer—explaining procedures clearly—it’s second nature to write down processes I’ve wrestled with. Here’s a summary of what I’ve learned the past few months as I scrambled to get ready to self-publish my first books. (My … Read more

Ta-da! Look at this lovely logo! The short version of the story of the name and logo is this: as the publishers have both calico cats and calico koi, the initial idea was to call this new publishing venture showcasing F/F romance “Calico House,” with a logo of a calico cat and a calico koi … Read more

I have a confession: I used to dread naming characters. I’d write things with characters named “Blue” or “Asparagus,” scrambling at the last minute to come up with something better. This all changed in 2011. I was writing a story that had a minor character who was a previous incarnation of a villain I despised. … Read more

I’ve been writing since I was 7. In that first story—my memory of it is paradoxically both sharp and dim—Amazons in sherbert-colored chitons leapt about fighting off… something? All I remember is that they had gold cord belts. My next writing memory is in the churn of my preteen years: I stood in front of … Read more