Writing

Author Birthdays: Lloyd Alexander

For this January 2022 edition, I chose Lloyd Alexander. He was an American author (I always thought he was British!) who wrote 40+ books. He’s perhaps best known for his children’s and ya fantasy books. Why I picked him: The Chronicles of Prydain was the first fantasy series I read. Sure, I’d read[…]

Read More »

Author Birthdays: Charlaine Harris

For this November 2021 edition, I chose Charlaine Harris. She is a New York Times bestselling author with multiple series, several of which are supernatural in nature. Why I picked her: Harris has been a big influence on my own writing. I first found her through her Sookie Stackhouse series—it was part[…]

Read More »

Ursula K. Le Guin and N.K. Jemisin

I’m back for another installment of author birthdays!* For this fall’s edition, I’m writing about Ursula K. Le Guin for October, with a bonus salute to N.K. Jemisin for September. Ursula K. Le Guin Birthday: October 21 Reason I chose her: She’s one of the best sci-fi and fantasy writers we’ve[…]

Read More »

Housekeeper Series Info

I’ve been getting questions about what’s happening next with the Housekeeper series so I thought I’d give you some quick info on what I have planned. Q: Are there more books coming? A: First, thanks for reading! Second, yes! There are seven books planned in the current plot arc. Q:[…]

Read More »

Author Birthdays: Susan Cooper and Rachel Caine

In a continuation of my “birthdays of authors you might enjoy” series, I’m bringing you two author birthdays: one for May and a bonus April author. (As usual, I’m featuring authors whose work you should be able to find in a library, but I’m also including affiliate links to Amazon[…]

Read More »

Don't Panic mug

Author Birthdays: Douglas Adams

I’m starting my Author Birthdays series with Douglas Adams, whose birthday is March 11. “Um, Matteson,” you might be thinking. “Why start with this dude? Particularly since he wrote science fiction, and you write fantasy.” Well, Adams has had a huge impact on my writing aesthetic. When people ask me[…]

Read More »

A House for Keeping Is Here! aka a Love Letter to NaNoWriMo

In the immortal words of my main character, Finn, “Wow.” It’s surreal sitting here after pushing the “Publish” button on my urban fantasy novel A House for Keeping. It took me six years to get to this point. In 2012, I had a medical malfunction. (See my “Not Playing with All[…]

Read More »

Guess What I Learned? Platypus and Echidna

Would you look at this fine fellow? In my quest for info about [redacted to avoid spoilers], I wound up researching the platypus. OMG, these guys are amazing. (And also, when I read about them, I kinda felt like they’re proof that humans are being punked. By who or what,[…]

Read More »