This is a contentious topic both for me and for the literary community at large: whose stories do I get to tell? If the only stories I get to write are those of middle-aged white gay men of middling privilege, well, yawn! Who wants that career? Stores full of clones of myself? Granted, I'm a fascinating... Continue Reading →

Fans and folks, this coming weekend, April 7-9 in Tarrytown, NY, is Lunacon 2017, which is, according to the website, "the New York area's longest-running Science Fiction convention." Pretty cool, yes? And this year, the Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers will be there, doing it up right! We have a reading on Friday night as a... Continue Reading →

As convention season approaches (assuming there IS a convention season), I kick myself in the ass, as always, for not having more published stories out in the world. Alas, alack, and all that. I have only myself to blame. In particular, my allergy to editing, which I have written about a year ago. Well, time... Continue Reading →

I'm a HUGE fan of audio literature. I define that term rather broadly to include both audiobooks and short story podcasts, as well as newer platforms like Serial Box, which is supporting longer-form storytelling by multiple authors. The advantage for me, as a New York City commuter, is multifold. Audio content helps me take advantage... Continue Reading →

I, like many others in this technology-drenched era, have had to adapt to a shrinking attention span. The ease and programmed addictiveness of modern distractions have made it nearly impossible to construct a full sentence before I go running in a completely different direction. I have short-cuts and cheats that help me focus: ambient noise, music,... Continue Reading →

I am of two minds on this topic, obvy. Let's call it a journey, shall we? You can't develop much of a writing career if all you do is write. And let's face it - writing is the fun part and editing, as stated above, sucks. At least that's how I view it right now.... Continue Reading →

​ My story "The Path That Splits the Oak Asunder" is live as part of the Kaleidocast podcast. Listen to the story here, then go to the website to find out more about the podcast. My story is in Episode 3. You can listen to the podcast at the website, on Soundcloud, or on iTunes.... Continue Reading →

I have to admit I was afraid at first of going to this convention alone. Sure, I can be social when I need to, but I'm not great at breaking in to groups of strangers. Fortunately, I was only a stranger for about 24 hours. After that, the warm, wonderful family of writers and fans... Continue Reading →

I'm just going to leave this here. "Ask Polly: Should I just give up on my writing?" It's easy to get overwhelmed by the rejections. It's easy to look at the success of others and compare it to your own position on the imagined ladder of success. It's easy to find your own work inferior to the... Continue Reading →