See me live on Blab Wednesday night!

Brittlebush, a local desert plant now blooming

Wednesday night, March 23, I'll be on the interview show "Elena and Kitty Blabbing about Books" from 7 pm to 8 pm Pacific time.

You can watch me live (or watch the taped video anytime afterward) at https://blab.im/elenadillon-elena-and-kitty-blabbing-about-books-with-fantasy-author-shauna-roberts. 

You may have to sign up with Blab first to view the interview, but I've done that myself recently, and it was easy.

Elena and Kitty tell me they'll be asking about my background, what I'm reading, and, of course, my writing and books. If you watch live, you can make comments and ask questions in the right column labeled "Live Chat." 

Hope to see you Wednesday night!

Appearances and other news

The Measure of a Man

My horror novelette "The Measure of a Man" is getting a new cover soon. It will continue to be available at http://smile.amazon.com/Measure-Man-Shauna-Roberts-ebook/dp/B00MD7NW1W/.

In addition, the audiobook should be out within a month, read by Justin James in his gorgeous voice.

Online interview

Michelle Knowlden interviewed me about writing in general and the genesis of Ice Magic, Fire Magic on her blog yesterday here.

Book signing

If you're in Southern California, I'll be selling and signing Claimed by the Enemy and Ice Magic, Fire Magic at The Lab anti-mall (whatever that is) in Costa Mesa on Saturday, March 26. The Orange County Writers Book Fair will last from 11 am to 4 pm and feature two dozen authors. Find out more about the fair at http://ocwriters.org/book-fair/.

I get Blabbed

On March 30 at 7 pm Pacific time, I'll be interviewed as part of a Blab. I don't quite know what a Blab is yet, but I do know you'll be able to watch it live on your computer or later from the archives. I'll put up more info later.

Romance Writers of America

If you're coming to San Diego in July for the Romance Writers of America's annual meeting, keep an eye out for me! I'll be there and hope to see many friends. For more information and to sign up, go to https://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=538.

New interview with me

I was interviewed at the blog "CT Commie Tiger Mommy" (subtitled "America's most Irish author to come out of Eastern Europe"), and was asked some interesting questions. If you're interested in reading this post, which is not too long, please visit:
http://ctcommie.blogspot.com/2015/11/mesopotamia-in-historical-fiction.html

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In other news, I spent the first weekend in November at the World Fantasy Con, a convention of writers and fans of fantasy, in Saratoga Springs, New York (which I pronounced as "Sarasota" the whole weekend, and no one corrected me). It was a hard place to get to, and the hotel was not fully accessible (and one of the guests of honor was in a wheelchair!), but I think it would be a wonderful city to vacation in in the summer. 

Former horse-drawn fire-wagon house across the street from the hotel

The downtown still has beautiful old houses and commercial buildings, many repurposed, and there were many restaurants and indie bookstores within walking distance, as well as the usual charming little shops found in most tourist destinations. 

Shauna; Ruby Katigbak

At the con, I got to meet many friends I had known previously only from email or Facebook, as well as renew acquaintances with people I hadn't seen since a previous con. 

I sat on a panel about what effect, if any, recent anthropology and archaeology discoveries have had on fantasy fiction. I went to hear friends and favorite authors read from upcoming books and attended parties. 

And of course, I always look forward to the bag of free books—lighter this year than usual, but I bought more books from the small presses in the exhibit room.

Next year, WFC will be in Columbus, Ohio, which is far easier and cheaper to get to (although as a large city, Columbus has fewer things within walking distance of the hotel). It will take place at the end of October 2016. If you think you may be interested in attending, basic information is at http://worldfantasy2016.org/, and more will be added as time goes on. You can see the type of programming that goes on at http://www.wfc2015.org/program01.html, this year's formal program.

An interview and a signing

Wendy Van Camp interviewed me at her blog "No Wasted Ink" today. If you have a moment, please check it out at http://nowastedink.com/2015/10/07/author-interview-shauna-roberts/. She asked some interesting questions no one has ever asked me before.


If you're in southern California, don't forget that many local authors (including myself) as well as bestselling author Lauren Dane are signing Saturday, August 10, in Brea. 

The event is free, and there will be some door prizes. More info at http://occrwa.org/events/orange-county-book-lovers-event-2/.


My signing on October 3 went well. Here are the authors at the beginning of the day, before we exhausted ourselves!

From left: Wendy Van Camp, DeAnna Cameron, Shauna Roberts, Greta Boris, Corey Holst, Rebecca Lang. Missing: Michelle Knowldon, PJ Colando

Don't forget that Goodreads is running a giveaway for Ice Magic, Fire Magic. Enter at right or go here.  

Interviewed

Susan J. Voss' blog "Dab of Darkness" posted an interview with me last week. You can find it here:

http://dabofdarkness.com/2015/05/30/interview-shauna-roberts-author-of-claimed-by-the-enemy/

She reviews many books at her blog, mostly science fiction and fantasy. If you'd like to see a list (with links) of other books she's reviewed, go here.

Interview

I'm interviewed today at Dawn's Reading Nook here. Stop over there to find out what my guilty pleasure is, what song I'm currently listening to over and over again, where I prefer to write, and what I'm working on now. There's also an excerpt from my forthcoming historical romance novel, Claimed by the Enemy.

A cactus in my yard full of tunas and new leaves

Recent writing news

My fantasy Christmas flash story "Global Warming" was published a couple of days ago at the online magazine 10Flash. You can read it for free here.

And as long as you're at 10Flash, why not check out Robin Graves' flash story, "Unlimited Delta," which can be found here. Robin is in my Orange County, California, critique group, and this is his first published story. Yay, Robin!

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The blog The Embraced: Scribal Love published an interview with me this week. You can find it here.

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Clare Dargin of The Embraced: Scribal Love gave me a "Versatile Blogger" award, which comes with some rules:

1. Share 7 things about yourself

2. Pass The Award to 15 bloggers recently discovered (or however many you can manage).

3. Notify the blogger recipients.

4. Link The blogger who gave the award.

Thank you, Clare!

Here are seven things about me, most of which I've not mentioned online before:

1. My mother never let me babysit; she thought the house could burn down around me and I wouldn't notice because I would be engrossed in a book.
2. Of the people whom I consider my ten closest friends, the youngest is 24 and the oldest is in her 80s.
3. If I could be any animal I chose, my first choice would be some kind of hawk. My second choice would be a black bear.
4. I spend on average ten to fifteen minutes a day looking for things I've misplaced.
5. I spend four hours a week in bellydance classes. That's fewer hours than my classmates spend, so I'm close to the worse dancer in all those classes.
6. The Riverside (California) Art Museum has a picture of one of my tattoos on display.

My time is short this week, so I'll post my own nominations for the "Versatile Blogger" award another week.

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I am eligible this year and next for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. If you are eligible to vote for a Hugo, you are eligible to nominate people and vote for finalists for the Campbell Award. (Last year, I believe, you could vote for your five favorite new writers and later vote for one finalist.)

My name (and associated page) is not up at the Campbell Award Website yet, but it should be soon. I would greatly appreciate your vote if you believe I am among the best of the eligible new writers.

Also, if you are an SFWA member, please consider nominating "The Hunt" for the Nebula in the novelette category. (You may nominate as many as five works in each category.) You can read the story in the SFWA Member Fiction area of the SFWA discussion forum (here). If you were a Jim Baen's Universe subscriber, you may be able to log in and see the story in the February 2010 issue. (The magazine has gone under, and many of the Webpages have been dismantled.)


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Coming soon:

* next week: 2010 reading stats
* soon: the bloggers I nominate for the Versatile Blogger award
* author interviews with Kimberly Todd Wade and Valerie Frankel

News and views

My story “Elessa the Restless” was published last week in the science fiction anthology Barren Worlds. The story, set in space far in the future, retells one of the many dozens of versions of the old British ballad “The Maid on the Shore.”

Barren Worlds is available online from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

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I will be autographing Barren Worlds on 26 July at 2 pm at:

Bookfellows/Mystery and Imagination Bookshop
238 North Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91203

Please drop by if you’re in the area! I’d love to meet you in person.

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I'm interviewed this week at SpaceWesterns.com. (Scroll down to find me; my interview is the very last.)

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So much for news. Now for some views.


God must be inordinately fond of beetles, biologist J.B.S. Haldane is reputed to have said. Why? Beetles make up about one-quarter of all living creatures. I found this gorgeous one sitting on the hummingbird feeder last week. What appears to be an emerald set into its carapace is actually a drop of water. After searching the Internet, I suspect this is a green fig beetle (Cotinus texana).



Progress! Four weeks after I snapped the top photo (which may look familiar because it was in my “My Town Wednesday” post about invertebrates), I took the one beneath it. More wasps have joined in the construction, and many of the formerly occupied cells are now vacant. They've become more aggressive in defending the nest; look at all the flared wings in the second picture! It's been fascinating to watch them since they started building in April.

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Next week: a Riverside Fourth