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Dispatch from the query trenches
Happy March! Welcome to this month’s IWSG post, a/k/a my latest dispatch from the query trenches. I continue to labor away, though my querying is winding down. I’ve queried all the agents on my query list that are open to queries. Fortunately, some agents I have my eye on have opened in the new year, so I’ve sent a few more queries out. Otherwise, I’m in waiting mode, which is so much fun.1 Before I whine say more about my querying experience: This post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) blog hop. On the first Wednesday of every month, we IWSG-ers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and…
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My 2025 highlight reel: writing, travel, and more
It’s time for my 2025 highlight reel post. I love writing annual highlight reel posts, because 1) I get reminded of things I forgot I did last year, and 2) I get to relive some good memories. 2025 was our first full year here in Clovis and in our new house, so there was lots of settling in, and since it’s me, lots of gardening. Also a little (very little) writing and some travel. Here we go: Writing highlights Academic writing The academic book I co-edited in 2024 was released early in 2025, so that was exciting. There’s nothing quite like holding a book in my hands with my name…
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Writing through the seasons of life
In my last IWSG post (2 months ago! Bad blogger!), I mentioned that there are seasons in life–times when we focus on career, family, side gigs, hobbies, or just taking care of ourselves. I also mentioned that I was and would continue to pull back from blogging for a little while because of exhaustion, work, and health challenges. All of that is still true two months later, only now I’ve jumped feet-first into a new adventure: I’m moving to California. Yep, you read that right. I’m saying goodbye to cactus and desert and monsoon storms and returning to the San Joaquin Valley where I grew up. And I’m learning that…
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Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
No exciting news in this post, no travel pics, probably not much snark (but fear not–there will be memes). So if there are no announcements, no travel pics, and no snark (!!), what will be in this post besides memes? My sincerest wish that you and yours have the happiest of holidays. You, dear reader, are the reason I devote the better part of a weekend morning attempting to be amusing on Al Gore’s internet. Your time and your comments mean the world to me. So, from my house to yours: Those of you who know me through the Weekend Coffee Share (hosted by Natalie the Explorer) may have noticed…
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Sunset on the Santa Catalinas
A short post this week, just a few pretty pictures of the Santa Catalina Mountains at sunset, a bit of personal and writing news, and (of course) a fresh batch of meme-y silliness. But before we get to all that: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a treat, have a seat, and let’s get to it. Personal and Writing News The big excitement here at Camp WTF is this: Thursday was Long-Suffering Husband’s and my 32nd anniversary! Yeah, he’s been putting up with me for 32 years (actually 37 years, because we had a long engagement). If you’d like to send him a sympathy…
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A visit to Tucson Comic-Con
Long-Suffering Husband and I went to Tucson Comic-Con last weekend. I can’t believe I’ve been a nerd since at least 1977 and had never been to a comic-con till a few days ago. I do have excuses–I’m not fond of crowds, I’m not super into the comic-con types of nerd-dom (except for Star Wars), blah, blah, blah… but really, I’m apparently an epic failure as a nerd. Anyway, this poor excuse for a nerd had a great time. Tucson Comic-Con is small compared to the ones in major cities, so the only celebrities we saw were a couple of retired wrestlers and a character from The Walking Dead, but the…
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Plants in space! (and plants in my yard)
Plants in space! I’ve been waiting all week to write that headline. In case you’re new here, I work for the University of Arizona. Last week we had our annual faculty cookout (my first one, since I started my job during pandemic, and it’s hard to have a cookout over Zoom) at one of the university research facilities here in town. When we weren’t stuffing our overeducated faces with amazing Mexican food, we were offered tours of some of the research facilities. Long-Suffering Husband and I took a tour of a laboratory where scientists are studying how to grow plants to support a human mission to Mars or the moon.…
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Why I don’t do Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is next week. Whoop-de-do. That spiny heart in the photo above is a nice encapsulation of my feelings about Buy-A-Bunch-Of-Pink-Crap day. So’s this: Yes, I’m a Grinch about V-Day, which seems odd for someone who occasionally writes romance. I believe in love, I know the anniversary of my first date with Long-Suffering Husband (Feb. 15). Hell, I can even be a hopeless romantic sometimes, though I keep that nonsense to myself so I don’t ruin my reputation as a crusty hater of all things pink and candy-hearted. But Valentine’s Day? I have some trauma around that day. And I’m going to share it with you, right here and…
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2023 is off to a weird start
I had lots of plans for Winter Break and the start of 2023. Travel! New look for the blog! Lots of progress on my writing! Late brunches and desert hikes and lots of lounging in my PJs. Well… some of that happened. Long-Suffering Husband and I drove to Vegas right after Christmas (he won, I didn’t–as usual). I worked on the Blog Refresh from Hell that I started last Winter Break. I flew to Sacramento, drove to my hometown, hung out with friends, visited some places near and dear to me. Flew home ready to finish up the website refresh, work on my novel, and have those late brunches and…
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A bomb threat and more serial killers
The title of this week’s post–A Bomb Threat and More Serial Killers–makes my week sound waaaaayyyyyy more exciting than it actually was. In fact, Long-Suffering Husband, Son, and I have all felt lousy all week, so we haven’t done much. Plus–and I know this will come as a huge shock–it’s seriously hot here in Arizona in July, so my goal has been to do as little as possible and avoid going outside. Part of that goal–the not going outside part–was thwarted big time earlier this week, unfortunately. I’ll get to that in a minute, but first: welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! It’s also What’s…
Janet Alcorn
Suspense | Horror | Romance
