MONCH

Today, this cropped up in my facebook memories from four years ago:

TFW your dog finds a dead starling in someone’s garden in the village and eats it,
while you yell at her “DROP IT!” and she’s like,
noheckinway you starve me to DETH,
and you turn round at the sound of a window closing
to find the woman across the street has been watching.
Watching your ridiculous floofmonster munch a dead bird,
crunchy bones and feet all up between her shiny teeth,
a look on her face like she’s one meal away from treating humans as dinner.
That feeling.

Close-up of husky lying half asleep, nose to camera

She hasn’t eaten any starlings, dead or otherwise, in quite some time. Thankfully. And she’s getting a bit too long in the tooth for chasing rabbits, but that doesn’t stop her trying.

Mad Scientist Journal interview

If you didn’t see my post on facebook or twitter, Dawn Vogel interviewed me for Mad Scientist Journal about my story Ludwig, which is forthcoming in the MSJ anthology I Didn’t Break The Lamp. I talk about felt presence, synaesthesia, and — of course! — imaginary friends.

Thanks to Dawn and Jeremy Zimmerman for letting me ramble on at length about some of my favourite topics.

WorldCon Schedule

I’ll be heading over to Dublin for WorldCon 2019 tomorrow. It’s my first WorldCon, so it’s pretty exciting!

I’m honoured to have been offered three panels and a Kaffeklatsch, so if you want to chat with me about imaginary friends, synaesthesia, fountain pens, inks with MONSTER SHEEN, hypergraphia, or anything else that takes your fancy, here’s where to find me:

Kaffeklatsch
16 Aug 2019, Friday 10:00 – 10:50, Level 3 Foyer (KK/LB) (CCD)

Representation of marginalised people in games.
16 Aug 2019, Friday 16:00 – 16:50, ECOCEM Room (CCD)

In recent years there has been a lot of discussion about representation of women in games, but issues of representation and experience still need greater attention across the industry. How diverse and inclusive is gaming today? What should we know and what can we do?

Laser Malena-Webber (The Doubleclicks), Sam Fleming, Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, Tanya DePass (I Need Diverse Games)(M)

Science and politics of water
17 Aug 2019, Saturday 19:00 – 19:50, Wicklow Hall-1 (CCD)

Water is life. Twisting a line from Frank Herbert: ‘He who controls the water controls the universe.’ Our planet is covered by 70% water, our bodies comprise 70% water, and most plants contain 90% water. What other roles does water play in our technologically savvy world? How has water shaped our political landscape, in a time of rising tides and warming oceans? What can we do to protect our most precious resource?

Sam Fleming (M), Darcie Little Badger, Dr Tad Daley (Citizens for Global Solutions), Paolo Bacigalupi

Older characters and older authors
18 Aug 2019, Sunday 13:00 – 13:50, Wicklow Room-3 (CCD)

A decade ago, the media would label an author of 50 as ‘older’. Today, more writers are beginning their careers in their 60s and 70s. Do these older writers write and champion older characters, or is there still pressure to appeal to a younger demographic with equally young protagonists? What are the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a full-time writer at an older age?

Kari Sperring (M), Wendy Metcalfe, Sam Fleming, Faith Hunter (Penguin Random House and Bella Rosa Books and Lore Seekers Press)

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