Between Fact and Fiction

Sometimes your best laid plans just...poof. I had this whole plan to bust out a ton of sci-fi novels this year to build my pen name, Nat McKenzie. I would have so much time with my kids all in school full time!
...and then I went and had a baby.
While I *did* write a ton of novels, they weren't the sci-fi ones I planned to write. They were Fortnite novels I was being paid to write—thus they came first. Now I am so behind on my plans. Plus, my baby is the type who sleeps through the night but...

I've been debating talking about this because it could hurt feelings/offend, but I gotta just lay it out. While attitudes towards indie have improved a lot over the time I've been a writer, little things still sneak through.
It's usually at conferences on panels where no indies are repped but the topic veers that way. Or online when traditionally pubbed people are giving advice they believe is universal but is insulting to indies. It can be in the way we measure "success...

As you know, I've recently made the decision to focus my writing efforts on Science Fiction. I have always loved the genre, but for a long time have been reluctant to fully embrace it despite my long time adoration.
I mean, when I think about all the stories that stuck out for me as a kid—Dune, The Giver, Anthem, Star Wars, Gattaca, Minority Report, X-Men—they all have sci-fi as that common thread. Then as I grew older that love still remained, coming around to...

One of the many berries that grow in my yard.
Yesterday, instead of heading out in my garden like I usually do, I sat down with a sweet young writer to give her some tips about the publishing industry and all the different paths out there. It was a great talk, but I found myself restless and cranky...