My Wish List for 2019

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The other day, my daughter and I were having a conversation about what it was she would like to do for the coming year. She’s a dancer, and wants to see if she can make a career of her dancing. She is only 13, with the rest of high school to finish first, but she is well aware that if she wants to go professional, she is going to have to work her ass off to be the best out there — and some. The performing arts are just as competitive as the publishing industry, if not more so.

Anyway, I had received an email from her dance school stating that they were holding auditions for the 2019 lyrical competition dance team next week. She’s never been part of a competition team before, because she never seems to have the time. However, when I asked her if she wanted to audition, she said something that hit a little closer to home than she realized.

“I’m never going to make it if I don’t take a risk and put myself out there.”

BAM! The fist hit me in the gut, and she never lifted a finger. She was talking about her own dreams and her own aspirations, yet her words carried a message that was powerful.
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Nursing is a Science TOO!

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As part of the release of Putting the Science in Fiction, Jessie and I have had so much fun talking to different scientists about their various fields.

On our latest episode of Conversations in Science, we spoke with Stephanie Sauvinet about being a nurse. Between the new technologies being used and the various skills that nurses can specialize in, there is so much to being a nurse that most people completely overlook.

Convo Science: Nursing is a Science
(First aired on KLRNRadio, Sunday, Dec 9, 2018)

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ConvoScience: A Glimpse into the Future Technologies

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With the release of Putting the Science in Fiction, Jessie and I are having lots of fun talking to different scientists about their various fields.

On our latest episode of Conversations in Science, we spoke with Effie Seiberg about what technologies are just around the corner.

Effie is a consultant who works with the startup companies responsible for many of the latest technologies that are hitting the market. She in the perfect spot to tell us what is already out there (that we know nothing about) and what we can look forward to. Take a listen, just try not to laugh as hard as I did.

Convo Science: A Look at the Technology of the Future
(First aired on KLRNRadio, Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018)

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Geophysics is About More than Earthquakes

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As we are getting closer and closer to the release of Putting the Science in Fiction, Jessie and I are having lots of fun talking to different scientists about their various fields.

On our latest episode of Conversations in Science, we spoke with K E Lanning about geophysics.

K E Lanning received a bachelor’s degree in Physics in 1979 from Stephen F. Austin St. University in Nacogdoches, TX and a MBA in 1986 from the University of Houston. In her geophysics career, science met art—imaging landscapes beneath the surface of the earth. K E Lanning is a writer of science fiction too, so of course we had to talk about that too. Take a listen.

Be advised that we did have a few technical issues during recording. Jessie did the best she could to clean it up, but sometimes technology gets the better of us.

Convo Science: K E Lanning Talks about GeoPhysics
(First aired on KLRNRadio, Tuesday, Sept 11, 2018)

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The Thriller Writer at the Romance Conference

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It seems odd that someone who actively writes thrillers, fantasy, and science fiction would attend a romance writers conference. However, for those of us who live in New Zealand, our options for writers conferences are extremely limited. I’m a member of ALL of the national writers organisations (all three of them), and Romance Writers New Zealand (RWNZ) is the only one who is actively doing anything to help its members learn their craft and advance their careers. It’s a sad truth, but a truth none the less.

However, I made the decision to attend the 2018 RWNZ conference back in August 2017 when the lineup for keynote speakers was announced. Shall we say that it was amazing? My mind is still reeling.

I attended the 2017 conference as a presenter, presenting on Scrivener (a word-processing program designed for writers) and on the Hidden Traps of social media and writers’ platforms. At the end of that conference, they announced that among the line up for 2018 speakers was Geoff Symon, a real-life forensics investigator. I really didn’t care who else was on that list. The moment I heard forensics… “I’m going!” How often do you get the opportunity to pick the brain of a forensics investigator with over 20 years of experience?

I will admit that I was dubious about what I would pick up at the conference in the other sessions, wondering if the forensics session would be it. But I went with an open mind, and now that mind is overflowing with information that it’s struggling to take it all in. The forensics session was awesome, but the sessions on intimacy, character and dialogue… Wow! Just wow!

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