So it turns out that inclusion in the Locus Recommended Reading List also means inclusion on the Locus Awards ballot.  “Home Again” is a tiny story that got only a fraction of the attention of some of the others on this long list, but it would mean a lot if it didn’t come in dead […]

This is worth mentioning:  The 2009 Locus Recommended Reading List is out, and my Interzone short story “Home Again” is included in it! I’m a little stunned to see my name appear with so many people I’m in awe of.  There are several with whom I never would have expected to share a list any […]

Once or twice a year for the last three years or so, my writing group, Altered Fluid, has visited Jim Freund’s speculative fiction-themed radio show on WBAI, Hour of the Wolf.  The topic of these shows is writing groups and how they function. After the banter and self-introductions are out of the way, one of […]

I want to let the world know that Sybil’s Garage will begin accepting submissions for its 7th issue on Friday, January 15.  This ‘zine is Matt Kressel’s baby, but I’ve been an associate editor for the last several issues, and I have to admit to feeling some pride as well for the quality of the […]

Alright, it’s been so long since I last updated this that the spambots have begun circling like buzzards, and it’s becoming more effort to delete their comments than to just post something new.  Hopefully when they see signs of life, they’ll move on (though if you need discount pharmaceuticals, I can put you in touch […]

I just got a bit of nice press:  Rich Horton calls my story “Home Again” one of Interzone‘s best three short stories of 2009.   (Novellas and novelettes are separate categories, but still…) http://ecbatan.livejournal.com/84244.html “The best short stories were: “Home Again”, by Paul M. Berger (April), a short story with a sharp ending about a man […]

I recently had possession of one of the ARCs of N.K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.  There apparently aren’t many of them, and I thought I’d take advantage of this by posting my own review.  The tag line on the cover says, “Gods and mortals, power and love, death and revenge.  She will inherit them […]

This is a stegosaurus: This part is for smashing things: Scientists refer to it as a “thagomizer,” which somehow sounds exactly like what it is.  But they didn’t make it up — Gary Larson did.   In a Far Side cartoon.

This is a chimpanzee in the primate hall of the American Museum of Natural History.  Her name is Meshie. In the 1930’s, one of the museum curators found her during a trip to Africa, adopted her, and brought her back to the U.S. to raise as part of his family. (This is possibly the inspiration […]

So, I’m finally on the Internet.  [Looks around, taps inside of your monitor.]  I figure it’s time I had a home of my own here. I’ll be using this site to post a bit about my writing, and to share some of my favorite pictures of cool things I’ve come across in my daily wanderings […]