Been Busy, Very, Very Busy...

And I'm not entirely done with being so yet.

I've been lax about posting because my whirlwind (and wonderful) day at Readercon concluded with a long drive up to Maine. I began the next morning early, the start of ten action-packed days at the Stonecoast MFA Program's summer residency. The days start early and end late, with enough events each day that everyone walks around with a crumpled version of the schedule, checking and rechecking where and when they're supposed to be.

I've been on the faculty at Stonecoast for five years, but I'm enjoying it now more than ever. I've watched a relatively small component of the program - the "Popular Fiction" concentration - grow into a thriving ball of energy. I was thrilled by the quality of work the new students arrived with. These folks are serious about writing and are putting a lot into investing in an academic program. Thing is, their creative work features (in this new batch) post-apocalyptic SF, space opera, epic fantasy, horror, slipstream and even a thoroughly amusing chic-lit entry. I absolutely love engaging with these texts, both on their own terms and with an eye toward crafting them into polished, publishable works. It was a fun, exhausting ten days.

I can't wait to do it again this winter!

Now... must start packing for a three week trip to Scotland! That volcano isn't still causing trouble, is it?