Story sale and other news

Wow, this blog has accumulated some dust and cobwebs since I was last here. I thought I should drop in and share some of the exciting things I've been doing for the past several months!For starters, I sold a story to Lightspeed Magazine. I am thrilled that I will be part of the special "Women Destroy Science Fiction" issue this June with my story, "The Mouths," featuring some aliens so bizarre that even the narrator can't quite figure them out. You can read more about this exciting special issue here: Women Destroy SF.I have just completed a run of "Orpheus in the Underworld" with the University of Illinois Lyric Theatre. Which role did I play? Assistant Director! This was part of my cognate, or minor, in Theatre. It was a great experience. I learned a lot and got to do quite a bit of hands-on work, such as individual coaching of singer/actors, taking and giving notes to performers, running dance brush-up rehearsals, etc. The show was a great success. Read more about it and see some photos here: http://www.news-gazette.com/multimedia/photogallery/2014-03-05/orpheus-underworldIn January, I had a wonderful time at the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, where I presented my paper "Schubert and Goethe: A Transcendence of Competing Aesthetics." My paper is available in the Conference Proceedings here. Of course, I also enjoyed a few mai tais on the beach, some hiking, swimming, and watching the sun set over the ocean. Not a bad way to start the year!