All Around the World...Con, Fantasy Awards Plus Toad Abodes

Hello! Phew. I don’t know where to start today, so I’ll just dive in with career-related news and then talk about art. (While attempting not to whine about mosquito bites. Seriously, mosquitoes are Teh SuckTM. Wait… Yeah, I guess I whined. BUT MOSQUITOES!)

A couple of days ago, the 2025 World Fantasy Award nominees were announced, and lo! and behold! I found out The Dagon Collection, edited by Nate Pedersen, was shortlisted for Best Anthology. I’m but one of several contributors, and am so thrilled that this gorgeous, hardcover artifact book has been nominated. Really enjoyed this project!

Congrats to all the nominees! Woooooo!

My World Con: Seattle 2025 Schedule

I have confirmed I will be presenting at World Con: Seattle this year. I’m pleased to share a draft schedule with you. I may have additional panels or other events, but so far these are confirmed.

Wednesday, August 13 

Researching the Occult and the Paranormal

4:30-5:30 p.m. How can we research practices such as Witchcraft, Santeria and paranormal phenomena to incorporate into our stories? Reading books is one thing, but respect is paramount and caution is necessary.

Thursday, August 14

Table Talks 22

Come and chat with me and a bevy of wonderful creators from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Writing for Games Workshop

Writing for games sounds appealing - but how do you get started doing so? What do you need to know about how game systems work? What if you want to adapt your own work into a game? I’ve planned this session, which lasts from from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., to accommodate attendee’s needs so they feel confident entering the world of game writing. Does include a break!

Friday, August 15th

Gamifying your IP

10:30 to 11:30 p.m. You've published a book, a series, a saga... and now you'd like other people to be able to play in your world. What does it take to translate a book or video game to a Table Top RPG? I’ll be moderating this one!

Ode to Toad Abodes

Phew! Okay, with that out of the way, I can talk about fun stuff. I worked under the guidance of a botantical expert, attempted to follow these instructions, then wound up scouring Joann Fabrics (before they went out of biz) for paint. The abodes were a little tricky to make, but since they’re great for your garden I thought I’d share—just in case you want to work on some yourself.

Most DIY toad abodes start with a terracotta pot and a hammer. Cue my anxiety. Well, I learned the hard way that the quality of the terracotta does matter. My pots were a thrifted steal, and a little more brittle. When we did use a hammer, we managed to chip a piece off, but the crack extended on both pots. I wound up sealing the top portion with silicone, and used a small dremel to sand the edges.

Next came the paint. Now, if you have ever had the horror of painting with me… It gets everywhere. I love the texture of paint and the feel of it. That doesn’t always bode well, however, for the materials I’m working with. I found out the hard way that multiple layers of paint on terracotta are a Very Bad Thing—and you need at least two hours of drying time between layers, because terracotta is (as most humans already know) porous. I did manage to do a smart thing and paint the top and bottom separately before I hot-glued it. That bit? So smurt.

I used a water-resistant enamel for the top, then added a little clear gel texture to give the base a mushroom appearance. The accents are painted with acrylic paint and touched up with acrylic markers—POSCA markers are mah jam!—and then clear-coated with a UV/weather-resistant spray.

I’m very grateful I have the opportunity to explore my artistic side again. I recently picked up an anatomy book for artists, and am hoping to explore the exercises once I type THE END on a couple of projects. I managed to pin down an artist’s statement and what I want to evoke in my work—we’ll see how it goes. I’ve been playing with watercolor but… Well… TOO MUCH PAINT AND TOO MUCH WATER. What can I say? I really love pigment. More on my plants for art as images develop.

Almost forgot! Here’s how the fairy mushroom toad abode turned out!