A DJ, a hairdresser and an LGBT Activist Walk Into a Sci-Fi Convention

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That’s not the beginning to a joke, it’s how three writers became friends and collaborators.

I first met A.R. (Amy) Miller and Rachel Eliason at an Iowa author signing in Des Moines. Then the three of us hosted a panel at ICON39 discussing urban fantasy, and we discovered that even though our backgrounds were wildly different, we had a lot in common.

And so do our books. Each one deals with how people who think of themselves as normal,  even boring deal with the discovery that they have very special abilities that come with both a blessing and a curse. Not to mention a mystery that puts their lives, and the lives of their loved ones in danger.

And our books are all set in Iowa. Amy’s near Des Moines, Rachel’s in Dubuque, and mine… well, I never come right out and say the name of the town Traveler is set in, but it has a Big Ten University in it that plays Nebraska in football, and an area originally settled by Czech immigrants. Yep, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, only squished together. 

The idea of doing a 3-in-1 box set began with Rachel, who asked Amy if she was interested. They needed a third, and I was very honored that they thought of me.

With Travelers & Shifters & Fey, we introduce you to visions of an Iowa that could be, through the lens of three unique takes on Fantasy and Science Fiction.

The ebook is available right now, exclusively on Amazon. Here’s the direct link.

It’s free on April 8 & 9!

Famous Names

This article from Business Insider (click on the image to read it) about a young woman’s travails because her name is Beyoncé, reminded me a promotion we did at WMT-FM way back when called “Famous Names.”

We invited anyone who shared a name with a celebrity to attend a fundraiser. About thirty showed up. I specifically remember Robin Williams (a woman).

But our biggest “get” had to be the Rev. Elvis Pressley. Yes, we did announce “Elvis has left the building” when the Rev split.

And I still occasionally see Paul Newmann around town.