Like a tarnished penny or a restless ghost, this website is back after years of neglect. I wish I had a better excuse, but the usual reasons apply: new job, health issues, and other distractions took precedence.  As a result, please consider this site an ongoing work in progress. Images that were hosted elsewhere are missing from posts, and the new template wants to display images that don’t exist. Some might get fixed; most will…

Another ConQuesT weekend has arrived. I have art in the art show, and here’s my programming schedule: Story in a Bag SAT 10 AM & Story in a Bag SAT 12 PM Women of Star Trek SAT 3 PM From Lieutenant Uhura to Captain Janeway women have been an important part of the Star Trek franchise. This panel will discuss the role of women in the Star Trek franchise and how it has evolved and changed…

Boiled peanuts taste like home. Photo by Allison Stein 2015

Today South Carolina moved the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds and to the nearby Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. I’ve remained silent on this subject, until now. Although I am a girl who was raised in the South, a descendent of Confederate soldiers, and a lapsed member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Confederate battle flag does NOT represent me, my supposed heritage, nor even the South of my childhood.…

May, June, and July were very very busy months for me. I attended four science fiction conventions (Spectrum, ConQuest, SoonerCon, and Contemplation) and an academic conference on the literature of science fiction (The Campbell Conference). I participated in two art shows (ConQuesT, SoonerCon). I took a road trip to Arkansas to celebrate with the good folks of Yard Dog Press. We celebrated two national holidays with friends, saw a couple of musicals at Starlight, and…