Storyteller and jewelsmith

I’ll be at ConCarolinas throughout the weekend of June 1-3, in the dealer room wearing my other hat for JLH Jewelry. (And promoting my books, as always, but I won’t be on any author panels.) I design and create science fiction themed jewelry, so I thought I’d share a little bit of what I do [...]

Real-life river-dwelling tribe faces genocide

I think one of the important features of science fiction has always been its ability to draw attention to injustice, to suggest better possible futures (or warn us away from the paths we’re on) and to inspire new ideas — both social and technological. My novel Stellarnet Rebel, features an alien race called the Glin [...]

The future is now… again

Last year, I mentioned how challenging it is to be a science fiction writer in the 21st century, because every time you think you’ve invented something cool and futuristic, it already exists. Here are a few more things that don’t exist yet — but they are coming soon. Sooner than 2060, probably, the decade in [...]

Have a character named after you

Inventing character names can be fun, but it can also be a challenge. For Duin, the titular hero of my novel Stellarnet Rebel, I wanted something that sounded aqueous. His name is based on the sound of a water drop — you know, that “doo-win” noise Cameron makes in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” by flicking [...]

Fun from StellarCon36

I was a guest at StellarCon36, a SF/F convention in High Point, NC, earlier this month. So, I thought I’d share some of the highlights. I met Mark Poole, the StellarCon artist guest of honor. He’s from South Carolina and illustrated more than 1000 cards for games such as Magic, White Wolf’s Vampire, Battletech, and [...]

To boldly Erin go bragh

Because when you think of science fiction, you think of … leprechauns. No? Well, I do, because it’s that time of year around the ol’ Hilton house and March is Irish-American Heritage Month. Sure, “Hilton” isn’t an Irish-sounding name, and that’s because I had the good sense not to marry an Irishman (they’re deadly handsome [...]

Team Duin vs Team Belloc

I love my Stellarnet Series — book one Stellarnet Rebel, book two currently being written, and book three under development. I love all of the characters, from the heroes to the villains to the gamers, pub musicians and AI sims. I feel like a parent who refuses to choose favorites. But I seem to have [...]

Be my sci-fi valentine

Science fiction was a part of my life from a very early age, and no doubt played in a role in shaping my early concepts about romance and the types of men I would eventually love. So I thought for Valentine’s Day, I’d reflect on some of the sci-fi couples I recall from my childhood… [...]

Survived my first release party

The Stellarnet Rebel release party was January 5 at Tir na nOg Irish Pub, the inspiration for “Aileen’s Pub” in the novel. We had live traditional Irish music from Kilcarragh, including songs mentioned in the book, and I gave away promotional swag — goodies from Carina Press, nagyx “soul stone” necklaces based on the book, stickers, [...]

New cyberpunk thriller coming January 2

My debut novel STELLARNET REBEL will be released in just two weeks, and I’m hard at work on the sequel. My publisher is calling SR a “cyberpunk thriller,” but that’s entirely accidental. What I mean is, I didn’t sit down thinking “I’m going to write a cyberpunk thriller.” I sat down to write the kind [...]