Even here in California, it feels like winter. Suddenly I really believe that it's only 3 weeks until Christmas. It must be, because my Christmas cactus is in glorious bloom.



Almost done Fall quarter at Pacifica Graduate Institute. In my second year!! How did that happen so quickly? Things are a little saner than they were for the last few weeks. Finished up the last on campus session for the quarter, including handing in many papers, including my thesis proposal. Now just a few papers and thesis outline to get in by the end of the month. I am doing my thesis on transgender issues, inquiring into the process of change as acts of individuation and soul making. If you have any transgender friends (or you) who would be willing to correspond with me, please let me know. I am not doing quantitative research, just gathering narratives. One of the options at Pacifica is a production thesis, for which you produce some form of art based on a theoretical framework and write about it. I am considering a novel.

I haven't been writing any fiction since I finished Shards last year, but recently I wrote a short story for the A Knight in the Silk Purse anthology, which is the sequel to Tales of the Emerald Serpent. My character, Shay Gatewell, has quite a nice reappearance! It felt so good to slip into a fantasy world and wander around. I like academic writing, but there's nothing like fiction. Don't worry, I couldn't stop writing if I wanted to!

And look at that: only 16 days until the contest winner is announced!