Hey awesomes,

Hope you're staying safe in all the wild weather/wild times out there. I'm keeping all my Texas friends especially in my thoughts as they deal with the aftermath of last week.

We've been tucked up in Connecticut with slightly more normal winter weather.

This week we're enjoying a heat wave - mid 40s! - and so of course I ran out to the woods at my first chance. I had...completely forgotten that walking in the snow is much harder than it looks, but it was absolutely worth it to get outside.

Part of my excitement in trying out this RV lifestyle was to spend a lot more time in nature, and I'm happy to say I'm mostly doing that. What are you favorite outdoor adventures? Bonus points for sharing any particular favorite places - we'll hit the road again later this year, and I'm always looking for awesome stops to add to our list.

In the midst of winter adventures, I'm also working on a number of short stories so I can 1) get ahead of deadlines and 2) shift my focus entirely to finishing up a solo novel. As much as my brain loves the allure of the new shiny thing, I'm definitely more productive with focus. Who knew?

I recently turned in a story for We Dare: No Man's Land (amazing cover featured above) - an anthology dedicated to the badass ladies of sci fi. In mine, Vern is an older woman, with less of the swagger she once had...but a whole lot of experience that doesn't bode well for those set against her. Rumor has it We Dare is out in early June - more to come!

I'm making progress on the next story, and will share a sneak peek soon (hint: it's a tie in to an awesome video game from the 80s)! There are three more on deck after that - a mix of sci fi and fantasy tales - and I'm ridiculously excited to tell you more over the next weeks.

It's a bit of a challenge keeping motivation and enthusiasm high - especially when the weather is telling me to roll into a blanket fort and nap for a month - but popping in and out of the worlds of these short stories is helping.

Something else that helps? Nerdy podcasts! I've gotten the chance to join the guys at Super Geeked Up a couple of times, and they are so dang great. Shenanigans, hilarity, geeky questions, nerd improv...I mean, you can't go wrong.

Plus, they just celebrated their 300th (!!!) episode, so there's a ton to entertain you. Seriously, I don't spend 3 hours listening to many things, but I watched their super-sized 300th with a grin on my face the entire time. You're in for a good time if you click through and check them out!

The pups are snoozing (recent footage of Josey snuggling, above), and the words are waiting, so that's all for this time.

Talk with you soon,

Marisa