Bubble & Squeek

As per usual, many things are happening in my life. I’m getting good at lining up my ducks and knocking them down. So, here’s a Bubble & Squeek for you. Events, publications, and pre-orders, oh my!

Event: I will be in conversation Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) for her novel, Overgrowth, at
Third Place Books (Seward Park), 7pm on May 13. This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance.

Podcast Publication: “Not Birds of a Feather” has been released on , narrated by Elizabeth Guizzetti of The Paper Flower Consortium podcast.

Pre-Order: The pre-order UBL for Augment, issue 2, Summer 2083, is live! Get your cyberpunk with magic magazine right here!

Recommendation: Marie Bilodeau is a smart author. Rights Reversion – A Checklist

Seminar: LEVEL UP: The Business of Writing. Four weeks of workshops and talks to level up your writing career. I am teaching 7 Steps to Better Self-Editing on Jun 3.

Video: Trans rights are human rights. I am in this video, loud and proud.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Today is my mom’s birthday and I’m missing her. So, have a Bubble & Squeek. Fun fact, the term “Bubble & Squeek” came from my mom whenever we asked “What’s for dinner?” and it was leftovers repackaged in a new form. I don’t know how she did it, but she always made leftovers taste really, really good.

Augment magazine: Augment is Shadowrun’s official magazine. This is a fully in-universe publication, and can be used in Shadowrun games as well as enjoyed by the casual reader. Augment your life with Augment magazine! Available as an ebook or as a POD digest magazine. And, as you can see it is BEAUTIFUL!

Free Fiction: There’s a new piece of free BattleTech and Shadowrun fiction on the Cat Labs website on the 1st of every month. Shadowrun’s free fiction for this month is “Shadowbytes” by me! This story is the origin story of a mysterious person who appeared in Shadowrun: Elfin Black.

Interview: I was interviewed by CGL’s Tuesday Newsday about Augment magazine along with my Art Director, Kathleen Hardy. YT Link.

Interview: I was interviewed by CGL’s Tuesday Newsday along with author Christine York about the BattleTech romance novel Hungry Like the Wolf. It’s a hoot. YT link.

Kickstarter: Science Fiction & Fantasy Pirate-Themed Anthology! ZBM presents: SKULL X BONES! It’s an SF&F themed anthology about pirates, and it is already funded! I get to write my Mythos pirate story! Lemme tell you, there’s gonna be blood in the water! Lots of goodies in the stretch goals.

Recommendation: How To Actually Achieve Your Goals in 2025. It’s been long enough since the new year for me to feel safe to recommend this time management video. YT link.

Recommendation: If you’re ambitious but lazy. Short video talking about how starting is the hardest part. YT link.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

If I have done this correctly, this blog post will go live on Monday, December 9th. It’s my birthday and the Husband has whisked me away for a day trip to Leavenworth!

Event: It’s my birthday! I like to celebrate all week. Buy yourself or a friend one of my books and leave me a review. If you’ve got all of them and would rather get me something else, I have a ko-fi account, an amazon wishlist, and a kindle wishlist.

Event: I will be reading at A Midwinter Haunting! 8pm at the Kirkland Arts Center. Readings from HWA Seattle Chapter members. Free event. I will be reading a spooky holiday story. On a mid-winter’s night, everyone is hungry.

Interview: With Epic Realms. I enjoyed the heck out of this interview. YouTube link.

Release: My 25th edited anthology is live! Shadowrun: Through the Decades celebrates 35 years of Shadowrun through 7 novelettes and novellas from new authors and old favorites!

Release: Valdemar short story, co-written with the fabulous Marie Bilodeau in the Feuds: All-New Tales of Valdemar anthology. “Dueling Minstrels” – a story of two small town minstrels and their battle of wits exploding beyond verbal showmanship…

Writing Contest: Worldcon Seattle Writing Contest 2025 – Submissions open Jan 5-20 (do not send anything in before this time).

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

So much is going on. Travel. Fun secrets. Work, work, and more work. Here’s a Bubble & Squeek for you.

Bookfair: November 23rd. I’m one the spotlight authors for the new Written in the Northwest Bookfair, along with Seanan McGuire, Sno-Isle Libraries, and Krampus!

Interview Series: I am Book 101 podcast’s October Author of the month.
– Interview #1: This one is more about me and how I work. YouTube and LinkedIn.
– Interview #2. We talk about Last Days of Salton Academy. YouTube and Babyboomer.org. (I learn about new places with every interview.)
– Interview #3. We talked about the Melissa Allen trilogy omnibus Never Let Me. YouTube.
– Interview #4: We talked about Shadowrun: The Mosaic Run in this one. YouTube.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Writing Contest: Worldcon Seattle 2025 is having a writing contest with some fabulous prizes! One for teen authors and one for adult authors. I’d love to see your work!

YouTube: I don’t know why I hadn’t done this before…but I searched for myself on YouTube. There were a lot more videos out there than expected. So, I created a playlist of me videos—interviews, fiction, live plays. That sort of thing. The oldest one is from 17 years ago taken by Cherie Priest at an Abney Park concert.

How is it almost October? So much is happening in the background. I’m not overwhelmed by what’s on my plate, but I am a bit whelmed. Travel, novel writing, anthology editing, magazine managing, SFWA President running, and more…. It’s a lot. So, here’s a Bubble and Squeek to entertain you.

Bookfair Spotlight: I’ve been announced as one of the spotlight authors for the new Written in the Northwest Bookfair along with Seanan McGuire and Krampus!

Cover Reveal and buy links: Shadowrun: Magic, Machines, and Mayhem.

My 24th anthology, co-edited with John Helfers. I am so pleased with this anthology.

eBay: We are decluttering again! The Husband is selling stuff on eBay. Here’s his sell page. There’s some good stuff there, but we just don’t need any of it.

Interview: This one is with Gerald Ford from The Corner of Story and Game podcast. YouTube Link and Spotify link.

Interview: Cat Rambo and I were interviewed by D.M. Needom on The Better To Podcast. Buzzsprout link and YouTube link. I had so much fun here and the Instagram snippets are hilarious.

Recommendation: Shadowrun: Dark Synergy by Russell Zimmerman. I was the editor on this one and it was very, very satisfying.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

I am running like mad in the background: writing on a new novel, finished edits on one anthology, starting edits on another anthology, editing/managing a new Shadowrun magazine, prepping for travel, and so much email. Here’s a Bubble & Squeek to keep you up-to-date

Awards: Wow! Shadowrun: Auditions: A Mosaic Run Collection won the Scribe award for best YA/MG tie-in novel 2024. I’m thrilled! Some articles on it in here: File770 and downthetubes.net.

Bookfair Spotlight: I’ve been announced as one of the spotlight authors for the new Written in the Northwest Bookfair along with Seanan McGuire and Krampus!

GoFundMe: One Booth to Record Them All. Pretty Please. Trendane is on tap to record the Shadowrun: Elfin Black audiobook. Help him get to it faster!

Interview: Tea Time with Miss Liz (YT link). Cat Rambo and I were interviewed by this fun podcast. It was a blast. This was a casual conversation that followed Miss Liz’s T-E-A format.

Interview: Tech for Founder podcast. Cat Rambo and I were interviewed by Panida Wayrojpitak about The Reinvented Detective anthology. This was a very fun interview with some excellent questions.

Open Call: Do you love Shadowrun? Would you like to write for it? We have an open call for original fiction for our official in-world Shadowrun magazine! “Augment your life with Augment Magazine!” Submission guidelines here.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Life is exciting and busy. After decades of hand-coding my website, I’ve hired a terrifyingly competent and efficient dev to revamp my website from the ground up. That means I’m not exactly certain when the website will be under construction as the dev works. Thus, I’m putting the blog on hiatus (excluding Tell Me blog posts) until things have been rebuilt and moved around. In the meantime, convention/event season has begun!

Local Event: Brick and Mortar Books Indie Author Night! Monday June 3rd, 6:00PM – 8:00PM, Redmond Town Center. I will be signing from 6:25-6:55 and then hanging out afterwards.

Interview: May 2024: HWA Seattle Chapter Member Interview with Aigner Loren Wilson: Jennifer Brozek.

Convention: Origins Game Fair (June). I will be in the Authors Alcove and on panels.

Convention: The Gen Con Writers Symposium schedule is up (August). I have three workshops and a bunch of panels this year. Sign up for my workshops sooner rather than later. They tend to sell out.

Convention: Can-Con (November). I will be the Editor GoH for Can-Con in Ottawa! I’m very excited about this one. I’ve never been to Ottawa.

Bookfair: Written in the Northwest (November). I will be at this new bookfair with a bunch of very cool local authors, just in time for the holiday season.

Kickstarter: Cthulhu FhCon anthology. I have a story in Cthulhu FhCon with (one of two) tuckerizations available (that means you give me a name to put in the story). FTR, I was at the convention where the idea of this anthology was born. Seriously, the smell was extraordinary…

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

This week is all about the edits. I have short story edits (multiple) and novel edits to get through. Also, I have two events coming up very soon. One is local. One is virtual. Both will be a lot of fun.

Local Event: Spring Scares: A Celebration of Horror with the HWA Seattle Chapter at Barnes & Noble on 11 May, 12-4pm.

Virtual Event: Can-Con – Level Up: The Business of Writing Virtual Workshops. Six amazing speakers to give you powerful workshops to help you level up, no matter where you are in your career! Starts May 14th.

Convention: Origins Game Fair. I will be in the Authors Alcove and on panels. That means I’ll have books to buy and to sign as well as seeing everyone.

Convention: The Gen Con Writers Symposium schedule is up. I have three workshops and a bunch of panels this year. Sign up/Wishlist now.

Shoutout: Azeem AKA Blackpurist on Instagram. This was something I needed to hear so damn bad when I first heard it. Now I use it as motivation. “Make them hate you.” #villainmonologue

Shoutout: Emma Shelford has a kickstarter campaign for her Forest Fae Complete Trilogy 10th Anniversary Hardcovers. Step through a portal into Celtic myth with faerie queens, magic realms, a mysterious magician, and a mortal discovering her powers.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Interview: Over on Marie Bilodeau’s blog, A Coffee Break with Jennifer Brozek where I answer three simple questions.  

Interview: Roll with Rem Alternis on GenConTV. YT video. 3-53 minutes. We kind of talk all over the place. Rem is a great interviewer.  

Kickstarter: “Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980.” Looking for something unusual for you or a loved one? How about a cozy ghost story told by snail mail? It’s the gift of escape tunnels, ghosts, and adventure told over 24 letters that will ship worldwide. Appropriate for 8+. The campaign has funded and met its first stretch goal, so I added a new one! “The Old House on Highway 109” is a 30-day emailed ghost story to run in Oct 2024. Check it out! #ProjectWeLove #DearPenpal

Spotlight: Spring into Horror Author Spotlight: Jennifer Brozek. I will be at the HWA Seattle Chapter Barnes & Noble Event (Totem Lake) on May 11th, 2024 along with so many other awesome authors!

Shoutout: From Amazing Stories about “Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980.”  We’re funded and our first stretch goal is met!

Shoutout: Marie Bilodeau. There is no Church of Writing. Do not listen to the Evangelists. No truer words. All writing advice is just opinion based on the experience of the writer.  

Shoutout: E. A. Hendryx. Falling Through the Black, a no-spice, romantic YA Science Fantasy adventure. Funded! Kickstarter ends on 27 April.

Shoutout: Jason Matias, local PNW artist. I absolutely love his artwork. I really want to own one of his pictures: Ice Cave with a View.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

I’m in-between trips and still catching up. This Bubble & Squeek is dedicated to “Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980.” Won’t you be my penpal? 

Kickstarter: I have an active Kickstarter (26 Mar 2024 – 26 Apr 2024) called “Dear Penpal, Belgium 1980.” It is a cozy, Middle Grade appropriate, ghost story, loosely based on fictionalized me at ten years old while living in a 300-year-old manor house in Belgium. We are 71% funded!

Article: On Eating Frog Legs and White Asparagus. Cat Rambo wanted to know about the food I ate while I was in Belgium. This is how I became fearless about trying new food.

Interview: This was a very good interview with the Horror Writers Association. Nuts & Bolts: Career Planning for Writers – Interview with Author and Editor Jennifer Brozek. This one is all about how to choose your mountain and head for it.

Interview: Crashing ‘Mechs With Jennifer Brozek, Author Of The Rogue Academy Trilogy. This is the interview you want to read if you want to know what I’m like when I’m excited and I’m speaking very candidly.

Interview: What Makes a Project a “Passion Project”? In this interview with Black Gate Magazine, I answer “Why letters?” and “Why Belgium in 1980?”