paikea

this is my first blog and i find i like having a place where i can say whatever i want - i have a wonderful husband and we live with an old tomcat with serious mental problems (3/22/08 - sadly, no longer - Shitty Kitty Stillman died on March 3rd of this year:(

i'm from the U.S., but now i live in one of the most beautiful places in the entire world - New Zealand:)

i have a Master's Degree in International Studies (heavy on Poli-Sci, Hist, and Russia), but i recently decided to chuck it all and become a writer - i grew up reading sci-fi and fantasy, so that is what i write - my first short story, "Angels and Whiskers" was published in the Dec. '03 issue of the online site, www.wildchildpublishing.com.  My short story, "Milk", can be currently viewed at http://www.viatouch.com/learn/Storystation/Stories/milk.jsp. My new story, "Burn Boy", will be published in a '08 issue of the U.S.-based magazine, "A Thousand Faces: the quarterly journal of superhuman fiction" - i'm also working on a couple of books - i have no idea when they will be finished

i love books, movies and music - i play the piano, violin and percussion - and i love animals, even the not-so-cuddly ones:) -  If I had a few superpowers, they would be: the ability to communicate with animals and the ability to survive naturally underwater at all depths - Immortality would be nice (preferably stuck at age 35 - only because I want to be lively enough to enjoy traveling in space with some degree of comfort when mankind finally reaches that point - if it ever does - and actually it wouldn't be any fun if my husband weren't immortal also - I have a formidable sweet tooth - i  am a chocoholic, a flan freak and a lover of gelato - and every once in a while, I have this huge craving for funnel cake - although I am not the chef in the family, I make a mean white chocolate raspberry bread pudding and can whip up tasty sweet crepes:)