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Author archive for: kayti99

Interview with Andy Weir, author of The Martian now up on The Maker Mom

Published by kayti99 on September 30, 2015

When you fangirl in public, sometimes others hear! My friend Kim Moldofsky of TheMakerMom.com knew I was a big fan of the book The Martian and offered me the opportunity to interview author Andy Weir for her site. I was thrilled with the chance, and after some mayhem and mishaps of scheduling (which I’ll tell you about sometime) I was able to talk with Andy for a while and get his perspective on science fiction writing, STEM careers and fields, growing up a nerd in the 70s (spoiler: Andy Weir and I are exactly the same age and our parents…

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Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Published by kayti99 on September 18, 2015

(from my Goodreads page. Please feel free to friend/follow me there. I love books and love to talk about them!) I LOVED THIS BOOK. I shall shout about it to anyone who cares to hear me. I listened to it in audiobook, over the course of about 4 days, which is very fast for a 10+ hour audio. (pro tip: listen while you cook dinner, fold laundry, or other mundane household stuff. I also listen on short, long, and medium length drives, and while I walk the dogs. My dogs are very well exercised at the moment.) What I liked:…

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Book Review – Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold

Book Review – Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold

Published by kayti99 on December 2, 2014

From my Goodreads review (which can be found here.)  I am still a hearty fan of the Vorkosigan Saga. Every book I’ve ready (via audiobook) has been a joy to read/listen to. I find myself making excuses to listen more. The dogs are very well walked and my dishes are quite clean now thanks in part to Grover Gardener’s sure narration. This book follows Miles and Ekaterine to quaddie space, and features a mystery (like many/most of these novels do) as well as some old friends (love how Lois McMaster Bujold leaves little dangling bits in other works and then revisits…

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Barbie Brouhaha

Barbie Brouhaha

Published by kayti99 on November 20, 2014

This week’s Internet Ragestorm is about a really ridiculous Barbie book about computer programming (article also appears on gizmodo if you encounter issues) that includes Barbie “only creating the design ideas, ha ha” and “needing to get Steven and Brian to do the heavy lifting of programming.” And then accidentally cause she’s an idiot infecting hers and another’s computer with a virus carried on a USB drive (a cute heart-shaped one!) Now, I don’t want to join the Barbie hate because…back in my youth I *adored* Barbie. I remember getting the “Pretty in Pink” (not related to the movie) Barbie for…

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In Defense of Sparkle Science

In Defense of Sparkle Science

Published by kayti99 on October 5, 2014

I have an article up on the New York Times’ The Motherlode section called In Defense of Sparkle Science. Some of my daughter’s lip gloss and lip scrub experiments I’m thrilled with this piece as I’ve wanted to place something at The Motherlode for a while. If you are interested in the topic, please take the time to read through the Carnegie Science Center’s response to the criticism about the image that went viral, as they address the fact that they used to offer a wider range of options for Girl Scouts but no one signed up. I agree it…

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Blog train contribution!

Blog train contribution!

Published by kayti99 on May 27, 2014

Joining a blog train courtesy of Melissa Duclos, one of my many and numerous online writing friends, who in this day and age are as real as any of my in-person writing friends. The blog train’s purpose is to get writers (and publications in some cases!) talking about what we’re working on and our process for writing (or publishing.) So without further ado, let me let you in a little bit on my process and what’s on deck for me in what I hope is going to be a very productive summer. What am I working on?I write science fiction…

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Now available for purchase – SNOW WHITE AND THE ASSASSIN’S GUILD! (Kindle only)

Now available for purchase – SNOW WHITE AND THE ASSASSIN’S GUILD! (Kindle only)

Published by kayti99 on March 22, 2014

Now available for purchase – my short story SNOW WHITE AND THE ASSASSIN’S GUILD! I wrote this short story during a workshop I took with Mary Robinette Kowal called Writing on the Fast Track (I highly recommend the workshop! It was conducted via online google+ hangouts, small number of classmates, we did exercises and critiqued each other’s work from week to week, and otherwise just had a ball. It helped me refine my ability to write short stories.) The story blurb: Snow White is frustrated in her role as an assassin in the king and queen’s service. As the third…

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COVER REVEAL! Snow White and the Assassin’s Guild
High Tech Language Arts – 5th grade – Lesson summary

High Tech Language Arts – 5th grade – Lesson summary

Published by kayti99 on March 17, 2014

Taught a lesson about short-form storytelling in High Tech Language Arts class today for 5th graders. Included the inimitable John Wiswell‘s Alligators By Twitter story, which I became of fan of before it was even published, having been on the editing staff at Flash Fiction Online magazine since its inception. (caution: some curse words present. With John’s permission I modified them for my lesson.) And then to finish blowing their minds, I told the 5th graders about 6 Word Stories. You could have heard a pin drop when I finished, “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.”  Each child is now working on their own…

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