Tomorrow I leave for Rainfurrest! As usual, they're keeping me busy. I'm doing ten panels over the four days. If you want to find me, here's my schedule:

Childrens, Young Adult, and Adult Writing
Thursday, 3pm with Kyell Gold and Fuzzwolf

Writing Exercises and Tools
Thursday, 9pm with John Kurpierz and Apoxon

Furry Characters in a Non-Furry Setting
Friday, 10am with John Kurpierz and Ethan Gruner

Writing for Beginners (2)
Saturday, 9am with Tarl "Voice" Hoch and Garrett Marco

A Reading and Q&A with Mary Lowd
Saturday, 11am

Comedy, Tragedy, Action, Romance
Saturday, 2pm with Alflor and Buni

Fiction vs. Fan-Fiction
Saturday, 8pm with John Kurpierz and Garret Biggerstaff

There's a Line... and You've Crossed It
Sunday, 9am with Phil Geusz and Garrett Marco

The Mystical Magical Marvelous Magnificent Mary Sue!
Sunday, 10am with Ianus Wolf and Tarl "Voice" Hoch

Collaboration in Writing
Sunday, 3pm with Apoxon and Ethan Gruner

I should have some excellent co-panelists. I'm particularly looking forward to doing a panel with Phil Geusz for the first time and my fellow Wordo, Garrett Marco, who was invaluable when I was editing Otters In Space 2. It looks like a really strong writing track this year.

My husband,  Tembroke, wrote a song to celebrate Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly coming out this weekend at AnthroCon. It's an otter love song called "Otterly Adore You," and he performed it last night at No Shame Eugene, accompanied by our daughter doing an interpretive dance dressed as an otter.



If you're at AnthroCon this weekend, you can still pick up a copy of Otters In Space 2, but they've already sold out of Otters In Space! I wish I could have been there.

Otters In Space II: Jupiter, Deadly with its beautiful cover by  ClamCrusher is available for pre-order from  FurPlanet! It will be released at Anthrocon on July 5, 2013, and online pre-orders will be shipped by July 31st, 2013.

Synopsis:

Spies! Jet packs! And a water-phobic feline surrounded by otters! IN SPACE!

On her way back to Earth, Kipper the tabby cat finds her plans derailed when hostile vessels attack friendly otter ships orbiting Jupiter. The Jolly Barracuda flies to the rescue, dragging the hapless tabby even farther from home and embroiling her deep in the beginnings of an interplanetary war.

Meanwhile, political turmoil on Earth forces Trudith, the dog goon turned bodyguard, into a serious moral quandary—how far will she go to protect her alpha cat? Soon every cat and dog on Earth is wondering, will a cat be the next president and will Kipper make it home?


Written by Mary E. Lowd, Cover art by Doc Marcus

This year's ballot for the Ursa Major Awards was announced, and -- to my great astonishment -- five of my stories were nominated for Best Short Fiction. Thank you very much to everyone who helped nominate them! As a result, I've put all five of those stories together into a kind of mini-anthology that's available for free on Smashwords until May 15th, as long as the Ursa Majors are open for voting:

Ursa Major 2012 Short Fiction Reading Packet

The above e-book includes "St. Kalwain and the Lady Uta" from ROAR 4," "One Night in Nocturnia" from Tails of a Clockwork World: A Rainfurrest Anthology, "Magtwilla and the Mouse" from Allasso 2: Saudade, "Shreddy and the Christmas Ghost" from The Anthropomorphic Dreams Podcast, and "Hot Chocolate for the Unicorn" from Untied Shoelaces of the Mind.

In other news, Otters In Space 2: Jupiter, Deadly! is currently on track to come out this summer at AnthroCon. I've started getting critiques back from beta readers and talking with my publishers about what the cover will be like. They're hoping to get the same artist as illustrated the first one. Since I love the cover for the first one, I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

The Ursa Major Awards season is upon us, and I have several stories that are eligible for nomination. Most of them were originally published online and are easy to access there. Two of them, though, were originally published in print anthologies. So, for a limited time, I'm making those two stories available as free e-books.

St. Kalwain and the Lady Uta originally published in ROAR 4

One Night in Nocturnia originally published in Tails of a Clockwork World

Magtwilla and the Mouse

Hot Chocolate for the Unicorn

The Most Complicated Avatar

Shreddy and the Christmas Ghost

Looking back at all those stories that came out last year... it's really kind of hard to believe. It was an amazing year. At any rate, whether you feel like nominating any of these stories or not, I hope that you enjoy some of them, and I hope that you'll take a minute to nominate any stories from last year that you do feel are worthy. The Ursa Majors are a people's award, and that works best when the people participate.

I head south for FC tomorrow! I'm scheduled to be on several panels, give a reading, and lead a Furry Writers' Guild meeting. So, if you want to find me, any of those events would be good places to look. Other than that, I'm likely to hang around the FurPlanet table signing books and try to hit some of the neat sounding science panels.

Here's my schedule:

Write From the Beginning
Friday, 1:00pm with Mel. White
"You've got a great idea -- if only you could turn it into a GREAT story -- or even a great webcomic story. Come learn some of the tactics that published authors use to make storytelling much easier."

A Reading by Mary E. Lowd
Saturday, 6:00pm
"Mary E. Lowd, author of "Otters In Space," has written furry fiction ranging from space opera to horror, spanning species from cats, dogs, and otters to koalas, lizards, and fish. Her fiction has been nominated five times for Ursa Major Awards and won a Coyotl Award. Come hear a story or two!"

Critiques and Writing Groups
Sunday, 11:00am with Rikoshi, Ryan Campbell, and Kyell Gold
"There's not only an art to writing a constructive critique of a story, there's an art to receiving one. Join us as we talk about what makes good (and bad) critiques, and explore one of the most valuable things an aspiring -- or even established -- author can have: a good writing group."

Character Development
Sunday, 1:00pm with Chipotle, Ryan Campbell, and Kyell Gold
"What makes stories memorable? Memorable characters! Come explore how we develop characters from the "suppose there's a fox who..." conceptual stage to being compelling heroes, villains and romantic interests."

Furry Writers' Guild Meet & Greet
Monday, 11:00am
"Come learn about the Furry Writers' Guild, meet other writers, and discuss the present and future of furry writing."

As a final note, I'm still deciding on what story to read at my reading on Saturday night -- the top contenders are a science fiction story about bat-like aliens and a steampunk story about an otter inventor. So, if you plan on coming to my reading and have a preference, let me know in the comments.

My third story about Shreddy, the cantankerous feline who tends to run afoul of electronics with mystical results, is now available from the Anthropomorphic Dreams Podcast! This one is a Christmas story, commissioned especially by  was1.

Shreddy and the Christmas Ghost

Merry Christmas everyone, and don't chew on any Christmas trees!

Everyone in my critique group knows that I write and am interested in furry fiction, so when another member ran across a story about "a talking cat" on PodCastle, he made sure to point me toward it. Well, the story turned out to be about a raccoon more than a cat. And, well, really more about a dragon than the raccoon... But, they do both talk, and it's a cute story. In fact, it's one of a sequence of four stories, all about a dragon named Squonk. The stories have a fun, light tone, and the podcasts are really fun to listen to.

So, if you think you might like a story, or four, about a dragon who's being raised by a bluebird and whose best friend is a raccoon, then I definitely recommend these stories by P.M. Butler: Squonk the Dragon, Squonk the Apprentice, Squonk and the Horde of Apprentices, and Squonk and the Lake Monster.

Allasso 2 came out, and it's fantastic. I don't think any of the stories stand up to the amazingness that is  Poetigress's story "Best of Breed" from Allasso 1. However, I really enjoyed reading this issue, and I'm already looking forward to the third one next fall. Allasso is a publication that I'm proud to be associated with -- it stands for a kind of fiction that I really care about, and I'm excited to see how it will affect the genre of furry fiction.

Speaking of good things happening to the furry genre: there's a new set of awards in town. Last summer, I spent a lot of time (and even more energy) engaged in a complicated argument on the Furry Writers' Guild forums. There was a lot of disagreement and heartache, but there was also a lot of passion. In the end, a number of us managed to hash out the rules for a potential new set of awards, and  buni has put in the hard work to make them a reality. The ballot for the first ever Cóyotl Awards was announced earlier this week, and I felt extremely honored to discover that my story, "The Canoe Race," was nominated for Best General Short Story. There's a lot of good fiction on that list, and it's good to see it being recognized by this new award. The Ursa Majors are great, but there's plenty of room for a second award.

Finally, my short story, Little Sandy Starstrong and Her Faithful Robot Dogs, which was published earlier this year in Beyond Centauri is now available as an e-book. For those of you out there who are TJ fans, you may find it interesting to see this permutation on the theme of characters inspired by my dog Trudy. I wrote this story about half a year before I started SPACE HOUNDS! I was working on the sets that would eventually become TJ Barker's spaceship, but, at that time, I was hoping to use them in a series of videos called "Cobalt Starstrong the Singing Spaceman." Unfortunately, I can't write songs, and my husband proved to be less cheerful about the idea of starring in a web series than my dogs were. At any rate, I can see the seeds of TJ Barker in this story in the form of TJ the Roboweiler.

Summary of links:
Allasso, Volume 2: Saudade
The Cóyotl Awards, final ballot for 2012
Little Sandy Starstrong and Her Faithful Robot Dogs

The next issue of Allasso -- Volume 2: Saudade -- will be coming out at the beginning of next month, and I've received some exciting news about it. I already knew that two of my stories had been accepted for this issue -- "One Sheep" and "Magtwilla and the Mouse." However, this week I found out that not only was a beautiful illustration of "Magtwilla and the Mouse" done by  SilentRavyn going to be the cover for the issue, but "Magtwilla and the Mouse" won the Editor's Choice for Best Dramatic Work! It's also exciting to see that a friend of mine and another member of my local critique group, Sarina Dorie, won the Editor's Choice for Best Comedic Work. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this issue of Allasso when it comes out.

I found myself speechless earlier this week when I checked out the ballot for this year's Ursa Major Awards. I had hoped for -- although really, really not expected -- a nomination. Three nominations was... I mean... wow. Thrilling and astonishing. I know that the competition for Ursa Major Awards is steep, and I don't really write the kind of fiction that usually wins or gets nominated. So, although I received two nominations last year, I had kind of chalked that up to some sort of beginner's luck fluke. Needless to say, I am really excited and honored that people have been enjoying my fiction enough to take the time to nominate it. Thank you.

In other news, I had a story come out today in the online magazine Untied Shoelaces of the Mind. While only a thousand words long, Hot Chocolate for the Unicorn took me ten years to get right. The beginning crystallized in one of those unpredictable jolts of inspiration while I was still in college. The end, though, completely escaped me. Everything I tried seemed either too lightweight or way, way too dark. Then, last summer, my daughter took an interest in My Little Ponies, and playing with pretty plastic unicorns with a four-year-old finally brought the right end to me.

If you're interested in voting in the Ursa Majors, they're open until May 4th. All of my nominated stories, Where the Heart Is, Shreddy and the Zomb-dogs, and Fetching Asteroids are free to read (or listen to) online. And the newly published "Hot Chocolate for the Unicorn is here.

My short story from last year's Rainfurrest charity anthology is now available as an e-book: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/133892 It'll be free for the rest of the month.

If you read "Where the Heart Is" and enjoy it, I'd appreciate it if you'd consider nominating it for an Ursa Major Award. Nominations are open right now, and they're really easy to make: http://www.ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm

Nominations for the 2011 Ursa Major Awards are open! There's been a lot of talk about putting together another set of awards in the furry fandom, but, so far, this is it. If you want to recognize a work of art or literature that you like, the Ursa Majors are the way to do it. I know that I'll be nominating  Poetigress's story Best of Breed for Best Short Fiction. I'll also probably nominate Allasso and the Anthropomorphic Dreams Podcast in the Best Magazine category.

If you're interested in nominating something of mine, I have four short stories that are eligible this year...

Shreddy and the Zomb-dogs

Fetching Asteroids

Where the Heart Is

and The Canoe Race co-written with Daniel Lowd

No matter what though, you should head over to the Ursa Major site and make some nominations. The more people who participate, the more representative the awards will be. http://www.ursamajorawards.org/nominations/

The last several months have been incredibly busy and filled with exciting things. First and foremost, I can now officially announce that  FurPlanet has picked up my previously self-published novel, "Otters In Space," and will be releasing a shiny new version with a beautiful cover by Doc Marcus at Further Confusion! That's right! "Otters In Space" is a FurPlanet book now! It's already available for pre-order through their website: http://furplanet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=562

Since Further Confusion happens to be on this coast, I'll actually be able to make it to the debut of the new edition. In fact, I'll even be doing a reading at FurCon on the Sunday at 1:00pm in Willow Glenn I. I plan to read a preview of "Otters In Space 2" and let the audience vote on which short story to follow it up with -- because that was really fun last year. The options this year will likely include avian sci-fi, equine fantasy, and rodential horror.

In other news, I've had a surprising number of short stories published this fall. The Anthropomorphic Dreams Podcast released recordings of Rekindle the Sun, Gerty and the Doesn't-Smell-Like-a-Melon, and Shreddy and the Zomb-dogs. I had a story about a robot published in Daily Science Fiction. And the very first issue of Allasso, a new furry zine, featured the very first piece of short fiction that I've written in the Otters-In-Space-verse: Fetching Asteroids.

Overall, this year has gone really, really well, due in no small part to the furry fandom. It has been amazing to discover such a great group of people that shares my most core interests. Thank you all for being furries.

I got my final schedule for Rainfurrest tonight, and I'll be on nine panels, including a Furry Writers' Gulid Meet & Greet and a reading from my own novel "Otters In Space." The rest of the panels are mostly about the craft of writing, and they're almost all in the San Juan Lodge. So, if anyone wants to find me to say "hi," they should probably start there. I'll be wearing my fuzzy orange ears and a bushy tail that a kid at WorldCon traded to me for a copy of "Otters In Space." It looks a little like a raccoon tail.

My reading is at 10am on Friday, and the FWG Meet & Greet is Sunday at noon. (Both in the San Juan Lodge.) It should be an exciting and very busy weekend!

If you're at WorldCon and want to pick up a copy of "Otters In Space," it's available in the dealers' room at Book Universe and Larry Smith Books. I'm also bouncing around the con, wearing my fuzzy orange ears most of the time. So, if you see me, feel free to come up and say, "hi!"

(Oh, and my name tag doesn't say "Ryffnah" here -- it says "Mary E. Lowd." The fuzzy orange ears are the same as at FurCon though.)

The results for the 2010 Ursa Majors are in, and, while I lost in both categories to Kyell Gold, I still feel extremely honored to have been nominated. Tomorrow, I'll be heading to the local zoo -- a two-and-a-half hour drive away -- for a day of looking at animals with my almost four-year-old daughter. It seems like an appropriate way to celebrate.

As for tonight, I have a photo-shoot to do with the SPACE HOUNDS! We'll be working with a new set and some new guest stars, so it should be exciting.

The nominees for the 2010 Ursa Major Awards have been posted, and two of my works are up for awards!

* "Otters in Space" for Best Novel
* "Gerty and the Doesn't-Smell-Like-a-Melon" for Best Short Fiction

(http://community.livejournal.com/ur.....79.html#cutid1)

I feel really, really excited and honored. Thank you to everyone out there who voted for me. It means a lot. Also, thank you to all of you who have +watched, +faved, or just commented on my SPACE HOUNDS! strips. I love seeing your comments -- they keep me excited to post new strips.

P.S. Both Trudith in "Otters In Space" and Gerty in "Gerty and the Doesn't-Smell-Like-a-Melon" are based on Trudy, the amazing, lovable spaniel who plays Captain TJ Barker. So, really, a vote for either of those works in the Ursa Majors would be a vote for TJ.

Nominations for the Ursa Major Awards opened today. I realize that my chances of winning one are extremely low, but I would feel really honored if any of my fiction were even nominated. So, if any of you who've been enjoying SPACE HOUNDS! would take a moment to consider nominating either my novel "Otters In Space: The Search For Cat Havana," my short story "Gerty and the Doesn't-Smell-Like-a-Melon," or SPACE HOUNDS! itself, I'd be very grateful.

Information about making nominations for the Ursa Major Awards is available here: http://www.ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm

If you think that you might be willing to nominate "Otters In Space" but haven't had a chance to read it, feel free to send me a message and I'd be happy to set you up with a coupon for a free Smashwords edition.

As for "Gerty and the Doesn't-Smell-Like-a-Melon," you can still read it at Golden Visions Magazine: http://goldenvisionsmagazine.biz/Mary-E-lowd.html

Thank you all for the support you've been giving me with SPACE HOUNDS!; it means a lot to know that there are people out there who really do enjoy it.

I've been writing a Dog Fort / Space Hounds! crossover comic and posting it to Reddit. To those of you who aren't familiar with Dog Fort, it's a comic trend that's blossomed on Reddit over the last month or so, involving captioned photographs of dogs. So, exactly my kind of thing. The writing style is fairly different from what I usually do with Space Hounds!, so it was a fun challenge to write a crossover where these two dog worlds meet.

If you're interested in checking out the six part epic, you can find it here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Dogfort/com....._the_dog_fort/

As has been mentioned in journals by both  duroc and  poetigress, I will be hosting a Furry Writers' Guild Meet and Greet panel at Further Confusion. It's currently scheduled for 3pm in the Empire room on Saturday, January 15th. Duroc, who founded the Furry Writers' Guild, will be attending, and I hope to get a good discussion going about the state and future of furry writing. I went to a similar panel at Rainfurrest, hosted by Phil Geusz, and it was incredibly inspiring.

In addition, I'll be giving a reading from my novel, "Otters In Space," at 1pm in the Piedmont room on Monday, January 17th. The last reading I gave from "Otters In Space" was very successful and that wasn't even to a furry audience. So, I'm excited to see how this reading will go.

Other than that, I simply plan to rattle around FurCon from Saturday morning until Monday evening, hitting whichever panels sound interesting, and hopefully getting to meet some of my fellow guild members and maybe some more Furtopians. I'll be wearing a pair of pointy, fuzzy, orange ears, so if you see me, feel free to come on up and say "hi."

P.S. In other news, I had a story come out this week in The Lorelei Signal! You can read it at: http://www.loreleisignal.com/HarvestingWishes.html And if you like it, you could even use the link at the bottom to vote for it. (Warning: this story is sci-fi not furry.)