I had the pleasure today of seeing and hearing acclaimed and award-winning author Jeffrey Ford not once today, but twice!

The martial arts journal InYo: The Journal of Alternative Perspectives on the Martial Arts and Sciences, from the Japanese in-yo (loosely: “in” = “yin” = darkness, and “yo” = “yang” = light) takes an in your face, alternative look at the martial arts and sciences.

Writers, and other folks too, sometimes wonder if they should create their “online presence” and “develop their brand” using a service like GeoCities, MySpace, etc.

Sorry, couldn’t resist taking a picture of our cat, taking a nap after a night of editing.

So I arrived late to the campus cafeteria (a military campus, no less!

Does the world need another vampire novel? I would say, yes, of course, especially if that novel is well written and adds something new or compelling to the literary conversation about vampires, a conversation that authors and readers have been having since 1872 with Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla.