It's almost over <<First Name>>

We're nearing the end of 2016, and after this roller coaster of a year, I'm certainly ready to move on. Here's hoping the light at the end of the tunnel is not a global trash fire, but a brighter future.

Where to Find Me

I've got several appearances coming up in the Pacific Northwest:

December 17th (Saturday), Barnes & Noble in Clackamas Town Center Mall - Oregon Reads Aloud event with other authors and illustrators.
January 10th (Tuesday), Barnes & Noble at Vancouver Plaza - Sci-Fi / Fantasy Book Group discussing Waypoint Kangaroo. FREE and open to the public!
January 22nd (Sunday), Clarion West One-Day Workshop in Seattle - I'm teaching a six-hour class on "Synopses and Queries: How do They Work?" Register now!
January 28th (Saturday), Vintage Books in Vancouver, WA - reading & signing with my pal Alexis Radcliff.
January 31st (Tuesday), SFWA Reading in Seattle (Kirkland) - with Fonda Lee and Randy Henderson at the Wilde Rover Irish Pub and Restaurant.
February 2nd (Thursday), SFWA Reading in Portland - with Fonda Lee and Randy Henderson at Lucky Lab on Hawthorne.

I'm also attending several conventions in the spring, and will be doing some bookstore events around the launch of Kangaroo Too. Watch this space for updates, or bookmark www.curtiscchen.com/events to check anytime!

Shameless Self-Promotion

This is where the shilling happens. Feel free to skip to the next section if you'd rather watch an internet cat video.

Shopping for holiday gifts? Please consider buying that special someone a hardcover copy of my debut novel, Waypoint Kangaroo (also available in eBook and audio)!

Kirkus Reviews says "[s]ci-fi fans will love this fun, high-tech adventure," Locus Online calls it "[a] very entertaining SF mystery/thriller," and The Doubleclicks say it "reminds [them] of Scalzi."

Looking for shorter stories? How about a handsome trade paperback edition of my collection Thursday's Children: Flash Fiction from 512 Words or Fewer, featuring cover art and interior illustrations by the fantastic Natalie Metzger?

Last but not least, do you know a writer who's working on selling a novel? Are they struggling with the whole "pitching" process? Well, maybe they could benefit from my one-day workshop on synopses and queries!

For just $150, participants will be trapped in a room with me for six hours and forced to talk about how to boil down a complex story into a concise summary. (It's kind of like an escape room. Not really. These writing puzzles are much harder.) Visit the Clarion West web site for more details.

The Cat Video Promised in Our Early Days

Improper use of interrobang in video description? Discuss.

I'll Be Back

Stay tuned for one final update this year about a special online holiday event I'm organizing! (Hint: you might have seen something very similar last year...)