Ten Things to Know About Me

1. I’m a writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy. My bibliography is listed here. I attended Clarion West in 2004, which was an incredible experience that kickstarted my writing career.

2. I live with my husband in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I’ve also lived in other places. I grew up in Wisconsin, went to college in Iowa, and spent time living in Georgia, New Mexico, and Arizona. I miss the desert, but I love the Bay Area.

3. A partial list of my hobbies: gourmet cooking, modern-day temple dancing, making jewelry, preparing for a major earthquake in the Bay Area, talking to neighborhood cats, video games, roleplaying (many genres), and world domination.

4. I know a secret about the BART trains. There’s a reason why it’s more expensive to take the train through the tunnel under the Bay. They tell you it’s for earthquake retrofit on the tunnel, but it’s not really. The problem is ankle sharks. They’re tiny sharks that swim around on the BART train and chew on people’s ankles. So the extra cost you pay when you go under the Bay–it goes toward strengthening the tunnel against ankle shark infestations.

5. Yes, Vylar Kaftan is my real name. Vylar is a Hindi boy’s name meaning “sky visitor” (or so I’m told).

6. I graduated from Grinnell College with a degree in English and Gender Studies. I loved college and sometimes wish I were back there. I’ve thought about going back to school for an MFA, but I’m not sure if I ever will.

7. I like colors. All of them. My favorite is purple, but I’m also fond of black, silver, green, and yellow. And of course rainbow, iridescent, and tie-dye. If you ever need to distract me while you rob a bank, hand me a box of crayons and I’ll sort them into rainbow order. Crayola preferred, please.

8. Some people tell me I’m crazy, but I prefer the term “differently sane.”

9. I’ve never blogged before, so be nice!

10. Actually, there are only nine things to know about me. Use this last bullet point to go get a beer.