Hi everyone, and welcome to the first of May's two moons! Here’s what’s new:

• I wrote the first draft of a new short story
• I created a diabolical little writing app​
• I registered for a BUNCH of conventions (okay, three)

Current Phase

I wrote a new short story for the latest Writing Battle, a flash fiction contest where you write a story based on three random prompts. This time the prompts were con job, prophet, subway. There's an obvious way to combine those, so of course I wrote about a witch using the subway to scry for her missing cat. As one does.

I also put together The Diabolical Writing App to help myself focus. It’s horribly simple: you set the timer, you write, and if you stop writing, your words vanish! Poof! No backups, no mercy. Enjoy 😈

(No, I don't know why Javascript and CSS are easier than fiction right now. I don't even like Javascript.)

Quick Picks

• ​The seven programming ur-languages - A taxonomy of programming languages that got me thinking about fantasy subgenres—more on that next time, maybe.
• ​Lists and Lists - Did the first link inspire you to learn a Lisp dialect? This Scheme tutorial comes thinly disguised as a text adventure! (Scheme is so much better than Javascript. (Unless you hate parentheses. (I love parentheses.)) Clojure is cool too, but I don't have a handy game tutorial for that.)

Looking Ahead

I finalized my convention list for the year! Here's where I'll be:

• ​Locus Awards/Bay Area Book Festival - Berkeley CA, May 30
• ​4th Street Fantasy - Minneapolis MN, June 19-21
• ​World Fantasy Convention (not WorldCon!) - Oakland CA, October 24-25

Unfortunately WorldCon overlaps with the start of the school year, so that's a "no" this year. I'm still voting on the Hugo Awards, though. I’m starting with short stories, and will move on to novelettes once the voter packet drops in a few days. Do you have a favorite novelette on the shortlist? Hit reply and let me know—I'll read it first.

See you next time the moon's full!