Growing up, I spent several years living abroad in India and Africa, with intermittent years in Kansas. I came to Minnesota to go to college. I was planning to continue my international lifestyle afterwards, but I married a mad scientist and settled down to live and write in Minneapolis instead. I recently signed up for a CSA, so in addition to my regular writing and photography, I've been doing a fair amount of food photography and blogging of late. I'm also a student of martial arts. I blog at http://cloudscudding.livejournal.com
Writing
Serenade of Blood & Silver is a fantasy about a drifter who rescues an abused horse that is not what it seems. When they flee into the Far Desert to escape pursuit, they sign their death warrants, and the only way they can survive is if they learn to rely on each other. The setting of Serenade of Blood & Silver is influenced by the American Old West and by sub-Saharan West Africa, where I lived for three years. This is at the "I stuck a fork in it and called it done until somebody pays me to make changes" stage, and I'm busy courting publishers and agents for it. An excerpt can be read here.
Vicesteed is a neo-Victorian steampunk science fiction novel that is equal proportions locked-room murder mystery, exploration of how society forms identity, and high-octane quest for vengeance. The style it is written in can be compared in parts to Stephenson's Diamond Age. Think of it as the bastard love-child of Bladerunner and Sense & Sensibility. Vicesteed is currently in the editing phase.
Published short stories include:
(Full list here.)
* "Missing You In Pieces," Dead Bells Anthology, pub date forthcoming
* "These Things Take Time," (free to read) in Emerald Tales, Volume 2 Number 2 (April 2010).
* "A Phoenix By Any Other Name," Short.Story.me!, December 12, 2009
* "Salvaging Scotwell," Baen's Universe, December 2009
* "Periwinkle Eyes," Art Times Magazine, March 2009
* "Blood for Oil" in the Fall 2006 issue of Allegory Magazine, formerly known as Peridot Books. Issue available as $2 PDF here.
* "Waiting" in the April 2003 issue of AlienSkin Magazine
* "The Perfect Costume" in the October/November 2003 issue of Dark Krypt
Photography
In addition to this website, I frequently post photographs on my livejournal (see http://www.livejournal.com/users/cloudscudding/tag/photograph). Any photos that I post online, on my website or livejournal, are available for purchase--just email me.
I also have a Flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aswiebe/.