E. J. Wenstrom

Every Book I Read in 2018

This is the first in what I hope to become an annual recap of all that I’ve read over the year. In 2018, I read 24 books, of which 16 were by female authors and 6 were by authors of color (I could have done better to read diversely–2019 goals). 

It’s unusual for me, but I set no reading goals this year.  I emerged from 2017 feeling battered and exhaused after a year that was a struggle for a…

Say Hello at Writers Digest Conference! #WDC18

Starting tomorrow night, I’ll be in New York City for the annual Writers Digest Conference (Aug. 10-12). It’s my favorite of the major national writing conferences, which makes me even more thrilled to be among this year’s presenters.

Fellow writers, are you going? Be sure to say hello! You’ll be able to find me at the following designated sessions:

Data-Driven Online Platforming for Authors Numbe…

Wear Your Favorite Sci-Fi Trope

I love many different science fiction shows and books, and very few of those stand out to me as wear-worthy over the others—why this one, and not that one? I start to feel  I need a shirt for everything … So instead I have t-shirts for nothing.

It’s possible I’m thinking about this too hard.

All the same, I still love a good science fiction t-shirt. And there are plenty of tees out there that…

BookCon Recap: All the Awesome I Missed

          If you don’t already know about BookCon, it is a wonderful, magical event that is all about books. Think San Diego Comic Con, but all the lines are for your favorite authors.

Magical, I tell you.

Well guess what. It happened last weekend (June 2-3 2018), and I didn’t get to go.

So I lived vicariously thourgh the internet, and BookRiot’s got my recap of highlights.

Check it out here for…

Say Hello! Literary Hill BookFest

Tomorrow, Sunday, May 6, join me at Literary Hill BookFest in Eastern Market, Washington D.C., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Literary Hill BookFest provides a venue for local book sellers, libraries, publishers, and other organizations with a focus on books, readers, or writers.

Plus, it’s right in the North Hall of Eastern Market–there’s no better place to be on a beautiful spring Sunday.

Be sure…

Santa Clarita Diet is the Most Underrated Science Fiction Show of the Moment

I recently finished watching the second season of Santa Clarita Diet, a Netflix show starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant, featuring a suburban woman who abruptly and mysteriously is turned into a zombie. The show has largely remained under the radar, but I can’t stop thinking or talking about it. The show features Barrymore at her best, leveraging her endearing, adorable personality to…

The Power of Writing Kicks Off April 30

Do you want to finally live your soul purpose and write the words that have been burning inside you? Do want to develop a powerful writing practice that is inspired, consistent and fulfilling? Let me share my personal story with you. True Story: I have always loved books, and when it came time to choose a career I knew I wanted to work with words. But I never saw myself as a writer.  I wasn’t…

AwesomeCon: Top 5 Things I’m Excited For

Last year, I went to my first San Diego Comic Con. It was amazing, from the cosplay,  to the Viking funeral, to the chance to meeting some of my comics and author idols. So now that I live in D.C. again, I have been counting down with enthusiasm until the day of my first AwesomeCon, D.C.’s newer but quickly established comic con of its own. It starts today! This year’s event is said to be bigger…

The Villain’s Personality Type

On the Myers-Briggs personality scale, I’m an INTJ. Sometimes called the Architects or the Masterminds of the types, we’re known for being extremely smart and constant planners, capable of envisioning grand plans while also detailing all the steps necessary to get there, and for having the determination to see it through. Also, socially, we tend to be somewhat prickly. Which is perhaps why we’re…

What Anne of Green Gables Has To Do with #Neurodiversity

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that neurodiversity is on my mind lately, particularly in how it relates to my own identity as an author, reader and general human. Neurodiversity refers to people whose minds work in ways labeled as outside of the norm. It is strongly linked to conversations about people with autism, but also includes people with other differences such as…

The Roundup Roundup: Best ‘Best Of’ Book Lists to Plan Your TBR 2018

It’s that time of year! Between December and January is the magical season of look-backs and lookaheads–list season! That means we all get inundated with a bazillion lists on what the best books were, and what the best books to come are, and what everyone else is sure to be talking about in a few months. All of which leaves me hyperventilating as I try to catch up on all the cool things I missed…

Down here, we have a saying: “Here in the south we don’t hide our crazy, we parade it around on the front porch and give it a cocktail.” Truer words have never been spoken, but this saying holds especially true for certain cities. Cities like our beloved Asheville, NC and Austin, TX proclaim on t-shirts and bumper stickers to keep their cities weird. They have built tourism around quirky museums…

I have been sick for over a week and hardly have any voice, let alone decent mental capacity to focus … but it’s a new year! And I wanted to get something fresh up to kickstart 2018. As I lay in bed, pathetic and exhausted and sniffly, I’ve spent a lot of time flipping through Twitter. And … book buying bans seem to be having a moment? Apparently, this is a thing. I’d never heard of it, so here…

Join me for books, coffee and holiday cookies this Saturday, Dec. 16, at Winchester Book Gallery in Winchester, VA. I’ll be signing books in this lovely shop from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Remember, personalized signed copies of books are a wonderful gift for the readers in your life! I’ll have all three books in the Third Realm War series with me, along with special swag you can give with your books.…

A few weeks ago I went to Chicago, where the husband and I are in year two of a four-year commitment to watch Wagner’s The Ring Cycle opera series with some friends there. The Lyric Opera is releasing one of the operas in this series each year, which is pretty cool. By the way, this was my husband’s idea. All opera is always his idea. He is much more cultured than me. Although opera is growing on…