DESCENT INTO LIGHT: Mike Allen’s Home Page

Overall, 2016 was a pretty mixed year for us. We lost our dog, Loki, a sweet soul who’d been the cheerfully goofy center of our household since 2003. I had injury-related health issues that haven’t fully gone away and Anita had an unwelcome surprise on

So I drop in a heap at the end of 2015 feeling like I’ve packed several years’ worth of creative living into one. This ain’t the first time for that, but even judged my often hyper-busy standard this has been a barnstormer of a year,

A nice surprise at the end of an arduous if triumphant May: my Shirley Jackson Award-nominated horror story collection Unseaming earned some kind words in the latest issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction from reviewer Paul di Filippo:   “Representing sixteen years of prose output from

So this was always the plan—   Well, the idea that my short story collection Unseaming would be one of the rewards in a Kickstarter campaign for Clockwork Phoenix 5, that has been my plan for quite some time. Most every publishing project I tackled

My friend Michael M. Jones interviewed me for an impressive roundup article about how crowdfunding is changing the sf/f/h publishing landscape. The article, “Defying the Traditional Model: Crowdfunding in science fiction and fantasy,” appeared last week at Publishers Weekly, and contains quotes from a number

Anita and I will be on all kinds of panels and workshops at the upcoming MystiCon convention right here in Roanoke. I’ll be reading from my novel The Black Fire Concerto and Anita and I together will be talking about Clockwork Phoenix and anthologies in

Last year this time I was ill and bedridden. This year, I’m simply inconvenienced thanks to a kaput computer. I consider this a step up.   In fact I was so sick at this time in 2012 that my year-end summary didn’t turn up until

The special signed edition that was the top reward in the Clockwork Phoenix 4 Kickstarter is continuing its travels. Clockwork Phoenix 4 contributor Yukimi Ogawa writes, “I went to the shrine to wish for its safe journey, and got a traffic safety amulet. I put

As of this writing the Kickstarter for Mythic Delirium has 90 minutes to go. This is the last chance to get rewards like Anita’s jewelry pins and Paula’s special art prints, and the last remaining Cherie Priest signed and numbered chapbook. #SFWApro Thanks so much

There’s about a day left before the Mythic Delirium Kickstarter comes to a close. Once again, I must thank the amazing support of our backers and of this incredibly generous community. As of this writing we’re almost $100 past our stretch goal to fund a