About Me

Margaret S. McGraw

I am co-editor, with Misty Massey and Emily Leverett, of two anthologies of short stories about the wildest West that never was: Weird Wild West (eSpec Books, 2015) and Lawless Lands: Tales from the Weird Frontier  (Falstaff Books, 2017). My first published story, "Rainmaker", was the impetus for both anthologies (coming out of a "Live Action Slush" panel at ConGregate) and appears in Lawless Lands.

I write fantasy and science fiction; blog about prompt-writing, con reviews, and book reviews at WritersSpark.com; blog about the journey of writing and publishing at TheMillionWords.net; and edit fiction, academic, and technical writing. 

My imagination draws on my lifelong love of science fiction, fantasy, anthropology, and natural history, as well as my fascination with fiber crafts, photography, and travel. I live in North Carolina with my teen daughter, an array of dogs, cats, Macs and PCs, and too many unfinished craft projects.

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Convention Appearances

2017
AtomaCon, Charleston, SC
DragonCon, Atlanta, GA
ConCarolinas, Charlotte, NC
Mysticon, Roanoke, VA
MarsCon, Williamsburg, VA

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What's the deal on all the Namaste love talk?

We've all experienced loss. A parent, a friend, a partner, a child. Sometimes it's expected. Can you really ever prepare? Sometimes it comes as a heart-stopping shock. 

There's ugliness, pain, rage, suffering, and true evil in the world. Disaster in the news, made by man or nature. 

In a time of grieving, I had an epiphany. The answer, as beautifully simple and gloriously complex as life itself, is to Love More. In rare moments of grace, I am filled with Love, larger than myself,  shooting out of every fiber, every thought, every breath. Another word for this Love is Peace. 

It's okay if you're skeptical. Cynical. I often am, too. You can turn away. The Love is still there. You don't have to acknowledge it. You can say it's too simple, too trivial, too little, too naïve.  But perhaps you can let it rest with you for awhile. Maybe life will seem a little easier for a moment. Peace.

It's this Love that I offer you, my heart to your heart, my sorrow to your sorrow, my healing to your healing, my life to your life. 

The light of the universe that shines within me recognizes 
the light of the universe that shines within you. Namaste.

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