Month: January 2021

Upcoming Event: Infinite Horizons Storycrafting Sessions: Worldbuilding Deep Dive Virtual Conference

Upcoming Event: Infinite Horizons Storycrafting Sessions: Worldbuilding Deep Dive Virtual Conference

Posted on by Jasmine

Whew, that’s a mouthful. But it is also where you can find me on February 20th, talking about fantasy and sci-fi worldbuilding topics like magic systems and fictional economies.

Join myself and other writers as we discuss the various aspects of worldbuilding in speculative fiction. The conference is virtual and free but requires registration to attend panels. You can find the full schedule here with links to register for each panel, and you can check my upcoming events page for the details on the specific panels I will be participating in. Or you can continue reading here, because I’m going to post it all below, too:

Infinite Horizons Storycrafting Sessions: Worldbuilding Deep Dive Conference – Virtual

Panel: Hard vs Soft vs Hybrid: Creating Interesting and Effective Magic Systems
February 20th, 1:00 – 2:00 PM EST/10:00 – 11:00 AM PST
Register here (registration is free)

Panel: We Don’t Take Imperial Credits: Developing Economics, Currency, and Trade in Speculative Fiction
February 20th, 4:00 – 5:00 PM EST/1:00 – 2:00 PM
Register here (registration is free)

UPDATE: Registration for the conference has switched from EventBrite to Zoom Webinar Registration. I’ve updated the links accordingly, but if you already registered through EventBrite, you will need to register again through Zoom Webinar Registration. Sorry for the hassle.

Hope to see folks there!

I Am Running for SFWA Secretary

Posted on by Jasmine

I have some exciting news today, particularly for my fellow Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America members. I am running for the office of SFWA Secretary. The SFWA Board’s Secretary is responsible for record-keeping for the Board, communicating with  potential qualifying market publishers, and compiling issues of The Forum Binary.

Here is my official candidate platform:

Hello! I am Jasmine Gower, and I am running for the role of SFWA Secretary.

I have been an Active Member with SFWA since 2018, following the sale of my debut novel Moonshine, published by Angry Robot. Beyond SFWA, I am involved in local SFF writer communities in the Portland, OR metro area, as well as queer and disabled writer communities online and locally. I also have a Master of Arts in Book Publishing from Portland State University, where I did over two years of publisher-side work at the university’s graduate press, Ooligan Press.

Beyond my publishing experience, I have a robust work history in documentation and record-keeping within various fields ranging from health insurance to academia. From taking meeting notes to accounting monthly expenses to fully rewriting department-wide workflows, I’ve done just about every type of record-keeping an organization could need.

I hope to serve as Secretary in order to give back to the SFWA community that has supported me in my early writing career. As SFWA Secretary, my goal is to ensure that SFWA documentation is kept running smoothly and accurately so that SFWA members can continue to get the most out of their experience with the organization. Additionally, I aim to work within the role to ensure that SFWA record-keeping is maintained as efficiently and accessibly as possible.

For all of the Secretary candidate platforms, see this thread on the SFWA forums (only accessible to SFWA members). Voting will take place beginning in March, and you can check the SFWA Elections page for more details. I’m so excited for the opportunity to run for a position that will allow me to become more involved in and give back to the SFWA community!

New Year, New Site

Posted on by Jasmine

Happy 2021, folks! My website upgrade is complete. Along with a fresh new look, I’ve also made my Content Warnings page easier to access in the site menu and finally added some SSL (whatever that is) to my site to make it secure for your browsing safety. I may still be tweaking some things to add and alter some functions on the admin end, which, in my past experience with WordPress, may very well result in some site downtime, but everything on the user end is all new and shiny for everyone to enjoy otherwise.

I’m also setting for myself a goal to get more engaged in this space for both your edification and for SEO reasons. I know I say that every time my site needs an update, but we’re still locked in the pandemic and I currently have an abundance of time and a restless energy to do something. I’m thinking along the lines of essays, because I’ve been playing a lot of video games and have THOUGHTS about them. If that sounds interesting to you, of course, I already do my video game podcast Grumble Pak with my friend and roommate Eli Wennstrom, and we’ve got a number of episodes available already for your listening enjoyment. Another thing that resulted from Pandemic Gotta Do Something Syndrome.

Regardless of how well I stick to this New Year’s Resolution, of course, this will continue to be the landing page for news and information regarding my writing career, including book links, publication news, upcoming events, and whatever else is relevant to my published works. My freelance editor site is still up, as well, with all the details and rates for the editorial services I provide: consultation, developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, and now also sensitivity reading for portrayals of genderfluid, aromantic, and asexual characters.

Anyway, that’s all I have now for the sexy new Jasmine Gower Dot Com. As usual, keep eyes on this space (or my Twitter, which is really the only social media site I use with any amount of regularity anymore) for more updates and content in this new year.