Greetings, fellow humans! My name is Catherynne M. Valente and I am an untamed, unreformed, unstoppable perpetrator of fiction. For thirteen years I have published in every imaginable venue and style, from self-publishing to major New York and international presses, from science fiction to fantasy to horror to realism, novels, short fiction, blogging, podcasting and poetry. I'm a New York Times bestseller and have been nominated for every award in my field, and have won the Hugo, Tiptree, Andre Norton, Lambda, Locus, and Mythopoeic Awards. And I kill at karaoke.

I also have an enormous cat, a very clingy dog, five chickens, a baby son, a partner, and a very grouchy boiler who all have this weird thing where they insist on eating real food and joint supplements and heating oil every day. The nerve!

And because life is strange and combustible and never did run smooth, I am also going through a lot of things, including raising that smol child, and things are financially rather difficult right now. Being a full-time writer and being responsible for a mortgage, lawyers, and health care for my family is a volatile experiment with uncertain results at best.

I want to stop stress-grinding my teeth at night and I want to put more fiction into the world. And I don’t just mean my own fiction. I want to help you guys write awesome books and stunning stories! (It’s very selfish, honestly. I just want more awesome things to read.) The world needs stories. Without stories, it’s nothing but Terms of Service and 24 Hour Winter Storm Coverage and What Did You Know Who Say On Twitter

Thus the Mad Fiction Laboratory was born--or will be with your help!

Every month, I will conduct the MAD EXPERIMENT: a comedic essay addressing some aspect of the writing world: characterization, dialogue, worldbuilding, marketing, getting an agent, how to be a good panelist at conventions, representation, writing sex/fight/battle/exposition/extended dance sequences, experimental and traditional structure, organizational tools, avoiding and/or embracing cliché, that sort of thing.

Included in the monthly experiment is a recipe from my own kitchen with high-quality photos and a review of some bit of media, be it show, game, book, or other, that I consumed over the month.

In addition to the Monthly Experiment, you can sign up to receive an exclusive look at the project I’m working on that month, as well as access to Google Hangouts, Skype calls, video Q & As, Tuckerizations, acknowledgements, and the chance to have me critique your work. You can also suggest topics for further Experiments or schedule a writing date with me. Anything I can do to help you develop as an artist, learn to complain more thoroughly and deeply about books and movies at your next family gathering—or at least give you a bit of a laugh.

Or if you just want to throw a couple of bucks in the jar to keep the boiler from devouring us all, that’s great, too.

And who knows—if the stars align and the colliders collide and Megatastic Laser Exposition Ray gets off the ground, the Laboratory might be able to bang together a podcast or a video series out of whatever is lying around when we finish with the lizard trials.

It’s all about madness and the science of fiction. Let’s make stuff up together.