Catherine Haluska Shaffer writes both fantasy and science fiction.  She attended the Clarion workshop in 1997 (accompanied by her ferret, Sebastian), and has been writing seriously ever since.  Her first publication, "Improving Slay Times in the Common Dragon," was published in Odyssey #2, 1998.  Other published works include "The World Opened Up for Me,"  an essay on the Clarion experience, published in Speculations in October 2001, and "To Be or Not to Be," also published in Speculations, in December 2001.

Awards include: the Ann Arbor Science Fiction Society's Clarion Scholarship, 1997; L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest, Honorable Mention, First Quarter 2000; and L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest, Semifinalist, First Quarter 2001.

Setting ambitious goals, Ms. Shaffer's goal for 2002 is to write a story of at least 5000 words every three weeks.  (This follows her 2001 resolution to write a story a month for 12 months.)  In addition, she has established a Story a Month group to challenge writers.  For information on the group, see
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cshaffer/storyquest.html.

An owner of ferrets (if one can be said to own a ferret), Ms. Shaffer has also written several hilarious items about ferrets, both fiction and non-fiction, notably "A Thousand Naps and a Nap" and "The Furry Plague," available on her website at
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cshaffer/wildlife.html.

For more information on Catherine Shaffer, please visit her website,
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cshaffer/index.html.