Amy Sterling Casil

Bio

I am a professional writer and college teacher. My most recent book is Female Science Fiction Writer (http://www.amazon.com/Female-Science-Fiction-Writer-ebook/dp/B008E95D2E) a major short fiction collection. I am a 5th generation Southern California native, and have a colorful heritage in my mother's and my father's families. I have a huge, wonderful exuberant family, including a beautiful daughter and I am very grateful for every opportunity I have had. I have a Jack Russell Terrier named Gambit (Badger died, Gambit is a new rescue) and have always disliked rubber bands. I'm an old school Republican by registration but probably a Libertarian in sentiment. I have a very varied professional background and have been known to raise a few funds in my day. I should add that I am award-nominated fiction writer, have published 26 books, and have two BAs from Scripps College, Claremont, CA and an MFA from Chapman University, Orange, CA. I do professional business consulting and planning and am Founder and CEO of Pacific Human Capital.
Since 2011, multinational consulting giant Deloitte had been developing California's online unemployment application and benefits system. This system "rolled out" over Labor Day weekend. Large parts of the web-based system do not work, and as many…
If he had lived rather than dying in the bus in Alaska in 1992, Christopher McCandless would be 45 years old. But he died, and is thus forever young, and his story resonates with each succeeding younger generation. This week, Jon Krakauer published…
Described as "the kind of nice old man who'd become your friend in minutes," World War II veteran Delbert "Shorty" Belton was assaulted by two teens in the parking lot of the Eagles Lodge in Spokane, Washington, at around 8 p.m. on Wednesday. He…
It's not often that women like retired Rear Admiral Veronica "Ronne" Froman and Joyce Gattas, the dean of San Diego State University's College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts come forward and accuse a well-known public figure of gross sexual…
If "big government" is so good at saving the day, it should be a better "hero" in some of our favorite films, shouldn't it? Let's see how great the stories would have been with Mr. Big Government standing in for Shrek, George Bailey in It's A…
Texas high school sophomore Jeff Bliss told interviewers he had dropped out of school for a year before he realized the value of his education. When he returned to high school in Duncanville, a suburb of Dallas, he landed in teacher Julie Phung's…
Hundreds of companies, artists and other assorted creative types are cashing in on a zombie-related marketplace that 24/7 Wall Street estimated at $5.74 billion in 2011. Here are 10 recent zombie-themed products driving the entertainment, culture,…
Some may not understand why being moved to a special "American Woman Novelist" category fired up hundreds of female American authors this week, starting with Amanda Filipacchi's New York Times expose of Wikipedia's latest gender-related blundering.…
Accused murderer and Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was one of the pioneers of the abortion movement, but not a good one. The Philadelphia Grand Jury report that led to his indictment on 7 counts of murder in the deaths of infants at…
Poets and Writers, an organization devoted to a literary subculture most of the world knows little to nothing about, ranks the top MFA programs in Creative Writing each year. The rankings are determined based on criteria that are important to…
Representative Joe Salazar (D-Colo.) isn't a "boorish, macho Latino" as some have stated. In his zeal to ban guns, he's shown himself to be a Todd Akin-level fool. Akin's 2012 comments to the effect that women could "prevent pregnancy" in the case…
Writing fake product reviews on Amazon and inventing snarky products has developed into its own art form. From classics like Tuscan Whole Milk and Fresh Whole Rabbit to new contenders, some Amazon top reviewers, several professional writers, and…
In the wake of former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner's shooting spree, fans have emerged for Dorner's peculiar brand of vigilante justice. Huffington Post Live host and Columbia University professor Marc Lamont Hill told CNN that Dorner's fans were…
Daughter of peace advocates, 83-year-old Catholic Sister Megan Rice has been incarcerated many times, and now faces felony charges again in her pursuit of peace and social justice. Last July, she and two other peace activists, Michael Walli and Greg…
"Feminists are family-destroying whores," according to Boulder, CO-based Christian conservative radio hosts Kevin Swanson and Dave Buehner. In their view, any female who isn't married and totally subservient to her husband is a feminist out to…
I didn't know Reddit co-founder and RSS co-creator (at age 14) Aaron Swartz. I don't even really know the people he hung out with well. By all accounts, Swartz was a pioneer and uncompromising person of principle, who made the world a better place…
If 2012 was the year of the "war on women," 2013 should be the year of the woman. After 200 years of Western feminism, now is the time for women to stop advocating, and start doing. 21st century feminism must welcome and nurture female leaders in…
Sandra Fluke was one of the 2012 nominees for TIME's Person of the Year. For a time last year, she, and birth control, seemed to be everywhere. Mainstream publications like TIME and the Huffington Post kept Fluke, her run-in with Rush Limbaugh, and…
"Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle," one of this season's few new dramas of distinction, CBS' Elementary, benefits from the star power of Lucy Liu. The show is a modern reboot of Sherlock Holmes, but Liu is, disappointingly, not Holmes,…
The Sandy Hook Elementary shooting feel like the end of the world to many Americans. Grief, shock and horror are normal and essential reactions. For some, the answer is more prayer. For others, greater gun control. The real answer may lie in putting…