This is the first time I’ve gone through a book as a sequel while I did edits. It’s a very interesting process which is a bit different than the first. The characters are established, so it’s more making sure they’re consistent in their actions with the first book (having grown) than it is ensuring you […]
Retro Review: Poul Anderson – Ensign Flandry
Almost every time I open up a new Poul Anderson book, I find myself overcome with joy. I get strange aliens, a cool world with a lot of conflict, plenty of intrigue and action, and a g guaranteed sense of wonder and just joy of being in science fiction that a lot of modern authors […]
The Hilarious Reactions To The Happy Frogs Hugo Slate
The usual suspects are triggered like always. They can’t just enjoy what they like and have other people enjoy what they like and get along. They have to diminish, demean, and destroy. It’s all they have now. The slate was carefully chosen to give a nice glimpse at some of the best fiction out there, […]
Hugo Nominating – “Gravity Of The Game” By Jon Del Arroz
Hugo Nominations just opened, and we’re a month since Wolrdcon made an unprecedented move by banning me from attendance without giving much of a reason, but defaming me on their website and calling me a “racist bully.” The leadership of Worldcon has made it clear that they are not willing to extend protections to political […]
The Importance Of Timelines
I take some pretty detailed setting notes when writing books, and I’m glad I have those, but something I hadn’t done in my book ones of series, is set up a detailed timeline of my universes. As I’m getting into sequels, I find this increasingly important to have as I’m referencing past events in the […]
Forging Ahead And Taking Joy In The Little Things
What makes writing a tough business in my opinion is not really the work involved, the constant need for marketing, or even the overwhelming industry pressure to “conform or be cast out”, but it’s how long it takes to get a sense of accomplishment. While it feels good to finish short stories and the like, […]
Quick Shot Comic Reviews
I’m back for another round of brief reviews of all the comics this week as I couldn’t pick just one. I missed last week so there’s a smattering of titles in here. Go West #1 (Alterna) by Gareth Gunn and Saint Yak A post apocalyptic horror about a man who’s family gets slaughetered and he […]
Why Memes Are Great
I had so much fun with the SOTU speech last night, mainly because I waited for interesting rhetorical and visual moments and made some wonderful memes. Memes are about the most effective persuasion tool out there. Humans by nature are visual creature, so when we see a simple message paired with an image that’s either […]
This Is Just The Beginning Of The New Counter Culture
Yesterday I spent some good time talking to a great professional and industry colleague, Timothy Lim. We’ve of course communicated a bit online over the last several months, but this was the first conversation we had. In the age of digital communication it’s almost easy to forget about voice and other humans who are on […]
Comic Review: Right Ho, Jeeves #1
Today marked the release of Akrhaven Comics’ 2nd outing, the first issue of the adaptation of P.G. Wodehouse’s classic, Right Ho, Jeeves. I’m a reader who’s coming in not having read the book in which it’s been adapted from, so I can’t comment on how faithful it is to the original, and I come at this […]
My 2017 Planetary Awards Nominations
It’s that time of year again. Last year for 2016 I nominated two very cool sci-fi stories, which I wanted to raise awareness for. For something like this, I like to try to put something out there not just that is great, but that other folk might not nominate because it didn’t cross their radars. […]
Evil Girlfriend Media Shutting Its Doors
It saddens me today to receive notice that EGM is shutting its doors and closing down. I wish there had been a little more notice but the kindle version is already gone. Jennifer Brozek, my former editor, was the chief editor there. All of their books will be gone from their stores soon, including, sadly, […]