Balticon has been absolutely lovely and Krissy and I are having a fabulous time, both at the convention and in Baltimore. This weekend there is also a large Indian festival and a heavy metal festival downtown, so it’s quite the melding of cultures in the streets and also in the e … | Continue reading
It’s a special talent to write in a language that you’ve learned along the way. In this Big Idea for author Yukimi Ogawa’s new collection of short stories, Like Smoke, Like Light, she explains why this choice was an essential one for her. YUKIMI OGAWA: Years ago, somewhere on the … | Continue reading
This hotel window shot has it all: A parking lot, yes, but also an impressive building in the federal style, and a pleasant downtown view in general. It’s a lovely day in Baltimore, and the part of the downtown I’m in is nicely walkable. Charm City, indeed! Balticon starts this e … | Continue reading
Sometimes, it takes more than one try to really nail down a story. In author Jean Marie Ward’s case, the third time was the charm, resulting in her new novel, Siren Bridge. Read on to see how each iteration of this story came together to form this final novel. JEAN MARIE WARD: I … | Continue reading
Away from the computer for most of the day because Krissy and I are headed to Balticon, where, among the many other things I will do, I will be picking up the Robert A. Heinlein Award, which I am pretty jazzed about, I have to say. I’ll also be doing a reading, a signing, and […] | Continue reading
Like many a young white teen in the 80s, this is the song that acquainted me with Tina Turner; prior to that I knew she existed, but I couldn’t have told you anything that she had done or why she was important in the realm of popular music. This lack of knowledge, I am happy […] | Continue reading
Of what? I don’t know, man, what ya got? Busy day today. Cool doings are transpiring. I look forward to sharing them with you soon. — JS | Continue reading
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or in this case, don’t judge a monster by its mushrooms. Author William C. Tracy’s Big Idea brings us back into The Biomass Conflux series with his newest novel, To A Fungus Unknown. WILLIAM C. TRACY: Forty years after landing on Lida, the colony … | Continue reading
It’s George Berry, who was one of three who correctly guessed the number (“792”), and then was the one chosen by Alexa when I asked her to pick a number between one and three. His ARC will be signed and personalized and sent on its way today. Congrats to him and thank you to ever … | Continue reading
They just arrived! And this one, modelled here with Spice, is the one I’m giving away! Here’s all you have to do: I asked Krissy to think of a number between 0 and 1000, and her friend Karen heard the number as she said it. Guess the number in the comment thread here. That’s it! … | Continue reading
How was the state of your wallet during the prime pandemic years? As Scott Fulford explains in this Big Idea for The Pandemic Paradox, for many Americans it was not nearly as bad as it could have been, and indeed, possibly the opposite. SCOTT FULFORD: The novel coronavirus sudden … | Continue reading
There’s this building in the neighboring town of Piqua (yes, home of Captain Underpants) that I pass by occasionally, and I’m a little obsessed with it, because it is slowly but inexorably being eaten by vines, and no one seems to be doing anything about it. The building is for s … | Continue reading
Marvel has always had a bit of a tonal issue across their cinematic universe, and even within singular franchises, such as Thor. There was one franchise in particular though that I was positive I had nailed down in terms of what to expect. Guardians of the Galaxy was one where I … | Continue reading
Some things are worth the wait, as Jacqueline Vogtman found out in Girl Country, her short story collection. Time and circumstance changed it from what it once was to something new, with a particular theme running through the whole thing. JACQUELINE VOGTMAN: My book, Girl Country … | Continue reading
Yup, I’m teaming up with Subterranean Press once more to do the thing where, if you pre-order the latest novel (in this case, Starter Villain) through them, I will drive up to their warehouse and not only sign your book, but personalize it, to you or whomever you like. Pretty nif … | Continue reading
And you ask, what is an Ohioana Book Award? Well, it’s the state book awards for Ohio, and there are several categories. The category I am a finalist for is “Fiction,” and here is the list of finalist authors and books in the category: Hyde, Allegra. Eleutheria, Vintage Ng, Celes … | Continue reading
Archiving here for the sake of posterity (and not relying on Twitter for it; they’ve gone wonky, alas, so this is a cut and paste job) 1. To reiterate this once again for everyone: If you see me blurbing a book, it’s because I have actually read the fucking thing and I liked it e … | Continue reading
It’s Friday, and what better time to be thinking about books for the weekend. What in this stack of new books and ARCs is calling to you? Share in the comments! — JS | Continue reading
Yes, it is in fact May, but I only just now got around to eating the April Universal Yums Box, so here is a late April review! This month was Belgium, and here’s all the goodies: Right off the bat, this looked like a very promising spread. There’s tons of chocolate, which is to b … | Continue reading
Cooking is for everyone, and Jules Sherred is reminding everyone of that with his new book Crip Up the Kitchen: Tools, Tips and Recipes for the Disabled Cook, which aims to help make the activity more accessible to those who might have previously felt excluded from it. JULES SHER … | Continue reading
Fun fact: Bono, the lead singer of U2, has the same birthday as me: Today, May 10. So I thought it might be fun to essay one of his band’s more famous songs. It’s not going to replace the original, to be sure, but I enjoyed putting it together. Additionally, a thing I learned tod … | Continue reading
Well, I’m no longer in my “early fifties,” I’m smack dab in the middle of them, and of middle age. And you know what? So far, at least, my fifties have been terrific. I’m very definitely in the part of my life where I am comfortable with who I am and what I’ve done with […] | Continue reading
There’s no time like the present when it comes to making positive change. That’s certainly the case for author Lisa Brideau regarding policies on climate change. Follow along in her Big Idea to see how she crafts this changed world in her new novel, Adrift. LISA BRIDEAU: I work a … | Continue reading
I’ve never been the biggest fan of food trucks. I always thought that if I wanted to go and eat somewhere, I’d like to be inside a building, not outdoors, and be able to sit and eat comfortably. So food trucks just never really fit the bill for me. However, ever since I started w … | Continue reading
Sometimes, a “big idea” is a collection of smaller ideas, which, when grouped together, are greater than the sum of their parts. Dorothy A. Winsor knows a little about this, and in this Big Idea for Glass Girl, she puts it all together for you. DOROTHY A. WINSOR: Big Ideas don’t … | Continue reading
Tor Books has a history of giving my novels some pretty terrific covers, and, hey, guess what? They’ve done it again! Please enjoy the cover of Starter Villain, featuring, as it does, a tremendous executive-level cat. And, yes, cats are integral to the plot of the novel. How? You … | Continue reading
More short answers to pressing questions! Let’s get right to it: Theorboast: I would love to see you rate some unusual musical instruments for suitability in your band. Theorbo? Theremin? Hurdy-gurdy? Duduk and tar? As it happens I do own a theremin, and also some other vaguely u … | Continue reading
And now, short answers to some of the questions that I otherwise did not get to this year: Karen A. Wyle: What does it mean to retire from self-employment? Is there any purpose in declaring, to oneself or others, that one is Retired? If you stop working for a living, and don’t pl … | Continue reading
And specifically about The Kaiju Preservation Society, at the American Writers Festival last year. It’s an hour long! We cover a lot of ground! Enjoy! — JS | Continue reading
Just in time for tomorrow’s coronation, this question from Miles B: I’m British, and I’m curious what you (Americans in general, but obviously you in particular) make of the way we determine our head of state? For those of you who might be unclear about this, the head of state of … | Continue reading
David Goldfarb asks: Something that occurred to me to wonder about, a while ago: as someone who grew up poor, how do you feel about your daughter’s attitude towards money? I’ve seen posts from her where she talks in a fairly casual way about spending what to me (also upper middle … | Continue reading
In A Work in Progress, author Jarrett Lerner’s character is wrestling with a monster of a problem. It’s the same problem that Lerner himself had to wrestle with in his time — a monster of a problem that is, alas, all too common. JARRETT LERNER: I’ve always loved monster stories. … | Continue reading
Several folks in the request thread have asked for an update on the church, with some additional information about what it takes to renew and refurb an old building like this into something useable. As it happens, today we got another milestone in its refurbishment under our belt … | Continue reading
There are many people who have written about war in the future, including the proprietor of this particular site. But Major General Mick Ryan (ret.) may have, by profession and inclination, a unique insight into the matter. In this Big Idea for White Sun War, he explains how his … | Continue reading
Will Glass wants to know: How’s the Big Damn Contract going? Hard to believe it’s been 8 years. Not that any of this is our business of course, but since you’ve talked about it a fair amount, your avid readers are curious. Are you satisfied with the deal you got? From Tor’s persp … | Continue reading
For those of you who can’t read Hungarian, which admittedly includes me, this is what the article screenshot above says, via Google Translate: John Scalzi will be the guest of honor at this year’s Book FestivalThe Budapest International Book Festival, which is now being held for … | Continue reading
Dragons! Everybody loves them and they wing their way into all sorts of places in the fantasy genre. Author L.R. Lam was determined to find a fresh spin on the familiar creatures, however, and in Dragonfall, they may just have found one. L.R. LAM: For years, I’d really wanted to … | Continue reading
Granny Roberta says: I had a really good question a while back but I forgot to write it down. (Remembering the actual question was never an option.) So how’s YOUR memory holding up? As far as I can recall, it’s about as good as it ever was, which is to say, not particularly good … | Continue reading
–E asks: You have this giant lawn. I don’t get the sense you do much more than mow it (or rather, Krissy mows it). What do you use your giant yard for? Throwing balls for the dog, I’m sure, and taking photographs of yourself in dresses, but do you ever picnic in your yard? Did [… … | Continue reading
Stars & Arrow asks: I’m curious about your thoughts on the future of social media, beyond the current doom-spiral of Twitter and the struggle to figure out a replacement for that. I keep thinking of all the ways social media has been used in the past, particularly in countries wh … | Continue reading
Time to begin this year’s Reader Request Week, and why not start on an absolutely-non-controversial-in-any-way topic, suggested by LadyCat: Quick sum up: What are your thoughts about your family, specifically your wife and daughter, remaining in Ohio for the long term due to its … | Continue reading
Which is: I’m still sorting through applicants. There are a lot of you, folks, and you are all so good. I’ll have a final decision by the end of this week. Thanks for your patience, there’s only one of me doing the selection. — JS | Continue reading
Krissy and Athena are away for the weekend, and between eating donuts and pestering the animals, I played around with my digital audio workstation and came out with something with a pretty killer bassline, with a bunch of other bleepy and bloopy stuff around it. It’s kind of if a … | Continue reading
First things first: Kaiju is a 2023 Locus Award finalist, in the category of Science Fiction Novel. This delights me, both for itself, and for the company it keeps. Here’s the full list of finalists in the category: SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL I’m not going to complain about that peer … | Continue reading
You may recall that roughly two years ago Krissy and I put in a reservation for a Ford F-150 Lightning, the Ford Company’s first all-electric truck. I was excited about this; aside from being a cool vehicle in itself, it had several features I was keen about, including the abilit … | Continue reading
It turns out that next week is the first week in a while where I am not traveling and/or am slammed by work, so you know what that means: It’s an excellent time to do the annual Reader Request Week, in which you pick the topics, and I write about them! No topic is too […] | Continue reading
There’s more to life than humanity, and in the hybrid anthology Life Beyond Us, editors Julie Nováková, Lucas K. Law and Susan Forest dig into the differences, why they matter, and why they should matter to us. JULIE NOVÁKOVÁ, LUCAS K. LAW, SUSAN FOREST: Imagine that the fate of … | Continue reading
Yesterday, my dad and I went to our local library’s book sale. I was on the hunt for old cookbooks, and started rifling through the adult nonfiction to find some gems. I ended up finding three cookbooks total, one of which I already have, so I only ended up getting two. They were … | Continue reading