And to celebrate, here is a picture of a cat on a car roof. My sympathies to you today if you were planning to travel by air, or withdraw large sums of money from your bank account. It’s kind of a mess out there at the moment. I’m going to stay home, but then, that […] | Continue reading
Here’s the link. On the podcast I talk about several things, including writing, my very first Worldcon, and why I do noodle-y electronic music music for fun, if not for profit. The podcast runs about 71 minutes, and I first show up a couple of minutes in. Fun fact, Joe Mahoney, o … | Continue reading
Here’s the article. Redshirts clocks in at number 73, which is low for the list, but high in terms of the total number of all science fiction books ever written in the history of the world. It’s kind of like being #380 on the Forbes list of the 400 richest people in the world: yo … | Continue reading
As many of you know, for the last year I’ve been writing a column on SF/F film for Uncanny Magazine, and it’s been a fabulous experience (for me, anyway). Now Uncanny is running a Kickstarter to fund their eleventh year of publication, with new writers and stories and essays (and … | Continue reading
Yaz(oo) was one of my favorite bands growing up, and I always wanted to be able to sing like Alison Moyet. Well, I can’t sing like Alison Moyet, but I stayed up late making a cover of “Only You,” the band’s signature song. Please note that I didn’t mean to stay up late, I just [… … | Continue reading
Email today from one of the folks at Tor, saying, hey, we’re doing in-house stuff about Old Man’s War #7 next week, can you give us a couple sentences on what it’s about? And I was all, sure, here’s what it’s about, and also, here’s the title. This was, I will note, how I learned … | Continue reading
Science Fiction is famously a genre in conversation with itself, and in her latest novel Apostles of Mercy, author Lindsay Ellis finds herself in direct conversation with one of the most famous science fiction writers of all. LINDSAY ELLIS: Talking about H.G. Wells in a context o … | Continue reading
She’s a good dog. Apparently we’re not the only ones to think so. — JS | Continue reading
Author Samantha Mills has a lot on her mind with The Wings Upon Her Back, and much of what is on her mind goes back… way back. Find out how the experiences of those who come before come to color the lives of those who live in the now, and what it means for this […] | Continue reading
Recently, I saw a quote from something or other that said “do more of what makes you happy.” At first, I thought that was a ridiculous piece of advice, because who doesn’t already know that doing things that make you happy will make oneself happier? Then I realized, as obvious as … | Continue reading
You’ve read or seen stories with clones. But there’s a reasonable chance you’ve not read a story with clones quite like These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart. Author Izzy Wasserstein is here to tell you about how this story recontextualizes a plot device you thought you knew. … | Continue reading
The 2024 edition of the JoCo Cruise is about to embark. I’ll be mostly away for the next week or so. Try to have a good time in the world mostly without me. See you later. — JS | Continue reading
Smudge looks like he’s laughing at his own dad joke. If you want to suggest the dad joke he just made, put it in the comments. — JS | Continue reading
Coca-Cola’s been doing a number of “limited edition” flavors recently, both in full-sugar and zero sugar form, but apparently this new Spiced flavor is one that’s meant to be in the regular rotation from now on, and also the first new permanent flavor for the Coca-Cola line since … | Continue reading
As I live in rural America, on a rural road where cable lines do not exist, I am apparently forever cursed with slow Internet speeds: for a decade they hovered at 6mbps, and then a few years ago my DSL provider finally bumped up the speed to 40mpbs — still pathetically slow by mo … | Continue reading
For as long as there has been science fiction, there’s been women writing science fiction. Unfortunately, as time passes, some of these stories can get lost along the way. Thankfully, Gideon Marcus is here to bring them back into the spotlight, for you to discover for the first t … | Continue reading
I got a new music plug-in today which is useful for creating generative, ambient patterns, and so decided to work with it a bit and create a new track. When I was done with it, I noticed the track was exactly ten minutes long. Thus the title: “Ten Minutes of Your Life.” Which mig … | Continue reading
Don’t give me that look, cat. I can always revise! And yes, that is the current work in progress behind Spice. It’s coming along nicely. You’ll see the whole thing in roughly one year. There will be other stuff before then, don’t worry. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. — … | Continue reading
A pretty good song! And now I’m going to spend my Friday evening mostly watching TV and going “durrrrrrr.” I hope that’s all right with you (and if it’s not, I have some bad news for you re: me caring). In case I’m not back until Monday, have a fabulous weekend. If I am back […] | Continue reading
Stuck for information about how to make your cosplay come together — and stay together? Annye Driscoll has just the book for you with Glue Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Adhesives. Here she is to warm you up on this sticky subject. ANNYE DRISCOLL: I never in a million y … | Continue reading
I had to actually leave my house and go into the world today, to visit the Armstrong Air & Space Museum, to do some research on an upcoming project. While I was out and about, I stopped at a McDonald’s because I they were advertising that it was Shamrock Shake time again. It’s be … | Continue reading
One of the great advantages of speculative fiction is that it can take the legends, myths and trope you already think you know, and recontextualize them in a way that presents them in a way you’d never considered them before. For Fathomfolk, author Eliza Chan took a well-known aq … | Continue reading
A useful little video from Vox about how “artificial intelligence” is everywhere these days, like microplastics, and like microplastics, you may not be entirely aware of how pervasive it is in your day-to-day life. Part of the problem, I think, is the label “artificial intelligen … | Continue reading
The world is wider than we often know, with more people and communities in them than many of us have heard of before. In Sweet Malida: Memories of a Bene Israel Woman, author Zilka Joseph explores her own connection and history with a largely little-known group, and why she decid … | Continue reading
Those nefarious winged creatures are up to no good, and it falls to Spice the cat to make a comprehensive survey of their mischief, and report back to the other cats. She will not fail her duty. That’s dedication, people. That’s commitment. — JS | Continue reading
Sometimes as an author, you have to work to develop a character. And sometimes, they just… appear. Which of these did author Kerry Faye have happen for her novel Dead Girl? She’s here now to enlighten you. KERRIE FAYE: I’ve always been curious about how storytellers come up with … | Continue reading
It’s 2024, which means it’s an election year here in the US, and a particularly messy one at that, and also, the world in general is in a state which is best described by the very technical term “a real shitshow.” There are any number of issues one can get wrapped up in and focus … | Continue reading
I brought my laptop downstairs for a change of scenery whilst I work, and was immediately colonized by a cat. Typing is difficult. This may be my last communication to you, at least until the cat moves, and we all know how that goes. If indeed this is the end for me, know that my … | Continue reading
Surprise! I have another EP of electronic music ready for you. This one is called Difficult Time, after one of the tracks on the album, and also because [gestures at the world]. The five tracks here allude to the mess of the world, either by running toward the mess, or away from … | Continue reading
Even if you don’t know what the word “Bezzle” means — yet — you know what it is, because it’s almost a certainty that someone you know, and perhaps even you, have found yourself in that state at one time or another. Cory Doctorow is here now to explain to you what The Bezzle is, … | Continue reading
We all know about protagonists, the characters who drive the story, and the secondary characters, the ones who do… other things while the protagonists drive the story. What happens when one of those other characters want to take a turn at the wheel? Author Jennifer Estep knows, a … | Continue reading
Yes, it’s the Radiohead song. I fiddled with it some over the weekend. I was trying to make it more clanky. I think I may have gone a little too far over into the noisy end of things. Too many bouncing parts is a hazard when you have a lot of reverb at your command. […] | Continue reading
Now here it is for you. It’s a fabulous song. I wouldn’t mind if the Sundays came back with some more new music sometime. — JS | Continue reading
Smack dab in the middle of the month, a set of new books and ARCs that have arrived at the Scalzi Compound. What here looks good to take with you into the weekend? Share in the comments! — JS | Continue reading
There’s an investigative report out on the administration of the 2023 Hugo Awards, by Chris Barkley and Jason Sanford, and make no mistake about it, it is grim. The short version is that eligible people and works were kept off the Hugo ballot, not because the Chinese government o … | Continue reading
You’re welcome. — JS | Continue reading
Please meet the Summit Award, which is an award Amazon Original Stories gives to, apparently, stories they publish that have gotten 250,000 readers. And it turns out the stories of the Far Reaches collection, which includes my story “Slow Time Between the Stars” has crossed that … | Continue reading
In today’s Big Idea, author Gwenda Bond wants to pull off a heist — both in her latest novel The Frame-Up, and in the course of the post itself. Ready to be in on it? GWENDA BOND: Can I steal a moment of your time? There, gotcha. If you like a heist as much as […] | Continue reading
Well, here I am again at the airport, heading back after another convention. This Boskone was quite nice and it was lovely to see old friends and meet some new ones, but one of the best things about going out into the world is going back to your own home after you’re done. I’ll b … | Continue reading
The Edward E. Smith Memorial Award, more informally known as the “Skylark Award,” is awarded by the New England Science Fiction Association to those “Who, in the opinion of the membership, has contributed significantly to science fiction, both through work in the field and by exe … | Continue reading
I’m in town for the Boskone science fiction convention, where I will be doing panels, a reading, and a dance. I love that I somehow developed this side gig as a DJ. It’s strange yet wonderful. If you’re at the convention this weekend, be sure to say hello. I will not be difficult … | Continue reading
As noted in this Deadline article, which just dropped. Maximum Effort, for those who do not keep up with such things, is the production company owned by Ryan Reynolds. They’re lovely folks and I am of course delighted to be in business with them and with Paramount on this. I thin … | Continue reading
The very first album I ever bought with my own money was Escape by Journey, so it’s safe to say I had a fondness for the band and its music, both when I was younger and even today. But even for a fan, the journey (small “j”) of the band in American and musical culture, […] | Continue reading
Bluesky, the microblogging service that I joined last April, is finally out of beta and is no longer invite-only, so anyone who has an interest in joining is now free to do so. Here’s a link to the site; just follow the directions from there. Once you join (if you join), I am pre … | Continue reading
As a former professional movie critic, I find a lot to like in Jordan A. Werner’s Big Idea post for The Witch and the Ostrich. I must confess, however, to having no experience with very large birds. One cannot be into everything, I suppose. JORDAN A. WERNER: From my senior year o … | Continue reading
Spice is a lovely kitty, but my keyboard is also one of her favorite places to hang out. I don’t know how much time you spend typing around a cat, but I can tell you, it’s not as easy as it sounds. That’s all I have for you at the moment. Spice is currently napping […] | Continue reading
From when I was in town for the Southern Book Festival. We talk about Starter Villain and the writer’s life in general. It’s twelve minutes, so not too long. I hope you like it. — JS | Continue reading
Yesterday I posted a picture of my current music composition setup here and on Bluesky, which prompted requests by music nerds to go into detail about the hardware and software I’m currently using. All right, then, fellow obsessives, strap in, we’re gonna geek out for a bit. If y … | Continue reading