If you saw this video I posted on Twitter yesterday, you may be wondering about what the heck happened to me: If you saw my previous post, you might remember that I went into surgery to get my tons… | Continue reading
Though individuality is what makes us great, sometimes you have to find common ground to bring everyone together. Read along in L.R. Braden’s Big Idea, where she tells us how this idea of bri… | Continue reading
In case you were wondering to yourself what you should watch on Netflix today, the new season of Love Death + Robots just dropped, with another eight episodes of futuristic and/or fantastical anima… | Continue reading
I’ve mentioned elsewhere that my yard has become the de facto dog park for the neighborhood. Here is evidence of that: Buckley (black labradoodle), Gus (golden labradoodle) and Charlie (doofu… | Continue reading
Fucking “Jumbo Donettes”?!?!? THEY’RE GODDAMN DONUTS THAT’S WHAT THEY ARE “But ‘donette’ is their trademark” YOU DON’T THINK I DON’T KNOW… | Continue reading
I’m having surgery for the first time in my life tomorrow and let me just say, I am hella nervous. I’m honestly really scared, mostly because I’ve never been put under with anesth… | Continue reading
The famous saying is that “life is like a bunch of chocolates.” In author Jeff Noon’s case, it’s more like a deck of cards, and for the same reason: You never know what you&… | Continue reading
Today is not only my birthday, it is the tenth anniversary of the release of Fuzzy Nation, otherwise known (to me, anyway) as The Makeup Book, because it was the book that came out after Tor and I … | Continue reading
Photo by Kristine Scalzi It occured to me last week, as I was coming up on my 52 birthday, which is today, that I am now old enough that I have a year of my life correspond to every week of a stand… | Continue reading
It was low-key but lovely here. If Mother’s Day is something that gives you joy, I hope it was joyful for you. — JS | Continue reading
Welcome to another segment of me making something and having realistic problems along the way and being unashamed I fucked up a little bit! I told my dad that I wanted to bake something, and he rec… | Continue reading
You may remember Matthew Ryan as the fellow with whom I co-wrote that Christmas song late last year, or you may otherwise be familiar with him from his own extensive and excellent discography. He h… | Continue reading
The difference between a tyrant and a king is found in if he is a ruler or a leader. But what makes a leader? Author Griffin Barber begins to answer this question in his Big Idea. Follow along as h… | Continue reading
In lieu of any posting of depth from me today, because apparently I’m not actually thinking about anything more deeply than can be essayed in a tweet at the moment, here’s Sugar the cat… | Continue reading
Sometimes a writer’s big idea is something that a single novel cannot hope to contain — even if that novel can give that idea a hell of a good start. Acclaimed author James L. Cambias c… | Continue reading
Exactly a month ago, I posted a spoiler-free look at Amazon Prime’s new animated superhero show, Invincible. In that post, only the first four of the eight episodes were out, and I was basica… | Continue reading
In author John Gwynne’s Big Idea, he tells us of not only his love for Norse mythology, but also of his passion to write something fantastic that will evoke an array of emotions within his re… | Continue reading
I wrote a Twitter thread last night about awards and peer groups and being happy no matter who might win; I’m reporting it for archival purposes, and for those of you who don’t go to th… | Continue reading
Reading can be a form of escapism, but so can writing. Author A. J. Smith’s tells us about his experience with this in the Big Idea for his newest novel, The Sword Falls. Delve into his journ… | Continue reading
Welcome to the much (or maybe not so much) anticipated sequel of me getting vaccinated! Last time, I posted way too early and said I had no symptoms other than a tender arm. Let me tell you, I got … | Continue reading
The Last Emperox is a finalist for the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction novel, which is seriously cool and makes me happy. What also makes me happy is the excellent peer group I and my book fin… | Continue reading
If you like rhythm games as much as I do (which is a lot), then you’ll want to know about an amazing new game called “Friday Night Funkin'”. This game, found on Newgrounds, is bas… | Continue reading
We’re on our way out of April and are moving toward May, but there’s still enough time to get in this stack of new books and ARCs that have arrived at the Scalzi Compound. What here is … | Continue reading
Today’s Big Idea is a little different, with a large visual component. That’s because today’s big idea is about visual ideas. Jonathan Glancey, co-author of Logomotive: Railroad G… | Continue reading
It is a little odd to me that the very best thing about Joseph Biden in his first 100 days is that he is boring. First and most obviously, that’s in contrast to his predecessor, a narcissisti… | Continue reading
Are you the hero or the villain in your own life’s story? How about in someone else’s story? This is a key question in Corry L. Lee’s newest addition to The Bourshkanya Trilogy, T… | Continue reading
You may remember I had corona back in December. In the post over it, I told you all I was totally fine other than losing my taste and smell for a couple days. I was so happy it was a mild case and … | Continue reading
Can we rewrite our culture? Author PJ Manney asks the tough questions about humanity and society in the Big Idea for her newest novel, (Con)science. Follow along as she explains what it means to be… | Continue reading
Science fiction writers dream of different worlds… and sometimes miss the complexities of the one they’re on. Can we imagine this world, and who we might be somewhere else on it? ItR… | Continue reading
This is a happy dog, y’all. Hope you’re having a great Monday. — JS | Continue reading
Context: Someone out on the Internet was helpfully explaining to someone else that I was “No [Harlan] Ellison,” no matter how many blogs or witticisms I had. I naturally had some though… | Continue reading
Back in August, I recommended some songs to y’all by an artist named Conan Gray (which you can find here). Though I generally like all his songs, I recommended four that I particularly loved,… | Continue reading
Appearances are deceiving. This is especially true in Katherine Cowley’s newest novel, The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet. Dive in to her Big Idea, and learn how there can be more to a perso… | Continue reading
I found the record label called Daptone Records, based out of California, which records bands in a very 60s sort of way, particularly via its Penrose imprint. I’m enjoying what I’m hear… | Continue reading
People often say that we, as a species, need to come together. To put our differences aside and work as one. Elly Bangs weighs in on this opinion in her Big Idea for her newest novel, Unity. Follow… | Continue reading
For today’s Big Idea, writer Cavan Scott looks at his own past favorites in pop culture and how they inform the stories he is telling, none more so than the new collection of his indie comic,… | Continue reading
Snow fell last night (boo!), but that did give a chance to snap some pictures of Charlie and neighbor dog Buckley playing in the snow (yay!). Enjoy, even if you can’t possibly enjoy as much a… | Continue reading
First off, I’d like to say thank you to everyone that commented on my last post about my reviews. You all said such nice and reassuring things! So I decided to go ahead and write up that revi… | Continue reading
Science fiction can take its inspiration from unlikely sources, but for The Last Watch, the debut novel from author J.S. Dewes, the inspiration came from what might seem an especially unlikely sour… | Continue reading
Good question. I’m glad you asked. Just kidding, I know you didn’t ask, but my paranoid brain has made me believe that some of you are questioning why a lot of my posts are reviews or r… | Continue reading
I saw that it had leaked over the weekend but now it’s up on the Netflix YouTube account, so: Here you go. I think it looks pretty cool, myself. Also: — JS | Continue reading
Sometimes, things don’t turn out the way you want them to. But as James Fell tells us, that’s not always a bad thing. Follow along as he explains how failure can be for the best in his … | Continue reading
It’s not every day of the year that it’s Krissy’s birthday — today’s the only day, in fact — but every day I love her immensely and reflect how wonderful my life… | Continue reading
The “Golden Hour,” i.e., roughly the hour before sunset, is often a photographer’s favorite time of the day to shoot, because the light is flattering and the shadows are not direc… | Continue reading
Hey, this web site is free. You get what you get. And today, you get a nice if slightly stale sunset! Not bad! — JS | Continue reading
Of course you would. And I’m here to provide you with the goods. Carrot-chomping-Charlie! Chubby-cheek-Charlie! I can’t think of any more alliterations! But please enjoy this sunny pupp… | Continue reading
As part of the virtual JoCo Cruise this year, I, Mary Robinette Kowal, Rebecca Roanhorse and Charlie Jane Anders talked about being creative in 2020 — or not! — and what we learned from… | Continue reading
Discon III, this year’s Worldcon, is moving from August — when it was likely to be entirely virtual — to December, when at least some of it is likely to be able to done in-person,… | Continue reading