During the pandemic, lots of people took on projects to keep themselves busy; mine was building out a music room with an eye toward eventually writing and recording music. Along the way Krissy expressed an interest in bass guitar, so I got her one and told her that she and I woul … | Continue reading

It might not look like much, but the picture you see here represents an important milestone in the renovation of The Old Church: That chimney has been capped and tuckpointed, and those white slats have sealed up an area where wind and water could get in, transferring both cold an … | Continue reading

Which is, as you all know, my upcoming novel, to be released this September (September 21 in the UK, to be exact). The UK cover is of a kind with the UK cover of The Kaiju Preservation Society, which I think is pretty nifty, as both books are set in contemporary time, even with t … | Continue reading

Taken last week during the JoCo Cruise. Don’t know if you know, but I think she’s pretty great. — JS | Continue reading

Victories are dramatic, but victories don’t have to be the end of the story. In today’s Big Idea for her novel Bitter Medicine, author Mia Tsai looks beyond the usual climax of a tale to find another part of the story. MIA TSAI: There are a lot of hooks floating around in Bitter … | Continue reading

One, I’m delighted that it won, it was my favorite film of the last year, and more widely, it was the most “this story could only be done as a movie” movie of 2022, so a win at the awards that are meant to celebrate the singular nature of the medium is pretty great. And […] | Continue reading

You think you know family, but maybe your family isn’t quite like the family in Elle Marr’s novel The Family Bones. And maybe that’s a good thing, but as Marr explains, this family here makes for interesting reading. ELLE MARR: Who among us has never returned from a family event, … | Continue reading

In The Shadow Galaxy: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry, author J. Dianne Dotson explores spanning multiple genres and styles within a small package. J. DIANNE DOTSON: Back in the 1980s, I moved to a place called Gray. Its name essentially summed up my initial ambivalence … | Continue reading

Most people say that humor is subjective, but for author Karen Katchur, it was a craft that needed to be studied. Come along in her Big Idea to see how she studied comedy to write her newest novel, The Greedy Three. KAREN KATCHUR: When I was a kid in the late 70s, we played a lot … | Continue reading

What is described by translator Michael Berry as a sci-fi dystopian novel may actually be somewhat of a familiar tale to you. Come along in his Big Idea to see how Hospital, by Han Song, ended up being a perfect representation of his own life. MICHAEL BERRY: During a recent podca … | Continue reading

Sometimes, when you start writing a novel, the book is about one thing. As the writing and editing process goes on, however, the book will reveal itself as being about, if not something else entirely, at least, something more. What was that “more” for J.A. Tyler in his novel Only … | Continue reading

Have a hankerin’ for some fine new reads? This week’s stack of new books and ARCs has you covered. What here piques your interest? Share in the comments! | Continue reading

They say good things come to those who wait. They also, however, say that the waiting is the hardest part. In both cases, Susan McDonough-Wachtman has reason to understand each aphorism, and in this Big Idea for the aptly-named Snail’s Pace, she explains why. SUSAN McDONOUGH-WACH … | Continue reading

Back in November, my dad and I started working out together at Planet Fitness. My goal at the time was to lose twenty pounds by March. It seemed realistic and achievable to me, given the time frame. Alas, that didn’t end up happening. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve even gained wei … | Continue reading

New York Times bestselling author Matt Ruff is back with his first ever sequel, The Destroyer of Worlds. Follow along in his Big Idea as he tells what led him to write a continuation of Lovecraft Country. MATT RUFF: This novel is a departure for me. Over the course of my career, … | Continue reading

If you follow Humans of New York, you may remember about a year and a half ago when HONY did a story over an Irish bar owned by a woman named Mary O’Halloran. After the bar got shut down due to the pandemic, HONY created a special fundraiser where you could pay $30 dollars for [… … | Continue reading

On one hand, the fact that today the temperature hit the upper sixties in Ohio in February may be a worrisome indicator of where things are going. On the other hand, it still was a beautiful day to hang out in the yard with the dog. So, you know. Take your silver linings where yo … | Continue reading

Today, I visited somewhere I have been wanting to go for months, and I am so excited to finally be writing a piece over the Swan Room Tea House in Findlay, Ohio! The Swan Room Tea House is located right in the heart of Findlay, just off the main street. It’s a Bracketed Italianat … | Continue reading

Writer Robert Benchley once noted that you can do anything, as long as it’s not the thing you’re supposed to be doing. Paz Pardo knows a little bit about that – in fact, it’s one reason why her colorful new novel The Shamshine Blind is now out in the world. PAZ PARDO: What if emo … | Continue reading

I mean, besides the reason I’ve already noted several times, which is that there are only so many times you can say “The political right in the United States is unambiguously all-in on bigoted authoritarianism and white supremacy and has no interest in helping any American, just … | Continue reading

This week’s stack of new books and ARCs is actually two stacks, heavy on reissues and limited editions. What here would you like to give to your valentine — or keep for yourself? Share in the comments. — JS | Continue reading

Slowly but surely things are moving along in the church renovations. Krissy has gotten herself a pretty fantastic desk set, and it’s been installed, and now she’s doing work in her new office space. She’s not entirely done decorating — that chair she’s in is temporary, and there … | Continue reading

There are times when your brain turns to cheese, and is not good for anything useful, and yet you are not tired enough to sleep. For times like this, I turn to How It’s Made, the TV show where, to bland-yet-weirdly-compelling background music, the creation process of every day ob … | Continue reading

The world has systems. Systems have rules. Or are they more like guidelines? In today’s Big Idea for A Hacker’s Mind, security expert Bruce Schneier takes a look at systems, how they are vulnerable, and what that fact means for all of us. BRUCE SCHNEIER: Hacking isn’t limited to … | Continue reading