So, if I want to buy a 100 Grand candy bar (or an Almond Joy, or a Heath Bar, or whatever), and I go to the candy aisle in the local gas station, or the one in the IGA, the candy bar will cost about two bucks, give or take. But! If I go to […] | Continue reading
When you see a possibly terrifying mythical creature, is your first thought, I’m totally gonna pet that? If so, then Sara Omer, author of The Gryphon King, might have something in common with you. SARA OMER: At its core, The Gryphon King is about a horse girl on a quest for venge … | Continue reading
Krissy is off visiting friends for a couple of days, and so it falls to me to take the dog for her daily walk through the local nature preserve. I mean, I could not do it, but then I would disappoint Charlie, and, look, you just do not want to disappoint a dog. She will […] | Continue reading
It’s 1987 and my friend Tommy Kim has an idea to make his college applications stand out from the crowd: In addition to the usual essays, grades and test scores, he’s going to include a cassette of songs he’s written, performed by a band he put together, and professionally produc … | Continue reading
It’s a short and sweet oldy but a goody this time out, from Buddy Holly. Why this one? Why not? It’s been covered by just about everyone, from James Taylor to Erasure, and I really like the song, and I had free time this weekend, so here we are. If you like it, fabulous, if […] | Continue reading
And we have a lot to think about. — JS | Continue reading
We do so love the big blue marble we call home, don’t we? But what if humans had another home, and what if it was our red and dusty space neighbor? Author E.L. Starling poses this question in the Big Idea for newest novel, Bound By Stars, thinking up possibilities about the futur … | Continue reading
Whilst I was perusing the produce section at Kroger last week, I came across a watermelon. Not just any watermelon, though. Private Selection’s “Black Diamond” watermelons. I figured since y’all seemed to enjoy my orange review, you might want the skinny on this here watermelon, … | Continue reading
Hop on board for author Matthew Kressel’s newest ride through the galaxy, Space Trucker Jess. In this Big Idea as he takes you through not only his writing process for this particular story, but on a journey through a high-concept sci-fi world viewed through the eyes of a teenage … | Continue reading
Have you ever had one of those places you want to go to, but never get around to checking out, and suddenly a year has passed and you’ve still never been? That’s how it was for me and Grist, a restaurant in downtown Dayton that I had heard about from so many people and had […] | Continue reading
July 4 is most of a week away, so I was not anticipating that outside my hotel window last night would be a full-fledged professional fireworks display. But it turns out the hotel I was at, was next door to a Masonic Temple compound, and I guess they had some premature patriotic … | Continue reading
Very different from the last View From a Hotel Window I posted, seeing that one was from Venice, Italy. This one is greener, though. And has a parking lot! Very few of those in Venice, I have to say. Why am I here? Because of the Big Ohio Book Con, where Tochi Onyebuchi and I […] | Continue reading
I was traveling much of June, and as a result we have an extra-large collection of new books and ARCs to consider here at the end of the month. What in this double stack of reading goodness would you like to take on in this final weekend of the first half of the year? Share […] | Continue reading
When strangers meet on the road, can lives change? What if those strangers are something other than just strangers? With Smoke on the Wind, author Kelli Estes has a chance encounter for the ages… in more ways than one. KELLI ESTES: When I started writing my novel, Smoke on the Wi … | Continue reading
Anyway, here’s that post. — JS | Continue reading
Let’s revisit December 2o23 for a moment, when I first experienced Dozo: an exceptionally cool underground sushi spot in Dayton that features a pre-fixe tasting menu and sake/wine pairings. After that incredible initial visit, I went about six or seven more times after that. Ever … | Continue reading
Royalty is by blood. So what if a princess wakes up in a body that isn’t hers? And what if that body was previously a corpse? Author Chuck Rothman has the answers and is here to share them in the Big Idea for his newest novel, Cadaver Princess. Follow along to see if “blue blood” … | Continue reading
For our 25th anniversary, Krissy and I were planning to go to Iceland and spend a week or so there, getting to know the country. Then the pandemic happened and we ended up spending the anniversary at home. Fine, we would just reschedule Iceland for our 30th anniversary. But then … | Continue reading
We’re gettin’ the band back together! And this time, they’re gonna rock the political climate in foreign countries. Author Travis Kennedy is bringing you the best of hair metal bands with espionage on the side in his debut novel, The Whyte Python World Tour. Follow along to see h … | Continue reading
My friend George sent me this picture of me and Krissy — which I had been literally trying to find for years! — where she and I were at the wedding of my friend Clete. I was a groomsman, which is why I’m dressed up; Krissy is dressed up because, you know, wedding, you’re supposed … | Continue reading
Feeling the Monday Blues? Have I got the cure for you. Introducing one of my recent favorite artists, 6arelyhuman (pronounced barely human)! Imagine the most hype, energizing club music that makes you want to take shots and dance till the sun comes up. No, not Kesha, but pretty c … | Continue reading
Sometimes when you look in the mirror, it can feel like you don’t even recognize yourself. This might be doubly true if you’re looking at a perfect copy of yourself that thinks you’re the copy, not them. Author Jane Mondrup brings us such a conundrum in her new novel, Zoi. Follow … | Continue reading
And it’s giving us a lot to think about. Venice continues to be lovely and also at this moment rather warm and sweaty. After a morning of seeing art we’ve retreated back to the air conditioning of our hotel room. We’ll go back out again when we’re not so darn sticky. — JS | Continue reading
The little island town of Burano, which for all the world looks just like someone set designed the place. Cute tiny colorful homes set next to a canal? Check! You half expect Popeye to show up, singing a sea shanty. But it is, indeed, real. And apparently it’s against the law to … | Continue reading
There’s magic to be found everywhere you look, even in a mall! At least, such is the case in author Auston Habershaw’s newest novel, If Wishes Were Retail. Come along in his Big Idea to see how this idea initially set up shop in his brain. AUSTON HABERSHAW: When I graduated from … | Continue reading
If you’ve been reading my posts for a bit, you may remember me doing a piece or two over my favorite restaurant, Salar. The posts I’ve done have been featuring their wonderful monthly wine dinners they host, but today I’m here to talk about one of their other monthly events I enj … | Continue reading
Coming back to ideas with fresh eyes is always a good idea. For author Aimee Ogden, it was eight years before she revisited the story that would come to be her newest novella, Starstruck. Check out her Big Idea to see how she made this story shine. AIMEE OGDEN: Ten years ago, I h … | Continue reading
Someone is a little too excited to be on the Scalzi Bridge, with the Scalzi Church in the background to the left, about to have dinner at the Ai Scalzi restaurant. It was an all Scalzi day yesterday, you see. And it was all lovely, even if the dork pictured above clearly was not … | Continue reading
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Author John Wiswell tells us of a tale that usually ends in revenge and violence, but imagines a world where our hero chooses kindness instead. Follow along in the Big Idea for his newest novel, Wearing The Lion, and see where empath … | Continue reading
I have a lot to say about being married for 30 years — to the same person! — but I’m also on vacation and wandering around Venice, so I think I’ll save a big post on the matter for when I get back. Be that as it may, today is the actual 30th anniversary; on […] | Continue reading
32 years ago today, Krissy and I went on our first date. Today, our most recent date included a gondola ride, because if you’re a tourist in Venice and you don’t have a gondola ride, they will probably kick you out of the city. We didn’t want that. Gondola ride it was. And how wa … | Continue reading
Have you ever been watching a Shakespeare play and thought, wow, this would be a lot cooler if the actors on stage were drinking, there was improv involved in every scene, and tons of audience participation going on? Well have I got just the thing for you! Dayton Drunk Theater is … | Continue reading
Hello from Venice. We’ll be here for the week. Also, today is the 31st anniversary of me proposing to Krissy. Spoiler: she said yes. All manner of good things followed from there. It’s mid-morning here but my body says it’s, like, 2am, and I’ve been traveling all day. I think I’l … | Continue reading
Today was the day of nation-wide protests, the rally of the No Kings movement. It was also my first time going to a protest, like, at all. Though I’m disappointed I’ve never been to one before, I figured there was no better time to start than now. And I was joined by over a hundr … | Continue reading
Hey, you know what happens next week? Krissy and I celebrate 30 years of being married. She and I are taking a little vacation to enjoy it together. You may not see me for, uhhhhhhh, a while. If I do show up, it will be pretty brief. Don’t worry, Athena will be around for you, [… … | Continue reading
If you know me, you know one thing I complain about a lot (and probably more than any sane person should) is the use of licensed music in animated movies. I especially hate the use of licensed music in Illumination studio movies. Though, I can recognize that I am biased because I … | Continue reading
Obviously, to commemorate the passing of Brian Wilson, one of the great pop songwriters of this or any other era. This cover is a rather pale imitation of many different versions of this song, not withstanding the Beach Boys’ own version, but it is also a perfect song, able to wi … | Continue reading
Today in Incredibly Mundane Things That Yet Must Be Done, my side of the closet had become untenably crowded with clothes that I currently either can’t or won’t wear, and it was driving Krissy a little batty. So this morning she hauled all my stuff out onto the bed and told me to … | Continue reading
Yes, it’s actually pretty much this color in the sky, as it’s hanging low enough in it to pick up coloration by atmospheric refraction. It’s a pretty cool thing to see. If you get a chance to go out and look at it, it’s worth the view. If you can’t (or you have cloud cover), […] | Continue reading
In recent years, I, like many others, have pretty much completely fallen off the Marvel bandwagon and stopped watching all the Disney+ shows, the spin-offs, even most of the theatrical releases like Madame Web and Brave New World. Whatever your reasoning is, whether it’s because … | Continue reading
Because they’re pretty, and the US is a mess in ways that will take a lot to essay, and I just got back from travel and apparently caught a bit of con crud in Phoenix and so am kind of low energy at the moment. So: Look! Flowers! I figure the rest of the Internet […] | Continue reading
A couple days ago, my cousin sent me a Facebook post from AeCha Cafe that said they were having their soft opening. A new bubble tea shop was opening in Tipp City and this was the first I was hearing of it?! Though I wasn’t able to go to their actual soft opening on Tuesday, […] | Continue reading
A few things that are up with me recently that I have not yet otherwise posted elsewhere: 1. When the Moon Hits Your Eye is one of Amazon’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2025 (So Far), and it’s nice to know that the book has made its mark at this point in the year. […] | Continue reading
What goes better together than dragons, revolution, and being queer? Not much, and author Vanessa Ricci-Thode is here to show that with her newest novel, The Dragon Next Door. Dive in to her Big Idea to see how queer wizards can be both powerful and fierce and wholesome and cozy. … | Continue reading
Where it is a brisk and nippy 100 degrees Fahrenheit! Sweater weather here, certainly. I am here for Phoenix Fan Fusion, and I will have panels and signings all weekend long; check the schedule for the details (I also need to check the schedule for the details. I am running sligh … | Continue reading
A heart attack, life and all its craziness, and the loss of a close friend certainly threw a wrench (or multiple wrenches) into author Ryk E. Spoor’s life, but it didn’t stop him from writing this novel. Come along in his Big Idea for his newest novel, Fenrir, and read not only a … | Continue reading
Last night, my most favoritest wine bar in all of Dayton was hosting a new type of event they’re trying out. I decided very last minute to go and check it out, so I snagged myself a ticket just a few hours before the event. It’s called “Night School,” and is basically a much more … | Continue reading
Sometimes, great ideas can stem from just a single word. Author Kalla Harris talks about her single-word-inspiration in the Big Idea for her debut YA novel, The Ground That Devours Us. Follow along as she takes you through the many changes this story underwent; you’ll be dying to … | Continue reading