Because this is a sentiment that is surely timely. In addition to singing, I’m playing bass on this one. I tried chugging along with the guitar but it sounded just terrible, so the guitars on this one are courtesy of UJAM, and some MIDI programming on my part for the solo. Also, … | Continue reading
It’s fair to say that Pamela Ribon and I have come up together in the world. Back in the before times, she and I both started blogging when blogs were still called “online journals,” and our first novels came out close to each other. Since then she’s become a force in animation, … | Continue reading
That’s right y’all, you’re getting another flower picture! I know, I can hardly believe it myself, but spring is just turning out so beautifully here and I just feel so compelled to share the blossoms with you. Today’s bloom is a peony (I think), from a peony bush along the side … | Continue reading
It can be hard to have solid opinions and identities when we live in a world of mixed messages and misinformation. With propaganda running rampant, how can we be sure if reality is really real? Author Thomas Elrod plays with this idea of a false reality in his newest novel, The F … | Continue reading
Athena started the bloomposting yesterday and here is my contribution: the irises in our front yard, which are in their annual two-week period of blooming, followed by 50 weeks of just being green shrubs. Still, for those two weeks, it’s pretty great to look at. I of course can t … | Continue reading
We’ve all got a beast inside us, waiting to be unleashed. For some, they never hold it back. For others, they keep it caged until it can be repressed no longer. Enter author Sam Beckbessinger, whose fury led to the creation of her newest novel, Femme Feral. SAM BECKBESSINGER: My … | Continue reading
Spring is in full swing here in Ohio and it has been both very beautiful and very allergy-inducing. One of the more beautiful aspects is that there is apparently a ton of American Wisteria wrapped around my pergola by the garage, and I find it to be extremely pretty. See for your … | Continue reading
When it comes down to it, all humanity really has at the end of the day is our stories. Telling stories around the fire is a tale as old as humans themselves, and author Ada Hoffman expresses the importance of these stories, and the importance of being human, in the Big Idea for … | Continue reading
In the further adventures of home renovation, the back deck has been laid and now the roofing is being put up, for shade and to keep rain off the deck. It’s looking.. pretty good! There’s more to be done, obviously. But it’s coming along nicely. — JS | Continue reading
I’m fifty-seven today, and today is the first birthday that I can actually say that I can really feel I’m getting older. I have an arthritic knee now, which if I don’t take medication for will remind me that it’s arthritic; it’s also the first thing with my body (other than occas … | Continue reading
I still ask “AI” questions about me from time to time, just to see what it knows about a moderately notable science fiction author and whether it will still make up things when it doesn’t know something, and as of May 8, 2026, the answer to each is “not as much as it thinks it [… … | Continue reading
While it may seem like fantasy is as far from the real world as possible, author Jill Rosenberg suggests that indulging in fantasies and fiction actually connects people instead of isolating them from reality. Dive in to the Big Idea for her newest release, Now I’m Photogenic and … | Continue reading
The current state of the new back deck: In progress! The astute among you, who also remember anything about the previous deck, will notice two differences so far. Most obviously, those tall posts, which will serve for framing a roof, and rather less obviously, the new deck is goi … | Continue reading
One of my friends recently told me she’s pregnant with her second child, and as much as I love nice cards I knew I wanted to do something a little more for her, so I asked her to tell me what baked good she was really craving. She answered muffins, and my muffin making journey [… … | Continue reading
While we all know that technically our lives could end at any moment, sometimes that fact can feel far away. Author Andrew Dana Hudson brings that little known fact into the spotlight in his newest novel, Absence. Come along in his Big Idea as you think about what you would be le … | Continue reading
Do we as a society tend to abide by the phrase, “if you love something, let it go,” or are we more likely to dig our claws in and refuse to part ways? Author Martha Conway discusses in the Big Idea for her newest novel, We Meet Apart, just how impactful the absence of family memb … | Continue reading
Would you look at that, TIME asked me to chime in on what tech innovation defines American life at the moment, and while my answer is not surprising (a few others in this list also picked it, in one variation or another), I think my answer might have been slightly more poetic tha … | Continue reading
What’s the deal with airline food? Jokes aside, airport food is known by and large to be rather pricey while also being not so fantastic of quality. If you fly a lot, you know your options are limited to packaged snack foods, dubious egg salad sandwiches, or the world’s coldest b … | Continue reading
In his new novel Ashland, author Matt Harry posits a world that is a little bit… gooey. If you don’t know what that might mean, or what it would mean for anyone who has to live in that world, never fear, Harry is here to get you up to speed. Here, put on this protective […] | Continue reading
Turns out… it’s nothing. I sent in a Freedom of Information Act request in April, after the unpleasantness regarding the Correspondent’s Dinner attacker, because I was curious if it or indeed anything else had gone down on my permanent record. Nope! If you believe the FBI — admit … | Continue reading
I’m staying north of the river, which is unusual for me. Also, the parking lot you see in the photo isn’t for my hotel. But it is a parking lot! Forms were obeyed. I’m on town because tomorrow I’m in conversation with Joe Abercrombie about his latest book The Devils, and if you’r … | Continue reading
For reasons that are not important now, I have found myself in the possession of a lightly used but still somewhat recent Asus Chomebook, of the sort that one can pick up for less than $200, with 4GB RAM, 64GB of onboard storage, a less than spectacular screen resolution, and a k … | Continue reading
“First of May” being of course Jonathan Coulton’s immortal celebration of spring, love, and outdoor recreation, possibly the most gentle song ever to drop multiple f-bombs. I thought, what if “First of May,” but with lots of drums and buzzy guitars? The answer to this question aw … | Continue reading
It is the last day of April and I am finally posting the final part of my time in Denver, which was literally almost two months ago now, but that’s neither here nor there. On the fourth day, one of Alex’s other friends from college flew in for their birthday as well, and got ther … | Continue reading
After 30 years of existence, our back deck is no more… at least for the few days it will take to build the new one. The previous deck had given good service, but over the years it had become splintery and a bit rickety (when the contractor was pulling it up, he pointed out to […] | Continue reading
Imagine a world where political servants actually served us, and whose decisions were backed by the will of the people, rather than their greed. If it sounds like fantasy, you may want to check out author Brenda W. Clough’s newest novel, Off the Screen. Follow along in her Big Id … | Continue reading
You may remember that last month the Scalzi Compound was hit with 80mph winds and as a result part of our porch railing was blown out, which was the excuse we needed to replace it entirely with something more robust. That replacement is now here: the new post are thicker and heav … | Continue reading
Though humans have a strong desire to be an individual, slightly stronger is our innate need to not be alone. Humans are not solitary creatures, so why do we try so hard to act like we are all just individuals with no ties or connections to those around us? Author Marie Vibbert w … | Continue reading
I still have more posts to do over my trip to Colorado (I cannot seem to get through that dang trip!), but I wanted to post about my experience at Cincinnati’s Asian Food Festival because it just happened this past weekend and I thought some fresh content was a good way to get me … | Continue reading
I heard an absolute banger of an earworm this past week, and have been listening to it nonstop ever since. I want to bestow upon y’all Tame Impala’s new song, “Dracula.” If you had asked me a week ago if I liked Tame Impala, I would’ve said I was completely indifferent about him … | Continue reading
Apparently it’s true: The fellow who came to the Correspondent’s Dinner the other night with a bunch of weapons (and who, it should be noted, came nowhere near the president or anyone else in the ballroom), liked four Bluesky posts of mine in the last month. Which ones? I have no … | Continue reading
As most of you know I spent much of this last week in Los Angeles, taking meetings with film/TV folks and pitching things to them, both from books I’ve written and ideas I have currently not connected to something I published. The meetings generally went very well — which isn’t n … | Continue reading
Spoiler: We are not going to die. But we are going to get a new porch railing, as the much of the last one was blown out by 80 mph winds we had a few weeks ago. The porch railing was 30 years old and as our contractor told us, had support beams that were […] | Continue reading
Because the song’s been rattling around my head for the last couple of days, particularly the Bryan Ferry cover version. So when I got home I thought I would give it a whirl. I hope you like it. — JS | Continue reading
My mom and I both had three tattoos. One of hers was from before my time, and she got two more while I was a kid. I got my first one at eighteen; a matching one with my two cousins who are practically like my sisters. It was all three of our firsts. My second […] | Continue reading
Family ties aren’t always a prettily done bow, sometimes they’re fraught with fraying ends and tricky knots, all woven together in the branches of family trees. Love ’em or hate ’em, everyone’s got parents, and everyone’s relationships with them are vastly different. Nebula Award … | Continue reading
Although this picture is actually of the Pershing Square Metro Line escalator, nowhere near Hollywood in terms of actual Los Angeles geography — look, we’re going for the metaphor here, okay. What I’m saying is that I am still out here, on my third day of meetings, all of which s … | Continue reading
Just because something is created with a younger audience in mind, doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyed by all. After all, whomst among us doesn’t love the idea of magic cats? Author Christian Bieck is here today to show us the result of his NaNoWriMo creation, A Basquet of Cats. CHR … | Continue reading
This is fabulous news: The entire Old Man’s War series, from OMW to The Shattering Peace, has been nominated for the Best Series Hugo this year. What a lovely accolade. Here is the entire category: And here is the full list of finalists for this year. In my category as well as in … | Continue reading
The Astra Awards are an award given out by the Hollywood Creative Alliance, and in previous years have been primarily for film and television, but this year they have branched out into books as well, across seventeen categories including Best Science Fiction Novel. And what do yo … | Continue reading
When we explore our minds, our thoughts, and who we are as a person, we don’t always like what we find. Author Dan Rice takes a deep dive into the idea of accepting one’s true self, even if some facets are uglier than others. Grab a mirror for some self-reflection and follow alon … | Continue reading
Shown here in the midst of prepping our taxes for our accountant, not this week but a couple of months ago, because she’s organized about that, and that is, in fact, one of the many, many things I love about her. Krissy and I actually do a terrible job of being in the same place … | Continue reading
The words “stress-free” and “wedding” aren’t seen in a sentence together unless the word “not” preludes them. The copious amount of stress and issues surrounding weddings fascinated author Mallory Kass, and she began to ask the question of why people do this to themselves. In her … | Continue reading
A couple of people showed up to see Brandon Sanderson and me have a chat. Let’s be clear these are mostly Brandon’s folks; I was a value-add here. A very nice value add to be sure! But definitely the support act. Brandon and I have been pals for a couple of decades now and he […] | Continue reading
The Scientific Method is immensely helpful, but so is literal magic. Would the power of science prove to be more powerful than the power of wizardry? It’s tough to say, but author Cameron Johnston certainly speculates on the idea in the Big Idea for his newest novel, First Mage o … | Continue reading
A very arboreal view today. It’s a little misleading, since if you look left from here you’ll find a not unbusy street. Still, it would be churlish to complain about a bit of green in one’s window. I’m in the area for an event tomorrow in which I am in conversation with Brandon S … | Continue reading
When there’s a million and one paths in front of you, how do you know which decision to make? What if you don’t even have control over which one you end up on? Author A. Z. Rozkillis explores the idea of every decision we make, or don’t make, sending us on different paths through … | Continue reading
The title of this post is partially inaccurate, as part of my third day in Denver was spent in Boulder. Before going into Boulder, Alex and I decided to kick the day off with a mani pedi, and get matching colors. Cat eye polish, of course: I was obsessed with this color, and I th … | Continue reading