Because we had a primary election yesterday (here are a link to the results, from the Columbus Dispatch), and I have notes: 1. The big news, such as it is, is that Trump-supported JD Vance won the GOP primary for US Senate, beating Josh Mandel and Matt Dolan, who were his immedia … | Continue reading
Editor Mark Matthews has experience with the world of horror, and the terrors of addiction. In the anthology, Orphans of Bliss, both are explored, with the help of a host of authors who craft stories with both in mind. Here’s Matthews to get under the skin of the anthology. MARK … | Continue reading
And holy shit, these are amazing. Australia’s been holding out on us. — JS | Continue reading
She’s totally not judging you, though (spoiler: She absolutely is). Also, yes, I intend to write about the draft decision from Alito, but I have a lot of thoughts about it and I will need a little bit of time to organize them into something more than venting. Soon. In the meantim … | Continue reading
When I decided to write science fiction, one of the things I thought was, well, I won’t have to do a lot of research because I can just make things up! I was, shall we say, quickly disabused of that notion. In fantasy, it’s a very much a similar situation, as Dan Koboldt, the edi … | Continue reading
After, of course, they ran around like puppies. That’s Charlie, obviously, on the left, and Buckley, the neighbor dog, on the right. They enjoy each other’s company, until one of them inevitably annoys the other. Then they get a time out until they’re happy to see each other agai … | Continue reading
To begin, first of May magnolias. Because they’re pretty, and that’s really the only excuse they need. Second, I have plans for May! Like: 1. Appearances in Berkeley, Chicago and Gaithersburg, MD, which you can catch up with here. If you’re in any of those places, come see me. Af … | Continue reading
As we head out of April and into May, here’s another very fine stack of new books and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound. What here makes you want to take it into a brand new month? Share in the comments. | Continue reading
I have had to turn down five(!) book blurb requests this week, so it’s worth making an official public announcement so people know it’s not personal. That announcement is: I have a book due in about a month and I have a large number of works that I’ve already promised to look at … | Continue reading
Most of you are aware by now that we bought a church in our town and are now in the process of renovating it, and and I know many of you are curious about how that renovation is coming along. So, here’s a brief update: It’s coming along pretty well! Let me walk you through […] | Continue reading
Current events have had a hand in Kali Wallace’s newest novel Hunters of the Lost City, but as Wallace points out in this Big Idea, some elements of it are taken from facts that are perennial, for better or worse. KALI WALLACE: You ever have one of those ideas that you really, re … | Continue reading
Spice doesn’t judge. (This is a lie, Spice is in fact very judgy, but she’ll still come back for pets and scritches, so that’s okay.) Also, as I noted on Twitter earlier today, there’s a new Journey song! And it’s very Journey! None more Journey! Why not listen to it, and enjoy i … | Continue reading
Elon Musk is buying Twitter, apparently mostly just because he can, and people are — strangely! — worried about whether a thin-skinned ego monster of a billionaire who has problems relating to humans and appears to equate “free speech” with trolling is going to make a service alr … | Continue reading
Do we learn from the past? And how does the past inform today, and the art that is created in it? These are questions Alma Katsu is confronting in this Big Idea for The Fervor, and is inviting you to confront them as well. ALMA KATSU: The Fervor is a novel about the Japanese inte … | Continue reading
To be short about it (because I’m at the airport, waiting on a flight): It was lovely. I saw friends, I had meetings and strategized about projects that are in various stages of development, and I hung out at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books with a bunch of writers I like … | Continue reading
Some people seem to attract attention the moment they enter into the room. Then there are others who… don’t. In I Am The Ghost In Your House, author Mar Romasco-Moore explores what it means to be the latter, in ways that might surprise you. MAR ROMASCO-MOORE: Every day on the bus … | Continue reading
Not the most scenic of views — I daresay it feels kind of like a view you might get at a hotel in New York — but the hotel is lovely and I will be busy with meetings and events regardless. I’m here for film/TV stuff during the week and for Los Angeles Times Festival […] | Continue reading
On the weekends of Reader Request Weeks, I gather up a bunch of the questions I didn’t get to during the week and try to address them briefly. I often part them out between writing questions and general questions, but this time I don’t feel like doing that. That’s right! I’m very … | Continue reading
Welcome to your Easter and Passover stack of new books and ARCs! What here is catching your eye on this weekend of reflection and celebration? Share, as always, in the comments. — JS | Continue reading
David S (not the same David as from earlier in the week) asks: Has success spoiled John Scalzi? I recently re-read Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded, which is full of what my grandfather would have called “piss and vinegar”. Whatever used to be biting and savage. Now it’s all “look a … | Continue reading
As writers, we all have the Story The Got Away From Us. For John Dodd, however, that story was the one he came around to once more. Here he is to talk about Ocean of Stars, and how it was written, when the time was right. JOHN DODD: It started with a book that couldn’t […] | Continue reading
Laura S asks: My 50 year high school reunion was last fall. Actually 50+1 because of COVID. Have you attended any high school reunions? Or have you kept in touch with childhood friends post high school? I’ve been to several high school reunions: Specifically the 5th, the 10th, th … | Continue reading
Nellie asks: I’d love to get your perspective specifically on the rash of anti-trans legislation getting pushed all over the US right now – Alabama just today passed their version, making it a felony to help someone transition under the age of 19, and there are a LOT of bills und … | Continue reading
Hey, do you remember the 90s? Nancy Werlin does, and one of the reasons she does involves her latest novel, Healer & Witch. Her latest novel… but perhaps not her most recent novel. Werlin is here now to explain how that works, and why she’s delighted this novel is now out in the … | Continue reading
David asks: Ranked from worst to best, the Star Wars movies, and why is Rogue One the best? Rogue One isn’t the best — that’s still, and is likely to remain, The Empire Strikes Back — but at this point I would rank it a solid #3. Before I get into why, here’s that ranking […] | Continue reading
James asks: I’m curious about your experience with travel. How has your experience of travel changed now that you are able to travel again after a year or two of break? Are there things you do to maintain normalcy during heavy book tour travel? Do you try to get other things done … | Continue reading
For most of the readers here, the name Wil Wheaton is a familiar and even beloved one: Actor, television host, famous nerd, and award-winning, best-selling audiobook narrator. And also, in case you didn’t know, an accomplished writer and essayist. In Wil’s new book, Still Just a … | Continue reading
LEA asks: You seem pretty happy. This is something I seem to be bad at. Any advice? I am in fact “pretty happy” on a day-to-day basis, and now having said that, let me roll out a couple of caveats before offering any advice. First caveat: As a general practice, I would recommend … | Continue reading
Hello, and welcome one and all to Reader Request Week 2022, where you offer up the topics, and I offer my thoughts on your topics. Let’s start this week off on a manly topic, shall we? “Just Sayin'” asks: You have occasionally been criticized by meatheads for being a “girly man” … | Continue reading
After a brief(ish) haitus whilst I was on the road, the New Books and ARCs feature is back, and with a very fine stack of reading if I do say so myself. What here is calling to you? Share in the comments! — JS | Continue reading
So, next week is literally the only week in the next two months where I am not traveling and/or have something on a deadline, so you know what that means: It’s a perfect time for the annual Reader Request Week! That’s when you, the faithful reader of Whatever, provide a topic tha … | Continue reading
Many of you have asked for updates on the church we bought, so here’s that update: We’ve begun the renovations. We’ve engaged the services of a building contractor who specializes in churches, which is fortunate because these spaces are in many ways unique and have singular issue … | Continue reading
And I’m delighted that many dear friends and colleagues are nominated this year. Congratulations to everyone who has made the finalist list! The whole list, as emailed to me (and many others) by Chicon 8, this year’s Worldcon: Best Novel Light From Uncommon Stars, Ryka Aoki (Tor; … | Continue reading
In his novel Braking Day, author Adam Oyebanji wants to take humans into deep space. But just because he wants to take them into deep space doesn’t mean he’s going to make it easy and simple for them to get there… or stay there. ADAM OYEBANJI: I fear I’m here under false pretense … | Continue reading
This time on the NYT Audio Fiction Best Seller list, where it pops in at #14. As it also appeared on the NYT Combined Print & eBook list, we can say that the book is officially a hit in every format it’s come out in. Which is a lovely thing to be able to say. […] | Continue reading
If you’re wondering if people are actually getting a second COVID booster, well, hello, I’m people, and I just got my second booster shot. Why did I get my second booster shot? Let me count off some reasons: 1. COVID is still out there! And still infecting people! And still killi … | Continue reading
Reuse and recycle: If it’s a good idea for physical things, can it also be a good idea for story concepts? Leah Cypess suggests that it might be — and explains how this has direct bearing on her novel Glass Slippers. LEAH CYPESS: Let me start with a confession: I used the same Bi … | Continue reading
Whenever I go on book tour, I like to write up a short story to read at the events; a thank you, as it were, to the people who show up, who get to hear me read something no one else has gotten to yet. The stories are usually short, usually funny, and hopefully enjoyable […] | Continue reading
Why am I exhaling? Because I have Two! Whole! Weeks! — plus a couple of days! — before I have to go out into the world again to promote The Kaiju Preservation Society. After that I will be in Los Angeles, and Berkeley, and Chicago, and Gaithersburg, MD for various book festivals. … | Continue reading
Which is: Glock 19s don’t have external safeties. Which I knew, because after I wrote the firearm into the scene I was all “Oh, I should check to make sure I’m accurately representing that handgun,” and then I was all, “Oh, that’s not accurate, I will have to go back and change t … | Continue reading
Weird little video. Pretty good song. Traveling tomorrow for my appearance at Little City Books in Hoboken at 7pm, as part of the Hoboken Literary Weekend. If you’re in the area, come by and say hello. If you’re not in the area, uhhhh, have a good Friday, I guess. — JS | Continue reading
Whether in the real world or in a world of fantasy, power is a currency that always compels. In this Big Idea for Comeuppance Served Cold, author Marion Deeds essays the persuasiveness of power, and how it informs the alternate Pacific Northwest she’s created. MARION DEEDS: Magic … | Continue reading
One of my favorite bands in the last decade or so has been The Naked and Famous, originally from New Zealand but now with the principal members, Alisa Xayalith and Thomas Powers residing in Los Angeles. The band recently announced a hiatus, which makes me sad as a fan, but Xayali … | Continue reading
William Faulkner once said “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” It’s a sentiment that Jess Montgomery can certainly appreciate, since her new novel, The Echoes, deals with something very close to that idea. Here she is to explain further. JESS MONTGOMERY: Can we ever out … | Continue reading
A month ago I wrote about our having installed a very fancy “intelligent toilet” and offered my initial reactions to it, and promised to do a follow-up about a month later. It’s now a month later, and here are my thoughts about the Space Toilet today: 1. I’m still delighted with … | Continue reading
If you don’t think that science fiction is affected by the events of moment, than Gareth L. Powell has some news for you: oh, boy, is it ever. In this big idea for Stars and Bones, Powell explains how world events caught up to his story in strange and unexpected ways. (Disclosure … | Continue reading
Photoshop has some new filters that run a picture you might have through some pre-existing artwork, and so I took a picture of Spice and ran it through a filter of a painting of mountains. The result is not displeasing. Yes, this is what I am doing with my Sunday (I also wrote an … | Continue reading
It’s where I want to be. And I am indeed already there. Good be back. — JS | Continue reading