So I’ve been elected Board Member at Large with the local Sisters in Crime chapter, specializing in working on our new website. We’ve just about finished with it, only we now have a new problem. The chapter has been hosting Zoom meetings with guest lecturers and some of them seem to have expired somehow–or at…
I’ve been reading out of my typical genre lately for the local library’s Winter Reading Challenge, so I picked up this Gothic mystery, supposedly the first modern detective story ever written. The book was first published in 1868, so you do have to slog through some pretty archaic language and plot techniques, but overall, it’s…
OK, it’s not really a planned research, but you use whatever you learn, right? Spent 8 hours in the ER last Monday with chest pains. Specifically, I kept telling them it was stabbing pains when I tried to breathe. After an EKG and chest x-ray, the urgent care place sent me to the ER for…
I figure, if I’m writing about a couple of characters who write songs, maybe I ought to learn a little bit about the craft. The subtitle is “Even If You’ve Never Written One Before and You Think You Suck,” so this seems like a good place to start. The author is Ed Bell and so…
You’ve heard the song, but what exactly are the 12 days of Christmas? They’re the days beginning on December 25 and lasting until Twelfth Night on January 5th. Each of the twelve days has a saint or feast day associated with it. Twelfth Night was a time of celebration. Everyone who could afford it threw…
I finally found the time (in between trying to make my daily word count for NaNoWriMo) to watch the new incarnation of Dune. The film was directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, and Eric Roth. Of course, it’s based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert. This version, Part One of…
I’ve started a new sci-fi series recently: the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Despite the name, they’re not horror but humorous adventure, very similar to what I like to think my books are like. The protagonist in the series is an organic/robotic construct designed as a security unit. However, it has hacked its governor module…
I’ve been “attending” a few virtual conferences this summer. No sci-fi unfortunately, but writing tips & tricks translate across the genres. Summer is one of the best times for conferences… many people have time off to attend and they’re looking for interesting things to do. Right now, I’m listening to a session from the Historic…
I know, I know: I said before that I never read Stephen King because he’s just too good at what he does (creating horror). However, I had a friend recommend one of his later books as more of a science fiction story about time travel and I was intrigued. So here I am, reading 11/22/63.…
How is a writer supposed to find inspiration in today’s world? With the pandemic raging and the political upheaval and climate change … how can you keep your muse healthy? One thing that inspires me is reading. I’ll admit it’s getting harder to find good science fiction or fantasy that inspires me rather than bringing…