Things That Don’t Go Away

My new “Things That Don’t Go Away,” column is now up on BookSpot Central.  Perhaps unwisely, I am wading into a new variant on an old debate…
“It has come to the attention of yr. humble author that down in the intertubes, a new variant an old argument has taken place. For those who want a [...]

Sarah’s Travels in Florence

SARAH’S FLORENCE TRAVEL DIARY, DAY 1
It is 3:50 pm and I am sitting at Gate 28 in the McNamera terminal of Detroit Metro. So far, everything has gone very smoothly. We dropped Alexander off at the Piziks’s. He is excited by the prospect of a week of brothers and sleepovers. We had to stop off [...]

The Aurealis Australian Genre Fiction Awards – 2

So, the Event – the Aurealis Award Gala Ceremony, to give the full title – is over; eight or ten authors or illustrators are feeling very happy, four times that number are feeling disappointed, or at the very least, slightly let down. Have to say that I’m among the disappointed crew. Yes, needless to say, [...]

Science Fiction: The Future is Now

Here’s a horrible thought:
All that technophobic science fiction is happening:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/31/60minutes/main4694713.shtml
All I can say is: why? Do we really need to so egregiously sacrifice privacy for safety? This is not just going through your bags at the airport here. This is preemptive strike on a personal level. Who should have the power to command [...]

The Downside to the Change in U.S. Administrations

It probably won’t surprise anyone to learn that I thoroughly enjoyed Inauguration Day. I began supporting President Obama early on, attracted both by his obvious intelligence and his ability to take strong stands while still keeping a door open to the other side. And even though I am too old to put all my faith [...]

EVERGREEN: On Becoming a Professional Amateur # 11: Bad Attitude

Sample scenario: Toyoshi’s voice came raggedly over the phone. “Riyoko is in trouble. She’s been casting spells at midnight to call forth a Wretched Demon and I’m pretty sure it’s working. One more spell and her soul will be completely subsumed by the demon!”
“It’s 11:30 right now,” gasped Yuki.
“Yeah. She’ll probably cast another [...]

Agogwe, Bigfoot and Hobbits

The real-world “hobbits” who lived approximately 18,000 years ago on the island of Flores in Indonesia – speaks to my poorly-formed idea that Jung may have had it right, that there is a collective human subconscious mind. It could be a coincidence that Tolkien envisioned hairy-footed, child-sized and childlike hobbits as a humanlike, but unhuman people in his stories. Does this mean that the immortal Elven people could have been real as well, and that our earth – has more in common with Middle Earth than we could imagine at present? Well – yes – maybe it does.

Throwing Books Against The Wall

Not every book published will appeal to every reader. That is a given. I have a terrible time reading bestsellers. The genre rarely appeals to me. I find them too full of Gary Sue or Mary Sue protagonists. They know too many esoteric disciplines, have access to arcane trivia, and unlimited funds to track down a [...]

BIRDS OF PREY # 126, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #29, SUPERMAN/BATMAN ANNUAL #3: A Very Short Review

Crossovers and mega-crossovers, shall we never be rid of them?  Two of these issues are part of the uninteresting “Faces of Evil” event from DC, and although it is not billed as such the Superman/Batman annual fits exactly in.
All three stories are distressingly similar, as well.  An old and hopefully classic villain is hauled up [...]

Everything tastes better with music

How’s the saying go? Everything tases better with Bluebonnet on it? That’s just 70s hype and pretty dang stupid. The truth is everything tastes better with music on it. On it, in it, about it, around it, through it, after it, under it, and behind it. The soundtrack of our lives contains a long list [...]