Simpleton Here . . . International SF/F

I am an expert on international science fiction because many of its best authors are my Farmville and Facebook friends, like Gio Clairval.  (that’s a joke).  It’s very funny that Gio’s blog mentions the film Avatar, commenting that the film affected many people who were not sophisticated, as well as many who were and are [...]

BVC Featured on Seattle Geekly Podcast

Uhhhh . . . huuuhhh . . . If you want to hear what a dope I sound like on the radio, plus with allergic stuffiness, listen to Podcast #52 of Seattle Geekly.
I LOVE Shannon and Matt of Seattle Geekly in general, and also because honestly, they point up how awesome geek culture is.  I’ve [...]

A Month Without Monsanto

I know many of my friends are interested in sustainable agriculture and have justifiable reservations about the incredible prevalence of genetically-modified foodstuffs and other products in our lives today. One writer is going to try to go a whole “Month Without Monsanto” to see if she can eliminate all of these pervasive products from her food, clothing and household for 30 days . . .

Why Editors Use Form Rejection Letters

The primary reasons that editors use form rejection letters are: 1) time (as in “saving” it); and 2) the form letter is much preferable to the risk they run in providing any type of individual feedback to an unknown author.

Little Book Thief

Ich hab genug Deutsch – I have enough German to read the many one-star Amazon.de reviews of German teen Helene Hegemann’s first novel Axolotl Roadkill in their original versions.  Most of them are not at all complimentary and ask why all the attention has been paid to the book’s exploitation of German grossness, ugly imagery and [...]

The Things That Make Us Who We Are: A Memory of Lois Langland

I am deeply uncomfortable writing about myself; the greater part of me remains painfully shy and unable to speak about myself – in other words, an awful lot like many writers. Now, in SF/F, there are plenty willing to blare about themselves from dawn to dusk. None such, however, found here at Book View Cafe.

War of Words

Everybody has something to say about Amazon’s removal of Macmillan’s print and eBooks from its online storefront over the weekend. 
Computer World’s Matt Hamblen interprets the battle as being related to the launch of the iPad.  Overall, he gave a great summary and broad coverage to the situation.  Matt’s perspective is that in this battle, the [...]

Hollywood: Too Original For Me!

What if Avatar is the most original movie that came out recently, and will come out this year? I could be right, and that could be the most epic fail of all. Even if the critics are this retarded, eventually audiences are going to say, “Wait a minute – didn’t I see that before, and wasn’t it better – the first time?”

Rules For Children’s Writing in 1954

How to handle PDA:

“Never show a boy and a girl holding hands unless accompanied by an adult or riding in a hay wagon with other boys and girls.”

I Wore Pink for Breast Cancer

After receiving messages in several languages, and at last, one in English/Spanish, I decided to send out the “post your bra color in your Facebook status” meme yesterday.  This bothered a couple of my friends (sorry!) but interested most others, and definitely intrigued my male friends – just as the message had promised!
Only later did [...]