I recently wrote a longish article about the economics of being a writer and why I use Patreon. You can read it here. Warning: contains math. Or, if you want the quick math-less explanation, it’s here.… >> Read more
There have been a few times recently when I found myself wanting to send friends to a website that explains what conlanging is, particularly in reference to languages created for works of science fiction and fantasy. Nothing out there suited me precisely, so – here is my own.
Conlanging is making constructed languages. A conlang is a constructed language and a conlanger is…well, guess.… >> Read more
Love Doctor Who, but want to display your love in a subtle, classy way?… >> Read more
What does a lady adventurer take with her? Goggles to shield her eyes on the dirigible; a watch to calibrate her time machine; a diary to record her discoveries. And a few things to beautify herself as well, in case she must distract the villain!… >> Read more
I am writing this blog post for the single purpose of sharing this screenshot with you:
Zoe, played by Wendy Padbury, is guarded by a soldier in the grooviest room everIsn’t that fabulous? I was watching on my laptop and my finger just sort of reached out of its own accord and stabbed “Print Screen.”
It’s a still from The War Games.… >> Read more
I review every book I finish*. I do Two-Paragraph Reviews: one paragraph of mine, one from the book.
Why just one of each? Well, for starters, to keep my sanity. If I didn’t have that restriction I’d probably be writing a whole essay about each book, and copying out multi-page passages to show you. And if I did that, I’d quickly burn out and quit.… >> Read more
Somewhere on the Internet you can find a poster called Everything I Know in Life, I Learned from Doctor Who, but to be honest I don’t think it’s cool enough for me to dig up a link. After spending almost all of my free time last month glued to whatever screen was handy, doing a fast catchup on a show I somehow missed the first time, here’s my list.… >> Read more
Thumbs down for Lord Kelvin’s Machine by James P. Blaylock. Fantasy.
First off: Worst. Illustrations. Ever. Nothing can be quite so bad as a bad photo montage. About the book: well, it’s in three sections. In the first, there’s a comet passing close by the earth. The villain, Ignacio Narbondo, is threatening to set off volcanoes on the opposing side of the earth in order to push the earth into the comet’s path.… >> Read more