While we often want to feel like a lone wolf, so independent and above it all, even more often we want to feel like we belong and fit in. Author Gillian Daniels explores the idea of being seen as acceptable whilst feeling anything but. Follow along in the Big Idea for her newest novel, Jenny […]

First off, look at that dork. What’s going on with his hair? Why is he tugging on his ear? Did he really think round glasses were right for his face? Someone needs to go back to 1991 and give that young man a fashion intervention. This is a disaster. Second, today is the 35th anniversary […]

It’s a classic view for sure. Why am I here? Tomorrow afternoon I will be talking science fiction at the Villa Albertine, as part of the Villa Albertine’s overall fall literary festival. That link above will take you to the whole line-up (which actually started today, but inasmuch as I just got into town and […]

Our washer and dryer set had been with us 15+ years and were really showing their age. The dryer’s closing mechanism had to be negotiated with in order to be fully secured, and our washer had finally gotten to the point where even enthusiastic cleaning of every visible interior surface could no longer get rid […]

How are the drops of rain suspended like that? Spider webs. Lots and lots of spider webs. Honestly, even after 25 years of living out in rural America, I am constantly surprised at how many spiders (and webs!) there are in just about every possible place. It does allow for some pretty neat photos, though. […]

As the great Whitney Houston once sang, I believe the children are our future — but in Precious Children, author Mary G. Thompson posits a very different future with some very different children… and some very different stakes. MARY G. THOMPSON: What if you could guarantee that your precious child would never die? What parent, […]

It’s been a big baking week for me, and y’all are getting subjected to my trials and errors as I try out new recipes. For today’s baked good we have a chocolate chip pumpkin bread with espresso frosting from Eat At Maude’s. With it being fall now, I thought this was an appropriate choice. I […]

Times are tough, and according to Hugo award-winning author Peter Watts, they ain’t getting any better. But perhaps not all hope is lost. Optimism seems to be the surprising route Watts has taken with his newest short story collection, Fold Catastrophes. Pull yourself out of your doomer-spiral and check out his Big Idea. PETER WATTS: […]

It went a little something like this. And if you’re thinking, “this is kinda like that McSweeney’s post“: well, yes. — JS

I read an article in the Irish version of The Times about the band U2 being together for 50 years now, dating back to their first gathering as a group in drummer Larry Mullen’s kitchen, on September 25, 1976. They were literal kids then — all of them still in school — and years away […]

Hey everyone, are you like totally craving banana pudding right now? Well you’re in luck because today I’m bringing you a recipe for banana pudding cupcakes! A couple days ago, I was organizing my 174 tabs on my phone’s browser when I came across a recipe I had opened months ago and never made. I […]

Hello Mr. Tall Dark and… hairy? Author Jasmine Kuliasha is taking us on an adventure through the Pacific Northwest in the Big Idea for her newest novel, Bigfoot Confidential. With all the best tropes and a fresh take on a classic cryptid, this walk through the woods will be one to remember. JASMINE KULIASHA: This […]

I regret nothing. — JS

Investing in the future can feel pointless when we aren’t even sure if climate change will let us have a future. Author Wendy Waring has been thinking this over, and takes a look at what it means to better our world for future generations in the Big Idea for her newest novel, The Hunger of Those […]

If I have a book coming out, then I must be going on tour to support it — and indeed I will be this November, supporting my new and critically acclaimed novel Monsters of Ohio! This time around we thought I should take a turn through the US Midwest for the tour, and so, you […]

What if the “happily ever after” ending the author gave you doesn’t really seem all that happy? If you’re author Joanne Merriam, you take matters into your own hands and retell the story, which resulted in her newest novel, Aether and Ego. JOANNE MERRIAM: Johannes Kepler and Shonda Rimes are responsible for the existence of […]

Does a weapon want to hurt people? What if it had opinions on the type of people it was used to slay? Author Marissa Lingen had these sorts of questions rattling around in her brain long enough that a story formed from them. Take up your (opinionated) sword and follow along in the Big Idea for A […]

Behold these history textbooks: World in Motion, Vols. 1 &2. They were sent to me today. Why, you may ask? Because I contributed to them both, by writing an introduction that went into both volumes. Why was I asked to write the introduction? Because I am awesome, you see, and also because I know one […]

Time is a fickle beast. One day you’re light-heartedly taping bacon to your cat as a way to procrastinate from writing a novel, causing a viral sensation that briefly makes your site one of the most popular destinations on the entire Internet, and the next it’s twenty years later and that moment is nothing more […]

I wrote about the day on September 12, 2001, and I don’t think I can improve much on what I said then, so here is that piece again for you. September 12, 2001 Yesterday, where I live, the sky was perfect: A huge blue inverted bowl, set on top a horizon of trees and rolling […]

My dear readers, though I know you usually come here to read about my recommendations to you, I now am humbly asking for some of y’all’s recommendations. Next month, I will be in Cleveland with an out-of-state friend who is visiting for a weekend, and despite having lived in Ohio pretty much my entire life, I have […]

Some people climb the ladder to success, leaving others behind as they ascend the rungs alone, while others focus of strengthening the foundational base. And when they do move up, they turn back around and extend a hand to the others, lifting everyone with them. This literary loyalty to peers is essential, and something author […]

And what is the Villa Albertine, you may ask? It is the French Institute for Culture and Education, and is a division of the French Embassy in the United States. I will be taking part of the Villa Albertine’s two-day international literary festival bringing together authors, translators, critics, and publishers from France and the United […]

One of the eternal question in speculative fiction is: Is this fantasy? Or is this science fiction? And does the answer matter? For Adam, Mine, author K. Ancrum takes a stab at this question, using one of the most durable tales in literature as inspiration. K. ANCRUM: The moment of conception in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein […]

Cheer up, Saja. It happens to all the cats, sooner or later. Also, fun fact: Saja has officially been with us for just over a full year now. We fostered him for a couple of weeks and then decided to keep him, and his official naming day was September 1. I was traveling that day […]

Grow where you are planted. In author Amanda J. McGee’s case, that’s right in good ol’ Appalachia. It is because of this that she felt compelled to write her newest novella, A River Wide, about more than just a character from Appalachia, but about the land that so many of us see the beauty and incredulousness […]

This actually happened, like, a week ago, but I’ve been busy traveling all over the place, so I’m noting it here now: Hey! Monsters of Ohio got an other starred review in the trades! This one is courtesy of Library Journal. The review is behind a paywall, but here’s the “verdict” portion of the review: […]

As I note in the Instagram post above, I have a particular reason to celebrate the existence of Star Trek: Without it, I wouldn’t have written Redshirts, or at least, if I had written something like it, it would have had a rather different grounding and a very different existence. A different name, to be […]

The latest Hugo arrived while I was away at Tampa Comic Convention, and Krissy took the opportunity to go in and rearrange the award shelves a bit to accommodate it. Would you like a tour of the shelves? Of course you would! Top shelf (from left): The Summit Award (for 250,000 reads of my story […]

Every journey begins with a first step, but where that journey goes from there can take many forms. Betsy James took many journeys leading up to Practicing to be Lightning, but to play fair by the characters in her story, there were more journeys for her to take. BETSY JAMES: It started out simple. I […]