The theme for this year’s MileHiCon is steampunk and mad scientists, and as one of the perks of being a guest of honor, I got my own mad scientist lab coat, with my name thoughtfully added to the back (along with a nicely steampunk rocket). I quite like it. It looks good on me. I […]

Parking lots and hospitals! This hotel picture has it all! I’m in Aurora for MileHiCon, where I am a guest of honor along with TK Kingfisher and others. There will be panels! And signings! And hanging out! As one does. It starts tomorrow. Come on down! — JS

Everyone remembers Scrooge as a mean, cold-hearted man, even though his entire arc is that he becomes a better, kinder man and develops empathy. Author A. T. Sayre’s main character in The Asterist is quite the Scrooge, too, but maybe we’ll end up remembering him in the better light he deserves by the end. A. […]

You may or may not know this about me, but humorist James Thurber is a formative writer for me, along with other of his Algonquin Round Table pals like Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley. The delightful play of his humor, both in writing and in cartooning, was something I took to right away, speaking to […]

I have been dying (ha) to write this post, and definitely meant to do it sooner considering I first saw the newest and greatest Resident Evil (2026) in theaters the 25th of September. But, better late than never, as they say. If you don’t feel like reading this whole post, I’ll just come right out and say that you […]

With fall in full swing and that crisp chill in the air, it’s the perfect opportunity to cuddle up with author Stephanie Feldman’s newest collection of short fiction, The Night Parade and Other Stories. Light a fall candle and follow along in her Big Idea for these spooky tales. STEPHANIE FELDMAN: As a collection, The […]

Subvert is a creator-owned music platform, catering primarily to indie musicians; think of it as Bandcamp if it was a co-op. Subvert recently released a policy on the use of “AI” in the music that’s released on the site, and for anyone who is curious about things like this, I really think it’s worth a […]

I’m six weeks out from a book deadline, which means all of my brain is going to be dealing with that and I will have no brain cycles left to do much of anything else, including evaluating new fiction to see if I want to blurb it, so: I am on blurb hiatus through the […]

Where does the soul go when the body perishes? In Jonathan Maberry’s new novel, they get implanted into robot mechs to fight in an alien war. Is this the best option? Or is heading into the light the better option? Soldiers in Ghosts of the Void have to decide whether or not to make the ultimate sacrifice, […]

What was it? A short story entitled “Alien Animal Encounters,” which I sold to Strange Horizons magazine, and which they published on this day in 2001. Prior to this story, I had never submitted a short story of any sort (much less a science fiction short story) to any publication. I had written short stories […]

You know, as you do. The article is a list of science fiction monster novels (or at least, science fiction novels with monsters in them), staring with the early 19th century and going through to earlier this year. Yes, I tried to do a full survey of the science fictional landscape with this one. Some […]

There’s much to discuss with Pressure Magic, but what’s really the big sell (at least up front) is a very large magical animal. It’s not just me who thinks so: author William C. Tracy is super-excited to tell you all about it too! WILLIAM C. TRACY: This is a story about a giant sea otter. […]

It’s the time of the year where horse apples (also known as Osage oranges) are thick on the ground at the local nature preserve. I call them “brain fruit” because, well, look at it, it kind of looks like a green, sickly brain just lying there on the trail. As I understand it, these fruits […]

Who needs modern dating gameshows when you could be a lowly peasant girl enrolled in looking for love at the behest of your king? Author Madame McCoy is here today with her debut novel, Henriette, which is only book one in her brand new series, The King’s Daughters. MADAME McCOY: Whatever readers! Shamelessly, Madame has induced […]

As someone who has, over the years, found himself deep in the Google ecosystem of hardware and services, I had been curious about the Googlebook concept for a while — whether it would be basically a fancy Chromebook, or if it would offer something more, and more useful, than that line of affordable but mostly […]

Bet you weren’t expecting a View From A Hotel Window double feature today, were you?! While my father is in New York City, I find myself in.. Cleveland! Yay, Cleveland! Jokes aside, I am very glad to be here with my friend for the next couple of days and we have so much fun stuff […]

Wait, wasn’t I just in NYC? Indeed I was, and now I’m here again, this time for New York Comic Con, where tomorrow I have a panel, a signing and another signing. You should totally come to see me. After this I probably won’t be in NYC for a bit, certainly not again this year. […]

It seems like wherever there are ashes, there’s something new to rise up out of them. Author Dmitri Lincoln Melhorn explores these phoenix-esque phenomena in the Big Idea for his newest novel, Archipelago of Light. When the future is in the new generations hands, what will the kids do with it? DMITRI LINCOLN MELHORN: In April […]

First, so as not to bury the lede: It went great, there’s nothing in my colon they are the least bit concerned about, and I don’t have to come back for another colonoscopy for a decade, which I think is an optimal state of affairs. Second, I’m 57 and really should have had a colonoscopy […]

  A lot can happen when you take a one-thousand year nap, and there may or may not be consequences when you wake up. Author Mia V. Moss takes an interesting look at false narratives and wrongfully upheld beliefs in the Big Idea for her newest novel, The Heresy of Thieves. MIA V. MOSS: Humans are […]

Why? Because I’m getting a colonoscopy today, that’s why. That’s gonna take up some time, and then afterward I am likely to be in a semi-dazed state afterwards thanks to the lingering effects of sedation, which will also very likely mess up my judgement. Me online without judgement skills would probably be a very very […]

Some tales are as old as time. Corruption in power, rooting for the underdog that’s willing to take on the Big Bad, these are the stories people have loved for centuries — and it’s certainly an influence on author Jocelyn Cullity’s newest novel, The Nurse at Baker Hospital. JOCELYN CULLITY: While researching Norman Baker—the 1930s radio […]

Ohio started early voting today and my book tour literally starts on Election Day, so this morning Krissy and I got ourselves over to the Darke County board of elections to vote early and in person. Now I won’t have to scramble on the actual day to manage my book release, tour, and voting! One […]

Yesterday morning, my friend and I went and visited Val’s Bakery, which you may remember I featured in a post earlier last year. It was her first time there, so I was glad to introduce her to such a nice spot. We bought a few pastries each to take home with us, got some coffee, […]

The inside! I mentioned a few days ago I was suffering from a shoulder impingement and that I had an appointment to get the ball rolling in dealing with it. The first step in doing that was to get some x-rays, to make sure the problems I was having were not being caused by, say, […]

On my way back from Philadelphia after dropping off lil’ miss Sashimi to her new owner, I stopped in Pittsburgh to visit a friend I haven’t seen in almost exactly two years. She had just returned from being abroad for an extended amount of time and is temporarily back in the states. She invited me […]

While Lord of the Rings may seem like it’s all about corrupting power and evil forces, it’s also about people rising to meet challenges, step into new roles they never thought they’d take on, and how someone can be more than meets the eye. Which is exactly why author Fiona Moore thought it was the perfect foundation […]

I’ve fallen behind a bit on correspondence and other stuff recently, for the reason that I have an impinged shoulder at the moment, and have had for a few weeks, and it’s getting progressively worse. This means my entire right arm gets sore and stiff easily, and one of the things that exacerbates it is […]

I’m starting to think that there’s something to this whole “finding stray kittens their forever homes” thing. Turns out, I find it very fulfilling! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see a kitten get adopted into a loving family, especially when I was part of that equation. For the past month, […]

I get fan mail, which I think is awesome. Also, in the world we live in, which includes “AI”-generated scams and other phishing expeditions, it’s necessary to set some expectations as to how I handle fan mail and also requests from fans. Here’s how I’m going to manage it going forward. For the purposes of […]