Monthly Archives: January 2018

Calyx and Flake

Give a book 125 pages. When I pick up a new novel, that’s my rule. After 125 pages, you can safely assume that you understand the essence of the author’s vision. At that point you can make an informed decision … Continue reading

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it something noun

Maybe because I’m in need of an intellectually stimulating diversion, or maybe just because a guy emailed me and said he has enjoyed the text adventure games I’ve written in the past, I thought I’d get out my half-finished magnum … Continue reading

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Anarchism with Spoilers

If you could bring a historical figure back to life, not for your own personal amusement but for the good of the world, who would it be? This question seems to have been the mainspring of The Watch, by Dennis … Continue reading

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Whither & Yawn

Another trip down the aisles in the local library, picking up science fiction and fantasy by authors I’m not familiar with. Today I had a look at 7th Sigma by Steven Gould. More than a look — I read through … Continue reading

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Premises, Premises

Browsing in the used bookstore, I picked up a copy of a fat hardback — Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Acheron. For a buck, how can you go wrong? It was a dollar well wasted. I’m sure Sherrilyn is a very nice person. … Continue reading

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You Bet Your Life

Maybe I’m not serious enough. Failure of seriousness can be, I’m guessing, a serious defect in a writer. I don’t remember how The Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold, landed in my Kindle. I think it may have been … Continue reading

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Take It to the Limit

It’s a profound loss that our local Friends of the Library organization no longer conducts a monthly sale of used books. They still operate a small used bookstore off the lobby of the library itself,  but the operative word is … Continue reading

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Flopping Around

Today I’m teaching myself a painful object lesson about why the motivations of a story’s characters are important. This is maybe especially true when the character is a villain, and that’s the spot where the floor is all slippery and … Continue reading

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