May 2015

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Yesterday, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage via an overwhelming popular vote. Yup, Ireland. The same country that only decriminalized homosexuality in the early 90s, and saw its staunch traditional Catholicism reel from recent waves of child sex-abuse scandals among clergy and affiliated lay groups. Where the infamous ‘Magdalene…

Read More Ireland did it. The Millennials helped.
by 3 comments on "Context reading in Adult SF&F"

…or, ‘I Am Not Five, and I Don’t Read Like This:’ I’ve recently followed some online critiques of other people’s science fiction and fantasy works-in-progress. I noticed a common factor: some readers’ inability or unwillingness to deduce words from context. One example: a friend’s Norse-flavored take on the Tam Lyn folktale held seven or eight…

Read More Context reading in Adult SF&F
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Back in 1998-1999, I needed another last-minute entry for the Beadwork Magazine/Interweave Press miniature beadwork exhibition ‘Up:Close’. I made this piece in three days: ‘Mom’s Mutant Cactus’. Dimensions: 3″ x 3″ x 3″. It’s a mutant because it doesn’t precisely mirror an existing cactus species, and because it has a blue flower. Until we get…

Read More Mom’s Mutant Cactus
Aside 2 comments on "Content writing for blogs"

A handy tip on writing for your blog: do most of it yourself or don’t do it at all.

Sure, cultivate guest blog trades for relevant and relatable posts. It’s fun and lets you network with peers. But your blog should be about your voice and vision, not someone else’s. Especially not someone you’ve hired to scrape and repackage web topics. Otherwise you’re not blogging, you’re just a spamming spammer who spams. 

If you can’t write well enough for publication, take some classes or use free online English-as-a-second-language resources until you can. 

Especially if your blog is your business contact and showcase.

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C’mon, you gotta know this one. It went from pun to meme to geek celebration? May the Fourth be with you. It’s a bittersweet holiday for me. ‘Star Wars’ was my Sf&F call to action back in ’77. It galvanized my attention like Tolkien had a few years before: big settings, classic stories slightly retold,…

Read More Happy Star Wars Day
by 1 comment on "Intergalactic Medicine Show: free fiction"

I’ve witnessed some extraordinary discussions over the past month, as the Hugo Awards controversy continues in the science-fiction and fantasy community. Eventually, I’ll provide links (cribbed and cited from a couple of diligent AW sources) to the best explanations of what happened and why. Part of the fallout? Free stories listed online by authors, editors,…

Read More Intergalactic Medicine Show: free fiction