In related news, our cat continues to be excellent.
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Archive for the ‘Likes’ Category
So! Fluffy!
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #thingsIjustlike, Thoughts on June 23, 2023| 1 Comment »
Alternate Awesome
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts, Writers on June 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I used to love those wooden block sets with marble runs cut in the long bits, and direction changing holes through the blocky bits. (It’s possible that an alternate version of me grew up to be a toy engineer. Which would be awesome.)
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Happy Book Birthday, v39!
Posted in Entertainment, Favorites, Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing, yay on May 16, 2023| 5 Comments »
Today is the day: Volume 39 of Writers of the Future is live!
Where to buy: Amazon | Apple Books | Audible | B&N | BAM | Bookshop | Google Play | Indigo | Kobo | OverDrive Libraries | Powell’s | Vroman’s
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Here’s the synopsis:
In the world of speculative fiction…
Your favorite authors…
Have selected the best new voices of the year.
24 Award-winning Authors and Illustrators
3 Bonus Short Stories by Kevin J. Anderson • L. Ron Hubbard • S. M. Stirling
Art and Writing Tips by Lazarus Chernik • L. Ron Hubbard • Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Edited by Dean Wesley Smith • Jody Lynn Nye
16-page color gallery of artwork • Cover art by Tom Wood
Check out the stories Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, Nnedi Okorafor, Robert J. Sawyer, Kevin J. Anderson, Jody Lynn Nye and others chose as the best of the best.
Be amazed. Be amused. Be transported … by stories that take you by surprise and take you further and deeper into new worlds and new ideas than you’ve ever gone before….
Twelve captivating tales from the most exciting new voices in science fiction and fantasy accompanied by three from masters of the genre.
A miracle? An omen? Or something else? One day, they arrived in droves—the foxes of the desert, the field, the imagination….—“Kitsune” by Devon Bohm
When a vampire, a dragon and a shape-shifting Chihuahua meet on a beach in Key West, fireworks go off! But that’s just the background. —“Moonlight and Funk” by Marianne Xenos
Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., faces one of his funniest and most perplexing cases ever—an enlightened ogre, a salamander with low self-esteem, and a raging fire dragon terrorizing the Unnatural Quarter! —“Fire in the Hole” by Kevin J. Anderson
The Grim Reaper, trapped in an IRS agent’s dying body, must regain his powers before he dies and faces judgment for his original sin. —“Death and the Taxman” by David Hankins
In a metaverse future, a woman who exposes falseness in others must decide what is real to her—the love she lost or the love she may have found. —“Under My Cypresses” by Jason Palmatier
Vic Harden wasn’t lured by glory on a daring mission into the reaches of outer space—he was ordered out there by his editor.—“The Unwilling Hero” by L. Ron Hubbard
Dangerous opportunities present themselves when an alien ship arrives in the solar system seeking repairs. —“White Elephant” by David K. Henrickson
With her spaceship at the wrong end of a pirate’s guns, a former war hero must face down her enemies and demons to save Earth’s last best chance for peace. —“Piracy for Beginners” by J. R. Johnson
Years after the Second Holocaust, the last surviving Jews on earth attempt to rewrite the past. —“A Trickle in History” by Elaine Midcoh
When I said I’d do anything to pay off my debts and get back home to Earth, I didn’t mean survey a derelict spaceship at the edge of the solar system—but here I am. —“The Withering Sky” by Arthur H. Manner
High-powered telescopes bring galactic life to our TVs, and network tuner Hank Enos figures he’s seen everything—until the day an alien boy stares back. —“The Fall of Crodendra M.” by T. J. Knight
Knights, damsels and dragons, curses and fates foretold—the stuff of legends and stories, but unexpectedly perverse.—“Constant Never” by S. M. Stirling
Determined to save his wife, Tumelo takes an unlikely client through South Africa’s ruins to the heart of the Desolation—a journey that will cost or save everything. —“The Children of Desolation” by Spencer Sekulin
When a terrorist smuggles a nuclear weapon into London, a team regresses in time to AD 1093 to assassinate a knight on the battlefield, thereby eliminating the terrorist a millennia before his birth. —“Timelines and Bloodlines” by L. H. Davis
The Grand Exam, a gateway to power for one, likely death for all others—its entrants include ambitious nobles, desperate peasants, and Quiet Gate, an old woman with nothing left to lose. —“The Last History” by Samuel Parr
You will love this collection of the best new voices because, as Locus magazine puts it, “Excellent writing…extremely varied. There’s a lot of hot new talent.”
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One More Day!
Posted in Likes, Reviews, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #WritersOfTheFuture, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Writers, writing, yay on May 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Tomorrow is the book birthday for Writers of the Future Volume 39, which includes my story “Piracy for Beginners” and much more. The publishers went all out, with 544 pages plus a full-color gallery for illustrations, and of course electronic and audiobook versions.
Am I excited? I am. Am I eager for you to meet my fellow authors and illustrators, who are all amazing talents? They are! Will I remind you of these facts again tomorrow? Probably, because I think that anyone with an interest in science fiction and/or fantasy will find something to love in this collection. After reading the book and spending a week with the other new authors, I was impressed and I hope you will be too.
Links!
e/BOOK/AUDIO: Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Google Play | Kobo
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Whee!
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts on April 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.”
― Bill Watterson
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You’re a Rockstar
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, innovation, inspiration, problem solving, Thoughts on March 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Most mornings I stop by the MIT homepage to see what new projects are in the works. Today I was particularly struck by the sense that these folks are freaking rockstars.
Designing a flexible graphene supercapacitor for solar energy storage?
Rockstars.
Researching cell-based treatment for Type 1 diabetes?
Rockstar.
Advising the White House on space policy?
Rockstar.
Reducing concrete emissions, making affordable air quality sensors, supporting collaborative action, and addressing disparities in health care?
Rockstars all.
As someone who imagines the future, I love to see it being built.
And it’s not just MIT, of course. The world is full of creative innovators at all levels, from cutting-edge research to finding solutions to everyday issues. Scientists or not, that’s kind of humanity’s thing.
Take a moment to remember a time when you identified a problem and worked to fix it. Have you ever soaped a sticky drawer, had a stoplight installed at a dangerous intersection, added pollinator-friendly plants to your garden, or tackled any of the many (many) problems we face every day?
Then you’re a rockstar too.
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The Bright Side
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts, Writers on March 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »
For Monty Python’s Eric Idle, and anyone else who may have a birthday today (hello!), here’s a little singalong.
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The Koala Knows
Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, art history, creativity, learning, Thoughts on March 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Some days you just want to chill while learning a little art history, you know?
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Moses of Her People
Posted in Favorites, Holidays, Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, history, inspiration, Thoughts on March 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today is Harriet Tubman Day. Who was she and why do we celebrate her?
Harriet Tubman: Facts, Underground Railroad & Legacy
Harriet Tubman was an escaped enslaved woman who became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, leading enslaved people to freedom before the Civil War, all while carrying a bounty on her head. But she was also a nurse, a Union spy and a women’s suffrage supporter.
When I was young we lived across the street from a mansion. A massive Victorian from the 1870s, it had a wrap-around porch and beautifully kept grounds. Flowers bloomed behind wrought iron fences and mulberries spilled over onto the sidewalk. One Halloween, the woman who owned the house took at look at my ghost and my brother’s Batman and invited us inside. (Don’t worry, this isn’t a scary story.)
We were greeted by a wide foyer, elegant wooden paneling, high ceilings and chandeliers. Our neighbor gave us a brief tour and then, perhaps looking through our costumes to the skin underneath, said, “Once upon a time, this house was part of the Underground Railroad.”
Based on the age and location of the house I don’t think that’s likely to be true,* but I didn’t know that at the time. The story helped bring to life the books I’d read about runaways, slave catchers and the transformation of a young girl with a disability into a savior of her people.
How to Experience the Lasting Legacy of Harriet Tubman
Pressing my hands against the bricks of the home Harriet Tubman built, I closed my eyes and listened to the wind rustling between the leaves of the trees surrounding this place where she lived and worked as a free woman, awaiting a message from the Underground Railroad conductor and Union spy.
She continues to be an inspiration and so to her, to my ancestors and all those who braved so much during that frequently harsh and terrible time: thank you.
“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you… Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”
— Harriet Tubman
* The specifics of this particular house aside, there was an active spur of the Underground Railroad running through the region. The Bellefonte Art Museum down the road hosts a permanent exhibit showcasing its operations.
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Hope, Revived
Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, free fiction, genre fiction, reprints, Writers, writing, yay on February 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I am pleased to announce that the new edition of Polar Borealis is out, and it includes “A Needle Pulling Thread.”
I wrote the story in 2018 but the themes of humanity and hope still strike a chord. My thanks to editor R. Graeme Cameron, who remains dedicated to furthering the cause of Canadian speculative fiction, and congratulations to all those in the issue.
Find the free PDF online:
POLAR BOREALIS #24 – February 2023
Poems by Roxanne Barbour, Rodolfo Boskovic, Carlyn Clink, Robert Dawson, Catherine Girczyc, Jim Smith, Richard Stevenson, and Dean Wirth.
Stories by Warren Brown, Victoria K. Martin, J.R. Johnson (hey, that’s me), Cathy Smith, Rhea E. Rose, Jacqueline Thorpe, Gerald L. Truscott, and David Wiseman.
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