Monthly Archives: September 2016

The Big Idea: K.C. Alexander

This Big Idea by K.C. Alexander, for her new novel Necrotech, packs a punch. And Alexander, for one, wouldn’t have it any other way. Here’s why. K.C. ALEXANDER: In his Big Idea about his most recent novel, Jay Kristoff says it began (more or less) with an argument about vaginas. The anecdote is great. The context, on […]

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In Which I Turn Out To Be a Surprisingly Poor Agent of White Genocide

So, yesterday, after engaging on Twitter with some particularly low-wattage racists who were exercised about, you know, jackass racist things, I made the following observation: Today has been a reminder of the irony that those concerned about the "extinction" of the white race are the best argument for its demise. — John Scalzi (@scalzi) September […]

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The Big Idea: Tom Crosshill

Speaking as a nerd who took two years of dance in high school, this Big Idea piece by Tom Crosshill, about his novel, The Cat King of Havana, speaks to me. Read on to find out why. TOM CROSSHILL: My YA novel The Cat King of Havana is a tale of salsa, lolcats, and revolution. […]

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The Big Idea: Robin Talley

Shakespeare is often reinterpreted, reinvented and remade — but for her novel As I Descended, author Robin Talley discovered that revamping a tale from the bard was not as simple as just slapping on new clothes and modern language. There was a whole lot more going on. ROBIN TALLEY: As I Descended is the first […]

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The Scamperbeasts at One: Today You Are a Cat

The Scamperbeasts came to us on November 1, 2015; at the time we were assured that they were eight weeks old, i.e., old enough, just barely, to be taken home to us. Working back eight weeks from November 1, took us to this week in September for them being born. So, somewhat arbitrarily within the […]

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The Big Idea: Nisi Shawl

Nisi Shawl’s novel, Everfair, began as a bit of dare — a fine reason for a story to exist. But as Shawl details below, it’s not enough to write something for the challenge… because sooner or later, you’ll need people to want to read that story, too. NISI SHAWL: I want to subvert your mind. […]

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Sunset With Mercury and Duck, 9/3/16

How cool is this: For the second time in less than a month, I’ve captured a picture of Mercury, the most elusive of the classical planets. It’s the bright spot up and to the left of the setting sun. Mercury is hard to spot precisely because it’s so close to the sun, and it’s often […]

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5 Writing the Other Fails And How To Avoid Them: A Guest Post

As we head off into Labor Day weekend, here’s some food for thought from K. Tempest Bradford and a number of other writers, all instructors of the Writing the Other series of online classes, developed to help writers do a better job at writing people whose experiences are not like theirs. In this piece, they’re looking […]

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The Big Idea: Adam Heine

For the first Big Idea of September, author Adam Heine talks about Izanami’s Choice, and how, while “cool” is cool, ultimately it’s not quite enough for a great story. ADAM HEINE: Samurai vs. robots. It sounds like the Rule of Cool gone bad, right? For instant awesome, add disgruntled ronin, droid assassins, and folding swords. […]

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