Monthly Archives: March 2020

The Big Idea: S.A. Jones

It’s not every day that your book is the debut novel for an entire publishing line, but S.A. Jones has that honor with The Fortress, which is the first release from Erewhon Books. It’s a big responsibility, but as you’ll see below, Jones has a big idea to match. S.A. JONES: I began writing The […]

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Great Scott

I noted this on Twitter yesterday but it bears a retelling and an archiving here: The folks at Jay and Mary’s Book Center, my local bookstore, knew that I and my family were away on a cruise the week that the coronavirus started to bite down hard, and people started freaking out and hoarding toilet […]

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The Big Idea: TJ Klune

In the writing of The House in the Cerulean Sea, author TJ Klune looked a little history north of our border — and current events right here in the US — to inform his world of magic, and bureaucrats who seemingly trudge through it. TJ KLUNE: When an author gets an idea in their head—one […]

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A Bunch of COVID-Related Thoughts

I’m awake at an absurdly early hour and can’t get back to sleep! A perfect time to post a bunch of musings on the current apocalypse! These aren’t in any particular order because see above, re: absurdly early hour. * First off, this is an apocalypse that I have to admit seems uniquely suited, on […]

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The Big Idea: Ann VanderMeer

And now for something a little different: A Big Idea about a Web site, not a book: Avatars, Inc. But it is an anthology, and it’s something I think qualifies here, because as editor Ann VanderMeer explains, it’s got quite a big idea behind it. ANN VANDERMEER: The XPRIZE Foundation has been around for over […]

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My First Associated Press Photo Credit

I snapped a picture at the Ft. Lauderdale airport yesterday while I was trying to head home and posted it on Twitter with the requisite snarky comment, and then it went viral (so to speak). One thing led to another and now the AP is distributing the photo. Now I have an AP photo credit […]

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Hello From a Boat Next to an Island in the Caribbean

At the moment, we’re visiting the Dominican Republic. The temperature is 76 degrees and the humidity is perfectly bearable. I’m in a bathrobe and about to head to the spa to soak in the “hydro-pool,” which strikes me as a redundant term, but, hey, whatever makes them happy. I’m sure wherever you are is perfectly […]

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The Big Idea: Myke Cole

In Sixteenth Watch, author Myke Cole wants to bring your attention to a different sort of military branch — one whose remit is different, but no less vital, than any other, and how that differing mission is vital for his novel and the story he’s telling within. MYKE COLE: When we hear the word “military,” […]

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The Big Idea: Premee Mohamed

For the Big Idea about her novel Beneath the Rising, author Premee Mohamed considers the nature of one of the most important types of relationship we have, yet also the one that is many ways the least understood by those who participate in it. Which type of relationship is this? Read on. PREMEE MOHAMED: The […]

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On the Boat

Another year, another JoCo Cruise! I’ll be updating the site while I’m on the boat… but not a whole lot. Because I’ll be busy, you know, having a vacation. And before you ask, don’t worry, I’m washing my hands and the whole ship is sanitized. We’ll be fine. It’s you all who should be careful. […]

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The Big Idea: Chris Kluwe

There aren’t a lot of people who are both a published science fiction author and also a pro-level athlete — but Chris Kluwe is one of those, and more besides. But in addition to the things he is, there are the things he is not. Both of those matter for his new novel Otaku, how […]

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The Upgrade Value

I’m learning a song on guitar because I’m going to play it on the JoCo Cruise, and I’ve been practicing it both on the Acoustasonic I got for Christmas, and on a travel-sized Washburn guitar that costs roughly a tenth of what the Acoustasonic costs. If you think this is going to go “and I […]

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The Big Idea: K.B. Wagers

Sometimes the world’s not easy, and sometimes the world’s imperfect. But uneasy, imperfect worlds can make for good stories, as K.B. Wagers explains in their Big Idea for A Pale Light in the Black. K.B. WAGERS: Like nearly everyone else, I suspect, I’ve weathered the last few years like a hero in the final fight […]

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The Big Idea: Katie M. Flynn

Author Katie M. Flynn took a journey to bring you her new novel The Companions, a journey where so much of it was simply experiencing the town she called home, and how it has changed over time. KATIE M. FLYNN: First the fear: In grad school at UCLA, my advisor was a German ornithologist with […]

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Super Tuesday Thoughts

Because I don’t want to let the moment pass without noting it, some thoughts on Super Tuesday. 1. Clearly now it’s a two-man race, between the 78-year-old man with a heart problem and the 77-year-old man with some clear memory issues. This is, I will say, not optimal from my point of view. I will […]

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The Big Idea: J.T. Nicholas

To quote the immortal Freddie Mercury: Who wants to live forever? If you think you do, here’s J.T. Nicholas with a couple thoughts to consider, via his new novel, Re-Coil. J.T. NICHOLAS: What if we lived forever? Most of us learn early on that we have an expiration date. But medical technology keeps getting better […]

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The Big Idea: Jeff Wheeler

You may have heard of the expression “the stink of fear.” For The Killing Fog, author Jeff Wheeler is working with an idea that’s similar — and both bigger, and stranger. JEFF WHEELER: Like many authors, travelling to different places has sparked my imagination in surprising ways. But it was during lunch at a restaurant […]

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