Monthly Archives: March 2021
Read Request Week 2021 #6: Krissy and Dogs
Posted on March 31, 2021 19 Comments
Susanpeak asks: What is it about Krissy that dogs like so much? You mentioned that Charlie has already attached strongly to her, and I remember Kodi did so as well (and I assume Daisy?). Why? I should note it’s not just our dogs. I honestly have yet to meet a single dog that does not […]
Reader Request Week 2021 #5: American Fascism
Posted on March 31, 2021 74 Comments
Rick asks: Being a child of the late 20th century, I always thought the USA was somehow immune to fascism, and I’m honestly surprised to discover recently that this isn’t the case. Is this simple naivete, or have things fundamentally changed in American politics? Well, you know. In 1939 American Nazis held a rally at […]
The Big Idea: Michael Muntisov
Posted on March 31, 2021 4 Comments
Have you ever considered going vegan, or living a zero-waste lifestyle for the sake of the environment? It might be a good idea, especially if we get judged later in life for how we fought against climate change in our past. In Michael Muntisov’s newest novel, The Court of Grandchildren, the choices we make today […]
Reader Request Week 2021 #4: Living on a Boat
Posted on March 30, 2021 14 Comments
Matt C asks: I recall in a different post you mentioned you spent a summer on a houseboat when you were young? Can you elaborate on the story of how it came about and some or all the shenanigans that ensued? “Houseboat” is a little grand. It was a sailboat, probably 26 feet long or […]
Product Review: Craize Corn Crackers
Posted on March 30, 2021 9 Comments
Last week, I was advertised a snack food on Facebook while hungry, and inevitably bought it. The tempting snack I am referring to is called “Craize“, a company that sells flavored toasted corn crackers. The company boasts that they are better and healthier alternatives to tortilla chips. They have seven flavors as of right now: […]
Reader Request Week 2021 #3: Teaching “The Classics”
Posted on March 30, 2021 86 Comments
For this one, two questions, coming at the same topic at different angles. First, this from Dominic Morton: Should we teach “the classics” in high school? In the past I felt like the novels and plays I teach my students are a part of our cultural vocabulary, so they have common ground with other adults, […]
The Big Idea: Yaroslav Barsukov
Posted on March 30, 2021 2 Comments
In this Big Idea for Tower of Mud and Straw, author Yaroslav Barsukov looks at potentially-fraught relationships, and how he approached them for his Nebula award-nominated novella. YAROSLAV BARSUKOV: Game of Thrones may have faded from the public consciousness, but the scar tissue remains. Incest on the small screen no longer makes us drop our […]
Reader Request Week 2021 #2: Book Numbers
Posted on March 29, 2021 7 Comments
Michael Doherty has a question about publisher practices around book sale numbers. Specifically: I’ve never understood why publishers appear to be so cagey about the numbers of books they sell. Have your publishers ever asked that you not reveal how many copies your books have sold? No, and honestly I would be surprised if they […]
Reader Request Week 2021 #1: Creative Kids in a Computer Age
Posted on March 29, 2021 22 Comments
It’s Monday, and that means it’s time to start this year’s Reader Request Week! To kick things off, Matt S asks: Computers today are mostly consumption devices. Tablets, cell phones, smart watches… How do I make sure my young son will grow up having the passion to CREATE instead of only passively being entertained? Well, […]
The Big Idea: Dorothy Winsor
Posted on March 29, 2021 4 Comments
Family. Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em — but it seems that in one way or another we return to them. This seems to be the case in Dorothy Winsor’s newest speculative fiction novel, The Trickster, both for the characters and the author. Follow along in her Big Idea as she explains how the […]
Cats and Dogs, Living Together: An Update
Posted on March 27, 2021 17 Comments
One always wonders, when one brings a new dog into a house full of cats, how the cats are going to handle the intrusion of a big, dimwitted extrovert of an animal that is a dog, particularly when it’s still a puppy and thus full of puppy energy. In our case, the answer is: All […]
I’m Over Being Overweight
Posted on March 26, 2021 175 Comments
I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while, but I wasn’t sure how to without making it sound like I’m fishing for compliments or throwing myself a pity party. But I think I finally am able to express this in a way that’s kind of just matter-of-fact, rather than being a sad sack […]
Who’s A Good Girl?
Posted on March 25, 2021 13 Comments
It’s Charlie! Charlie is a very good girl, and I wanted to share her adorableness with you all! Having a dog has always been a norm in my life. Kodi was around before I was born, so she was a part of my life right from the beginning. When she died, I felt grief for […]
Reader Request Week 2021: Get Your Questions In!
Posted on March 25, 2021 111 Comments
Well, would you look at that: Next week I have nothing on my schedule in terms of writing. You know what that means, don’t you? Yes! I will sleep in until noon all those days! And also, it’s a very fine time for me to do a Reader Request Week. For those of you who […]
Charlie Photos, 3/24/21
Posted on March 24, 2021 22 Comments
Because I know you want them. Here she is in the yard this afternoon. And in case you’re wondering, she’s doing well and adjusting to home life just fine. She continues to be a good dog. — JS
Do You Want to Hear About This Japanese Snack Box I Got?
Posted on March 24, 2021 26 Comments
Well, you’re going to anyways, so strap in and come on this voyage of exciting flavors from across the sea with me! I, being me, subscribed to yet another subscription box. Though this one is very different from all my other ones, because it is a snack box! Specifically a Japanese snack box, called Sakuraco. […]
And Now, the Title of the Novel I Just Completed, Plus a Very Little Amount of Detail About the Book
Posted on March 23, 2021 69 Comments
So you’re here to learn the title of the novel I just completed. Excellent, because I’m about to tell you the title of the novel I just completed. The title has four words, three of which are nouns, and one of which is a definite article. Twenty-seven letters, of which twelve are vowels, which strikes […]
The Big Idea: C. L. Clark
Posted on March 23, 2021 1 Comment
What you speak, and how you speak it, and the things you write in the language you speak: All more complicated than you might expect, especially when the dynamics of civilizations come into play. C.L. Clark has been thinking about this, and in this Big Idea for The Unbroken, delves deeper into the power and […]
My First Tik Tok!
Posted on March 22, 2021 9 Comments
After months of debating with myself, I finally made a Tik Tok account. “Why so much indecision?” you may wonder. Well, it’s because Tik Tok is very much about filming yourself, either talking or dancing or singing or really anything. And I have a very big issue with that since I can’t stand to see […]
Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Review
Posted on March 22, 2021 48 Comments
There are many reasons that Zack Snyder’s Justice League (aka Justice League: The Snyder Cut) exists, almost none of them having to do with the actual film itself. The first and foremost reason is that it is (relatively) cheap advertising for HBO Max, the streaming service owned by AT&T, which owns HBO and Warner Bros […]
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