Monthly Archives: March 2021
Charlie Update, 3/21/21
Posted on March 21, 2021 33 Comments
It’s been a full twenty-four hour since Charlie has been gotten, which is enough time for me to say that based on early observations, she is, indeed, a very good dog. Yes, yes, all dogs are good dogs, I know, I know. But I mean that Charlie has shown herself to be a) quite intelligent, […]
Meet Charlie
Posted on March 20, 2021 43 Comments
Charlie is a six-month old Shar Pei mix who was surrendered by her previous owners because she got too large for their apartment. The good news is: We have lots of room! And we like large dogs, although Charlie is currently medium-sized at best. She is very well behaved with other dogs (from what we […]
Hey, Guess Who Just Finished Writing a Novel?
Posted on March 19, 2021 28 Comments
SPOILER: It was me. I’m very happy, both with the novel, and that it’s done. More details soon.
New Books and ARCs, 3/19/21
Posted on March 19, 2021 14 Comments
Spring is almost here, and what better time to peruse a fine stack of new books and ARCs. What here is something you are looking forward to taking into a new season? Share your thoughts in the comments. — JS
The Big Idea: Christina Consolino
Posted on March 19, 2021 2 Comments
Characters don’t always come out right on the first try, or even the second. Author Christina Consolino tells us a little about her experience with getting the characters right in her Big Idea for her newest novel, Rewrite the Stars. CHRISTINA CONSOLINO: Have you ever wanted to do something over? Maybe you made a bad […]
The Big Idea: Matt Ruff
Posted on March 18, 2021 2 Comments
In virtual reality, you can be anyone you want. But what happens when the headsets come off, and you’re faced with real world threats? Author Matt Ruff explores this idea of curating a persona in VR in his newest novel, 88 Names. MATT RUFF: Like my previous novel, Lovecraft Country, 88 Names started out as a […]
Final Thoughts On WandaVision
Posted on March 17, 2021 25 Comments
This post was supposed to come out last Monday, but my brain said “nah,” but at least it’s here now! If you missed my posts about the first six episodes, you can find them here, and here! Now that you’re all caught up, let’s dive right back in. Here is your SPOILER WARNING, but this time, […]
I Got Shot, Part One
Posted on March 16, 2021 94 Comments
Hey, would you look at this, this is me getting my first shot of the Pfizer COVID vaccine today. You should know that the shot itself was painless — literally, if I hadn’t been taking a selfie of the moment I was stabbed I’m not sure I would have been convinced I had gotten the […]
Slate Lactose Free Chocolate Milk: Taste Test and Thoughts
Posted on March 15, 2021 21 Comments
If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love chocolate milk. So when I got an ad for Slate, a company that boasts a delicious, healthier, shelf-stable version of the stuff we all know and love, I decided to give it a shot. Slate’s version of chocolate milk is 120 calories per […]
My 2021 Oscar Prediction (or Not) Post
Posted on March 15, 2021 13 Comments
This year’s Oscar nominee list is out, and every year except for 2020 I did a piece predicting who I thought would win and who I thought wouldn’t, based on historical trends and gut feelings built up over years of having been a film critic. Last year I bowed out because I wasn’t feeling it, […]
Time To Rant About Time Travel
Posted on March 12, 2021 102 Comments
Welcome to today’s post, where I’m going to yell about time travel in movies and shows and you’re going to like it! Or, if you don’t, that’s okay, too. We can have different opinions on time travel. But my opinion is that it sucks. I despise time travel. It’s confusing, almost never makes sense, and is […]
Thoughts on a Plague Year
Posted on March 11, 2021 75 Comments
March 11, 2020, is when I peg the start of my personal plague year. I was on the JoCo Cruise at the time and had intentionally avoided news up to that point, but then two things happened. One, people came up to me wanting to tell me about Tom Hanks contracting the COVID virus (people […]
The Big Idea: Gabriela Houston
Posted on March 11, 2021 1 Comment
It’s not how you look on the outside, but what’s on the inside that makes you a monster. This is especially true in Gabriela Houston’s newest novel, The Second Bell. Explore Houston’s Big Idea with her as she tells you of a society that is terrified of monsters, yet is monstrous itself. GABRIELA HOUSTON: If everyone […]
Bit of a Bust Bagels
Posted on March 10, 2021 59 Comments
In another bout of culinary adventuring, I decided to make homemade bagels! One of my favorite food bloggers, Half Baked Harvest, posted a recipe for cinnamon crunch bagels, and I decided to try my hand at it. This post’s purpose is to take you, my dear reader, on the journey that was bagel making. Let’s […]
Today In Life Choices That Are Either Questionable or Awesome or Both
Posted on March 10, 2021 81 Comments
See that fucking ridiculous guitar above? The one with six necks? Yeah, I just bought that shit. (My Fictional Interlocutor crashes in from the underbrush) You did what now? I bought it! I read in Guitar World that it was up for auction and I put in a bid and I won. Were you deeply […]
The Big Idea: Jess Montgomery
Posted on March 10, 2021 3 Comments
What do you get when you take strong women, crime bosses, and bootleggers, and throw them into a novel set in 1927 Ohio? You get Jess Montgomery’s newest addition to her series, The Stills. Prepare to explore the past in Montgomery’s Big Idea. JESS MONTGOMERY: When The Widows, my first novel in my Kinship Historical Mystery […]
Hey, Look, It’s Athena
Posted on March 9, 2021 4 Comments
She’s pretty great. And a pretty good writer, too. I am biased, mind you. But it’s still true. — JS
The Big Idea: Marie Vibbert
Posted on March 9, 2021 15 Comments
Author Marie Vibbert knows all too well the feeling of wanting to escape. In her Big Idea, she dives into how escapism played a role in writing what would one day become Galactic Hellcats. MARIE VIBBERT: My dad’s buddies were bikers. Guys whose legal names I still don’t know, but called Froggy or Uncle Um. […]
Smoothie Time!
Posted on March 8, 2021 17 Comments
Like the sheep I am, it is easy to persuade me to try something, especially if it has to do with food. So when I suddenly started getting (and still am getting) nonstop ads for a smoothie brand called Kencko, I decided to try it out. Kencko is a company that takes farm-fresh fruits and […]
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