Monthly Archives: February 2022
KPS Author Copies Are Here
Posted on February 28, 2022 16 Comments
And it looks fabulous, as of course it would. It’s a really real book now! That exists in the world! And, no, that never gets old. By tradition, Krissy gets the first copy of the book out of the box; the one you see here is #2. Mind you, the rest of you still have […]
The Big Idea: J.D. Blackrose
Posted on February 28, 2022 1 Comment
In this Big Idea post, JD Blackrose notes how a phenomenon in real life had an impact on the story she was trying to tell in her new novel (and series debut), Demon Kissed. JD BLACKROSE: I didn’t expect to write about balance. I didn’t know that I’d have to later search for the word […]
“Go Fuck Yourself” and The World Today
Posted on February 26, 2022 118 Comments
By now, I probably don’t have to tell you about the Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island, who, confronted with a Russian navy ship which demanded their surrender, told the ship to “go fuck yourself” and then died when the ship retaliated. But it is worth noting how the incident is a microcosm of how Russia […]
The Big Idea: Rob Hart
Posted on February 25, 2022 4 Comments
Sometimes, to get a Big Idea, all you need is an instigating inspiration, a neat idea… and maybe a Google doc or two. Rob Hart shows us how it all comes together in this piece on his new novel, Paradox Hotel. ROB HART: “Time travel hotel.” I wrote this into a Google Doc after seeing […]
Hello I’m Deeply Annoyed For Technical Reasons
Posted on February 25, 2022 51 Comments
The technical reasons being my laptop not being able to find Delta’s wifi when I have a Big Idea to post. As a consequence a Big Idea post will be going up in the afternoon (I usually do them in the morning). Sky internet why are you so problematic. Aside from that I’ll be scarce […]
The Big Idea: Juliette Wade
Posted on February 24, 2022 1 Comment
Every society has systems it runs on. For Inheritors of Power, author Juliette Wade had to create systems that not only explain the culture, but show how every system binds those in it… for better or worse. JULIETTE WADE: Imagine a man (yes, let’s start there). He lives in a nation called Varin, in an […]
The New Not Coolmobile
Posted on February 23, 2022 30 Comments
Faithful readers of Whatever will remember that in December, Athena totaled her car on Interstate 70 after running over debris from an accident involving two other cars. This was unfortunate, but she was unharmed (as were the two people who had the accident she came across), and really, as far as we were concerned, that […]
The Big Idea: Michael Mammay
Posted on February 23, 2022 13 Comments
When does a novel need a Big Idea? Sometimes an author starts with one, but then other times, as Michael Mammay tells you regarding his new novel The Misfit Soldier, it arrives on its own schedule. MICHAEL MAMMAY: I didn’t start writing The Misfit Soldier with a big idea. I think part of that is […]
Now Witness the Power of This Armed and Fully Operational Space Toilet
Posted on February 22, 2022 57 Comments
Last year Krissy decided that she wanted to upgrade our bathroom suite, and not in just a “new hand towels and shower curtain” way — a whole revamp. I was fine with this, I said, if I got what I wanted out of it: a supercool space age “intelligent toilet” with all the bells and […]
The Big Idea: Richard Swan
Posted on February 22, 2022 4 Comments
What is justice? And who is it for? And how is it meted out? These questions and others like it are at the heart of The Justice of Kings, and author Richard Swan is here to explain why sometimes, these questions do not have easy answers. RICHARD SWAN: Did you ever watch The Revenge of […]
Okay, But, Seriously, What the Hell is Going On With My Shadow Here
Posted on February 21, 2022 42 Comments
I’m genuinely confused as to what’s actually happening here, and I crave your insight. Help me in this moment of crisis. — JS
Sugar the Cat Wants to Know Why She is On This Side of the Sliding Glass Door
Posted on February 20, 2022 31 Comments
Don’t worry, the instant she’s on the other side, she’ll wonder why she’s on that side, too. She’s a very cat-like cat this way: The best side of the door is the side she’s currently not at. This Sunday has been given over to arguing on Twitter and picking up the house a bit. How […]
Oh No, He Said, Wringing His Hands, Where Are All the Men in Science Fiction?!?
Posted on February 19, 2022 93 Comments
I don’t know if you knew this, but in certain quarters of the Internet, it is currently the fashion to suggest that men are being squeezed out of mainstream science fiction and fantasy, as it is being overrun by all the people who are not men, writing stuff that men certainly would never read because […]
New Book and ARCs, 2/18/22
Posted on February 18, 2022 17 Comments
You like the sort of person who would enjoy a big ol’ stack of new books and ARCs, so: Here’s a stack for you! What here looks like just the thing to make you set aside your weekend plans and just read? Share in the comments.
I’m Prepping For an Interview Right Now, So Here, Listen to Some Foo Fighters Pretending to Be a Death Metal Band
Posted on February 16, 2022 10 Comments
It’s related to their upcoming horror film Studio 666, as I understand it. The movie looks terrible, but hopefully the fun, cheesy kind of terrible that will be enjoyable to watch. We’ll find out soon! In the meantime, enjoy this, it’s crispy. — JS
Kaiju One Month Away; Review in Scientific American; Appearance at the American Writers Museum Festival
Posted on February 15, 2022 7 Comments
As they say, three things make a post, and here are the three things! 1. The Kaiju Preservation Society comes out in exactly a month. And also exactly four weeks, because this is February, which has but 28 days, and that’s how it works. I can tell it’s coming out soon because I’m experiencing an […]
Gale Scalzi, RIP
Posted on February 13, 2022 56 Comments
Last night my cousin Sarah let me know that my uncle Gale, my father’s brother, had passed away. This hit me pretty hard. Growing up, Gale was the closest of my non-immediate family, literally, as he and his family lived in a house that I walked by every day to and from school. I would […]
On the Subject of Skin Thickness
Posted on February 12, 2022 39 Comments
I was the subject of some discussion last week in the comments of the site File 770, specifically on the matter of whether my occasional snarking on Twitter at the sad, attention-seeking dudes who regularly try to cut me down online is proof that I have “thin skin” regarding criticism, etc. And while I like […]
And Now, The Kaiju Preservation Society Tour
Posted on February 11, 2022 25 Comments
Yes, there’s a tour, yes, it’s going to be in person (knocks on all the wood), and yes, I’m excited. This tour is going to be a little shorter than some of my most recent in-person tours, in no small part due to an abundance of caution, but a) nine stops is not a small […]
The Big Idea: Scott Drakeford
Posted on February 11, 2022 3 Comments
Gods are complex characters in the best of times… and in Rise of the Mages, author Scott Drakeford wanted to see what gods might be like in not necessarily the best of times. Read along as he explains why. SCOTT DRAKEFORD: What if God were real? That’s the question – or the Big Idea, if […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying