Monthly Archives: March 2022
The Regrettes: Anxieties
Posted on March 31, 2022 5 Comments
Weird little video. Pretty good song. Traveling tomorrow for my appearance at Little City Books in Hoboken at 7pm, as part of the Hoboken Literary Weekend. If you’re in the area, come by and say hello. If you’re not in the area, uhhhh, have a good Friday, I guess. — JS
The Big Idea: Marion Deeds
Posted on March 30, 2022 5 Comments
Whether in the real world or in a world of fantasy, power is a currency that always compels. In this Big Idea for Comeuppance Served Cold, author Marion Deeds essays the persuasiveness of power, and how it informs the alternate Pacific Northwest she’s created. MARION DEEDS: Magic is a form of power. Who has it? […]
And Now a Brief Musical Interlude
Posted on March 30, 2022 2 Comments
One of my favorite bands in the last decade or so has been The Naked and Famous, originally from New Zealand but now with the principal members, Alisa Xayalith and Thomas Powers residing in Los Angeles. The band recently announced a hiatus, which makes me sad as a fan, but Xayalith and Powers are doing […]
The Big Idea: Jess Montgomery
Posted on March 29, 2022 1 Comment
William Faulkner once said “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” It’s a sentiment that Jess Montgomery can certainly appreciate, since her new novel, The Echoes, deals with something very close to that idea. Here she is to explain further. JESS MONTGOMERY: Can we ever outrun our pasts? I think the answer is… […]
Return of the Space Toilet: A One-Month Update
Posted on March 28, 2022 21 Comments
A month ago I wrote about our having installed a very fancy “intelligent toilet” and offered my initial reactions to it, and promised to do a follow-up about a month later. It’s now a month later, and here are my thoughts about the Space Toilet today: 1. I’m still delighted with my purchase, as the […]
The Big Idea: Gareth L. Powell
Posted on March 28, 2022 7 Comments
If you don’t think that science fiction is affected by the events of moment, than Gareth L. Powell has some news for you: oh, boy, is it ever. In this big idea for Stars and Bones, Powell explains how world events caught up to his story in strange and unexpected ways. (Disclosure: As you can […]
A Night on Cat Mountain
Posted on March 27, 2022 14 Comments
Photoshop has some new filters that run a picture you might have through some pre-existing artwork, and so I took a picture of Spice and ran it through a filter of a painting of mountains. The result is not displeasing. Yes, this is what I am doing with my Sunday (I also wrote an essay, […]
Home
Posted on March 26, 2022 12 Comments
It’s where I want to be. And I am indeed already there. Good be back. — JS
View From a Hotel Window 3/25/22: St. Louis
Posted on March 25, 2022 9 Comments
I don’t know, it’s kinda trashy. But St. Louis is lovely, and the hotel in general is nice, so there’s that. Tonight is the last event of this stretch of the tour, 7pm at the St. Louis Public Library. Please come by to say hello! And then I go home for several days. Hooray! But […]
The Big Idea: Joe R. Lansdale
Posted on March 25, 2022 8 Comments
Frankly put, Joe R. Lansdale is an American literary treasure, and his characters Hap and Leonard are a substantial portion of the reason why this is so. So a collection of Hap and Leonard stories? Yes, sir, more please, sir. Here’s Lansdale talking about his collection Born for Trouble, and where he, and his characters, […]
View From a Hotel Window, 3/24/22: Iowa City
Posted on March 24, 2022 9 Comments
And look! It’s a library! (Actually I suspect it’s not a library anymore because there’s a newer library off camera to the left. But it was a library, once, and that counts.) Tonight I’m at Prairie Lights bookstore, one of my favorites, and the festivities begin at 7pm. Tomorrow I’m at the St. Louis Public […]
The Kaiju Preservation Society a New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Independent Booksellers, Amazon and Audible Bestseller
Posted on March 23, 2022 42 Comments
How is Kaiju a bestseller? Let’s add it up! New York Times: #10 (Combined Print & eBook) USA Today: #19 (This list covers all books sold in the US) Audible: #6 (Audiobook Fiction) Los Angeles Times: #4 (Hardcover Fiction) Indie Booksellers: #10 (Hardcover Fiction) Amazon: #15 (Fiction, across all formats) You know what? This is […]
View From a Hotel Window, 3/22/22: Parma
Posted on March 22, 2022 17 Comments
Aw, hell yeah, pure parking lot goodness. Of all the hotel window shots this trip, this one is definitely the most parking lot-licious. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Tonight: Parma/Cleveland! At the Parma-Snow branch of the Cuyahoga Public Library! 7pm! Tomorrow: Boulder! At the Boulder Bookstore! 6:30 (I think, doublecheck […]
The Big Idea: Kenneth Hite
Posted on March 22, 2022 2 Comments
Location is everything — or, if not everything, then still quite a lot, especially when considering the work of foundational fantasist H.P. Lovecraft. For Tour de Lovecraft: The Destinations, master games writer Kenneth Hite gets out the map and takes us traveling, from Arkham to Innsmouth, in pursuit of terror and tourism. KENNETH HITE: The […]
Jonathan Coulton and Aimee Mann Sing “Red Shirt”
Posted on March 21, 2022 4 Comments
Recorded at the final JoCo 2022 concert. For those of you who don’t know, I commissioned this song from Jonathan when Redshirts came out a decade ago. It’s a lovely song, made even lovelier by the fact that Aimee freakin‘ Mann is singing background on it here. My life is delightful sometimes. Back on the […]
The Big Idea: C.G. Volars
Posted on March 21, 2022 5 Comments
There are tropes in literature that we all know, and, well, maybe not always love. For Static Over Space, author C.G. Volars thought about the tropes and what might happen if you flip them… and them flip them again, in an entirely different direction. C.G. VOLARS: Here’s a bit of irony for you: I first […]
Happy Gotcha Day, Charlie
Posted on March 20, 2022 8 Comments
A year ago today, we brought home this complete doofus. Life has definitely not been boring since then. Happy gotcha day, Charlie. May we have many more with you. — JS
The New Chair
Posted on March 20, 2022 17 Comments
Oh, hello. First, I am home for two! Whole! Days! in the middle of the tour, which is not to say that I am not currently touring; I have an online event in a couple of hours from this writing, in fact, with the Poisoned Pen bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona. If you’re seeing this before […]
View From a Hotel Window, 3/18/22: Brookline
Posted on March 18, 2022 12 Comments
The sun is out today! Well, at least some of the time. I will take that. Also, Brookline, hello! I am in you and looking forward to the event tonight at 7pm at Brookline Booksmith. Tomorrow: United Theater in Westerly, Rhode Island! First, me, at 7pm, and then Pacific Rim, at 9pm! How cool is […]
KPS Workplace Guidelines
Posted on March 17, 2022 13 Comments
Here’s a fun little thing I did over at Tor.com today, assisted by their able graphic artists: The Kaiju Preservation Society Workplace Guidelines: The Too-Short Version. It’s what you need to know to survive a world that has massive creatures who could step on you like you step on an ant. Not everything you need […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying