Monthly Archives: July 2022
The Big Idea: Alan Smale
Posted on July 29, 2022 10 Comments
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a NASA spacecraft! Come along in Alan Smale’s Big Idea, as he tells you about his new novel, Hot Moon, where an alternate history involving Russia and the moon has occurred. ALAN SMALE: I’m writing this blog post on one of my very favorite […]
Trying Out A New Recipe: Blueberry Crumb Cake
Posted on July 28, 2022 17 Comments
The first time I got into cooking videos on YouTube was back in 2012, when I was thirteen. And the channel that got me into cooking videos was a channel called Kin Community. There were several different content creators that all made their own videos and then posted under Kin Community’s channel, but the only […]
The Big Idea: Dan Moren
Posted on July 28, 2022 2 Comments
In blank we trust. Who is that blank for you? Are you that blank for others? Trust is a valuable thing, and according to author Dan Moren, the lack of it is prevalent in his new novel, The Nova Incident. DAN MOREN: Who do you trust? It’s a harder question than you might think. Maybe because […]
Upscaling and an Important Note About Photo “AI”
Posted on July 28, 2022 21 Comments
Because I’m a digital photography nerd, I have a lot of programs and Photoshop plugins designed to tweak photos and make them better, or, maybe more accurately, less obviously bad. One of the hot new sectors of digital photography programs is the one where “Artificial Intelligence” is employed to do all manner of things, including […]
The Big Idea: Ruthanna Emrys
Posted on July 27, 2022 6 Comments
The way our world is going now, there might not be much of future to look forward to. For author Ruthanna Emrys, she tried to imagine what that future could possibly look like in her new novel, A Half-Built Garden. Follow along as she talks about how we all can get there. RUTHANNA EMRYS: “We […]
Universal Yums: July 2022 Review
Posted on July 26, 2022 23 Comments
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another Universal Yums review! Today’s review features my dad as a co-reviewer, so you get double the opinion for the same low low price of free! July’s box full of snacks comes to us all the way from India. Here’s the assortment: There are ten snacks total, and three of […]
The Big Idea: Jackson Bliss
Posted on July 26, 2022
Life is full of decisions, and sometimes those decisions can be tough. For author Jackson Bliss, making decisions was the driving force behind his newest novel, Dream Pop Origami. Read on to see how one’s decisions will impact the story. JACKSON BLISS: Dream Pop Origami is based on a single big idea I had in grad […]
Spice, the Mighty Hunter
Posted on July 26, 2022 10 Comments
I came downstairs this morning to Spice on the kitchen counter, which is a place she is generally never on, so I figured something was up. Sure enough, Spice was hunting prey, in this case an adult antlion, which had positioned itself just out of paw-swatting reach. The antlion was escorted outside via a small […]
The Big Idea: Clay Harmon
Posted on July 25, 2022 2 Comments
Power dynamics in relationships always have the capacity for drama… but what happens when some of that power is magical? Author Clay Harmon is thinking about this in his Big Idea for Flames of Mira. CLAY HARMON: Can members of a relationship exist on equal footing when power imbalances exist between both parties? This is […]
I Was Left Unsupervised: A Twitter Thread
Posted on July 23, 2022 78 Comments
Recorded here for posterity, which will question why I bothered. I have been left unsupervised. They say we have strayed from the sight of God. I say, God sees all… And chooses inaction. It is time to move humanity out of its comfort zone, beyond its antiquated ideas of what should and should not be. […]
Late to the Party: Stranger Things Season Two
Posted on July 22, 2022 7 Comments
After totally tearing through season one of Stranger Things, I was eager to start season two. Upon actually starting it, I realized I did watch it when it came out. I had completely forgotten about season two entirely. I thought, “okay, maybe I did watch an episode or two and then quit”, but that wasn’t the case. […]
The Big Idea: Chris Gerrib
Posted on July 22, 2022 4 Comments
When robbing a bank becomes too mainstream, try hijacking a spaceship! Author Chris Gerrib tells us a little about how he came up with the idea for his newest thriller, One of Our Spaceships is Missing. CHRIS GERRIB: Stories sometimes have more than one Big Idea. For my latest novel, I had a lot of big […]
I Was Going to Write Something Today But Then I Sat Down to Write It and Forgot Was I Was Going to Write About, I Blame COVID Even Though I Am Almost Entirely Over It Now, Anyway, Here’s a Hibiscus
Posted on July 21, 2022 9 Comments
In fact, today was the first day I got real serious work done on the novel in, like, forever, so blaming COVID for having a brain fart here feels even less sincere than it might have been previous. Although I suppose I could say I spent all my writing coins today on pay copy. Yeah, […]
The Big Idea: Trent Jamieson
Posted on July 21, 2022 1 Comment
With all things in life, balance is the key. This is also true for author Trent Jamieson’s newest novel, The Stone Road. Follow along with this Big Idea to see how he found balance between novels, and in his own life. TRENT JAMIESON: A week after I turned forty, the seventh cranial nerve on the right-hand […]
An Imperfect Apple
Posted on July 20, 2022 16 Comments
While walking the dog earlier today we walked by the neighbor’s apple trees, on which apple are coming in nicely but are not yet ready to be eaten. One thing I note about all the apples is that, even in this still-early stage of growth they are, largely, wildly misshapen and would never make the […]
The Big Idea: Will Wiles
Posted on July 20, 2022 4 Comments
Over time, little things can add up. This is the case for empires falling, governments collapsing, and sickness spreading. In Will Wiles’s Big Idea, he goes into detail about how being aware of these little things can lead to big changes. See what changes await in The Last Blade Priest. WILL WILES: Decay, that’s the thing. […]
An Attempt At Binging With Babish’s Ube Roll
Posted on July 19, 2022 32 Comments
Did that look super difficult or what?! I certainly thought it did, which is why I was hesitant about making this dessert. I knew I had to put aside my reluctance and just go for it. What was the worst that could happen? So, I started by looking for the ingredients on Amazon, because I […]
The Big Idea: Zac Topping
Posted on July 19, 2022 4 Comments
“Better to bring a casserole to your neighbor’s house than a shotgun” is a Midwest saying that rings extra true in author Zac Topping’s new novel, Wake of War. Follow along in his Big Idea as he takes you through war-torn streets of the near-future — streets that are all too familiar. ZAC TOPPING: Crumbling, […]
Hitting the Big Time, Musically
Posted on July 18, 2022 6 Comments
I was curious about getting my musical compositions onto streaming services, and I was recommended DistroKid to do this — for a flat annual fee they will get your music up onto just about every service that streams music. I went ahead and used my most recent musical track (now subtitled “The Vince Clarke Fan […]
The Big Idea: Alex White
Posted on July 18, 2022
Sacrifices in stories generally tend to be noble ones. Characters are made to suffer but always for the greater good. Author Alex White shows us that sometimes things are just plain bad, and sacrifices are no fun. So how do the main characters in August Kitko & The Mechas From Space manage to find any joy in […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying