Monthly Archives: May 2023
Universal Yums: May 2023 Review
Posted on May 31, 2023 13 Comments
It is the final day of May, which means I’m posting this May review on time! Woohoo! Anyways, this month’s Universal Yums country was Taiwan, and it was a very colorful spread: I loved these packages’ designs. The cute little cow, the pretty pinks, and the funky little jelly shots that were super squishy. So […]
Help Me, I’m Weak
Posted on May 30, 2023 37 Comments
Me: Dude, you do not need another guitar, especially another tenor guitar, and especially not a hollow body archtop tenor guitar, seriously, who even plays that shit out in the real world Also me: PS: It’s one of these. Also, it’s a fuckin’ delight. — JS
And Now, The Scalzi Family Foundation Logo
Posted on May 30, 2023 28 Comments
The Scalzi Family Foundation has begun its philanthropical mission (beginning with sponsoring the 2023 Gen Con Writers’ Symposium), and so it behooved us to have an official logo. I commissioned artist Natalie Metzger to create one, and she came up with something I really liked. It’s welcoming, features elements that go well with the people […]
Mid-Weekend Update, 5/28/23
Posted on May 28, 2023 20 Comments
Balticon has been absolutely lovely and Krissy and I are having a fabulous time, both at the convention and in Baltimore. This weekend there is also a large Indian festival and a heavy metal festival downtown, so it’s quite the melding of cultures in the streets and also in the elevators of the hotel. Everyone […]
The Big Idea: Yukimi Ogawa
Posted on May 26, 2023 3 Comments
It’s a special talent to write in a language that you’ve learned along the way. In this Big Idea for author Yukimi Ogawa’s new collection of short stories, Like Smoke, Like Light, she explains why this choice was an essential one for her. YUKIMI OGAWA: Years ago, somewhere on the internet, I saw someone remark […]
View From a Hotel Window, 5/26/23: Baltimore
Posted on May 26, 2023 17 Comments
This hotel window shot has it all: A parking lot, yes, but also an impressive building in the federal style, and a pleasant downtown view in general. It’s a lovely day in Baltimore, and the part of the downtown I’m in is nicely walkable. Charm City, indeed! Balticon starts this evening and I’m here all […]
The Big Idea: Jean Marie Ward
Posted on May 25, 2023 4 Comments
Sometimes, it takes more than one try to really nail down a story. In author Jean Marie Ward’s case, the third time was the charm, resulting in her new novel, Siren Bridge. Read on to see how each iteration of this story came together to form this final novel. JEAN MARIE WARD: I stole the first […]
Balticon Bound
Posted on May 25, 2023 17 Comments
Away from the computer for most of the day because Krissy and I are headed to Balticon, where, among the many other things I will do, I will be picking up the Robert A. Heinlein Award, which I am pretty jazzed about, I have to say. I’ll also be doing a reading, a signing, and […]
Tina Turner, RIP
Posted on May 24, 2023 17 Comments
Like many a young white teen in the 80s, this is the song that acquainted me with Tina Turner; prior to that I knew she existed, but I couldn’t have told you anything that she had done or why she was important in the realm of popular music. This lack of knowledge, I am happy […]
I’m Skeptical
Posted on May 23, 2023 6 Comments
Of what? I don’t know, man, what ya got? Busy day today. Cool doings are transpiring. I look forward to sharing them with you soon. — JS
The Big Idea: William C. Tracy
Posted on May 23, 2023 4 Comments
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or in this case, don’t judge a monster by its mushrooms. Author William C. Tracy’s Big Idea brings us back into The Biomass Conflux series with his newest novel, To A Fungus Unknown. WILLIAM C. TRACY: Forty years after landing on Lida, the colony still isn’t finished. Agetha has survived […]
The Winner of the Starter Villain ARC Contest
Posted on May 22, 2023 12 Comments
It’s George Berry, who was one of three who correctly guessed the number (“792”), and then was the one chosen by Alexa when I asked her to pick a number between one and three. His ARC will be signed and personalized and sent on its way today. Congrats to him and thank you to everyone […]
I’m Giving Away a Starter Villain ARC! You Could Win It! Yes, YOU!!
Posted on May 19, 2023 2,134 Comments
They just arrived! And this one, modelled here with Spice, is the one I’m giving away! Here’s all you have to do: I asked Krissy to think of a number between 0 and 1000, and her friend Karen heard the number as she said it. Guess the number in the comment thread here. That’s it! […]
The Big Idea: Scott Fulford
Posted on May 18, 2023 8 Comments
How was the state of your wallet during the prime pandemic years? As Scott Fulford explains in this Big Idea for The Pandemic Paradox, for many Americans it was not nearly as bad as it could have been, and indeed, possibly the opposite. SCOTT FULFORD: The novel coronavirus suddenly seemed to be everywhere in March […]
Don’t Buy This Place
Posted on May 17, 2023 50 Comments
There’s this building in the neighboring town of Piqua (yes, home of Captain Underpants) that I pass by occasionally, and I’m a little obsessed with it, because it is slowly but inexorably being eaten by vines, and no one seems to be doing anything about it. The building is for sale by owner (you can […]
A Quick Note On Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Posted on May 16, 2023 23 Comments
Marvel has always had a bit of a tonal issue across their cinematic universe, and even within singular franchises, such as Thor. There was one franchise in particular though that I was positive I had nailed down in terms of what to expect. Guardians of the Galaxy was one where I was sure of what […]
The Big Idea: Jacqueline Vogtman
Posted on May 16, 2023 1 Comment
Some things are worth the wait, as Jacqueline Vogtman found out in Girl Country, her short story collection. Time and circumstance changed it from what it once was to something new, with a particular theme running through the whole thing. JACQUELINE VOGTMAN: My book, Girl Country, is a collection of short stories, and while the […]
Pre-Order a Signed and Personalized Copy of Starter Villain Through Subterranean Press
Posted on May 15, 2023 11 Comments
Yup, I’m teaming up with Subterranean Press once more to do the thing where, if you pre-order the latest novel (in this case, Starter Villain) through them, I will drive up to their warehouse and not only sign your book, but personalize it, to you or whomever you like. Pretty nifty! And yes, pretty sure […]
The Kaiju Preservation Society a Finalist for the 2023 Ohioana Book Award
Posted on May 15, 2023 6 Comments
And you ask, what is an Ohioana Book Award? Well, it’s the state book awards for Ohio, and there are several categories. The category I am a finalist for is “Fiction,” and here is the list of finalist authors and books in the category: Hyde, Allegra. Eleutheria, Vintage Ng, Celeste. Our Missing Hearts, Penguin Okorafor, Nnedi. Noor, DAW […]
Archiving for Posterity: A Twitter Thread on Book Blurbing, 5/13/23
Posted on May 13, 2023 37 Comments
Archiving here for the sake of posterity (and not relying on Twitter for it; they’ve gone wonky, alas, so this is a cut and paste job) 1. To reiterate this once again for everyone: If you see me blurbing a book, it’s because I have actually read the fucking thing and I liked it enough to […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying