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The Big Idea: Mick Ryan
Posted on May 4, 2023 3 Comments
There are many people who have written about war in the future, including the proprietor of this particular site. But Major General Mick Ryan (ret.) may have, by profession and inclination, a unique insight into the matter. In this Big Idea for White Sun War, he explains how his insight is married to a now-classic […]
The Big Idea: Blair Austin
Posted on March 21, 2023 3 Comments
Philip K. Dick once asked if androids dreamed of electric sheep; author Blair Austin wonders about the dreaming habits of another entity entirely in the Big Idea for his first novel, Dioramas. BLAIR AUSTIN: What if the Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition (1906-11) fell asleep and began to dream? Since I was young, I’ve struggled with […]
The Big Idea: Jane Hennigan
Posted on March 16, 2023 5 Comments
In her novel Moths, author Jane Hennigan does a table flip on the world we know to reveal some things that are truths in any world we might happen to live in. JANE HENNIGAN: Why did you make the men suffer so much? Do you just hate men? Is that it? This is the sort […]
The Big Idea: David Quantick
Posted on August 25, 2022 2 Comments
You have to hand it to David Quantick: He took a wild idea, and then, as the kids used to say, let his fingers do the walking (on the keyboard. I’m sorry. I will stop with the puns now). In this Big Idea, learn how the author finally got the idea for Ricky’s Hand out […]
Ranking My RPG Stats
Posted on January 30, 2023 40 Comments
Over on Twitter last night, Gail Simone asked: This is a fun little exercise to consider, and while I answered this briefly over on that service (because everything on Twitter still needs to be brief), I thought it would be fun to rank them out over here in more detail. I won’t be offering a […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Big Idea: Steven Kotler
Posted on April 19, 2022 2 Comments
Some famous musicians once said that all you need is love. It’s a nice sentiment, but in this Big Idea for The Devil’s Dictionary, author Steven Kotler might instead recommend a different-yet-related emotional state as the one we all need. STEVEN KOTLER: I stopped trying to categorize my writing a long time ago. Still, if […]
The Big Idea: Chris Panatier
Posted on April 18, 2022 2 Comments
How do we know what we know? In Stringers, author Chris Panatier posits a wild premise… and an even wilder way of getting that knowledge out into the world. CHRIS PANATIER: Stringers features individuals who have knowledge they can’t explain called, well…“Stringers”. Our main character Ben’s knowledge centers on three distinct areas: nitty-gritty of animal […]
The Big Idea: Kimberly Unger
Posted on July 13, 2022 5 Comments
Sure, we’ve all wished to visit the imaginary or virtual worlds of fiction and dreams… but when it’s time to come home, will we always find the exit? This is a question Kimberly Unger is considering in her latest novel, The Extractionist. KIMBERLY UNGER: I suspect most of us can agree that imaginary worlds have […]
The Big Idea: David Walton
Posted on October 18, 2022 5 Comments
Author David Walton offers us a glimpse into the past, the far past, in his Big Idea for his newest novel, Living Memory. Can the past be able to shape the future? Walton has thoughts! DAVID WALTON: Admit it: You wish you could ride a triceratops. As a child, I would have handed over my library card for […]
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, […]
The Big Idea: Brandon Crilly
Posted on October 11, 2022 1 Comment
Look, up in the sky! It’s not a bird, or a plane, it’s… squid gods? Author Brandon Crilly gives us a look inside his newest novel, Catalyst, and what it means to have faith; especially in something you can see. BRANDON CRILLY: When I was a kid, I grew up with two very different family branches. […]
The Big Idea: Nicole Dieker
Posted on October 6, 2022 2 Comments
Author Nicole Dieker couldn’t solve a mystery in her own life, so she tried to solve one in her newest novel, Ode to Murder. And as her big idea explains, there were plot twists in store for her as she made the attempt. NICOLE DIEKER: When I began drafting Ode to Murder, I had just two […]
Whatever Holiday Gift Guide 2020, Day One: Traditionally Published Books
Posted on November 30, 2020 110 Comments
Welcome to the first day of the Whatever Shopping Guide 2020 — Our way of helping you folks learn about cool creative gifts for the holidays, straight from the folks who have created them. Today’s featured products are traditionally published books (including graphic novels and audiobooks); that is, books put out by publishers who ship books […]
The Big Idea: Melissa Scott & Amy Griswold
Posted on April 13, 2023 8 Comments
The Victorian Era is a world we think we know… but as Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold tell us in this Big Idea for Death By Silver, beneath what we think we know is a world that must be inferred… and then explored. MELISSA SCOTT & AMY GRISWOLD: It’s not too much of an exaggeration […]
The Big Idea: Stacey McEwan
Posted on September 13, 2022 2 Comments
Humans can make a life in almost any circumstance, but when things get really rough, what sort of life can it be? Stacey McEwan has been thinking about this a lot, and in Ledge, she’s got a few answers, at least as they will apply to the folks in her book. STACEY McEWAN: How would […]
The Big Idea: Michael Berry
Posted on March 1, 2023 3 Comments
What is described by translator Michael Berry as a sci-fi dystopian novel may actually be somewhat of a familiar tale to you. Come along in his Big Idea to see how Hospital, by Han Song, ended up being a perfect representation of his own life. MICHAEL BERRY: During a recent podcast interview about Hospital, the host […]
The Big Idea: Kate Heartfield
Posted on May 24, 2022 6 Comments
They say behind every great man is a great woman, but what happens when that woman has a magic book and has decided she’s had enough of the patriarchy? Author Kate Heartfield takes us back through history, with a brand new perspective. Follow along in her Big Idea for The Embroidered Book to hear a new […]
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 […]
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The Big Idea
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