Ever since I began publishing independently in 2013, friends and fellow authors have warned me, "Don't get involved with Goodreads. It's poison for authors. There are people there who take pleasure in destroying writers - and the platform does nothing to stop them." I wondered about that, but life, the universe and everything has kept... Continue Reading →
FenCon 2021
First off my thanks to Karl Gallagher and Todd Caldwell. You know what you did. For the readers of this blog, if you haven't read any of Karl's work, I highly recommend it, and also, aren't his covers lovely? This is going to be a bit of an AAR for the con, and a bit... Continue Reading →
Trapped with the Lord of Hate!!!
Oh, the huge manatee . . . It was written seven years ago, but I only came across this article recently. I was tickled by its headline: I spent 7 days in a car with Larry Correia,International Lord of Hate, and lived to tell about it Having enjoyed Larry's company over several days at conventions,... Continue Reading →
Beware the coming wave of censorship
With a new Administration in Washington, D.C., and the oligarchs of Big Tech now dominating US politics, we as writers have to expect a new wave of pressure - initially "voluntary", but very likely regulated or even legislated in due course - to conform what we write to the policies of the powers that be.... Continue Reading →
Announcing: The Geek Galaxy
Cedar's note: missing cons? Want to hang out with fellow fans? Don't like to travel? Don't want to fall into the social media pitfalls? Banned from Facebook for Good Behaviours? Has Jim got the place for you... I took one look at it and got homesick for Baen's Bar. Twenty years since I first stepped... Continue Reading →
The value of ‘name’
Now once upon a time (your cue that this is merely a made up tale. No real coffee machines or companies were involved), there was a clever young man who made a new kind of coffee machine. It, simply, made better coffee than anyone else’s machine. It was reliable too. He could have sold his... Continue Reading →
Award Winning!
The Mad Genius Club has been awarded with a Neffy. I realize I may be biased, but as I sit here and contemplate the folks who write for this site - I am the least of them - I think it's well-deserved. For over a decade, over four thousand posts, this blog has existed to... Continue Reading →
The Rising Tide
I had one of those interesting days today, at least, in the ancient Chinese curse sense. In part, anyway. It’s the start of national book week here in Oz, and, I may be trifle biased but a love of reading is greatest gift we can give to children, to the future. Now, for me, crowds... Continue Reading →
Apropos of Nothing, a Gentle Reminder…
July 19 is the deadline for submitting nominations for the 2019 Dragon Awards. Any book, movie, comic, game, published or aired between July 1 2018 and June 30 of 2019 is eligible. Anyone can nominate, and voting will begin in August. Remember, these are fan choice, so if you read/saw/played it and liked it, you... Continue Reading →
Authorial Sartorial Tutorial (a guest post)
Cedar here: I have been rather sick the last couple of days. I'm not saying it was the Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich, but I will say that's the only thing I ate before coming home from work and proceeding to get rather ill. My dear, dear husband, who is Not a Writer, offered to write... Continue Reading →