GoodReads Review: The Spirit Ring — Lois McMaster Bujold
The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster BujoldMy rating: 4 of 5 starsSet in a small Italian town in the Renaissance era (there are references to Lorenzo de Medici, so let's call it late 1400s), but a version where magic and metallurgy run together, The Spirit......
When Your Children Turn On You
Heartbreak … it’s inevitable in this life. Muse: Unless you’re a pyschopath. Are you implying something? Muse (whistling innocently): No, not all. When I think about heartbreak, I think about disappointment, but magnified. Most folks have experienced it at some point, whether it’s the job you didn’t get, the...
The Importance of Connotation
Words only hold meaning in context. Speak any word in a place where no one else understands that language and it holds no meaning. That is true for the denotation (a word’s literal or most common meaning) as well as for connotation (whatever else it signifies along with its...
Poem sold to Star*Line!
My poem "The Pelagic Colossus" has just sold to Star*Line. That's a nice bit of news to get during National Poetry Month. Look for it in one of the next two issues. ...
What Does Orange Juice Have To Do With Literature?
Seven or eight year old Jens woke up somewhat earlier than usual that morning. His parents and brother were still asleep so he trundled into the dining room and found his grandfather eating breakfast. Likely his second breakfast, considering it was after 7AM. Jens plunked himself at the oblong...
I like it dark. Dark! Okay, not that dark.
(Note: This blog entry contains spoilers for several fantasy works, including Abercrombie’s First Law series, Parker’s The Folding Knife, Moorcock’s Elric saga, and Tolkein’s Simarillion. If you don’t know or wish to know the conclusions to these stories, abort now.) So … I finished reading The Folding Knife the...
Anatomy Of An Idea: Hunting Fire
Grimbold anthology "Lost Gods" comes out tomorrow - order it here! - and contains one of my rare reprints, Hunting Fire. This began as a writing prompt / freewrite on the theme of unseasonable weather. As is my usual habit, I decided ......
Birthday gift–a free novelette!
It's my birthday today. To celebrate, I'm giving you a gift, a free copy of my novelette "The Spire Singers." This week (through Friday, February 12) the story is free to purchase on Amazon.It's a strange story, in the best of ways, a touch of Ka......
The Titular Woes of Untitled Treats
They say you should make book titles as specific as possible. Alliterate them. They should flow off the tongue, have double meanings… well, I’d settle for a single meaning. Truly, today I feel like I shall never release another book again, despite havi......
Being a Good Sports Fan
I’ve come across some very annoying sports fans. We all recognize the type: opinionated, unwilling to take gainsaying, trash-talking, loud, obnoxious. I’ve heard it said that the modern sports fandom is a socially sanctioned way to express the fanaticism and warrior-like need to denigrate an opponent that in past...