One of my writer friends made an interesting comment the other day. We were talking about email newsletters, and he pointed out that Jordan Peterson’s 5th rule, “don’t let your children do anything that makes you dislike them,” also applies to newsletter subscribers. Obviously, I don’t think that my newsletter subscribers are my children. But… Continue reading Reconsidering my newsletter
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On Basilisk Station by David Weber
The Honorverse is what Star Trek wants to be when it grows up. That’s the best way I can put it. On Basilisk Station is the first book in the series known as the “Honorverse,” which taken as a whole is David Weber’s best known work. Like Star Trek, the Honorverse is a far-future sprawling… Continue reading On Basilisk Station by David Weber
New short story goals
In the last few months, as I’ve reworked my business plan, I’ve put a lot of thought into what I want to do with short stories. I’ve written about two dozen of them so far, and while I don’t expect to be known as a short story writer, I do expect that short stories will… Continue reading New short story goals
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
I love the Vorkosigan books. Miles isn’t in this one, but a bunch of other characters are. It’s the same universe, with the same fascinating history, just with a bunch of new and interesting complications. Ethan is from a world where women do not exist. The uterine replicator has rendered them obsolete, and a colony… Continue reading Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
Smashwords end-of-year sale
If you like to buy your books on Smashwords, good news! All of my books that are usually 2.99 or higher are 50% off until the end of the year. Enjoy! https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/onelowerlight
Merry Christmas everyone!
Should I submit to non-paying markets?
I’ve recently gotten back into writing and submitting short stories, and this is one of the questions on my mind. Don’t get me wrong: I still believe in the top-down approach to short stories, where you start with the highest paying markets and work your way down. And I’m not going to write anything specifically… Continue reading Should I submit to non-paying markets?
Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein
As a general rule, Heinlein novels are either really controversial (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), really meta (The Number of the Beast), really fun (Citizen of the Galaxy), or some combination of all three (Starship Troopers). Farmer in the Sky is one of the really fun ones. This novel was written before the Apollo… Continue reading Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein
We have private space tourism now! Yay!
Congratulations, Virgin Galactic! As someone who dreams of one day looking down on this world from space, my hat is off to you! As for whether 80 km should or should not be considered the boundary of space, Scott Manley has a great video where he discusses this, as well as Virgin Galactic’s recent flight.… Continue reading We have private space tourism now! Yay!
The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove
As those of you who’ve read my short story “The Gettysburg Paradox” know, I’m a huge fan of both the US Civil War and time travel stories. Harry Turtledove’s The Guns of the South is, quite possibly, the best combination of the two. The novel starts just a few weeks after Gettysburg. The Army of… Continue reading The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove