There is a concept, a hidden implication, in the original Star Trek series that James T. Kirk might not be unique. He might be merely one of many Starfleet captains out there boldly going, having amazing adventures across the galaxy. After all, the Enterprise is one of a dozen identical starships, and the rest are certainly not sitting in space … Read More
Help Plot My 2015 Reading Tour
Would you like to hear me read Long Black Curl to you this summer? Maybe ask me some questions in person? If so, here’s what you need to do. Go to your local bookstore, ask if they’d be interested, and if they are, send me the contact info, including the name of the person in charge of author events. Don’t … Read More
Why I Haven’t Blogged Lately
I haven’t blogged in a while, so I thought I’d blog on why that is. Enjoy the brisk taste of meta. Primary among my reasons for not blogging is the continuing work on Long Black Curl, the third Tufa novel that comes out in May. You’d think it would be done by now, wouldn’t you? Alas, ’tis not the case. … Read More
Win an advance reader copy of Long Black Curl
The third Tufa novel, Long Black Curl, doesn’t come out until May. But you might win an advance reader copy right now by leaving a comment below telling me about your favorite folk song (new, old, original, traditional, it doesn’t matter). I’ll be giving away eight copies, so pass the word and let everyone know. Deadline is midnight on Sunday, … Read More
Talking to My Daughter About Women in Refrigerators
On New Year’s Day, I did some surfing through various Twitter feeds and came across this article by Caroline Pruett. Titled, “Talking to Our Daughters About Violence Against Women in Comics,” she speaks to the issue of “women in refrigerators,” a term for using the death and/or brutalization of female characters as devices to motivate male heroes. It’s a concept … Read More
Interview: the writers of Carmilla
Carmilla, J. Sheridan LeFanu’s 1871 novella that predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is a seminal work of genre fiction. It introduces the idea of the lesbian vampire, something that later writers would expand into its own genre (check out Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers for a fairly faithful, if overtly sexed-up, version). It’s also surprisingly contemporary in its writing style. So … Read More
Movie Review: Mythica, A Quest for Heroes
Back in 2011, I stumbled on Arrowstorm Entertainment’s Dawn of the Dragonslayer, a low-budget fantasy epic that had the look of a much more expensive film. But what really got my attention was the care given to the performances: leads Richard McWilliams and Nicola Posener really dug into their characters, and director Anne Black gave them the time to do … Read More
The Omai Gods: the story behind the story
One of my favorite and oft-quoted bits of writerly advice comes from novelist/filmmaker Nicholas Meyer: “Art thrives on restriction.” Meaning that if you don’t have enough of something–usually money and/or time–you’re forced to compensate by being creative. Here’s a story that shows how that works, at least for me. I’ve never written steampunk. I honestly don’t even know if it’s … Read More
Guest post: Charlie Holmberg on Aqua Notes
Homegrown in Salt Lake City, Charlie Holmberg was raised a Trekkie with three sisters who also have boy names. She writes fantasy novels and does freelance editing on the side. She’s a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukelele, and owns too many pairs of glasses. Her first novel, The Paper Magician, is now available. Follow her on Twitter for the … Read More
Talk like a pirate, win a book
So this Friday, September 19th, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Now that’s something I can really get behind. I love pirates. From The Black Swan to The Sea Hawk, from Raphael Sabatini to William Goldman, from Errol Flynn to Johnny Depp, I dig them all. And not just the fictional ones: I’ve seen Blackbeard’s cannon and Black Sam … Read More