The most based science fiction and fantasy convention is on! To celebrate, author-scientist extraordinaire Hans G. Schwartz is organizing a massive blowout sale! Over a hundred titles are available for free or just $0.99! Participating authors represent a huge mix of established names and emerging talents. These include Leigh Brackett, C.J. Carella, Larry Correia, Jon […]
The Last Thousand Words
Dozens of days of research. Hundreds of hours of writing. Constant sweating and fact-checking, checking in proofreaders and editors, editing and re-editing the manuscript, polishing it to perfection. Every fact must be checked, every slang word period-accurate, every last detail lifted from reality. And what is the fruit of your labours? One thousand words. No […]
The Wind Blows from The West Part 3
They met again the following week on the airship. Lee had boarded in the evening at nine, found his cabin, and passed the night in silence and solitude. Cheung said he would assemble the crew in the dining compartment to discuss the trip over breakfast. Lee showed up in his trail clothing. White cotton tunic […]
The Wind Blows from the West Part 2
Opening the door, Lee was greeted by an unfamiliar sound. Harsh, brassy metal punching against something harder. The noise came from several ball-like contraptions on the desks in front of him. Young women hammered away at keys that sprouted across the balls on long spines. They were Malling Writing Balls. He’d read about such things, […]
The Wind Blows From The West Part 1
Since he’d last been in the city, reconstruction and urban development had overridden his memories. Now a citywide steam tram service plied the streets, alongside rickshaws and steam cars, all of them imported, all of them driven by locals. When he was a child, most road traffic was velocipedes and sedan chairs and bullock carts. […]
The Page is Not The Game
The video game is the defining entertainment medium of the times. Combining high-impact visuals, immersive sound and deep player engagement, all within the comfort of the player’s home, the video game is the epitome of technological leisure. Its influence bleeds out into other media. In writing, we see this in the immensely popular LitRPG / […]
The Page is Not The Screen
The pulp era was a different time. Dime novels, pulp magazines and radio were the primary forms of fiction. Silent films dominated the theatres until the 1920s, with musicians playing music to accompany the show. The first Technicolor feature film arrived only in 1935, and it would take another three decades until colour firmly supplanted […]
Babylon Through the Eyes of Mundanes
When embarking on a new series, I have a simple rule: do something new. With the Babylon series, I wanted to play with perspective in storytelling. Babylon Blues has one main character and five viewpoint characters. While Yuri Yamamoto, leader of Team Black Watch, is the star of the story (and the series), he doesn’t […]
The Machinations of Lesser Gods
The New Gods dominate Nova Babylonia, but in their shadows skulk a host of lesser powers. Tutelary deities, minor spirits, demons and other creatures, they squabble among themselves to sweep up what little the New Gods leave them. Following the cataclysmic events of Babylon Blues, these lesser powers have a chance to step into the […]
The Case for Polylithic Evil
Most stories keep things simple. There is the side of Good, represented by the protagonist. There is the side of Evil, represented by the antagonist and his minions. Postmodern fiction tries to spice it up, with gray versus gray or gray versus black morality. Having just two sides is the norm. If there are multiple […]