On this day in 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip led a fleet of British ships carrying convicts into Botany Bay to form the penal colony of Australia. Australians still mark this date as a national holiday, which in the Southern Hemisphere is in the middle of summer. In the 18th Century, “transportation” to the colonies was […]
Lately, on the sci-fi blogs that I follow there’s been a resurgence in interest in the classics of the “golden age” of the 1950’s and earlier. These were works that readers loved but critics derided as “pulp,” often unfairly. I began my own exploration of the classics by re-reading a book that I read many […]
In 1970, renowned science fiction Isaac Asimov published his 100th book, and called it Opus 100, which refers to either a literary work or composition, or a large-beaked penguin.* I doubt I will ever catch up with him, since he wrote over 500 books, including both non-fiction and fiction. At least I shall exceed him […]
The other day I was speaking with a friend about how conservative writers feel they’ve been marginalized by leftists and are trying to change that. He remarked, “What do left and right mean in science fiction? Certainly what is considered liberal and conservative now will change in the future.” This was an excellent point, which […]
With the proliferation of steampunk culture, it was inevitable that eventually there would be steampunk music. Of all the self-proclaimed “steampunk” groups (yes, there are several) Steam-Powered Giraffe is certainly the most famous. I haven’t seen them perform live, but I have enjoyed much of their work on-line. Steam-Powered Giraffe definitely has a memorable gimmick. […]
If you do a web search of “cover design” on-line you’ll find that many writers say “don’t do your own covers.” They mention the many pre-made designs available for purchase and recommend using one of those. That’s fine for some folks, but I’m a control freak who can’t let that go. My books are my […]
* Owl’s birthday message to Pooh. Today is the birthday of Alan Alexander Milne, creator of Winnie-the-Pooh, born in 1882 in London, England. He wrote his famous “Winnie the Pooh” books for his son, Christopher Robin. Pooh and the other characters were based on Christopher’s toys, and the 100-Acre Wood was based on a forest […]
