I’ve been going back and forth on this post for almost a year now, wondering how exactly to express my thoughts. Some of the positive reviews on my fiction have expressed that I write “libertarian fiction,” and in some ways, I think that’s accurate: certainly, I value liberty very strongly, and support those government policies… Continue reading Why I no longer consider myself to be a libertarian
Tag: sex
How I would vote now: 1958 Hugo Award (Best Novel)
The Nominees The Big Time by Fritz Leiber. The Actual Results How I Would Have Voted Explanation The Big Time has a lot of things in it that I normally would like. It’s a time travel story that bucks the popular convention of the butterfly effect—the idea that small changes in the past lead to… Continue reading How I would vote now: 1958 Hugo Award (Best Novel)
A Much Deserved Fisking
In the November issue of Locus magazine, Cory Doctorow wrote an op-ed piece defending Jeannette Ng and the decision to strip Campbell’s name from the Campbell Award. At least, that’s how it started out, but it quickly devolved into a hatchet piece against everyone in science fiction whose politics lie somewhere to the right of… Continue reading A Much Deserved Fisking
2019-09-19 Newsletter Author’s Note
This author’s note originally appeared in the September 19th edition of my author newsletter. To subscribe to my newsletter, click here. It’s September, which means (among other things) that it’s time to revisit my business plan and update it for the next year. Every January 1st, I print out a new and revised copy of… Continue reading 2019-09-19 Newsletter Author’s Note
Motatseba, or how to bag a wife—literally (Blast from the Past: April 2012)
With the rise of #MeToo, I thought it would be interesting to revisit this old post from my time in the Republic of Georgia. Here in the US, we seem to be in the process of completely reworking the societal norms for how men and woman interact in the public sphere. On one extreme, we… Continue reading Motatseba, or how to bag a wife—literally (Blast from the Past: April 2012)
Content Ratings for Books
A couple of weeks ago, there was a discussion on The Passive Voice blog about trigger warnings and how they are destroying literature. The post spawned a discussion that went on for 240 comments before Passive Guy closed it (probably because we got too political), but it ended up being very insightful. Laying aside any issues of politics… Continue reading Content Ratings for Books
Why I stopped watching House of Cards
I started watching House of Cards a couple of weeks ago, and really got into it for a while. As longtime readers of this blog will remember, I spent a semester in DC at a high-powered K street internship, and was thoroughly disgusted by what I found there. House of Cards is all about the… Continue reading Why I stopped watching House of Cards
Starliner by David Drake
Welcome to the Empress of Earth, the finest luxury liner in all of settled space. Whether you’re alien or human, first class or economy, there is a place on the ship for you. Just watch out for those Grantholmers and Nevassans–those planets are about to go to war, but don’t worry, the Empress is strictly… Continue reading Starliner by David Drake
LTUE 2013
Man, LTUE 2013 was this weekend, and it was AWESOME. One of the best conventions I’ve ever attended. I spoke on my first panel, attended my first book signing event as an author, and got to meet up with some old friends, as well as some amazing new people. Since I live tweeted most of… Continue reading LTUE 2013
Trope Tuesday: The Vamp
Also known as the temptress or the seductress, the vamp is one of the more dangerous characters the hero meets on his journey. A devastating beauty who is as evil as she is sexy, she uses her feminine wiles to exploit men’s flaws to her own advantage. If the hero falls for her, he will be destroyed.… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Vamp