Stories I Tell My Daughter: The Snowman and the Flower
Waldor wanted nothing more in his life than to see a beautiful flower. Where he lived, it was always cold, and flowers never had a chance to grow.
Stories I Tell My Son: The Strawberry Farm
Once upon a time, there was a dragon. In this dragon's ear was the biggest strawberry farm you've ever seen.
Which Would You Choose? Synthetic or Cyborg?
President Duke argues that anyone who transferred into a synthetic body stopped being human the moment their original brain died. I've been thinking about this argument for years, and I still can't find a hole in it.
Only the Quiet Remains
A farewell to my friend and canine writing partner. If you've recently lost one of your own, this one may be worth skipping.
A/S/L, Says the State of Texas
Thirty years ago, you could answer that question with whatever lie you wanted. That was what made the internet awesome.
HJ Talks to AV
Technology has grown far beyond the cookie-cutter experience of your grandparents and into a realm where knowledge rules and strength is no longer determined by the size of a man’s muscles but by the size of his brain.
Friday Footnotes - 6.26.26
Welcome to Friday Footnotes, a new series intended to fill the void when I've spent too much time writing fiction and too little time writing a new thoughtful blog post for you.
House of Nepenthe - Alternate Opening
The bar around him was an amalgam of familiar set pieces: the long bar with multi-colored bottles on the wall behind it, the pool tables in the distance with their clacking balls, and a small dance floor with only a handful of people gyrating to a song he couldn’t hear.
Writers, Find Your People
Writing is a lonely profession, but there are times when you need someone else to help answer the difficult questions like "how many movie quotes are too many?"
How to Turn an Existing Short Story into a Novel
Pamela Koehne-Drube over at Novlr wrote a great framework for expanding a short story into a novel. It's like she was reading my diary.
Last Date Night in the Valley
He’d wanted to take her to a fancy restaurant in Corpus Christi, but with her last class of the day letting out at 7:30 p.m., she’d balked at the six hour round-trip just to eat raw shrimp from a champagne glass.
AI Boiled a Small Lake to Bring House of Nepenthe to Life
They say all is fair in love and self-publishing, which is why I have no trouble throwing money at anything that might remotely help me sell more books... even if "anything" occasionally means accelerating the heat death of the planet.