For My Tech Nerds
I always thought the BlueSky usernames were a little strange, and recently, I've thought about running my own instance just so I can have a more custom username. But then I tagged Novlr in a post and noticed they had novlr.org as their username! What was this?
For Readers
The year was 2004, and the book was Xronixle. Fresh out of the gate as a hopeful cyberpunk novelist, I reached out to Dalton Publishing, a local Austin publisher, with a query for my cyberpunk thriller about a boy who copies his girlfriend's mind in virtual reality. To
For My Writers
Social media has been a double-edged sword for self-published authors for a while now. On one hand, it’s a place where writers can connect, share tips, and support each other. On the other, it often devolves into a noisy marketplace where everyone is shouting about their latest book, hoping
For My Writers
I've always struggled with pitching my books, whether to literary agents or my mom, mostly because my stories are multi-POV. From Por Vida on, my novels have always had four main points of view. I won't get into why I prefer that structure here, but it
Many real people often inquire whether I think about writing while running. Is that where I come up with all this insane tech? Is mile 2 reserved for working out a diatribe against the advancement of artificial intelligence? Is my cooldown dedicated to figuring out how and where I can
For My Writers
In a time when everything is a service (including this website!), it's rare to come across a piece of software that is A) free and B) so valuable that you actually want to pay for it. This year, two apps have met that criteria for me. The first
Deleted Scenes
"The old man is dying." Banks says this to me when I walk into his office in lieu of a greeting. No time for them, he once told me. As overseer of the second largest feed on the west coast, I couldn't blame him for being
For My Homeowners
Sometimes, when you're between jobs, paralyzed by anxiety, and staring down the barrel of yet another election season, you just need a distraction. Something productive. Something that keeps your mind off existential dread and the growing certainty that your career prospects might have better luck running as an
Newsletters
Howdy, Carl! Have I ever told you that sometimes, when I'm writing and a little stuck, I like to imagine writing directly to one of my readers sitting in their easy chair at home with a cute little pug in their lap? It's true! And since
Last month, as I was tending the grounds (walking in my yard), I noticed a shiny cylinder standing upright on the stylish concrete block that holds my air conditioning unit. Upon further inspection, I realized it came from a small valve on the AC itself. When I tried to replace
In February 2021, like many Texans, I learned that our statewide power grid is not connected to either of the national grids. So when Winter Storm Uri hit, and temperatures plunged, we were unprepared for the surge in demand and how the extreme cold would affect the energy infrastructure, leading
Flashes From the Verse
It was a mess the next morning. Muriel and I watched some of it from our balcony, behind the safety of some bamboo shades that her parents had bought us for Christmas. At first it was just the odd apartment dweller out for a morning amble, walking like a half-drunk