I got asked to do a guest blog by Cedar Sanderson for her website. After reading it, she decided to promote this to The Mad Genius Club, where it is now crossposted. So, without further ado: Lines of Departure This blog post actually got started in a conversation about wasp spray. Yes, that’s right, […]
B-Sides-Final Fight Part I
So after the events of The Vladivostok Thing, World War III basically went poorly for the Soviets in my World War III. How bad? Well long story short, the United States and NATO committed to a counteroffensive that speared into East Germany, Poland and Hungary rose up in rebellion, and most of the 1st and […]
Warship Wednesday–Stalingrad Class
The Stalingrad-class (3045) are intended to be commerce raiders / protectors mounting 15 Class ‘A’ railguns with a Class C maser secondary. Projected to be a class of 25 BCs, the recent success of the Constitution-class has caused some analysts to ponder if the Stalingrad order will be curtailed to 15 ships or less. […]
B-Sides and Outtakes– "Armageddon Dawn"–Part I
It was 2003. For two years, I had been working on this great idea for a story where aliens come to Earth, seeking humanity’s help in dealing with a rabid, angry race of cat-lizards that enjoyed eating intelligent species’ flesh and soul. Having been at peace for thousands of years, the friendly aliens had no […]
B-Sides-Vladivostok Special
This post will conclude the Vladivostok thing. For those who missed the first installment–I once had an entire universe in which the Cold War went hot. Through various moves, direct action, and movement through multiple versions of Word, most of this first novel up and disappeared. This is very much a rough draft, and I’m […]
Random Confessions: 25 Things
S0 on FB there’s always these “lists” that are bouncing around. Given I did one of them, I thought it’d be funny to go back and see how the answers changed and provide a little commentary. 1.) I was a German citizen for over 17 years. Still true. I was born in what was then […]
Metal Monday–Leaves' Eyes
So as some of you know from my talking at cons, I was stationed in Germany for two years. One of the benefits of being overseas in Europe is you get exposed to things that don’t quite make it Stateside. This would be how I ended up finding out about previous Metal Monday “guest” Sabaton. […]
We Interrupt This Program
Hello readers! With the semester underway, I’ve decided I need to throttle down on this freak show a bit. Ergo, Warship Wednesday and Metal Monday will now alternate weeks effective this Monday. Still expect 1-3 posts a week, however–but not 2-4. 😀 We now return you to your Friday night.
Castle Takes Wayne
My muses are annoying. They like to do things like wait until I’m sleeping, then prod me: “Hey! Hey! We know you want to go to sleep, but we just came up with this neat idea!” “Freakin” Muses! What?!” “What if Batman and Punisher suddenly ended up switching places through some crazy cross continuum magic […]
"I Can't Believe I Wrote That…"–James Channels Sir John Hackett and Tom Clancy (The Vladivostok Thing Part I)
So back in the dark ages, when the Bear roamed the Earth and the world stood on the brink of nuclear annihilation, Tom Clancy came out with a book called Red Storm Rising. I’m not ashamed to say, I read the (hard)covers off that thing. Tanks, fighters, bombers, anti-ship missiles…this was like a dream for […]
Warship Wednesday–Eggshells With Triphammers
BATTLECRUISERS (BC) Battlecruisers are allegedly big enough to kill anything they cannot run away from in sublight space, fast enough to run away from anything that can kill them, and capable of wreaking havoc amongst commerce in an interstellar conflict. BCs are considered capital ships, and are the lightest vessels of this type in the […]
Metal Monday–Swedecore!
So I’ve got a few songs that I play on steady rotation. Today’s Metal Monday is one of them–Sabaton’s “Carolus Rex.” I’m not saying the guy was crazy…but I think the king was a little crazy. Not George III mad, but when you think that you’re taking orders directly from heaven? That might be a […]