So, you know how sometimes you figure out you’re going to do something in a few months, set all the conditions, and then think “Of course I’ll remember that!”? Come to find out, when there’s a pandemic, cancer scare, and various other issues, you don’t remember to do that things because you’re busy doing something else. […]
Blog
Potpourri July 2020
This Saturday, I will be presenting on Writer’s Research for the St. Louis Writer’s Guild. You can join for free via Zoom. I’m basically going to talk about how to do historical research and also chase down various things about writing. There’s going to also be a lot of Q&A, so if you’re wanting […]
Friends in High (Suborbital) Places
So a thing about the Con(vention) business is you gradually develop a family. One of the really good folks in the fam, Dorothy Grant (spouse of the indomitable Peter), took up the writing gig a relatively short time ago. Her latest book is out now on Amazon, and having heard the pitch I recommend adding […]
Ancillary Items–Editors and Illustrators
Why Editors and Illustrators Are Important Editors and illustrators are the most important pieces of indie publishing next to the author themselves. (Edit: No, I’m not just saying that because I’m married to an artist who has also done a rather important cover…or two…or now three.) Whenever I talk about indie publishing in […]
Warship Wednesday–Decking the Hulls (Carrier Doctrine #2)
As you guys may have noticed, I am completely willing to lean on the works of others. With that in mind, for today’s discussion, we’ll talk about a topic which as absorbed much ink: decks. Specifically, armored vs. unarmored iterations thereof. So, without further ado, I’ll turn it over to the video host Drachinifel and […]
Zeroes vs. Spitfires
Come friends, I’d like to provide a resource regarding one of aviation buffs favorite questions: “Which was better, the Zero or the Spitfire?” Note: Well yes, I know that’s actually an Oscar catching the business from one Adam Haynes above. Something about I might have wrote the book. However, half the time Allied pilots couldn’t tell […]
Conventions in a Time of COVID
Just popping in here briefly to inform everyone of another postponement. Soonercon, originally scheduled for June, is now postponing to June 25-27, 2021. As I’ve been doing to help ease the pain for most conventions, I’ve merely asked to have my vendor space passed forward to 2021. I figure it’s the least I can do. […]
Warship Wednesday–Territories and Mission
If you ever wonder just how crazy things got towards the end of the Washington Naval Treaty, look no further than the Alaska-class large cruisers. I’m going to let the always excellent Drachnifel give a quick rundown of the vessels here: Unlike the poster (and it’s a lovely series), I’ve never been of the school […]
The Cosmic Chuckling Continues
So the original version of this event was announcing my location and attendance at Planet Comic Con 2020, 20-22 March at Bartle Hall in Kansas City. As usual, I was going to be in attendance with Anita C. Young with her artwork and books. Well, as you can see if you go to the Planet […]
Warship Wednesday: Fun With Turrets
Thanks to the U.S.S. Iowa for filming this interior of the 16-inch turrets. In the case of the Iowa and many other late war ships, each gun could elevate and fire independently. Bonus: Here is a World War II-era training video. As an author, as I watched this I realized just how many things could get knocked […]
Warship Wednesday–Carrier Doctrine #1
Interesting thing I discovered about carrier doctrine in writing the Usurper’s War series in general, but definitely with regards to Against the Tide Imperial: The three main carrier navies in our timeline did things very, very differently. The USN basically went all in on “every carrier throws a haymaker.” This was shown both in early task […]
2019 in Review
Man. It seems like just yesterday I was celebrating the imminent release of Those In Peril and preparing to go to Life, The Universe, and Everything (LTUE) Symposium in Utah. Next thing I know, 2019 is in the rearview mirror, the Phases of Mars series is complete, and Against The Tide Imperial is…well, still not […]