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. […]
Writing
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 […]
Young's Ten Tips
Susanne Lambdin and I do a regular panel we call “Strategy and Tactics of Novel Writing.” Inevitably we figure some poor sods come in thinking we’re going to talk military stuff. For you folks, we are sorry. For everyone else, don’t be fooled–we really do talk about how to write a novel. We usually start […]
On Being A Shaman
So several of my friends accuse me regularly of writing what they call “crack fic.” Sometimes this is an exercise to shut the muses up temporarily, as there’s a riot going on while I’m trying to edit. Other times, someone will just throw me a prompt and it’s “Hi yo, Silver, away…”As always, all things […]
Warship Wednesday–Battleships
BATTLESHIPS (BB) Maulers. MoWs (Manifestations of Wrath). Death Castles. While the Carrier faction speaks of their ability to destroy entire systems, Line officers point out that battleships have actually gone out and done it. Although not impervious to modern weapons, the “Grand Bitches of the Fleet” are the celestial equivalent of a hungry Kodiak showing […]
Warship Wednesday–Ark Royal Class
Welcome Chris Nuttall readers. Please check out the front page: https://vergassy.com The Ark Royal-class are the largest and most modern supercarriers in the Confederation Navy. First projected to carry a full air group of 3 fighter and 3 attack squadrons, the air group’s composition was changed in 3051 to 2 fighter, 2 attack, and 2 […]
B-Sides and Outtakes (Formerly “I Can’t Believe I Wrote That”)
[Edit] So back in 2016, I decided to have a regular entry called “I Can’t Believe I Wrote That” in addition to my Writing Tips and Random Confessions. As part of the revamping of this website, I decided to just mere this with “B-Sides and Outtakes” in order to simplify folks finding things to read. […]
Writing Tips: Cover me!
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, I can be bad about updating this blog. (*simultaneously from the peanut gallery* “Noooooo, really?!”) I will try to be better about that, especially given the fact for some reason people keep putting me on panels. (Con Organizers: “Uh, James, people also put bears on unicycles. We’re not saying there […]
Warship Wednesday–Carriers
CARRIERS (CV) Confederation Fleet carriers are commonly known as “The Fist of the Fleet.” Typically carrying 3-5 squadrons of Starfighters, usually escorted by an additional capital ship or formed into strike groups of 2-3 “flattops,” modern supercarriers are capable of laying waste to entire star systems by themselves. All carriers are horrifically vulnerable during their […]