In the course of doing some worldbuilding for my latest novel “Children of the Storm” (which is now up to 88,000 words, by far my longest work of fiction), it hit me that passenger riverboat traffic in the Mississippi River and tributaries would explode compared … Continue readingRiverboat Futurism, à la Nouvelle-Orléans?
In this post, after a long break (thanks, real life, for nothing, says the writer part of me) I return to my roots here: sharing the thoughts I have that are just too long to fit in a tweet, in a format that’s just more…permanent. … Continue readingCinematic Universe?
It honestly just hit me: in the story I’m writing, which has crested 43,000 words as of yesterday, the city of Nashville is where so many of the characters live originally, yet by the end of it about the only ones left there are…the Slovenian … Continue readingWhy Don’t You Stay?
From its genesis all the way back last September, through who-knows-how-much brainstorming, as reflected in the profusion of blog posts I’ve written about it, I’ve got quite a sprawling tale for my Great Christmas Blizzard story…one I’m pleased to announce that I’ve gotten to work … Continue readingGreat Christmas Blizzard: Now Writing
Ah, brainstorming. It’s always so beautiful when you look over the different pieces of a story you’re writing and find new ways for them to fit together more effectively. So it has been with Decca’s makeover in my Christmas superstorm story in my near-future science-fictional … Continue readingBrand New Decca
For the tornado season part of my storyline, I’ve gotten the idea that during one of the great outbreaks in May, the triplets-cum-rock-stars will take their storm-chasing concert convoy (yes, that’s a thing in this story’s universe) to the north, tracking a strong tornado into … Continue readingOut of the Medicine Line, and Into the Shadow World
My mind once again turns in recent days to brainstorming for my ever-sprawling Great Christmas Blizzard story. I was wondering what sort of festivities Decca and company might have in Nashville for Independence Day 2045, and then it hit me: while it’s an obvious idea … Continue readingTornado Party
I know I wrote a whole blog post about how Polina Valentinova, after her record-setting solo space voyage as a teenager in the 1980s, becoming the first person to visit Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (and to complete a full eight-planet tour), with nuclear thermal rocket … Continue readingGleichen and Valentinova: Into the Abyss?
In “Scratch One Tassel”, I shared the latest concept I have for Tassel, including an Egyptian boyfriend, the worldbuilding context of a pharonist Egypt overseeing a Coptic language revival, and all that good stuff. One aspect I became interested in is how this alternate Egypt … Continue readingFlowers in the Desert: Worldbuilding A Larger Israel
In my alternate timeline, I have penciled in that intrepid cosmonaut Polina Valentinova undertakes the ultimate adventure of her time: a manned version of the Voyager probes’ “grand tour” track, visiting Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune…and then turning around at Neptune and visiting all the … Continue readingGleichen and Valentinova: Lost in Space