“Orphans of Opry Tower” was becoming a sad story that hit a bit too close to home, but I’ve had an inspiration: to spice it up, why not lean into it and go full goth? After all, orphans wandering into a creepy island full of … Continue readingOpry Tower: Going Goth?
Of late I’ve returned to my “Orphans of Opry Tower” concept, showing off what’s become of Music City (a.k.a. Nashville, Tennessee) in my alternate history. Before they escape the summer heat by taking the train past the Bering Strait tunnel into Siberia, inspired by a … Continue readingRingleted Redheads of Music City
So help me, I’ve just had an inspiration. I’ve been worldbuilding and tinkering with the general concept of an extreme world dominated by ice dragons in a (somewhat) hard-science-fictional take on a medieval fantasy setting (see my original argon snow world post, plus an abortive … Continue readingIce Dragons of Antarctica
Funny topic to think about on May Day, but then again it is kinda chilly outside in the shade today, and I’ve posted my generation (this post’s featured image) of an arctic city noir under the northern lights, evocative of some alternate Norilsk. Which provoked … Continue readingPolar Dreaming
Microsoft Windows is of course the dominant operating system on the personal computer, with Linux dominating basically everything else (even smartphones; Android is based on Linux). What if that was different? I’ll go through a couple of scenarios, one hewing more closely to real life … Continue readingOperating System What-Ifs
I’ve yet to publish the story, but I have finished it: a slice of life at the dawn of my alternate timeline’s space age. One of the big supporting characters is a friend of the protagonist: Muffy, a luscious tan platinum-blonde teenage girl with a … Continue readingTaffy’s Life: A Few Thoughts
Rather famously, the western United States have rather arbitrary borders, boxy figures defined by parallels and meridians, which has had the rather hideous consequence of placing e.g. very different regions separated by 14,000-foot tall mountains in the same state (Colorado, I’m looking at you). More … Continue readingBuilding Better Western States
Well, I went to Los Angeles and it turns out I love it; I’d move there in a heartbeat if I could afford to, and that’s the only place I’ve been able to say that for. Anyway, my latest escapade to the Southwest stimulates and … Continue readingThe Sun Belt in my Alternate History
I know I’ve spent a few days brainstorming for the first Mars mission in my science-fictional alternate history, but already I can’t help but plot out things even further for the timeline of early spaceflight. In particular, after the first Mars landing in 1963, what … Continue readingAn Odyssey to the Outer Solar System?
Years ago I established that in my alternate-historical/science-fictional setting a Russian-led expedition is the first to reach Mars in 1963, 22 years after the first manned spaceflight, and 14 years after the first landing on the Moon. Now that I’ve written up the first flight … Continue readingWorldbuilding the First Mars Landing