“Star Trek” was always groundbreaking in diverse casting and pushing the boundaries; the original series had a pointedly multinational crew without people of color being stereotyped, and most famously even interracial kisses were featured on occasion. The next generation was not quite so daring when … Continue readingOne Thought, for a Bolder “Star Trek: The Next Generation”
Oh, the possibilities when you worldbuild in a timeline that diverges around 1900. Well…if we’re trying to alter the territory of the United States 1850 might be a better point of departure, but the 20th century alone has a host of possibilities that would make … Continue readingIn my Timeline, an Expanded States of America?
Has anyone else stopped and thought how it’s slightly odd that Orange County, California became a sleepier, suburban, family-oriented area, in stark contrast to how the west side of Los Angeles and even Malibu developed? Seems like some low-hanging fruit for some alternate history, especially … Continue readingAn Alternate History of the California Coast
In the alternate timeline I write in, I’m deliberately vague about highway, route, and road numbers, largely because it starts to diverge from real life around 1900, and diverges in earnest around World War I in 1914…which is before even the United States Numbered Highway … Continue readingThe US Routes in my Alternate History
How’s this for a vibe: you’re waiting on a train platform out in the middle of some vast steppe that makes America’s big sky country look tame, signs posted and flashing in a fluid vertical cursive script, magnetically-levitated locomotives whizzing by at almost the speed … Continue readingChinook Jargon Conquers the World?
When you think about it, it’s rather odd that this blog is written in English rather than Portuguese. And I’m not saying that because I have Portuguese heritage, but rather because the first truly global sea routes were pioneered by Portugal, whose princes, explorers, and … Continue readingLinguae Francae: Some What-Ifs
Needless to say I’m really enjoying Liechtenstein, one of the world’s smallest countries, but a case where small really is beautiful; spectacular landscapes, fine people, and even some great wines are to be found in the principality, in addition to the famous financial riches. So … Continue readingOf Principalities That Are, and Nations That Never Were…
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?
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