Harlan Ellison told the story of how once he, L Ron Hubbard, and a gaggle of other “Golden Age” writers were sitting around drinking and complaining (as writers do) about how impossible it was to survive on the going wage of a penny a word. As Harlan told it, Hubbard joked that the only way…
I will never get a change to tell D.C. Fontana what she meant to me as a little boy growing up in turbulent times, or as a grown man tempted by the writing bug. Dorothy, who wrote under the byline “D.C.” because the world isn’t what it ought to be, has died at the age…
When early rocket pioneers started strapping volunteers to missiles, how did they know those volunteers would need spacesuits? Of course, in both the Soviet Union and the US, animals subject we tested first, but in fact, we already had aircraft flying almost to the edge of space before that–and aircraft flew higher than humans can…
A man was tragically killed this week in Manhattan, trying to climb out of a malfunctioning elevator. Tragically, because what he did was very stupid. Understandable, but stupid. I’m writing this to make sure you know better.
A while back, a reader of my moon hoax debunkery asked who started the hoax idea rolling in the first place. Naturally, at the time of the Apollo Program, some folks didn’t believe it, just as many people don’t believe anything they ought to or do believe what they shouldn’t. I had a high school…
his weekend I’ll be at ArmadilloCon 40 in Austin: http://www.armadillocon.org/d40/ (August 3-5, 2018) Guests of honor are: Guest of Honor: Deji Bryce Olukotun Editor Guest: David Pomerico Toastmaster: Aaron de Orive Artist Guest: Rosemary Valero-O’Connell Fan Guest: Craig W. Chrissinger Special Guests: Holly Black & Robert J. Sawyer My schedule is: Friday, August 3 During…
A writer friend commented how some people seem to remember very little from their childhood, while others remember a lot. I have tons of memories from before we moved from South Dakota when I was four, but I’d be hard-pressed to say which was the earliest. A contender might be pushing my head against the…
Long time followers know that ever since my Writers of the Future win, I’ve made a tradition of interviewing the new year’s crop of winners and finalists as a way of welcoming them to the writing community. This year I’ve gotten sidetracked a few times, but better late than never. Please join me in welcoming…
Bid welcome, dear followers, to Molly Elizabeth Atkins, 2017 Writers of the Future published finalist, and my guest today on the blog. Stuart: Welcome Molly! Tell us a little about yourself! Molly: I live in St. Louis with my husband and two daughters who are 5 and 9 years old. I’m originally from Texas, and…
As regular readers may know, I won the Writers of the Future contest in 2014 and ever since, I’ve left the welcome mat out for each year’s new class. It’s a great way to meet new friend who I’ll soon be handing with at cons. In this case, though, my next “guest” has been a…
