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Oh, the news is bad. (please keep reading—it gets better!) 2021 shaping up to be the same pandemic nightmare as 2020. By the time the husband and I are in line for our jabs—the goal post is always moving farther … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2021
Since new trips are still off the books with the pandemic continuing, come join Thor and me for a retro virtual vacation in Italy 2008! Thor and I joined forces in a later-life romance in 2007, at which time he … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Worldbuilding is hard work. But you know what’s even harder than worldbuilding? Doing it multiple times for a single story. And yet, that’s what we see in many novels. While … Continue reading
They’re a stock figure in fiction in and about the 19th century, from Charlotte Bronte to Georgette Heyer, who populated many of her stories with ludicrous examples of them. And though in books they might be either the villainess or … Continue reading
I’ve had a number of writers I’ve mentored or critiqued ask me some form of this question. Sometimes it’s a plaintive wail expressing the writer’s earnest hope that they can overcome their ”issues.” Sometimes it’s a defiant roar: “Craft? Bah! … Continue reading
Only a Paper Moon by Jennifer Stevenson Seven corny short stories with happy endings Spy Beanie – Okay, fifty-one years is a looong foreplay. I Remember You – Memory makes our relationships meaningful – trust makes them strong. Value for … Continue reading
In his short story “–And He Built a Crooked House” the great Robert Heinlein had a character cautiously opine that a house is, by and large, a device to keep off the rain. This is quite accurate. If you are … Continue reading
You examine every possible symptom and exposure. 1. A “dry cough”: at night, a present tickle in the throat, could it be the antihypertension medication? ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors are notorious for a side effect of cough. Or is it … Continue reading
Missing our swimming during the pandemic closures, Thor and I install a “swim spa” pool and transform our front yard. Among the many adjustments of this past year of the Covid19 pandemic, a big one for Thor and me was … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Given that the last essay discussed medical interventions like amputation, it seems like a suitable time to take a look at the devices we’ve developed to help people deal with … Continue reading