Because I actually go so far as to purchase HBONow so I can watch Game of Thrones, because A Song of Ice and Fire is the only fantasy series I’ve gotten my wife to read, because I’m a fan, I occasionally check Wikipedia to see if there’s any rumor of Winds of Winter, the long delayed… Read More Winter is Leaving – A Lament on the Unfinished State of Game of Thrones
Over at Signature Reads, a review of Barry Strauss’ The Death of Caesar. Strauss’ take is that the assassination, whatever the particular motivations of the various actors, was at root a defense of liberty and an attack on tyranny, and so ought be commended. Now, I’ve written on this topic myself. Back in 2016, I argued… Read More A Defense of Brutus?
At least, that’s the practical upshot of this otherwise jargon-free article about using Facebook to increase your awareness. Useful in that it advocates not trying to make Facebook into something it isn’t. Facebook is an absolutely amazing platform to build and grow your business. What’s even better than that? It’s absolutely free to use! The… Read More One Must Engage to Get “Engagement”
Good sci-fi and fantasy in the grand pulp style. Link goes to Amazon, image ganked from editor’s wordpress blog. You get a good bang for your cover price. The issue I have is chock full of interesting takes.
This post is worth reading in full: Viral. Defined as a piece of information that is circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another. Usually it’s a video of a pet doing something silly. Usually. I have been chasing this for almost six years now. Dreaming about one of my posts going viral.… Read More Viruses are Bad Things. Why is “Going Viral” Good?
I mentioned in my Series of Thoughts on the Last Jedi the whole “Messiah Can Only Save You Once” aspect of the Hero. Robin Rowland does a more systematic Defense: connecting the tragic tales of King Arthur, Odysseus, Theseus, and others. In a nutshell, when the hero ages, the time of his glories pass, and… Read More The Aging Hero: a Thorough Defense of The Last Jedi
From Variety: Harrison Ford is there for Mark Hamill to get his Walk of Fame Star, Doesn’t point out that he’s had one for decades. Says nice things about Carrie Fisher instead. The Fatter, Angrier Kevin Smith to Demonstrate Why Star Wars won’t work on TV. You could have a fun debate arguing about whether Clerks… Read More A Bunch of Star Wars-Related Internet Noise
With a tip of the hat to Larry Correia. Step 1: Write Book. Step 2: Pick Agent who, based on their past representation, will be interested in your book. Step 3: Submit to Agent. Step 3a: Get Rejected. Return to Step 2. Step 3b: After several iterations of the 3a Loop, throw hands in air… Read More How to Get an Agent, and How to Deal with Failure
I don’t care about the Oscars. I didn’t watch them, and haven’t for some years. I don’t require some Star Chamber of Weinstein-enablers to direct my tastes in cinema. I noticed the article because it let the mask slip: there’s a formula to all this nonsense, and there’s been a formula for some time: there’s… Read More Variety Starts Telling Us What Movies We Should Care About Next Year: A Fisking
This post from On a Wing and a Whim, via Mad Genius Club, is old (2014!), but the principles behind it are older, and that makes them, to my mind, trustworthy. OK, now for ebook cover design, we’re going to focus on two layouts. They call them “The Z Layout” and “Perspectives Layout” in that… Read More How to Compose Cover Art
