Blog Archive

Featured image: Adrien Taylor on Unsplash. Audio: recorded with Voice Recorder by quality apps, edited in Audacity.   Double click or tap any English word in this post to open its definition in a new window (external).   4 for Now First things first: yes, it’s real. I could quote a bunch of stats at

Featured image: cropped and saved from original PDF from University of San Francisco. Designed by C. Esposito, R. Choi, V. Cabanayan and C. Bragg. Click here for more info and to access the PDF (under “Templates”). Free to use under CC BY-SA 4.0 (explained here). Audio: recorded with Voice Recorder by quality apps, edited in

Featured image: design by K.C.Otenti, Assets by kropekk_pl on Pixabay and Andrew Rybalko on Shutterstock. Audio: recorded with Voice Recorder by quality apps, edited in Audacity.   Double click or tap any English word in this post to open its definition in a new window (external).   4 for Now I’m not an expert on

Featured image by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash A song to the tune of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence.” (But check out Lacuna Coil’s cover!) White silenceCauses violenceWe choose not to seeOutside our little worlds SegregationIncarcerationRedlining, povertyPolice brutality Watching in silenceIgnoring violenceWe’re complicitWords are very necessarySilence only does more harm Black blamingVictim shamingWhite actions through

CW/ Ableism, bright colors in the image in the post. I’m typing away at my computer when I hear a sound behind me. I turn to find an evil alien warlord pointing their ray gun in my face. Thinking fast, I hurl the keyboard at the gun, knocking it away. It vaporizes my bed. Darn.

CW/ Sanism (first poem). I used to write haikus at workWhile none of my duties were shirked.But these longer rhymesShould be called crimes.Writing limericks will drive you berserk. I once had a curious nightIn which I was given a fright.I woke up in a cornerWith naught but a quarterAnd nary a pay phone in sight.

Featured image by National Cancer Institute. Last month, I shared a survey asking what types of articles are of interest to fantasy readers. The number one response I got was the random stuff I had to research for my writing. Enjoy some tidbits about topics I’d never dreamed I’d have to know about. Architecture Researched

CW/ Ableist language. The lean, blond teen stepped into the room. The door slammed shut behind him, bars emphasizing the impossibility of turning back. His sword gleamed in front of him as he looked around, expecting four walls and a ceiling. Instead, he saw a gray mist that seemed to extend for miles. He took

In a very old kingdom ruled by a very old king, an apple tree stood amid a lush garden inside the castle walls. This tree, the pride of the kingdom, produced seven solid gold apples every day, until one day there were none. The king posted guards outside the garden, but the following day, there

While some characters may resemble actual people, they are used fictitiously. Actions/beliefs in this story do not represent those of actual people. Read part one here. Earth, 2182 (Click to view larger) “Ben!” The brilliant, young Hawking spoke between huffs. He must have run all the way from the labs. “My initial test worked, but

Ben stood and turned to the window, his back to the man seated in front of his desk. “We won’t survive a disaster of that magnitude,” he said, staring out at the green fields of western Antarctica. “There must be something we can do.” “We’ve tried every scenario we can think of.” The seated man