Shiny Things

A Blog for the Perpetually Curious

Who am I?

I am a writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. I have also published poems, literary criticism, and reviews. I also edited a writer’s magazine for several years.

It has been some time since I published anything but have a number of old and new projects in process that I hope to share with readers. I also have eclectic interests that I like to blog about and hopefully entertain and amuse folks. Sometimes, the blog will be pure silliness, but I also expect to write on more serious topics related to family dysfunction, the perils of partial deafness, and how to find creative inspiration to be a unique artist in a world that often seems to prefer the familiar and obvious.

Why Now?

Many years ago, I published two S.F. novels. The first, PALACE - A Novel of the Pinch was written in collaboration with the celebrated and brilliant author Katharine Kerr. The sequel, THE EYES OF GOD, was written on my own.

Both books were published by Bantam and both are also, sadly, out of print. However, from the moment I finished EYES, I knew there was more to the stories of the characters in the first two books and I have always wanted desperately to finish their tales.

Now, finally after spending my life working at many jobs, most recently for the Department of Veteran Affairs (I, myself, am a veteran), I have decided to focus on the sequels to THE EYES OF GOD (the first of which, THE SOUL OF THE MAP is two thirds written), books that I have dreamed and planned for many years. I am truly excited to continue the adventures of characters who still speak to me and have wanted the rest of their story told.

I also have fantasy novels in process, including the first volume of a fantasy trilogy that needs only a bit of polishing before it is ready to be offered for publication. I hope to utilize this space to talk about these projects and let folks know when/if they become available to all.

There is a standalone science fiction novel about the Big Bang that I am working on, along with a few YA ideas and what I hope to be a funny series starring a detective in the afterlife.

I published a number of short stories in anthologies and have several more in mind, as well as poems that I have been writing for myself for many years and feel ready to share more widely.

I wrote a children’s story called Skeevix the Carnivorous Balloon, for the Shadowmarch blog hosted by my favorite writer Tad Williams and his astonishing and gifted wife/collaborator Deborah Beale. That story only requires a bit of revision and is ready for publication.

Finally, years ago, I was fortunate enough to be part of a blogging community where I was free to go off on silly tangents, or explore more serious subjects and the best part was feedback from wise and clever readers who helped me grow as a writer and a person. My favorite thing was to make them laugh with my parodies of famous poems and stories (if I can locate my Lord of the Rings pastiche starring the Bat Eared Thing, I will surely share it).

What Will It Be Like Here?

I hope that this will be a fun and informative space for folks who are, like me, perpetually curious.

Some of the subjects I will be blogging about: obscure literary stories (where did Agatha Christie go for those 11 days?); doomsday scenarios (I am your one stop shop for supervolcanoes, gamma ray bursts, Apophis level asteroid impacts, the Singularity, CERN type black hole oopsies, and more); genre media opinions (Blake’s Seven vs. Dark Matter vs. Firefly - discuss!); bladesmithing (I plan to blog each phase of the creation of my home forge - watch as I set myself ablaze and/or slice off various appendages while attempting to make a KA BAR knife). I am interested in deep time, the secret history of Pink Floyd, the flat picking of Doc Watson, the true perfidy of the villain Magellan, Shakespeare’s enduring appeal, and more.

In addition, I have a habit of going wildly off topic in an effort to make people laugh (e.g., I have written blogs about sinister dust bunnies and the various conspiracies sponsored by the Mycelium Network).

What Sort of Content and Schedule to Expect

My plan is to blog weekly, with a post for general entertainment and a progress report on my various projects. These will be free, of course. The first blog entry will go up at the end of this month and thereafter, I will do my best to have a new one for you the first of every month, and perhaps more often (I have a cartoon strip called Clouds Waving at Fishes that I have finished a few episodes of and I will post those, as time permits).

Down the line, as my professional works become available for purchase (whether from a traditional publisher, or via something like Amazon), I will utilize a newsletter to promote and hopefully sell those works.

Subscribers will also receive a monthly excerpt from a work in progress. In the beginning, those excerpts are likely to be primarily from the Pinch novels (I have unpublished material from THE EYES OF GOD, for example), but also bits from THE SOUL OF THE MAP and the planned sequels. I also have short stories that were published in anthologies that are long out of print that I will share with subscribers.