I’ve seen a lot of authors get attacked for not being “real.” They’re usually genre authors, and/or often mocked as writers because they are religious, or atheist, or pagan, or liberal, or conservative, or self-published, or indie, or whatever. Invariably, the mockers have never read the author’s works and simply reject them outright due to prejudicial assumption. Continue reading
Category: General
You may or may not have heard the latest faux controversy about J. K. Rowling. No, it has nothing to do with her characters. Instead, it’s a Huffington Post writer named Lynn Shepherd complaining that Rowling is such a good author that she’s crowding out everyone else. She tells Rowling that she should just stop writing and give other people a chance. If you don’t want to click on her article, here’s the summary: Rowling has too much of a market share, which means every book she publishes is a book overlooked from another author who hasn’t become famous yet.
There has been a lot of pushback so far. I won’t post more than one link, mainly because the BBC’s article has more than enough links from successful authors who say this is ridiculous. I wasn’t even going to do more than link to that article, because every single point has been refuted multiple times by the authors linked there, and that’s just a small sample so far. What could I add? Continue reading
If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you know what happened last week. I was asked what my opinion was. Well, I didn’t wind up feeling like it was worth a blog post because while I jumped into the discussion early (on my personal Facebook, though), others were quicker with the articles and went into more depth than I would have. Continue reading
Readers of the blog know I like Lego. It’s a great toy, arguably the best single toy investment you can make for a child. Unlike a video game, its operating system doesn’t go obsolete in three years; every Lego brick you buy today is compatible with the same company’s products going back decades — and they’re not going to change that in the future. It rewards creativity, teaches spacial and structural awareness, and can be combined in so many different ways that you can never say you’ve beat the game.
And then, as an adult, you can stick with it and turn it into a genuine art form. Years of experience, an adult’s funding and patience, and that little kid inside of you that still shouts “THIS IS SO COOL!” — all joining together to show kids that art can be fun, and their fun can be true art.
Well, there’s a movie out this weekend that’s based on the toy. I got to see the press screening last weekend with Wamalug (the Washington Metropolitan Area LEGO Users Group), so I’m here to give you my review. Continue reading
In a rare public appearance, I appeared for a TV interview this last Monday.
And I managed to not break the camera!
Having attended a press screening of The LEGO Movie on Saturday, I and fellow brick enthusiast Bret Harris were invited on Let’s Talk Live for a quick appearance to give our impressions of the film as well as show off the sort of thing you can do with Lego bricks.
As you can see in the interview, I went in expecting to be underwhelmed and wound up impressed. (That’s right, I expected a movie based on one of my hobbies to suck.) It deserves its own review, but I figured I should at least put up the interview so you can see what your friendly neighborhood novel ninja looks like and sounds like.
Yeah, I’m sorry, I should be kinder to my fans rather than subject them to me in living color. But hey . . . Lego!
So I’ve had another period where I haven’t been posting anything, and I haven’t even been updating on the Facebook page (which you should totally like). Well, this is a major part of what’s been occupying my attention:
Hang on, I got some dust in my eye or something . . .
Now, just to be clear, that is not me in that photo. I’m the one taking it. And the radiant beauty in white is my dear friend, mutually-adopted sister, and future co-author Elizabeth Amy Hausladen.
Er, wait. Elizabeth Amy Hajek. Yeah. Got to remember that. Fortunately, she likes hearing people repeat themselves on this subject. Continue reading
That’s all.
I have reviews and advice to write for you all, and I’m continuing to respond to email from the audience. For now, though, it’s Christmas. No matter what it means to you, it means something. Merry Christmas!
I’m not a DC Comics fan. I like Batman, but usually the rest of the universe seems . . . stilted. Yes, I enjoyed many of the animated series while I was growing up (and even more after I decided being grown-up is a bit overrated), but I just can’t get into the mythology and worldbuilding. Too many fictionalized yet supposedly “realistic” locations, too much space between “gritty” and “heroic,” too much “hey, that sounds good, let’s go with that — who’s going to think about it too deeply?” Continue reading
Now, live on your radio, we bring you the latest from the alien invasion. But first, these messages.
It’s been a really busy month for me. I’ve got posts I want to write, but between work and my new physical therapy program (which is doing wonders for my mobility), I’ve fallen behind on nearly everything. I’ll hopefully be caught up next week and start doing more blogging.
However, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the 75th anniversary of the original War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938. It’s not only a wonderful production (seriously, listen to it if you have the chance; I have it on old-fashioned cassettes, so I should get a digital version myself sometime soon), but it’s even more notable for the panic it caused. Continue reading
Novel Ninja 
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