Monthly Archives: January 2014

Taking An Axe to Red Tape

A couple of years and change ago, I shared the story of a government raid on the Nashville factory of Gibson, the guitar company famous for such iconic instruments as the Les Paul, SG, and Flying V. The purported reason … Continue reading

Posted in Music, Politics | 1 Comment

Snowmahgerd!

So, I’m off work today, as I was yesterday, and the Mondettes are home as well, all due to the arrival of DeathSnow 2K14. Although conditions in Mondoville were less dire than many anticipated — I went out to the … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Family | Leave a comment

In Which the Prof is Gratified

Last night I did a solo reading on campus — really, my first Broken Glass Waltzes-related reading. Publicity took the form of e-mails and posters, along with at least one professor bribing her kids with extra credit (I didn’t do that; … Continue reading

Posted in Broken Glass Waltzes, Culture, Education, Family, Music, Pixel-stained Wretchery, Why I Do What I Do | 2 Comments

Bigfoot Loves Dracula, and Other Crossbreeds

Rahul Kanakia is an SF writer in an MFA program at Johns Hopkins, and in a recent blogpost, he contrasts the people and attitudes he has seen in creative writing workshops in academia and in genreland (e.g., Clarion). And as … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Literature | 2 Comments

Idea

In the course of a conversation with the Spawn, the subject of why Lady MacBeth is evil came up. This led to my saying that one of the nice things about Shakespeare is that sometimes (as it is in life) characters … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Family, Literature, Medievalia | 4 Comments

The View from a Sitting Duck

Details continue to emerge about the murder of a TA by a colleague at Purdue University yesterday. At this point, the pattern is all too familiar — the candlelight vigils, moments of silence, and the rest. However, I ran across … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Education, Why I Do What I Do | 4 Comments

A Matter of Note

Part of my morning ritual is packing Mrs. M’s lunch and making breakfast for the Spawn. In recent months, I’ve made a habit of writing little notes to Mrs. M and stashing them in the lunchbox. They’re nothing fancy — … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Family, Why I Do What I Do | 1 Comment

Tales From Zone A18

Mike Monson is a writer, whose collection Criminal Love and Other Stories is well worth your time. However, like most of us, he also has to do other things to pay the bills, and following a recent relocation from California to … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Pixel-stained Wretchery | 1 Comment

Forget the Oscars…

Alas, I have been overlooked for the Edgars this year in both the First Novel and Paperback Original categories. However, if you’d like to see which books are in the running, you may find them here. I’m actually much more pleased … Continue reading

Posted in Broken Glass Waltzes, Culture, Literature | 2 Comments

In Which the Prof Saddles Up

For those of you with an interest in such matters, my first Western story, a short called “Hangman in the Wind”, has been published in the online magazine The Big Adios. You may find it here.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments