Keeping Weird Alive in 2022

Can we all just agree that the last few years have been, well, weird? Now that that’s out of the way, I am looking to take a modicum of control over the weird in the coming year. Because I’m a writer, and weird is what writers do. I haven’t been writing much this year for…reasons. […]

Review: Teen Killers Club

On the list of things I adore, coming-of-age stories are high on the list. Put a bunch of misfits together in a new environment, be it school, or, let’s say, a camp where they can learn something about themselves and create a found family and I’m there with a goofy smile and popcorn every time. […]

Complicity in Copaganda

When I was a kid, a lot of my favorite mystery procedurals featured privite detectives–Magnum, Simon & Simon, Jessica Fletcher, Jim Rockford. There were some good police cops/investigators on TV who worked within the system like Kojak, Columbo, Starsky & Hutch, and Quincy M.D., but for the most part, it was outsiders who solved crimes […]

Cobalt City Looking Back, Looking Forward to 2020

What a long, strange decade it’s been! It wasn’t even 10 years ago I opened up the sandbox of Cobalt City to other authors with Cobalt City Christmas in November of 2010. In that time, I started Timid Pirate Publishing, put out some books, folded Timid Pirate Publishing, and then put out even more books. […]

My Brain–My Enemy

I’d like to state for the record: fucking brain. I’d also like to warn you that this post goes to some dark places. But these are dark times, my pretties, and I’m not the boss of you. In my 50 or so years on this little ball of mud, I’ve learned a couple of little […]

Interview: Dawn Vogel, Author of the Brass and Glass Steampunk Trilogy

Hey guys! Today I got the chance to interview NW Author Dawn Vogel about her soon-to-be-completed Steampunk trilogy. Pull on your Jodhpurs and aviator goggles and let’s get cracking! Let’s start with a quick run-down of Brass and Glass. What’s it all about? The Brass and Glass trilogy follows the adventures of Captain Svetlana Tereshchenko […]

A Winter Lullaby: Liner Notes

Less than twenty minutes ago, I typed “END” at the bottom of a novel I’ve been wanting to write for a while now. I started the outline on December 5th, four years ago, and chugged away on a few chapters and one or two short insert scenes, including a prologue of sorts that don’t plan […]

A Guide for Characters and Arcs in RESISTANCE

Unlike other recent Cobalt City novels which focus on only a handful of characters, Cobalt City: RESISTANCE has a huge cast. Some are well established heroes. Some are newer. Some get big arcs that have big implications in the ongoing narrative. Some are cameos to give another perspective. I realized that while the book is […]

A Cathartic Chapter from Cobalt City: RESISTANCE

When I wrote Cobalt City: RESISTANCE in the wake of the 2016 elections, I knew things were bad–that they were almost certainly going to get worse. That was a big impetus for getting the book launched in time for the 2018 elections. Well, the launch happened. The election happened. And now everything is fixed. *listens […]

Examining Themes of Legacy in Cobalt City

After the release of Cobalt City: RESISTANCE and a few conversations with regular readers of the Cobalt books, I got thinking about common themes in the series. My relationship with themes is kind of complicated. I don’t know how other authors work, but for the most part the themes in my books are things that […]