Old Hipster Recommends Kassi Valazza

Yeah, it’s one of your favorite old hipsters talking music again. Or “Spreading New Shit for Old Ears,” as I like to think of it. Maybe I’m missing some idealized version of the American West that I never really fully appreciated when I was growing up, but I’ve really taken a hankering to country music […]

Old Hipster Recommends: The Delines

I sometimes take it for granted that, when listening to music, not everyone is looking for something new. I’m almost constantly on the hunt for something unexpected. While I can often sink into the comfort of old favorite bands and albums (and you honestly could not comprehend just how many times I’ve listened to Diamond […]

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 […]

Thoughts on DC and the Joker

The trailer for the long-awaited* Joker movie dropped yesterday, and I have a few thoughts. The first thought being, of course, who asked for this movie? Let’s establish a few bonafides. As bad guys go, the Joker is an A-list character, as recognizable as DC’s big heroes (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman). The director and co-writer […]

Fringe Candy Tangential: The Devil’s Candy

This is not about candy. Certainly not about Hi-Chew despite my feelings on the matter. Nor is it, exactly, a movie review. Here’s the thing. I love horror movies. (No! Really? Tell me something I don’t know!) But so many movies come out every year that it’s impossible for me to watch all of them. And […]

Role-Playing & the Perfection of Imperfection

I’ve been playing role-playing games since I was twelve, and running them for almost as long. There’s something amazing about sharing a story that you tell with your friends. I love the fact that D&D is seeing a resurgence, and that more people are returning to the hobby or picking it up for the first […]

Disney’s (Almost) Forgotten Live-Action Movies: 5 Favorites

When people of a certain age (cough)young(cough) think about Disney films, they think of the animation. And that’s fair. It was what built the famous House of Mouse, after all. And while they never completely stopped making live-action films, their output did have a few fallow periods. But in the years before Lucas and Spielberg […]

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 […]

Playlist for the RESISTANCE – Favorite Five

Cobalt City: RESISTANCE comes out in a few days, and I literally could not be happier to share this book with you all. It was a long process with a hard deadline to get this book ready in time for the mid-term elections, but we made it. Here we are, with the book out roughly […]