3…2…1..let’s do this. It’s April of 2016, and the Hugo Awards nominations have been made public. If you don’t know what the Hugos are to the science fiction and fantasy genre (or don’t care), you might want to leave now. I’ll forgive you. If you stay, I’ll assume you already know last year’s Hugo history.…
Read More Another year, another Hugo Awards pie fightNew feature on this blog: Etsy Showcase. I’m going to be looking at other artists’ work on Etsy, and analyzing pieces that I love, like, or think I could adapt. (I’m also going to try to find the ‘ultimate expression’ of that craft, if I can.) I did not make this crystal and river pebble…
Read More Etsy showcase #1: pebble pendantAs I type this post, I’m looking at a small package filled with about $40 worth of art supplies left over from the scrapbooking binge era circa 2003 to 2006. Which I scored not long ago for $3 at a local thrift store. There are expensive, well-made plastic circle templates spun on tiny ball-bearings. Pewter…
Read More Useful Objects: craft, thrift, and mortalityA little compare and contrast game for this election season. (For those of you not American or not paying attention, yes, we’re in the middle of an incredibly nasty presidential election.) My examples have nothing – and everything – to do with the current candidates. Canada has a new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who stunned…
Read More Quantum Computing and lies from the pit of hellA PSA for writers in multiple genres with query-ready manuscripts (finished & polished): if you and/or your characters meet certain qualifications, you can participate in tomorrow’s #DVpit contest on Twitter. It’s being sponsored by agent Beth Phelan, and looks to include a lot of well-known literary agents and editors (usual caveats apply). This is a…
Read More Diverse Voices pitch contest 4-19-2016Rami Ismail has a great running commentary on a complaint that game design workers are ‘wage-slave’ whiners if they want to focus on a sane work/life balance. Instead of, you know, pouring 80 to 100 hours a week into a company where the funding, scheduling, and management issues might be so inefficient that the project…
Read More Rami Ismail talks about work-life balance(Because usually I have the opposite problem, clocking in SFF tomes of 130K to 160K, which must all be pruned.) Anyway, I’m glad the reader liked the book. I was a little puzzled at first, when they mentioned, “The book is too short” And I fired off a generalized funny tweet about it. Dear reader,…
Read More Dear reader, I’m sorry my book was too shortThere are three large jewelry supply companies I have been buying from since 1979, 1983, and 1989, respectively. 1979 and 1989 were once known for high-quality merchandise and great customer service (at least in my dealings with them.) When I first found them, their catalogs, and their stores, I had never seen that many beads…
Read More Jewelry supply companies and co-op galleriesThis will be a miniature (under 3″) coptic-stitch fiber art book pendant with inlaid shell covers. Embroidered cotton pages are accented with scrimshaw on white shell plaques. I’m really happy with the technique I learned for scrimshaw on shell, and plan to use more of it in future books. This is a trial run. The…
Read More First look: ‘Twilight Arc’ pagesI am very happy to announce my association with the jewelry-making supply firm Plazko.com. Since 2010, Plazko has been a go-to supply destination on Etsy for high-quality sterling silver and gold-filled wire, jewelry components, and silver charms. Last year the company expanded to its own online sales platform…resulting in thousands of satisfied return clients from…
Read More Plazko: Jewelry DIY for the rest of usI hope so. Judge for yourself, and maybe come back here? What do you think, readers? Does it come too late to rescue the Romance Writers of America, as a vital professional organization? I hope not. I am not a member of the RWA. I’ve attended a few meetings, I have a fair number of friends…
Read More An apology from the RWA?For the 14 people who regularly read this thing, do not panic. The Blue Night blog will be undergoing some cosmetic changes over the next week. I’ve set it up with the WordPress 2016 theme for the moment, as that is supposedly very stable and clean. Plus, no light text on dark backgrounds, for those…
Read More Do not adjust your screen