As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Sources of Inspiration: Statues

Statues fascinate me. I’m often drawn to them in churches, in museums, finding myself studying their inscrutable (or weathered) expressions, their posture, how much has been captured in stone. I didn’t even notice this one’s lack of certain attributes. I was too engrossed by his posture, his face, the way he loomed over his surroundings. The whiteness, the hardness, the details carved or chipped away to reveal a beauty very different, yet similar to other kinds. No wonder Anne Rice’s vampires became more statue-like as they got older; paler, harder, more removed from humanity with age and blood. No wonder … Read more

Tim and Bernard’s Big date: Jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender

Robin Bisexual - DC Comics

Bernard and Tim’s Big Date By Jeff Baker Word is out: Tim Drake has made a date to go out with his buddy Bernard Dowd. Just a nice story, right? Except that Drake is the secret identity of Batman’s partner Robin and the comics world is abuzz. To be more specific; Drake is one of several young men (not sure how old he is, I suspect about sixteen) to have donned the costume as Batman’s athletic young sidekick since the original debuted in 1940. The close relationship between Millionaire Bruce Wayne and his youthful ward has been the subject of … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Patterns

I’m drawn to patterns, even when I don’t understand them. Seeing how something links, intertwines, weaves in and out of other lines and shapes, forming an intricate design fascinates me.  Of particular interest to me are patterns in stories, how plot and character hang together, every little detail drawing attention to a greater whole. My favorite stories involve a tight web where it’s easy to remember every detail, because they’re linked to other details. All of them are part of a greater whole, a greater story, and an overall theme. A shield glitters with a menacing light, drawing the main … Read more

Jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender. Discipline, Control, Rejection and Other Things it Took Me a While to Figure Out

Typewriter - Pixabay

Discipline. Control. Rejection, and Other Stuff It Took Me a While to Figure Out by Jeff Baker I’ve been writing in some form since I was in grade school. I actually sent something off to a contest in a kid’s magazine when I was about eight years old. Didn’t win. (Dick York was still on “Bewitched,” that’s how long ago this was.) In Junior High and High School I wrote comic book parodies in my notebook (in class. Yes, I know!) In High School I worked on the Yearbook and wrote for the school paper. Seeing my work in print … Read more

Seizing the Moment – Sources Of Inspiration

One of the biggest complaints about getting a project done is time. There’s never enough of it. There’s always something happening, something distracting. I never know when a crisis is going to strike, diverting my attention from my writing With this in mind I’ve learned to seize the moment. When a chance comes to write, I grab it. I carry a notebook and a mechanical pencil with me wherever I go. I try to keep my current projects in mind. It’s only too easy for them to get buried beneath a pile of thoughts and anxieties about everything I need … Read more

“On Beyond Cisgender IV: Or, Shirley You Can’t Be Serious” – Boogieman in Lavender

books - deposit photos

On Beyond Cisgender IV, or: Shirley You Can’t Be Serious by Jeff Baker AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is an occasional feature of this column where I spotlight (or at least mention) writers who aren’t in the White, Male, Cisgender paradigm as possible reading material for High School age readers. She was a housewife, a mother, a writer and (she claimed) a witch. Her work remains familiar today and may not be as obscure as some of the writers mentioned for “On Beyond Cisgender.” In fact when I was in Grade School in the 60s, her novels were still sought-out in school … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Ground

Lot of stuff happening here on Earth. We’ve got all eyes on every corner of out little mud ball and it’s a pretty mixed bag of news. New variants and new launches to the ISS. Tardigrades and Bezos in space. Hell, we’ve even got Disney cycling back to their evil empire ways. So I’m gonna change pace a little and direct your eyes, or thoughts anyway, over to the ground game of two other planets. Yep. Our neighbors, Mars and Venus. Sure, their parties are a little more subdued than ours currently, but they’re still partying. Well, I say subdued, … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: My Characters

Sometimes I fall into a funk where I just don’t want to write. I’ve learned that a major source of inspiration which can drag me out of that funk is my characters.  Recently I’ve been dealing with some harrowing events. Writing has been a challenge. Even caring about writing, which is so crucial to my well-being, sank into a murky depression.  My characters can pick up and reflect this depression. We’re very lucky, those characters and I, that there are others drifting in my imagination (or paddling and keeping afloat in the murk), willing to grab hold of the sinking … Read more

“See Jeff Write, Write, Jeff, Write” – Boogieman in Lavender

Typewriter - Pixabay

“The Great Pause,” as Scott calls it, has been an opportunity for some. Extra time off of work, a chance to pursue other goals or re-invent oneself. For me, I lucked-out. I was able to, as they say in the biographies, “Quit His Job To Write” about a year ago, thanks to some savings and the need to help with some family who were pretty much confined to their retirement home. In the intervening year or so, I’ve managed to do a few columns (I do two monthly ones now!) as well as the weekly flash fictions but I almost … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: The Dark

I’ve always imagined things in the dark, seen shapes taking form in the pitch black. I had to learn to allow my eyes to adjust, to see what was really there, picking out what was familar to quiet my imagination. Ever since I started working on Stealing Myself From Shadows and other stories, I’ve shut down that particular reassurance. To create a place where objects, monsters, mythical creatures, people lost to all but memory, and ideas themselves could manifest from, I’ve been tapping into my imagination, letting myself see what lurks in the dark, to try and translate it into … Read more