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Columnists

Sources of Inspiration: Organization

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You may be laughing at this title. What does organization have to do with inspiration? A lot more than I thought. How I arrange things, whether or not I have a file open on my laptop, what that file is; all of these matters make a big difference is whether or not I work on particular project or not. Seeing the file prompts me, gets me going, reminds me to work on it. Where I place my notebook or file helps me remember it.  How I organize my thoughts as I work on a manuscript can help a great deal … Read more

Light in Dark December – Boogieman in Lavender

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“This is a strange Christmas Eve…” –Winston Churchill, from Christmas speech to Congress in U.S., December 1941. There have been grim times in this country before, but there has not been a Christmas like this one. The darkness has covered the commercial glitter. In person events are cancelled. Families are celebrating the holidays separately. LGBT people are not really strangers to this sort of thing. People on their own, chosen families, making do or having something really traditional, this is how many of us have lived our lives. I have been seriously fortunate, having accepting family and good friends. I’ve … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Writing Whatever Comes to Mind

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One suggestion Julia Cameron offered in The Artist’s Way which I made a part of my life was the Morning Pages. I take an ordinary notebook and write 3-4 pages by hand of whatever comes to mind. It can be as ordinary as “Cinnamon just walked to her food dish” or as surreal as “He waves his hands only to have antlers come shooting out of the earth, blooming flowers.” (Rewrites of this have made their way into both original stories and fanfiction). It’s a place where I can express anything that’s been bothering me, including how I’m not making … Read more

“On Beyond Cisgender; Part Two.” Jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender.

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books - pixabay

                            On Beyond Cisgender Part Two                                          By Jeff Baker             About a year ago I posted a column suggested by A. M. Leibowitz’ list of suggested reading for High School of sci-fi/mystery authors outside the usual straight-white-male paradigm. These next few may be considered addenda of sorts, but are not as readily available.             I have a thing for science fiction of the Nineteenth Century-early Twentieth Century and recently got the Dover Publications book “The Feminine Future.” Subtitled: Early Science Fiction by Women Writers, the book presents fourteen stories of sci-fi published between 1873 and 1930.  Cyborgs, mysterious rays, … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Ordinary Things

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Once upon a read, I was advised by another writer to make a list of ordinary things. To try to write a story, an essay, or a poem about each of them. At first I thought this was a waste of time, a way to bore readers and myself. I mean who wants to read about trash bags and kitty litter? Yes, these are essential to every day life and I’m grateful for them. Does this mean I want to read about them or write about them? When I retreat into my imagination, I was hoping for a break from … Read more

Tales for October – Boogieman in Lavender

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This will be a Halloween season like no other. Fears are real. Trick-Or-Treat may be cancelled. Costume shops are devoid of costumes. Wearing masks has taken on a new meaning. With more time to read, the escape of good horror fiction has never been more needed. The fine writer Greg Herren has released a collection of mystery and suspense stories; “Survivor’s Guilt and Other Stories.” (Bold Strokes Books.) Including such fine tales as “Annunciation Shotgun” and the title story blending gripping plotting with fine character studies. Many of Herren’s stories have the feel of episodes of the old “Alfred Hitchcock … Read more

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

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Two white dwarf stars orbiting each other in space.

White dwarf star remnants – because they aren’t actually stars, I found out – are the meat and potatoes of our cosmic stew. These guys are everywhere and they’re telling us so much about our reality. Even the weird ones give us more than any other universal body. I first ran into these interesting little bodies while on the hunt for a star that might host life beyond the type our Sun is. Cool bodies that don’t put off a lot of light, or bright tiny balls of heat looking to suck material from other stars, these husks give a … Read more

The Hope Files: Could the Sahara Ever Be Green Again?

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sahara desert - google maps

Sometime between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago, after the last ice age ended, the Sahara Desert transformed. Green vegetation grew atop the sandy dunes and increased rainfall turned arid caverns into lakes. About 3.5 million square miles (9 million square kilometers) of Northern Africa turned green, drawing in animals such as hippos, antelopes, elephants and aurochs (wild ancestors of domesticated cattle), who feasted on its thriving grasses and shrubs. This lush paradise is long gone, but could it ever return? In short, the answer is yes. The Green Sahara, also known as the African Humid Period, was caused by the … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Terror

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I’m a naturally twitchy person and there’s a lot to be terrified of right now. Like the epidemic that’s keeping me close to home. The current governmental situation makes me want to hum the Apocalype song from Revolutionary Girl Utena. I look up and expect to see an inverted White House, floating and rotating in the sky until chunks of it start falling, smashing into America. Yes, I’m probably giving too much ritualistic dignity to the current situation but ritual comforts me in times of terror. I live in a land filled with enemies whom might hurt me or those … Read more

The Feminist World of Joanna Russ- Boogieman in Lavender

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Joanna Russ

Her literary criticism was blunt and uncompromising. Her humor was sharp and stinging. Her importance to the field of science fiction cannot be underestimated. Best of all, her fiction is still being read, enjoyed and learned from. She is Joanna Russ (1937 -2011.) Here, I must confess that I have not read much of Russ’ work, but I am familiar with it. Her book “How to Suppress Women’s Writing” is a must-read. I sat down with one of her collections; “The Hidden Side of the Moon.” I didn’t quite know what to expect, I certainly didn’t expect her sense of … Read more