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Columnists

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

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

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Three bees tending to a honeycomb section.

Despite the fact this year has been cursed, and yes I really believe that, we’re lucky a few rays of blissful sunlight have shown through. We, as a society, are figuring out new and exciting ways to connect to each other. Many are taking the lock-downs as a great opportunity to create or hone things they’ve wanted more time on. And yet more are taking that staycation they’ve needed for years. It’s been difficult, stressful, even heart-wrenching at times this year, but we’re managing. Here’s one of those little rays of sunshine to get your writing brain thinking. Bees. Yes, … Read more

Sources of Inspiration

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There are certain books I can read over and over. Not only because I love them or I feel they are good books, but I get a creative charge from reading them. A certain phrase, a particular segment causes my imagination to quicken with ideas. Fragments of story, dialogue, poetry, or simply a response to what I’m reading come to mind. I’m starting to take the time to write down those responses. Certain books I read at a table with a notebook standing by, so I’m ready to jot down a particular quote or a snippet of story, poetry, and … Read more

L. Frank Baum and the Indians – Boogieman in Lavender

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In an era where statues are being torn down and schools names are being changed, this column may be more topical than when I first came up with the idea a few months ago when grabbing at straws for ideas for columns. Namely, the subject of author’s personal lives and opinions and how or if that should affect how the writing is viewed. I have written before about my affection for H.P. Lovecraft in spite of the author’s views on race and nationality (in “The Strange Bust of H.P. Lovecraft,” https://www.queerscifi.com/jeff-baker-boogieman-in-lavender-2/  ) from my vantage point as a Bi man … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Resisting the Source

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Sources of inspiration are all around us. Sometimes I don’t see them. Sometimes I recoil from what the world has to offer. There’s a person I keep meeting when I venture outside of my home to take a walk, one of the few times I dare to leave it. He’s well-built as if he works out. He never wears a mask. He’s always talking on a cell phone. He doesn’t make any attempt to socially distance himself from me or anyone else on the road. He forces everyone else to get out of his way. I could write about him. … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Mythical Norms

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A vivid depiction of a mythical being brought to life in a story often shapes my mental image of it, particularly if a lot of other writers have fallen in love with that depiction, creating something similar. They shape a mythical norm, which becomes what I think that being should be. Anne Rice wrote such a lush, detailed description of vampires in her fiction that it’s very hard for me to see them in a different light, even though I’m writing several Works in Progress with vampires or vampire-like beings. Dragons have also been shaped by my encounters with them … Read more

That’s The Signpost Up Ahead; Jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender

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  That’s The Signpost Up Ahead                                     By Jeff Baker Somehow in the last few weeks, nostalgia has been flowing freely here. Not the drinkable kind, but a feeling, that wistful mood of nostalgia for days gone by. Writers and other creative types are particularly susceptible it seems, at least this one is. A few songs play on the radio, a package arrives in the mail and then the nostalgia hits. And it brings up memories of a regret. I have been outrageously fortunate: I have lived a life with very few regrets; one of them goes back nearly forty … Read more