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Columnists

Sources of Inspiration: Getting Going

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It’s the beginning of a new year. I should be filled with resolution to accomplish new things. Never had I felt more uninspired. I’ve solidified into a chunk of fandom and routine, rather like a thick, dense piece of fruitcake left on a platter from the holidays. How so I get myself to unsolidify? How can I release all of that story which has gotten stuck within me? It may be time for a change. If I alter one small thing in my routine, it could loosen everything up, shake some of that story loose. Maybe it’s time to do … Read more

Lewis Padgett’s “Mutant,” Jewelle Gomez’ “Gilda” – Boogieman in Lavender

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Jeff Baker

LGBT people are regarded as “the Other,” and sci-fi and fantasy specializes in characters who are “the Other.” And “the Other” is often perceived as a metaphor or stand in for minorities and the oppressed. Queer people were not a regular topic of public discourse in the closeted world of the Golden Age of Science Fiction of the ‘30s through the 50s. And in this world, two very heterosexual writers wrote a series of stories about a very science-fictional form of “the Other.” Beginning with the story “The Piper’s Son” in February 1945, Lewis Padgett told of a near-future group … Read more

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

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Cool cats, we’ve entered a new decade and I’m on the edge of my seat about it. The 2010’s were a circus for me, personally and publicly and politically, a roller coaster of wildness I’m hoping won’t be repeated. It wasn’t all bad. I started my writing career and had a son, got married and got divorced, made friends and lost friends and rekindled my zest for life. The last decade was something to behold, a time to look back and shake my head in wonder that I manage to knuckle under, survive it mostly on nothing by spite. The … Read more

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

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It’s been a hot minute since I last posted an article and I apologize for that. Life kicks people in the teeth and the last few months its been kicking mine. I’m back though, with an early resolution for 2020 not to miss posting here. I forgot how much I love doing these until this topic jumped up and bit me with sharp, plot bunny teeth. Caves. As a Pagan, caves are a tumultuous gateway into the the dark, hiding knowledge and secrets like the precious stones found within, the descent into the Underworld ripe with all kinds of things … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Unreliable Narration

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I can understand of someone who appears to be an average person as the narrator; like Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, or Tim Hunter. We readers and viewers are introduced to their universes right along with them. They ask a lot of the questions we have. Only none of these narrators were average, not really. Luke Skywalker was strong in the Force, connected by blood to some of its most powerful practioners. Harry Potter was the Boy Who Lived, marked from infancy by a powerful Dark Wizard. Tim Hunter had a special destiny, which led to him being stalked and recruited … Read more

Boogieman In Lavender: On Beyond Cisgender: Books for High School

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Jeff Baker

On Beyond Cisgender: Books For High School                                                By Jeff Baker    A. M.  (Amy) Leibowitz has grumbled on Facebook about the “Old Dead White (mostly/presumed) Cis Hetero Male Literature Canon,” and how high-schoolers mainly read books from the aforementioned canon. No authors of color. Rarely any women. “Only literary fiction and other genres are typically not only disallowed but actively sneered at.” A. M. goes on to ask that if you could add any 4 books to a high school literature curriculum (one for each year of US High School) which would you add and why? Among the Facebook users … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Action During Dialogue

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The very first thing which comes to me in a story is the dialogue. Perhaps it’s just a single line uttered by one of my characters and a response to this. Once that pops into my head, an entire scene blossoms around it. Most of my stories have a lot of dialogue, but there’s a wealth of action around character convesation I have yet to explore. The movements, the interactions of the characters with the setting; I’m too easily distracted from this when I’m writing. Seeing effective use of them, a character playing with a statue similar to a creature … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Seeing What I Want

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I just saw a series which is no longer on the air (you can see what it is from the picture). It gave me something I’m always looking for, yearning for in my stories and writing. Intimacy within adversity and conflict, offered up with all the raw power that two enemies find themselves within as they become something more. I’m not certain if Hannibal is a love story or not. I like the uncertainty of not knowing exactly what it is, the mystery. This love of mystery in such matters may be one of the reasons I’ve avoided classifying myself … Read more

Jeff Baker, Boogieman In lavender: Halloween Reading; Clive Barker

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        By Jeff Baker    The year was 1993 (or pretty close.) I was running a delivery route in-town and on my lunch hour I ran into a used bookstore and grabbed a horror anthology I hadn’t heard of. “Masters of Darkness,” edited by Dennis Etchison. In three volumes, the books feature horror stories selected and introduced by their authors, stories they think may not have gotten the exposure they deserved on first publication. Robert Bloch, Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell. And Clive Barker.             I’d heard the name, but this was where I first encountered Barker. His selection was “In the Hills, … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Change

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It’s easy for me to fall into a rut. I wear the same clothes and accessories. I watch certain shows. I listen to the same playlists of music over and over. It’s comforting, especially when I’m troubled by something or doubled over with pain from one of those wonderful sinus headaches which make the back of my head throb, upsetting my stomach. (I’m being sarcastic.) Only that cycle of comfortable familiarity can make my imagination sleepy. Sometimes I need to do something different to wake it up. I’ll stop reaching for the same pair of earrings I’ve been wearing for … Read more