Columnists
The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender
The Only Thing We Have To Fear… by Jeff Baker NOTE: I usually post this around the 13th of the month, but I may be away from the keyboard for a couple of weeks. So I’m posting this way early! —-jeff “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” — Franklin D. Roosevelt “High Ang—Ziety!” —– Mel Brooks I think I have anxiety issues. This has taken me decades to realize. I’ve always been apprehensive about doing things. Always. I’ve joked for years that I was afraid of pretty much everything, which to some degree may be true. … Read more
Nite Owl – Boogieman In Lavender
I keep some odd hours. Part of this comes from the delivery jobs I had for about twenty-five years. There were some days I had to get up at four in the morning to get to the warehouse and start my run. The advantage was that some days I would be getting off work in the early afternoon when a lot of the nine-to-five workers would still be on the job. Of course, the disadvantage was that I would have to go to bed around nine at night to get enough sleep. During those delivery days I kept a spiral-bound … Read more
Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender. Broken Metropolis. On Beyond Cisgender VIII
QSF Broken Metropolis; On Beyond Cisgender VII by Jeff Baker AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the latest installment of this column’s occasional feature “On Beyond Cisgender,” recommending books written by or that feature people beyond the “Old Dead White Cis Hetero Male Literature Canon.” It was suggested by A. M. (Amy) Leibowitz who was lamenting the choices of books for High School reading. I’ve been doing this feature since October of 2018 and it is even more important in an era of censorship and book banning. So, here’s the latest installment.—-jeff Queer-themed anthologies of science fiction and fantasy, while not dominating … Read more
In Deep Mudd. Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender
“I’m a doctor, not a T.V. tie-in writer.”—-anon. Recently, I viewed the last, nearly-forgotten episode of the original “Star Trek,” from 1978. Sort of. At least, I consider it an episode. But first, some background is in order. In the era before You Tube, streaming, DVDs or even VCR tapes there were precious few ways for rabid fans to relive their favorite T. V. shows or movies. For fans of Gene Roddenberry’s classic, the original “Star Trek,” one way was through a series of paperback novelizations featuring adaptions of the original episodes as short stories. These books, which were bestsellers, … Read more
“Potiphee, Petey And Me”: The Last Of Tom Reamy. Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender
Potiphee, Petey and Me; The Last of Tom Reamy by Jeff Baker The final story by the late fantasy master Tom Reamy has been published. It is everything a reader could hope for. “Potiphee, Petey and Me” was written for the final volume of Harlan Ellison’s cutting edge anthology series that began in the 60s with “Dangerous Visions.” But this volume “The Last Dangerous Visions” has never been published, despite several promised release dates (including September 2024.) Now Reamy’s final story has been published in a retrospective collection and it is indeed a dangerous vision. The collection “Under The Hollywood … Read more
