By G. S. Norwood We’ve all had them—those midnight fears that something dangerous is lurking down the hall, in the closet, or under the bed. As a child we wake in the night, desperate to make that perilous trip to the bathroom but afraid some dark thing may reach out from the shadows to grab us on our way. As an adult, who never has enough non-working, non-writing, non-sleeping time to keep ahead of the dust and dog hair, I…
By Jan S. Gephardt I drew most of this material from a post on my own blog, published in 2016. But as far as I can tell, my points about the interior design of the future–at least, as portrayed in movies and on TV–remain valid. When I was deciding how to depict life on Rana Station, one question I needed to answer was, “what do Ranan homes look like?” I’m a visual person, and I write for people with good…
Weirdness Manager’s Note: Amid the cold of winter we don’t often think of roses (except perhaps for a certain “flow’ret bright”). But maybe in this week when much of North America is buried in snow, you’ll enjoy Gigi’s story about the Snow Witch Sisters. By G. S. Norwood I love roses—specifically antique roses that grow as beautiful, low-care bushes and produce lovely flowers with rich heady scent. I also like modern roses that have those same qualities. So, when I…
By Jan S. Gephardt This is a re-post and update of a blog post that originally ran on Jan S. Gephardt’s blog “Artdog Adventures” last summer. Welcome to Rana Station! We thought you might enjoy a glimpse of how she designed the XK9s’ space station home. Rex, Shady, and the rest of the Orangeboro Pack, the sapient police dogs in my science fiction novels, live in a space station that is almost a character in its own right. That’s partially because…
By G. S. Norwood If you read the excerpts from Deep Ellum Pawn, and especially if you went on to read the rest of the story, you may be curious about the legend of Robert Johnson, and of the bluesman’s mysterious life. After reading this you’ll know more, but you also may still be curious. A mysterious life I’m not sure any actual, documented person in American history has accumulated more myths, legends, and ghost stories than singer, songwriter, and…