By G. S. Norwood By now you all know that I am a self-indulgent woman. I’ve blogged about how I value little rewards to myself for a job well done, or just for a laugh. But birthdays? Birthdays are an indulgence class all their own. Because I live alone, I can be really extravagant when it comes to a birthday indulgence. In past years I have given myself pens and paintings. One year I famously gave myself a cat. Or…
By Jan S. Gephardt and Lynette M. Burrows A note from Jan to her readers: My longtime friend Lynette M. Burrows and I belong to some of the same writers’ groups, and first met through the Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society (KaCSFFS). We bonded over (among other things) our interest in writing, and we’ve been friends literally for decades. We regularly check in with each other to “talk shop” or be each others’ cheerleaders. Earlier this summer, I…
By G. S. Norwood With the number of new COVID-19 cases dropping, and Memorial Day in the rearview mirror, what’s it gonna take to get you out of the house and back into large entertainment venues this summer? I’m thinking specifically of movie theaters and concert halls, but that’s just me. What about sports arenas and churches? County fairs, rodeos, and festivals? Are you prepared to dive back into public pools and farmers’ markets? Just how comfortable are you going…
By G. S. Norwood I Always Wanted One of Those Life is good, yeah? You’ve mastered working from home. You’ve successfully kept your social distance, and, so far, haven’t strangled your partner or any of your kids. You have behaved yourself. So you deserve a little treat, right? A small but oh-so-necessary indulgence, as a reward for making it this far through the pandemic. But what kind of indulgence? Temptation is all around. You flip through a catalog and spot…
By G. S. Norwood I was a surprised when I learned my novelettes, Deep Ellum Pawn, and Deep Ellum Blues fall into Amazon’s “Occult Horror” category. Sure they deal with the supernatural, but Horror? I don’t think so. I am not a horror fan. While I deeply respect Stephen King, and am happy to recommend his memoir/advice book, On Writing, I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t read many of his other works. I don’t enjoy being scared. It’s…
By G. S. Norwood Civilization and music go hand-in-hand. Human civilization does not exist without music. I’m not saying that Music creates Civilization. I’m saying that music has been an important part of every known human culture, as far back as we know human cultures to exist. Archaeologists have found primitive musical instruments dating back 40,000 years, and some evidence suggests civilization and music date back 400,000 years. It’s a pretty safe bet that, almost from the dawn of humanity…