Teach The Sky

Why do fans get so up-in-arms about works of fiction?  Why do fans take it so personally if they do or do not like a given work?

As a Transformers fan, I have no love for the live-action movies.  Even Bumblebee – which is a legitimately good movie by all metrics – just didn’t do a lot for me.  As I said, it’s very good.  Good story, good acting, good production, good action, decent pacing, etc.  It’s not amazing but it’s good.  *I* didn’t particularly care for it, but my opinion of it doesn’t keep me from recognizing it as a genuinely good film, both in general and as a Transformers movie. Continue reading “Fandom Grumblings”

The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s boredom.

The opposite of a thing is rarely some mutation, perversion, or inversion of a thing, it is almost always the extreme absence of the thing.  I reflect on this often, especially when I read the news, catch up on social media, and often when I am writing this blog.  I see boredom as a major motivator in our lives, in western culture. Continue reading “Boredom as a Drug”

As a knitter, my wife has two past-times: knitting, and collecting yarn.

It’s a delight, really.  We have these troves of yarn and fiber stuffed into corners around the house, like super-soft, multi-colored insulation.  We’ll be looking for holiday decorations or something, open a box, and whomp, there’s the alpaca yarn.  At least once, I’ve come to a convention with a box of yarn because I was sure it held extra bags and business cards. Continue reading “Curator of Life”

An ongoing frustration for me has always been the divide between my most popular stories and my favorite stories and my best stories.  RocKaiju has surpassed Rhest for the Wicked as my best-selling book, which itself beat out Ghee.  And Ghee outsold the entire Crossworld Saga combined.

RocKaiju is, currently, my most successful book and it may be the centerpiece of my literary legacy.  If that proves to be the case, I will be extremely satisfied and very happy.  Sam and RocKaiju are wonderful characters, and I enjoyed their story greatly.  But RocKaiju is not my favorite story, nor is it (in my opinion) my best story. Continue reading “Success vs Excellence”