It’s kinda funny how brainstorming works. One day I’m watching the 2003 film “The Haunted Mansion” — a fun enough romp, with the main highlight being Chancellor Valorum (er, excuse me, Terence Stamp) playing an aged butler with a big secret — and it strikes … Continue readingA Slice of Life at the Dawn of the Space Age?
Dear diary, The lonely sky became so much less lonely today. Like many days during this rather dark and depressing global dust storm, I found solace in rising above it, taking to the red skies in one of my favorite jets, a conical, almost capsule-like … Continue readingA Diamond in the Rust
It must be the fall atmosphere these days compelling me to watch films like “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” more often, because I’ve been giving some thought to fodder for an interesting alternate history what-if: the Nazi concept for the “Alpine Redoubt”, or “Alpine … Continue readingAn Alternate History of the Alpine Fortress
I’ve been thinking a lot about the family trees of nobles, aristocrats, and old-money types lately; reading up on the TVTropes pages about Royal Inbreeding in particular has been fun. Under the wildly alternate-historical and implausible scenario I outline in my “Rules of Succession What-Ifs” … Continue readingReinhardts After Rapunzel
Yesterday I was rereading my own novella “Wings of Fire” from last June, and it got me wondering more about the backgrounds of the characters, their biographies and futures. In short, I think there are more stories to be told about these people, the intrepid … Continue readingAfter “Wings of Fire”
I’ve been doing some more brainstorming for my “Naked Jungle in Space” story, and I’d like to give an update. I’ve decided to change things up a bit for the castaways; instead of standard-issue humans, I’m going to make them mermaids. In my universe’s case, … Continue readingMermaids of the Naked Jungle
I’ve been doing some brainstorming and worldbuilding lately for a story in my far-future science-fiction setting that is basically “The Naked Jungle” in space. Based on the 1937 short story “Leiningen Versus the Ants” by Carl Stephenson, “The Naked Jungle” was a 1954 film starring … Continue readingWorldbuilding a Naked Jungle…in Space
I’ve got some good news; after a weeks-long drought I’m back to writing, this time having taken the plunge into finally crafting my end-of-the-universe story, spanning a time from advanced humanity millions of years from now to the heat death of the universe; well, really … Continue readingFrom Vignettes to a Chronicle
Step by tentative step, Lothar Brandt descended the ladder, his comrade Vera Petrenka following right behind; their visages in crisp living color, their voices coming through as clearly as if they were on the other side of the room from all the billions of people … Continue readingWings of Fire
Hot off a very enjoyable write-up of my story of my universe’s first lunar mission (1949, not 1969), and a more tentative write-up of my Rapunzel Reinhardt story (I was thinking of releasing the latter in June, the former in July, but I think now … Continue readingA Date in the Rusty Desert