12.07.18 Glenn Close on being a selfish artist, ‘hideous’ paintings and still missing ‘Damages’ Patty Hewes
There was never any way I could get all of the greatness of chatting with Glenn Close into a single 800-word article for the LA Times Envelope, though I did my best. For those who liked that chat and were left wanting more, here’s most of the rest of the transcript of our conversation. We…
Read More12.4.18 50 Things I Can’t Stop Thinking of Since I Sent the New Novel to My Beta Reader
I forgot to do this one thing in Chapter 20. The ending could be done in a completely different way. It’s too goofy. It’s not funny. It’s not funny enough. The serious parts are seriously inane. My main character doesn’t have an arc. My beta reader hates it. My beta reader is trying to find…
Read More10.30.18 This is what the alternate timeline looks like
For centuries, genre writers have tickled their historical funny bones by speculating on what one would do if one could go back in time. There’s a lot of discussion about how you’d neutralize a burgeoning menace. You’d go back, figure out a way and change history for the better. Or, as “Doctor Who’ did recently,…
Read More9.06.18 Guest Blog: J.L. Gribble on Steel Time, Siamese cats, and telling us all she knows
Happy book birthday to J.L. Gribble! This week, the fourth book in her Steel Empires fantasy/alternate history series, Steel Time, is being published by Dog Star Books, the science-fiction/adventure imprint of Raw Dog Screaming Press, and I’ve happily asked her to answer a few questions about herself, and the book, here on my blog. As she…
Read More8.28.2018 How ‘Sharp Objects’ ultimately lost its teeth and cheated viewers in the process
Warning: Spoilers. Oh, so many spoilers about the full season of Sharp Objects below. Sharp Objects, the adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s (Gone Girl) first novel just wrapped up its one and only season on Sunday. Having missed most of its original run, I blazed through it in just a couple of days, and let’s just…
Read More8.20.18 ‘Your misfortune is my good fortune’: How Ed Sherin made ‘Law & Order’ TV’s best damn show, for a time
If you loved Law & Order, you had to love Ed Sherin. Even if you didn’t know what he did on the show (directed dozens of episodes and produced over 160 episodes of both the original and SVU) you certainly saw his name up there in the opening show credits. Directors and producers of TV…
Read More7.12.18 Why billionaires are not your financial angels, or your moral compass
Did you hear the news? Flint, Michigan’s water supply is going to be saved. Elon Musk said so in a tweet. So you know everything’s going to be all right. Cue the Bob Marley music. Now, let’s take a breath and understand why – even if Musk does come through on his internet promise, even…
Read More6.29.18 ‘Westworld,’ ‘Humans’ forget to ask the big question: What does a robot want?
(Warning: Somewhat spoilery.) What does a robot want? In this time of real-world troubles among flesh-and-blood humans, I suppose it’s easier to think about robot needs and wishes, of androids dreaming of electric sheep. To consider where Westworld thinks its going, and about the hole Humans appears to have fallen into. And so …. As…
Read More6.13.18 We are officially old: Simon Le Bon is a Glamfather. Er, Grandfather
Duran Duran fans, it’s official: We are old. How do I know this? Because — as had to happen eventually — Simon Le Bon became a grandfather on June 6. I figure there are stages in the life of teen fandom: You find the object of affection (OOA) You lust after OOA You write fanfic…
Read More5.22.18 How To Review Your Friend’s Book in 5 Easy Steps, and Why Authors Keep Asking You To
A friend writes: “Someone close to me has self-published her book and asked me to write a review. I helped her with edits years ago, but haven’t read it since she published. It wasn’t really my style, but I was happy to help. I have no idea what to write for a review. We’re trying…
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