George Orwell’s 1984 seems almost naive in retrospect, believing that a faceless government would strip all privacy, create a surveillance state,...
Brave New World: A 1931 novel, a 2020 television show…a 2022 reality?
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J.S. Morin
Wizard’s Wishes – Could a cop show with criminal wizards really work?
One of the key quirks that made the early seasons of the X-Files great was the Mulder/Scully dynamic, where he came up with these wild,...
Skyrim created a world too awesome to bother saving
If you’re familiar with Skyrim, congratulations. You don’t need to be told. But for everyone else, this 2011 Bethesda game is a classic. There, I’ve...
AI-generated artwork: Move Over Dalí, it’s DALL-E Time
In the earliest days of machine automation (we’re talking about looms here), workers worried that they’d be rendered obsolete revolted. These...
Writers don’t get summer vacations
I seem to remember, a long time ago, that school started in the first week of September, shortly after Labor Day. It feels like it’s gotten earlier,...
Good Omens: A Buddy Comedy For The Apocalypse
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett are two of the better known fantasy authors of the late 20th Century. Their works are snarky, irreverent, and often...
Sidekick Powers
Can A Good Pun Become A Great Book? I no longer recall where or when this idea originated, just that it came from not paying attention. I probably...
Truberbrook: Twin Peaks meets Fringe
Truberbrook is a point-and-click mystery game set in a quaint little town in the mountains of Germany. And by quaint, I mean batshit crazy. It’s an...
Ballpark In-seat dining
Press 1 For Peanuts. Press 2 For Cracker Jacks. A few weeks ago, my wife and I ventured out to see our former hometown (or at least, home region)...
Meet Black Ocean: TNG
Welcome to my first formal author update where I'll talk about what I'm working on, plus any general news (if relevant). This new topic will replace...
You only WISH your pet store carried these!
From Pokemon to Disney princesses, magical pets are common throughout fantasy fiction. Some are mere companions, others ferocious guardians. But...
The Best Half-Movie in Ages
If you are of a certain age and sci-fi prediliction, you’ve likely seen the 1984 oeuvre by David Lynch simply entitled: Dune. It was based on a...
Some topics you just don’t touch
Sometimes an idea comes to you. It’s dark yet compelling from a storytelling perspective. And yet, an integral part of that idea is just too...
It’s like D&D without the D&D
If you’ve never played D&D but always been intrigued by the concept, Lord’s of Waterdeep is a great tabletop board game to get you a taste. Set...
Who needs eyes to see?
Well, science has taken another step into future tech. Essentially since the inception of reading glasses, science has combated blindness and visual...
If the Future Were In YOUR Hands
You have a phone app that tells you what your schedule is for the day, a calendar to tell you what the next few months look like, and the MCU Phase...
Post-Secondary Wizard Education
For those who missed it, The Magicians is a fully completed television series with a satisfying ending (unlike some other fantasy series we could...
A Premise Without a Plot
I have ideas in my scrapheap that aren’t exactly the worst notions in the world. In fact, some of them might turn into something great someday–but...
You Like Weird Games, Right?
Point & click mysteries are a guilty pleasure. They’re cooperative, so my wife and I don’t need to be opponents. They’re not timed, so they’re...
Books don’t exist until you buy them
Before the nitpickers arrive, some books still sit on shelves in dusty, musty, boxy warehouses waiting for shipment to a bookstore or your house....
Worlds We Just Need More Of
Fantasy fans are nothing if not obsessed with worldbuilding. No one makes it through thousands of pages of text without becoming invested in the...
Sick of Superheroes?
By now, most people have probably forgotten about it, but for a brief period in 2017, DC had a superhero comedy starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alan...
Year 9 of my 5-10 Year Plan for Overnight Success
Well, 2021 was a year. Frankly, it was not the year I (or anyone else, safe to say) was expecting, and if I’d bought 2021 at a store, I’d be looking...
Is stubbornness a virtue?
Sometimes an idea is vast and complicated, sometimes it’s not. And often, that’s the problem keeping a concept from getting off the ground. There’s...