You never see/read any cyberpunk futures where people have cutlasses. Which is weird because in practice they’re the same thing as katana: a one-sided shortish sword mainly intended for slashing with. Or, it’s just been suggested to me, an Indian tulwar. Which, like a cutlass, has better hand protection than a katana. A near-future full […]
Read more "Katana and Science Fiction"Tim Susman is a speculative fiction author who lives in sunny San Francisco (If you’re not familiar picture Clacton-On-Sea with classier burger joints and wider roads). Like a lot of authors in this digital age he’s recently branched out into having more than one name. Those of you into the anthropomorphic, or ‘furry’, literature scene will no […]
Read more "Author Interview: Tim Susman (aka Kyell Gold)"“If you’re going to try, go all the way. otherwise, don’t even start. if you’re going to try, go all the way. this could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives, jobs and maybe your mind. go all the way. it could mean not eating for 3 or 4 days. it could mean freezing on […]
Read more "Roll The Dice"The world is plump with writing similes but I don’t suppose another will harm. Anyway, this one I find useful. Writing–writing with serious intent–is a longboat. Or a trireme if your fancy leans classical, or a dromon or a galleass. The main thing to picture here is a ship with both oar and sail. Inspiration […]
Read more "Writing Is A Longboat"(Being a quick review of the miniature company’s custom design page as a writing tool, plus some thoughts from other authors (including Angry Robot’s Rod Duncan of Bullet Catcher’s Daughter fame)!!!) In my youth I would fantasise about a contraption where I could design model miniatures and they’d pop out of one end fully formed. Think of […]
Read more "Visualising Your Novel’s Characters With Hero Forge"Before I met Graham Joyce I’d stories I’d never submitted anywhere simply because they were set in Leicester. The Midlands, my internal logic ran, aren’t really about anything, have no atmosphere, not in the same way London, the North or Scotland do. And then I saw Graham speak, and then I immediately bought one of […]
Read more "Graham Joyce: Two Years Gone"Another Summer another Hugo Awards. Those of you familiar with recent Hugos will know how this time-honoured award (and very good thing) has been under a fair amount of pressure these last few years, being trolled by a bunch B.O-ridden shit-kickers calling themselves the Rabid Puppies (and their more moderate pals, the Sad Puppies, who […]
Read more "Chuck Tingle: SF’s Lord Of Misrule"That’s the title of an article I’ve just put up on Medium, where all the groovy kids are these days. It originally appeared in Clarion’s e-mail bulletin thingy. Go on: get over there fast as a tiger on vaseline…
Read more "What Bowie Can Teach Us About Writing SF"In a bout of writing avoidance I done did a sketch of the protagonist from my pal Ellery’s work in progress. Sword came out wobbly but otherwise I’m pretty pleased. I’m not gonna start drawing graphic novels anytime soon though, let’s face it.
Read more "Just a doodle"
J.L. Worrad 