I write things and talk about stuff. Sometimes I swim.
The Mannheim Steamroller is bringing its Christmas show to Cedar Rapids again this year. And it’s special, because 2021 is the thirty-fifth anniversary of the release of “Christmas,” their first holiday album, a collection that completely changed how people listened to Christmas music. And it’s all thanks to me. Because I was the first person […]
The North Iowa Book Bash in Clear Lake, Iowa, is always a fun and successful time. I met a ton of friendly readers, hung with some cool writers, and even sold a couple books! The Book Bash is a big deal in North Central Iowa. Well attended and scrupulously organized by the great Mickey Haley-Fredericks, […]
If you’re feeling like a little no-calorie treat while you’re handing out candy, here is a little something to pass the time. “The Audition” is a spooky-themed short story I wrote a few years ago. It originally appeared in an anthology called “Sadistic Shorts,” which you can still buy on Amazon. THE AUDITION […]
I first met Rachel Eliason right after I “came out” myself. As a science fiction author, that is. Since then, we’ve been together on several author panels and readings, and I was honored when Rachel and A.R. Miller invited me to contribute Traveler to a 3-in-1 ebook they wanted to publish. Rachel’s grace and honesty […]
The streets of Des Moines are just as mean as Spenser’s Boston in this impressive debut. In the first casebook of private detective Moses Winter, Francis Sparks exposes the underbelly of immigrant culture in a gripping, noir novel. Made Safe, while listed on the cover as the first adventure of Des Moines-based detective Winter, is just […]
Randy Roeder takes us back to Cedar Rapids of the Sixties in Sins of Intent, the first of a series featuring haberdasher-turned-amateur-detective Cletus Efferding. I’ve lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa since the Eighties, and while that is much later than the period Sins is set in, many of the sights and places Roeder references were still […]
“This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank.” ― Christopher Moore, Fool Shakespeare parodies are a dime a dozen, but few twist familiar tropes like Christopher Moore. He’s previously tackled vampires, Death, […]
“I saw the most amazing movie last night,” Jim Thorn said. It was May 28, 1977 (give or take a day), the summer between my junior and senior years in high school. The movie, of course, was Star Wars. Jim and I were what today would be celebrated as geeks knowledgeable in a variety of arcane […]
Music in Science Fiction & Fantasy By Dennis W. Green (This is an expanded version of an article that was originally published in PerihelionSF under the title “More Than Zarathustra.) What jazz standard shares a melody with the Star Trek theme? And what rock & roll tune tells its story against the background of Einstein’s Special […]