#girlgenius #webcomics Girl Genius for 7/15 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Ahoy there, students! The plan is for Kaja to stream tonight (www.twitch.tv/professoress...) at 6PM PST. It'll be jolly good, low-key fun for them that need a respite from all that in-your-face Hurley-burley excitement.

#books Today's book is 'The Time of Contempt' by Andrzej Sapkowski. This is part of The Witcher series. Now I love me The Witcher. I've read a lot of the books, and played the game, and even watched the show. But this particular book I could've done without. 145 pages in and nothing interesting yet.

#webcomics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 7/13 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Build a couple of shelves and rearranged the pantry yesterday. Very satisfying, with a soupcon of art, as people who have experienced my carpentry will know, I build to fit, with zero tolerances.

#books Reference Book Sunday's book is: 'Passing English of the Victorian Era' (The Mansplalined Edition) by James Redding Ware. Originally just a catalog of Victorian slang (fascinating in of itself) This new edition steps back and examines How the Victorians used language differently then today.

#books The non-fiction book this week is the illuminating, informative, and incredibly depressing 'The Dictator's Handbook' by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita & Alastair Smith. It's what it says it is on the cover, and after reading it, you'll be able to take over a country–or at least understand the news.

#girlgenius #webcomics Girl Genius for 7/10 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Today is a "keep your goddamn head down and get to work" day. I hate those, but they are occasionally necessary. At least I have a plethora of podcasts.

#books Today's book is a genuine Quest item. I love S.F Noir. In my opinion, the best are those by the late Mike McQuay. The first is "Hot Time in Old Town". There are 4 in the series. Good luck finding them. They're superbly written– dark, gritty, believable S.F. so hard it'll break your knuckles.

#girlgenius #webcomics Girl Genius for 7/8 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) I see they're raising the price of stamps. Again. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for paying postal employees, those guys work like dogs, but they're doing it JUST before we're about to ship out the latest Kickstarter. Argh.

#books Today's read is "Titanium Noir" by Nick Harkaway. I love me a good hard-boiled detective. Drop them into a science-fiction milieu and I am in Hog Heaven. Go in cold. The writing is so good I won't reveal or spoil anything. I haven't enjoyed a detective this much since reading Raymond Chandler

#webcomics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 7/6 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) We say this around the studio every day.

#books Reference Book Sunday! Today's book: "Dictionary of Foreign Phrases & Abbreviations" by Kevin Guinach. Picked it up on a whim– and it earned a permanent spot on my go to writing bookshelf for over 30 years. "Quantula sapienta regitur mundus!" See? Anything sounds classy in the right language.

#books Today's book is "The Floor of the World" by Charles Ott. It's about a pair of physicists who find themselves transported to a world where the laws of physics don't seem to apply consistently– if at all. Good main characters, and the plot kept me guessing. A weird and enjoyable little book.

#girlgenius #webcomics Girl Genius for 7/3 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) What luxury! We have almost a month to pull ahead and plot things out before we have to hit the road again. I'm sure something will happen to make this more difficult (it always does), but "knowing is half the battle!"

#books Today's book is one of my favorites: "The Adventures of Doctor Eszterhazy" by Avram Davidson. If you ever want more adventures set (sort of) in the Girl Genius universe (written by a much better writer) then this is The Book for you. Glad I didn't write it, because I really enjoyed reading it

#girlgenius #webcomics #twitch Girl Genius for 7/1 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) The plan is for Kaja to stream tonight, so tune in! She has cookies! (www.twitch.tv/professoress...) Starts at 6 PM PST. It's low-key fun for them that like that sort of thing & the closest we get to socializing.

#books Today's book is "A Burglar's Guide to the City" by Geoff Manaugh. One of those books that's not only educational and entertaining, but actually makes you look at everything around you– stuff you took for granted–and allows you see it in a new and different way. I love it when that happens.

#girlgenius #webcomics Girl Genius for 2/29 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) We are back. As it turns out, Cheyenne was also in Las Vegas, (which is why the page is in black & white) but HE was there on vacation! The very idea! I mean, it's not like he doesn't deserve it, but I find it unnatural

#books Reference book Sunday! Today it's "Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary" by Josefa Heifetz Byrne. The first collection of weird words I ever bought, and still a perennial idle browsing favorite. The only attempt at organization is alphabetical, so you get niche words in a delightfully chaotic jumble.

#books Today's book is "Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke. All the cover blurbs assured me that this would be THE fantasy book that everyone would be talking about!! …It wasn't. In fact, until I found it, I'd never heard of it. Having read it, I can see why.

#webcomics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 6/26 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) We are in Vegas where the temperature was over 100˚. Yikes. I mean, sure, we're in a cavernous, air-conditioned room all day signing cards, but knowing that we are but a hundred feet away from Hell® gives me the vapors.

#books Today's book is: "Fiddler's Rose" by P.D. Haynie. This is a cool, weird book. The story is told almost entirely through dialog between 2 characters who are not human, one of whom is a ghost, and they've never even met. Oh, and it's a love story. It hooked me fast, and I really liked it.

#girlgenius #webcomics #magicthegathering Girl Genius for 6/24 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Today is a swirl of packing and whatnot for our expedition to Las Vegas (scgcon.starcitygames.com/event/scg-co...) Also planning on again hitting the best sushi restaurant we've ever tried: Sakana's.

#books Today's book is Edgar Cantero's "Meddling Kids" which is a mash-up of Scooby-Doo and Cthulhu, & rest assured, it treats this set-up with all the grace, dignity, & respect that it deserves. Is it great literature? No, but unlike many other books labeled "great literature", it's still in print.

#webcomics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 6/22 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Had a very laid back Father's Day yesterday. The kids got me comics & socks, Kaja made us a pizza, and I lazed about and worked on my upcoming Tarot deck. A very nice day, if I say so myself. Back to work!

#books Reference Book Sunday! It's The King of Bathroom Books: Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Pretty much what it says on the cover, & opening it in idle curiosity is to risk losing several minutes (hours! Days!) while you learn things both obscure & fascinating. No writer should be without.

#books Robert J. Bennett's "The Tainted Cup". The second book in this series: "A Drop of Corruption" is up for the Hugo, and I liked that so much I bought this one and was not disappointed. I love me a weird mystery, and this one delivers. I hope Bennett breaks his habit of only writing trilogies.

#webcomics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 6/19 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Man, I have been trying for the last month to pull ahead on the story to give us a bit of wiggle room for when we travel this summer–and I am failing miserably. Too many "real world" things happening with "real people".

#books Spending a LOT less time scrolling on my phone and man, does it feel good. Today's book is "Angelmaker" by Nick Harkaway. One of those delightful books where you can't really slot it into a particular genre, and by the time you realize that, you no longer care. I will read more by this guy.

#girlgenius #webcomics #magicthegathering Girl Genius for 6/17 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Getting ready for our MTG show in Vegas (scgcon.starcitygames.com/event/scg-co...) We expect to fly in, ignore the gambling, work like dogs, and fall over. It's important to manage one's expectations.

#books The last of the Hugo nominees is Alix Harrow's "The Everlasting". An interesting premise, and what seems like an intriguing exploration of predetermination and the construction of myths…but I just wasn't feeling it. Obviously people like it– it's on this list– but I just couldn't get into it.

#webcomics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 6/15 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) It is actually hot here in Seattle, which I enjoy, unlike the rest of the family, who are all Seattle natives and wilt when the temperature gets over 70º. Time to break out my shorts & listen to some Beach Boys!

#books Reference Book Sunday! Yes, I read dictionaries. Today's is: A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose (1785) 2021 Edition. Not a formal lexicon, Grose collects vintage Thieves Cant, slang from soldiers, sailors, and tradesmen. Prisoners, beggars, and other societal fringes

#books Today's book isn't even fiction…well, I guess there are people who will argue otherwise. Suetonius' 'Lives of the Caesars' translated by Tom Holland, who makes what could've been a tedious book-length listicle engaging. Hey, big surprise: Unchecked dynastic power & wealth are bad. Who knew?

#girlgenius #webcomics Girl Genius for 6/12 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Made all our travel arrangements this week. Annoyingly expensive–to the point where there are several shows we'd LIKE to do, but who can afford gallivanting around like that? Not us, even though we DO go for business.

#books Today's Hugo nominee is Nnedi Okorafor's "Death of the Author". Parts of this book were fascinating, and overall the writing was really good. However I started losing patience with the main character pretty quickly, and never regained it. Hard to come back from that. Your mileage may vary.

#webcomics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 6/10 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Rejoice! For Kaja will be streaming again tonight on Twitch® (www.twitch.tv/professoress...) at 6 PM PST. She plays games & talks about what's going on in the mighty Studio Foglio industrial complex, atelier, and zoo.

#books Today's read is not genre. Sue me. Mick Herron's 'Clown Town' is the latest in his 'Slow Horses' series. The espionage is just an excuse to delve into the characters thoughts & emotions, and Mick–as usual–puts them through the wringer with unflinching black humor through-out. Read them all.

#webcomics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 6/8 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) I was planning on doing some solid work in the garden…and I'm told it's going to rain all this week. Guess I'm running out of excuses to not work on those novels. Oh wait! I can clean out the garage!

#scififantasybooks A guilty pleasure break from the Hugo nominated books: Matt Dinniman's 'A Parade of Horribles'. I am envious of Matt's ability to plot out these complex situations, give us character interaction & development, keep everything moving in a humorous manner– while killing millions.

#girlgenius #webcomics Girl Genius for 6/5 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) We finally approved all the proofs for the printer for the next 2 books. Now we get to find out when we can expect them to hit our driveway. Don't worry, a bunch will go to our shop as well (topatoco.com/collections/...)

#scififantasybooks Today's Hugo hopeful book is Emily Tesh's The Incandescent. This is a magical school story that focuses on the teachers & administrators, with an emphasis on just how grueling & miserable their jobs & lives are. Yep, that came through really clearly. I get it. Pay teachers more.

#webcomics #girlgenius #gardening🌱 Girl Genius for 6/3 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) It is that time of year in the garden when you have all your plants in place, the weather is perfect, and the fastest growing thing is the weeds. Those fuckers are healthy and happy and refuse to die.

#scififantasybooks Still reading the Hugo books. Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Hard SF with really intriguing aliens, set in a universe where hyper-capitalism has ruined everything forever to such a depressing degree that I just couldn't get into it. I'll try again, but these days? I need escapism.

#webcomics #comics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 6/1 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Embraced my effete intellectual yesterday, and made a couple of quiches–and the family snaffled them up instantly. Gratifying, yes, but also a bit discouraging as they are a LOT of work (if you make them right)

#girlgenius #magicthegathering #comics Girl Genius for 2/29 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Planning ahead for our next show, which is a MTG show in tawdry, starved for tourists Las Vegas! (scgcon.starcitygames.com/event/scg-co...) They work us hard there, so we're always happy to meet fans!

#girlgenius #scififantasybooks Hey, lookit me, reading books like a quaint 20th century person! Today it's The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson. This excellent book did the one thing I appreciate the most in a story: It continually surprised me in a logical & entertaining manner. That's really tough

#girlgenius #webcomics #comics Girl Genius for 5/27 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Ah, it is Spring, when it is beautiful outside and the last thing I want to do is work on the next novel which is already taking far too long and I have just discovered that my chair is too short, dammit.

#scififantasybooks #girlgenius Started reading through the Hugo Award nominees. First up, A Drop of Corruption by Robert J. Bennett. This is a murder mystery set in an alternate world with a whole lot of bio-engineering. The characters are excellent, and I want more more books in the series. Good.

#girlgenius #webcomics #comics Girl Genius for 5/25 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) There people who missed the Kickstarter and all of the associated wonderfulness. Well here is a final chance to get "in on it" (girl-genius-escape-from-the-island-of-the-rat-queen.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...)

#webcomics #comics #girlgenius Girl Genius for 5/22 (www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php) Kaja sez that she will be "pushing the button" to activate the Backerkit for the latest Kickstarter sometime in the next 24 hours. Yay! This means we have to clean out the packing and shipping room. Boo!