Didn’t see a couple of interesting movies in the theater lately because they were both well over 2 hours. Having not seen them, I can’t say they are overlong, but my general experience is that neither deserves that much of my time based on the premises.

Finally caught Predator Badlands. An all around excellent movie. Surprising for me because I’ve always thought the idea of Predator as protagonist to be pretty unappealing, but it really works here. Also, a masterclass in plant and payoff. Worth lauding for that alone.

I’ll be at Fencon this weekend in Dallas. I should have mentioned that earlier, but I am bad at promotion.

is wishing the happiest of birthdays to colorist Anthony Tollin.

Is remembering writer Dwayne McDuffie on his birthday.

All interaction here and in most internet spaces is voluntary. Never be reluctant to shut doors on people for any reason.

Authoritarians descend into madness, seeing conspiracy in every dissenting voice, setback, and failure. It is no wonder that they all self destruct at some point.

At some point in our history, we needed to arrest and prosecute a sitting President, even put them in jail. It would have reminded us that the President is not a king. Because we’ve waited too long and now the President is practically one. Doesn’t mean it can’t change in the future though.

Heard through the grapevine that someone likes my Bluesky content. And like all artists, I am starving for approval. So thanks, guy who talked to my wife!

Current Administration: “What is so enticing about my forbidden closet of mystery?”

I know that cults are bizarre in their blind loyalty, but “pedophilia rings aren’t really that big of a deal” is still a bit of a surprise.

Server: May I refill your lemonade, sir? Me: it’s not a lemonade. I’m a grown ass man. But, yes, I’ll take a refill on my Shirley Temple, thank you.

I haven’t said this lately but I’m mildly successful fantasy / sci fi author A. Lee Martinez and I will probably be a guest on your podcast. It doesn’t even have to be about writing or sci fi. I’m professionally entertaining. Let me be entertaining on your podcast. [email protected]

There aren’t a lot of us Sludge super fans, but we exist.

The Car is fucking awesome.

I’d like to announce I’m no longer keeping track of how many books I’ve sold as an author. This means that I am as popular as every other author, right?

Any writing advice is always breakable but I’m going to give one piece that is always worth remembering: Phone calls in novels are bad. If you can contrive a way to avoid them then do it. Readers will thank you.

I don’t know if I should share this but years and years ago Blur optioned Automatic Detective for movie / TV development. It didn’t pan out, but did some fantastic art. Here’s one of my faves:

#authorsky #amwriting #writesky #writingcommunity #writer

Did I ever mention that @locusmag.bsky.social liked GOD'S JUNK DRAWER? I'm not sure I did, so I'm mentioning it now. (spoiler--they think you should get a copy, too)

Having somehow written 13, I am still confused about how that happened. I get it on a technical level, but every time I start a new project my only reassurance is that somehow I’ve done it before a few times.

I really love the aesthetic and world of Deadlock on Steam. Weird robots, Werewolf bounty hunters, Interdimensional doormen. All great stuff. But I despise versus games where you level up as you play, which basically makes a rich get richer situation.

My favorite piece of well-meaning writing advice: you can’t just tell the reader what the character is feeling. Reality: “I get that the protagonist’s family was eaten by trolls and they now do nothing but killing trolls to a self-destructive degree, but I’m not sure how they feel about it.”

My competing competing halftime show where I read aloud the names of my favorite Transformers did very poorly in the ratings. I suppose it’s my fault for not advertising enough in advance. SPOILER: Shockwave and Grimlock made the list.

Hebe is always cool with a belly rub. Honestly, the coolest cat I know. Probably too cool to hang out with me.

A while back I got to sit down with @adamdrake7.bsky.social to talk about creativity and process and, yes, also a little bit about toys for the "Meet the Makers" feature he's doing on his Highly Articulated channel. So if you ever wanted to hear me ramble on and on with segues galore... here it is!

Big Mean Carl!

#authorpreneur #selfpublishing #writercommunity #indieauthors #writingsociety

Monster, one of my most successful books, definitely owes a lot of its success to its cover.

A wise dog once said, “Sucking at something is the first step to being okay at something.”

It was just a joke. Unless you liked it. Then it was sincere. But if it gets them in trouble, it was never serious. Why would you ever take it seriously? That’s on you. It was just a joke. And if you didn’t like it, then maybe they didn’t even say it. Maybe some else said it. Unless you liked it.

Had my old man yells at clouds moment today when someone tried to sell me a subscription plan for a car wash. I don’t need a commitment. I just need some soapy water sprayed on my car.

Conservatism isn’t a belief in limited government power. It is a belief in maintaining systems that exist, regardless of whether they were truly effective or not, and opposing new systems, regardless of whether they are needed or not.

Storytelling is all about manipulation. Why else would anyone care about the trials and tribulations of fictional characters.

It’s not “official” official yet, but I might have a book coming out later this year. Details to come when I’m cleared to share more.

If you know, you know.

It’s “survival of the fittest” and “don’t blame the meritocracy” until certain white folks start not seeing enough other white folks in the room.

I absolutely hate that people feel the need to praise Wonder Man by dissing other MCU projects. It’s okay to say just say nice things about stuff. Wonder Man is really good. See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?

Brown skinned Hispanic white supremacists are a helluva thing.

Wonder Man is a lot of fun and a great take on characters living in a superhero world. It’s not, strictly speaking, a superhero show but it’s a show that exists squarely in a superhero universe.

Pegasus was the name of a specific winged horse. Not the name of all winged horses. Thank you for taking note of this in the future.

The art of editing is almost always simplifying and deleting. Not always, but usually.

I’ve come to view storytelling as poetry and metaphor and symbolism. Might sound weird from the space squid and moon monster author, but it’s true throughout everything I’ve written. Without that lens, stories are just a series of events until we reach THE END.

I second this emotion!

This does work. I've been doung it for a while now.

I keep trying to compose an eloquent statement about guns and how I believe the worship of guns is the worship of power, not liberty. That those who view guns as good for society view authoritarians as good for society. That is why they aren’t bothered by contradictions in their philosophy.

it goes without saying but just in case it's not obvious, what ICE is doing now in MN is what regular cops have been doing for years to Black and brown civilians with impunity, it's just never been as concentrated and televised; this is just to say, it's not new and it's not un-american

One thing worth stressing: authoritans don’t need a reason, even among themselves, for killing their own citizens. Citizens are there to be controlled and intimidated, by default.