WTF World?

Stuff unrelated to writing or the industry, generally world events.

Boycott? No, thanks.

/ 15 Comments / Controversies, The Industry, WTF World? / By

And here I thought I was done with controversies for the week. For those who haven’t heard, there’s been a big to-do in the past few days over another instance of cover art whitewashing re a YA novel called Magic Under Glass by debut author Jaclyn Dolamore. Like the last instance, it turned into a big thing, with some big-name editors and authors in the field weighing in on the issue. And a whole lot of readers got pissed off — again — as they should, IMO, because the problem of whitewashing has gone on for literally decades in the […]

Boycott? No, thanks. KEEP READING

The Harlequin Horizons Thing

/ 21 Comments / The Industry, WTF World? / By

As you know Bob(s), I’m a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA). This is because a) there’s romantic content in many of my books, so there’s an obvious crossover of interests; b) I read and enjoy romance on occasion; and c) RWA is simply a kickass organization — quite possibly the most efficient and effective writers’ org I’ve ever seen. Beats the pants off both the Authors’ Guild and SFWA, IMO. Case in point: There’s been some drama in the past few days in the romance sphere because Harlequin, arguably the biggest and indisputably the best-known romance publisher,

The Harlequin Horizons Thing KEEP READING

On Southern Racism

/ 38 Comments / WTF World? / By

Prompted by that news story about the Louisiana Justice of the Peace who refused marriage licenses to interracial couples. My initial reaction was, “Meh.” Because I’m always amused to see how many people are shocked, shocked they tell you, at the continued persistence of blatant racism. I always wonder what planet these people have been living on, because they don’t seem to realize that lynchings have probably happened within their lifetime and that there’s a reason so many communities are segregated to this day and there’s also a reason the poorer and darker-skinned of these communities don’t have the political

On Southern Racism KEEP READING

Zombie Capitalists! And Book Recs.

/ 2 Comments / Review, WTF World? / By

Suddenly I want to write a short story about zombie Adam Smith… No! No shorts! Must stay on track with Book 3. At 45,000 words now — still behind schedule, but finally starting to see good strong bones in this thing. Anyway, as you can probably guess from the subject header, I did a movie double-header this past weekend, going to see Zombieland and Capitalism: A Love Story with my Altered Fluid peeps. Zombieland was the hands-down winner of this particular cage match — smartly-written, well-acted, clever and generally hilarious. Still not as good as Shaun of the Dead, which

Zombie Capitalists! And Book Recs. KEEP READING

Another $%^ing one, what are they, breeding?

/ 6 Comments / Causes, The Industry, WTF World? / By

I posted last week in solidarity with the Outer Alliance, a spanking-new group of GLBTQI writers and straight/cisgendered allies. Lo and behold, within a week of its formation the OA has encountered its first incidence of homophobic discrimination. More on this there. It’s hard, sometimes, being a writer with a conscience. I mean, how much do you let conscience dictate business? As a writer, I’m engaged in the act of selling my creativity and dreams — little bits of my soul, quite frankly — for approbation and money. If that kind of spiritual prostitution doesn’t bother me (and sometimes it

Another $%^ing one, what are they, breeding? KEEP READING

Maps, Comedy, and Politics

/ 4 Comments / Causes, Magic District, WTF World? / By

Or, why I should update my blog more often. (Sorry!) Maps: I’ve got a new post over at the Magic District, talking about the map thing in epic fantasy. Triggered by something dumb on Fox News (is there ever anything else?), and an odd interaction I had at Worldcon last weekend, wherein I handed a copy of my ARC to someone and they protested (good-naturedly, but still protested) it wasn’t epic fantasy because it didn’t have a map. Comedy: The other creative, activist black sheep in my mother’s side of the family, cousin W. Kamau Bell, is coming to NYC

Maps, Comedy, and Politics KEEP READING

OMGWTFBBQ

/ 3 Comments / WTF World? / By

Discuss… The Fox network is making a reality show out of the troubled economy. An upcoming series titled, “Someone’s Gotta Go,” lets employees of a small business decide which one of their colleagues will be laid off. Fox says it has no air date yet for the series, which is being developed by the company behind “Big Brother” and “Deal or No Deal.” Each week, a different company lays off an employee. …because I’m frankly speechless with revulsion.

OMGWTFBBQ KEEP READING

Scroll to Top