Erotica, fantasy, and horror writer.

Most commented posts

  1. The Worm Ouroboros
    [Reading Challenge 2018]
    — 7 comments
  2. The Lady of the Green Kirtle (Part I) — 5 comments
  3. The Wild Lands of the North
    (and a bit about Giants)
    — 4 comments
  4. All Things Charn (Part I) — 4 comments
  5. Worldbuilding Wednesday 8/30/17: Mundane Fare — 3 comments

Author's posts

Reading Challenge 2021

“I particularly enjoyed the fable about the Leopard changing his spots.”   My Authors Water Cooler Reading Challenge selections for 2021. Out of a list of 50 categories, the participant chooses 12, the idea being you read one a month. I hope I do better at this year’s than last year’s. Last year, it seemed …

Continue reading

Questing Beast

The Questing Beast was a creature from Arthurian lore. It combined the features of a deer, snake, leopard, and dragon. Shy yet fierce, it was the quarry of King Pellinore, who spent his life searching for it. This Questing Beast was by artist Terri Whitlatch who specializes in speculative biology.  

Worldbuilding Wednesday 2/10/21: Fairy Tales I

Fairy tales were not intended for children. I repeat that, fairy tales were NOT intended for children. Just take a look at the Kay Nielson illustration for Cinderella above. Despite the name, Kay is a he, a classically trained Danish artist who worked heavily during the first half of the 20th century. The moment depicts …

Continue reading

The Hills Have Eyes

And other body parts as well, apparently. Artwork by the great Ed Emshweller.

Worldbuilding Wednesday 2/3/21: Blues Singers

Entirely by coincidence, I found out that tables used for generating magic spells could also generate names suitable for blues singers from the first half of the twentieth century. Enjoy!   Blues Singers Sissy Withers Addie Gate Sister Willie Ella Denny Durst Quincy Pearl Slow Soft Bird Nickie Jackson Jerris Howler Jerkie Davis Viola Peach …

Continue reading

Dating the Future

One of the things I enjoy about vintage SFF illustrations is how it’s possible to pinpoint the time in which they were painted by how they depict hairstyles, clothing, and other elements. Take the image above. The woman has a fashionable hairdo like that of the Moonbase girls on the Gerry Anderson series UFO (1970) …

Continue reading

Worldbuilding Wednesday 1/27/21: Let’s Talk About Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is considered by many to be the greatest writer in the English language. He left behind a legacy of 39 plays and 154 sonnets that are still being performed and read today. Just to hear the name “Shakespeare” among someone’s interests is a mark of high intellectual discernment, and used as an adjective, …

Continue reading

Chanteuse

Distinctive cover for a pulpy men’s paperback, I’m guessing from the late 1960s by the singer’s teased hair and polka-dotted bodysuit. However the chest straps are very un-1960s, even for Paco Rabanne. And note those clawed hands, hard eyeliner, and sad Francoise Hardy face!