distractions
I’ve been distracted by a new project. Things may be a bit erratic here over the next few days. Take the opportunity…
Read moreMonth: April 2009
Angel of Death
Got this email from a friend this morning: Fans of Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” and “Grindhouse,” martial arts movie junkies, and anyone who…
Read moreJeannette Winterson
From: Lara I would like to say I really enjoy your books. I discovered them recently and then went out and bought…
Read morewanting to go after my subconscious with a knife
From: Barbara (in a comment to this post) So where did Julia’s name come from? She’s hardly a secondary character. And Victoria…
Read morenaming characters
From: Donna When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning or do they just come to you?…
Read morehair and beer and lovely green trees
Yesterday was one of those days. We woke up, looked at the ravine where some mysterious elf had come along and sprayed…
Read morelittle leather man panties
Last night I watched 300 for the third time. (I started watching it with Kelley; halfway through she fell asleep. Sadly, blood…
Read morefeeling stabby
I stole this from Per Omnia Saecula. It’s the Plantaget family, by Kate Beaton. I was really tickled by it. Guess who…
Read morerobot teachers
From: Jo Normally I’m all for technological advancement, but I just read an article about a robotic teacher that has made her…
Read moreJ.G. Ballard
J.G. Ballard died this morning. He’s probably best known for books like Crash and The Atrocity Exhibition, and his memoir Empire of…
Read moreSunday in spring
It’s Sunday. Spring is trying to creep into the neighbourhood–the trees in the ravine have a hazing of green, the tips of…
Read moreJedi police officers. really
A BBC report on Thursday: Eight police officers serving with Scotland’s largest force listed their official religion as Jedi in voluntary diversity…
Read morethe perfect creative writing class
I’ve been having a conversation on my Facebook page about what the perfect creative course might focus on. Those who have responded…
Read moreSerious Films About Anguished People
Some more questions asked in the comments of this post: “How do you know when to quit and walk away?” (from DianneorDi)…
Read moreIris Murdoch, Terry Pratchett, over or under the roll, and more
At the end of last month, I asked if anyone had any questions. I’ve already answered one–about writer’s block (a followup to…
Read more"Don’t Believe"
What do I think of Amazon’s latest attempt at PR? Not a lot. Judge for yourself. This is Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener…
Read moreamazonfail = managementfail
Kelley has done a great post over on her Humans at Work blog on the management lessons to be learnt from amazonfail….
Read moreupdate on amazonfail
illo lifted from io9.com–go read the article No explanation as yet from amazon.com about their weekend ‘glitch’ which deranked LGBT books, including…
Read moregoogle-bomb, amazonfail, and a little crucifixion
Happy Easter. Here’s what I woke up to this morning: amazon.com have stripped my books of their sales rank because of their…
Read moreI really like amonite but I haven’t finish reeding it
Oh, oh, I think I’ve found the earliest Ask Nicola question. My guess is it’s from very early 1996 or even late…
Read moreStrunk & White: grammar morons
Thanks to Victor J. Banis I’ve just read a wonderful article in The Chronicle of Higher Education in which Geoffrey K. Pullum…
Read morewriter’s block
From: Donna I have a quick question. I’m stuck on a scene in my novella and I was wondering what you did…
Read moresix archived posts
Okay, here are six more archived posts, with guesstimate dates: Kelley’s short fiction — 11/16/96 writers I’m mad for — 11/17/96 missing…
Read morejust for now
Yesterday the weather here in Seattle was perfect–a day stolen from early May. We went to the park (again). Kelley has a…
Read moreGo Vermont!
We’re getting closer to a same-sex marriage corridor (and roaming free) in the northeast. This from the Washington Post: MONTPELIER, Vt. —…
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Nicola Griffith 