Author, adventurer, athlete (and alliteration addict). I write science fiction stories about climate change that I hope won't come true, and archive Earth's wonders through nature photography in case they do.
After moving three times in as many years, my Laddie and I vowed to accumulate less stuff. And so last December, instead of exchanging presents, we bought ourselves a single joint gift: a new game console. We agonized for weeks over which system to get, but finally settled on the PS4 because it was the … More Review: “Horizon: Zero Dawn”
In the first post in this series, we discussed subjectivity and objectification when describing female characters. But “beautiful” isn’t the only contentious adjective frequently applied to them. Lots of readers claim to love “strong” heroines; what does this actually mean? As a kid in the 90s, I caught the leading edge of the “more strong heroines!” … More The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt II: Three Tips for Writing “Strong” Female Characters
Indie authorship seems to have exacerbated my penchant for masochism: I can’t help looking at the bestseller lists, even though it only leaves me sad that my books aren’t on them! Browsing the top titles a few weeks ago, the blurb for Dan Brown’s latest novel Origin caught my eye. After reconnecting with one of … More The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt I: Three Tips for Describing Female Characters
It could have been the opening for a suspense novel. After a week of almost ceaseless rain, a young couple heads out for a long run, feet eager and skin starved of vitamin D. On a humid summer Sunday morning, even the leafy canopy over the trail seems sluggish. What could go wrong as they … More Save One Snake: Answering the Distress Call of Environmental Fiction
“What are you doing?” my Laddie pants, pulling up beside me as I pause my Garmin. “Book shopping.” Drawing the cold March morning into my aerobically scorched lungs, I approach the glass-fronted hutch beside the trail. A Little Free Library appeared in our neighborhood last year, and I’ve been a devoted trader. “Ooh, look! You … More Racing Andy Weir: On Running, Writing, and Being Realistic
The shiny black hardcover jacket winked in the sun, mysterious as a unit of dark matter. I lifted the book from the sale table outside Borders Books & Music and flipped its pages. Elementary particles…wormholes…the uncertainty principle…reading this before I head off to college will make me sound smarter when I get there, right? And … More A Brief History of How Stephen Hawking Inspired My Sci-Fi
Wild Type 