Erotica, fantasy, and horror writer.
I went to generate a pic of Elric on a Melnibonéan dragon by using the prompt “Albino warrior, black armor, rainbow dragon” and look what I got! But it’s so cool looking I’m going to keep it. A more conventional Elric was generated later and you can see him to the side. I did an …
Mexican philosopher Manuel DeLanda called cities the “mineralization of humanity.” Invertebrates like snails, clams, and nautiluses generate outer coverings of calcium to act as their homes. Now humans have begun to do the same, “mineralizing again when they developed an urban exoskeleton.” What might happen if those shells developed personalities of their own and began …
The dragons of House of the Dragon are equivalent to B-52 bombers and almost as large, with unprecedented, literal firepower. They are what the Valyrians used to dominate the continent of Essos in ages past, building up an empire that was Roman-like in its scope. But unlike the jets, Valyrian dragons are sentient, and bonded …
Since I started to experiment with AI generated art back in August 2022 a lot has gone down. Chief among the developments, a lawsuit filed by a group of artists who claim the Midjourney creation site, the StableDiffusion AI engine, and DeviantArt, has plagiarized their work. Meaning, the AI engine was trained on images pulled …
Now that Game of Thrones has wrapped, House of the Dragon has become HBO’s next blockbuster fantasy series. It’s about the history of the Targaryon family who ruled over Westeros two centuries previous to the events of the former series. They are Valyrians, George R. R. Martin’s equivalent of Imperial Romans, with the addition of …
Most people think of the U.S. states of Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona as cowboy country, the Wild West. Originally, I wanted to do these three states as a post puncturing the cowboy myth, and how these rough-and-tumble men were nothing at all like those on TV and in the movies. But then I realized …
Among the more bizarre Japanese tokusatsu hero shows of the 1970s was Warrior of Love: Rainbowman. This sounds contemporary, but the show had nothing to do with LGBTQ people or rights, as it debuted in 1972. Due to the special training he received in India from the yogi Devadatta, young hero Takeshi Yamato was able …
Tokusatsu is a form of media native to Japan. At its most basic, it means any kind of Japanese SFF, horror or war drama that relies heavily upon special effects. But since the 1960s popular usage has defined it as any action-packed TV show or movie with colorfully costumed superhero characters who have their own …
New York City is famous for its Jewish delicatessens, with Katz’s still being the oldest and the best known. This particular kind of eatery sprang up in the late 1800s when German immigrants began to settle in lower Manhattan. The food was decidedly Teutonic: sauerkraut, pickles, cold cuts, sausages. Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe later …
It’s time for another yearly reading challenge from the Authors Water Cooler! The past three years were disappointing for me, as I hadn’t been able to finish any of them despite my high intentions. 2022 was actually better, because I did make it 3/4 of the way, squeaking through with two books finished the …