My condolences to David Bowie and Alan Rickman’s families, friends and fans. I’ve been reading people’s thoughts on their passing, comments on mortality and suffering. …
Essays
Accessible conventions: what SFWA forgot
Here’s a SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) Lee Martindale talking about some of her frustrations with lack of disability access at conventions. This is awesome: …
Overtly ignored yet progressing towards equity
Recently an SFF personality wrote a blog congratulating the community on being inclusive. Apparently she hadn’t done her research and, after all, she doesn’t identify …
PAX Australia: Actually it’s about ethnics in games journalism
I mis-read the title. I thought this panel was about ETHICS in games journalism and expected a panel about GamerGate and real ethics. This panel …
Self-congratulations by the able-bodied community are premature
Recently I read a blog by a prominent SFF personality congratulating the SFF able-bodied community for being inclusive of people with disabilities. I responded to …
“Sick Heroes Explore representation of illness”: PAX Australia
One of my favorite features of PAX Australia is the panel stream. I attended a few panels this year and this one stands out in …
Where should I publish an SFF novel? an essay by Nalini Haynes
Introduction This essay will look at publishing houses and small presses who support science fiction and fantasy (SFF) with a view to publishing my novel. …
Rabid Puppies vs Equity Advocates
You may have heard about a group of people who called themselves the “Sad Puppies” allegedly because they’re sad that they’ve been excluded from voting …
While you were sleeping… changes to Dark Matter Zine
You may have noticed that Dark Matter Zine has generally dropped down to 3 posts a week. I still love all my readers, I just …
Searching for symbolism
Have you ever sat in English, literature or film classes and been forced to search for symbolism? Have you ever wondered if a spade could …
Family feud over SevenEves by Neal Stephenson
My son came to visit. “Mum,” he says in that tone of voice that means he wants something MORE. “Do you have the latest Neal …
Editing and publishing: Get it RIGHT!
Formatting ebooks can be a nightmare. Reading poorly formatted ebooks causes headaches. IF the poorly-formatted ebook is begun, it is less likely to be finished …
Nerd Girls discuss tee slogan: In case of emergency, tear off my shirt
CJ Dee, Rebecca Fleming and I have had many conversations on Facebook and Twitter that need to be shared with other fangirls. Today we decided …
Confessions of a Recovering WoW Addict — Nesing-where is ‘e?
By CJ Dee, the titular WoW addict Hemet Nesingwary has been a constant companion throughout every World of Warcraft expansion (including ‘vanilla’ — the original …
Too cool for school: dystopia readings
Dark Matter Zine readers expressed interest in what I’m learning as I wend my way through my Professional Writing and Editing degree. For ‘writing YA’ (not the …