Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 37
March 24, 2021
Cancel culture: an author’s point of view…
Cancel culture is yet another current fad that smacks of censorship—in fact, just another but less common name for it in the publishing world, in fact. Like the anti-cultural appropriation movement, it inhibits free speech and an author’s right to self-expression. I know I’ll get into trouble for saying this, but go ahead and boycott me! I don’t sell many books anyway (probably more pirated than legal sales, because I favor ebooks), so, unlike that emcee of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” my livelihood wo...
March 22, 2021
Gerrymandering…
What do most congressional districts in the US have in common? They’re either reliably controlled by the Dems or the GOP (aka Good Ole Piranhas) because state legislatures have created them to be that way. This process is called gerrymandering.
To quote Wikipedia (warning: I can’t get rid of the links, but they probably don’t work!): “The word gerrymander (originally written Gerry-mander; a portmanteau of the name “Gerry” and “salamander”) was used for the first time in the Boston Gazette (not t...
March 19, 2021
“Friday Fiction” Series: Mrs. Blake, Chapter Three…
Mrs. Blake
Copyright 2021, Steven M. Moore
Chapter Three
Unfortunately Blake’s mobile woke him. The aroma of frying bacon filled the air, an aroma that could wake the dead, or at least the nearly dead like Blake. So much for the lie-in.
“Thought I’d catch you before you head off to work,” his mum said, her voice on the mobile muted and a bit raspy.
“Want to share a scramble and rashers?” Sally called out.
“Who’s that?” his mum said.
“Just a minute, mum. Be right there, luv.”
“Are you shagging th...
March 17, 2021
Irish music…
St. Paddy’s Day is here! While many celebrations would (and should) remain at home, this is the day when everyone becomes Irish, enjoying real whiskey that’s thrice-distilled, and avoiding that twice-distilled and smoky-flavored Scotch or the mouthwash-tasting bourbon; a Guinness stout, Killian’s or Southwick’s ale; corn beef and cabbage (although that’s basically an American invention); and tea, neither high nor low, and pastries. Let’s forget about the ethnic stereotypes—Irish cops and drunks,...
March 16, 2021
My “quick books”…
I published my first novel, the sci-fi thriller Full Medical, in 2006 (it now has an ebook second edition). I usually publish two or three novels per year, so you can do the math. (A. B. Carolan allows me to count his—wink, wink.)
Some novels are long; some are short, but they’re not novellas. Some I spend a lot of time writing, especially one I did with a small press. (Generally speaking, they’re usually responsible for publication delays, not the writers.) Generally speaking, time from start ...
March 15, 2021
I’m baaaack!
With Trump gone, I thought I could just focus on reading, writing, and publishing in this blog, what fiction writers blather about all the time (after all, why shouldn’t a blog reflect its writer’s interests?). With Biden et al saving the nation, I made that assumption. Wow! Was I ever wrong! Narcissus le Grand (Trump the Chump) was only symbolic of a more general problem in the US and around the world: Representative democracy fails to represent the people. Politicians are the problem!
They mig...
March 12, 2021
“Friday Fiction” Series: Mrs. Blake, Chapter Two…
Mrs. Blake
Copyright 2021, Steven M. Moore
Chapter Two
Although the DCI was at their briefing, he let DI Clarke handle it. He only asked a few questions as she handed out assignments to her group of assorted constables and one sergeant. They made him look good, so why interfere?
Clarke had turned out to be his best DI out of three. All did their jobs well, but maybe too by-the-book. Like the DCI, Clarke could be creative and intuitive in an investigation. DS Blake had been a good hire too; he co...
March 10, 2021
History in fiction vs. historical fiction…
A.B. Carolan’s new young adult sci-fi mystery/thriller Origins (enough genres for you?) will contain a lot of history, from the dawn of human civilization to Argentina’s Dirty War (this book will be published some time in April if all goes as planned). Combining past and future is common in sci-fi. As a young lad, I read Chad Oliver’s The Winds of Time, for example, and it really impressed me.
Of course, the past often plays a role in fiction that isn’t sci-fi, maybe even more so. Son of Thunder...
March 5, 2021
“Friday Fiction” Series: Mrs. Blake, Chapter One…
[Note from Steve: In the collection Sleuthing, British-Style, I introduce DI Clarke and DS Blake in three short stories as a homage to British-style mysteries. While the following is another story that didn’t make the self-imposed editorial deadline for that collection (as a test case for Draft2Digital), you might also find the following short story equally entertaining. By the way, the title is explained in subsequent chapters.]
Mrs. Blake
Copyright 2021, Steven M. Moore
Chapter One
DI Patricia...
March 3, 2021
Young adult literature…
We have left the days of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys far behind. Today’s young adult readers are more sophisticated and have a lot more on their plates than their parents and grandparents had at the same age. Although tween and teen angst have also morphed a bit, it’s only the names that have changed—that angst has always been present in one form or another. The same can be said for fads and cultural heroes.
The Harry Potter series started out as fantasy fiction focused on tweens and grew to b...
