Blair MacGregor's Blog, page 8

Where the Boundaries Are Drawn

(This article originally appeared on These Certain Musings in July 2012.)

This story troubles me greatly. It’s taken me awhile to pinpoint exactly–beyond the obvious–why. During this morning’s karate class, I think I figured it out. Now to see if I can articulate it. I’m using a bunch of newbie-author italics and bolds. Oh, well.

The decision made by the Readercon board says to me thatharassment happened, and that witnesses backed it up. It says the behavior was not acceptable–but it was exc...

Fights for Fiction, Self-Defense for Real Life: The Patreon Goes Live

It’s a day of, “Finally!” mixed with a bunch of “Already?” and an expected amount of “Gulp.”

Patreon is a new and exciting platform for me. It’s a bit like Kickstarter for on-going creative work, and gives me a chance to make the creative process into a community endeavor that invites readers to step into experience.

The individual rewards for mypatrons range from first-eyes access to all self-defense articles to receiving my feedback on your own fight scenes and becoming a character in an u...

So What Do We Tell the Children?

A word before the start: Y’all come here with your own religious and political beliefs, and I think that’s marvelous. I ask you to remember, should you bring up or respond to something religious or political here, you’re sitting in my living room with my guests, and I treat all my guests with equal respect in the expectation all my guests will do the same. :)

My son, age 5

My son was almost five years old on September 11, 2011. Among the gazillion concerns and fears of the ensuing days was a...

A Little Miscellany

Most of yesterday was spent attempting to hunt down my primary Breath of Stone file. According to my computer, no copy of the file exists post-October 30, which is… quite incorrect. It isn’t the only file missing. Yes, I’ve done searches. Yes, I’ve looked here, thither, and yon. I think there’s a copy on my most recent Carbonite backup (yesterday!), but — believe it or not — Carbonite was completely down. And my email/password isn’t working. I can see the file, but cannot retrieve it or check...

Self-defense and Fighting Articles — All Together Now!

By request, I’ve gathered up my fighting and self-defense related articles onto one link-y-filled page. The pageis also listed on the menu now for folks to find more easily.

It isn’t quite complete yet, so I’ll be adding and updating along the way. And, uncertain how wide a net I wanted to cast, I didn’t include everything that touched on any part of fighting, self-defense, and martial arts. So if your favorite post isn’t on the list, and you think it ought to be, please let me know!

#SFWApr...

Keeping Our Men Safe

After writing on camping-while-female, I wondered where to find statistics on the relative dangers of men who dared to venture outside the home. It looks like folks in Australia have collected some data on the matter. (The linked article includes links to source material as well.)

In short, the article points out that men who engage in risky behavior–leaving the home, attending an entertainment venue, things like that–are many times more likely to become victims of violent crime than women wh...

What Does Blair Bring to the Woods?

In my recent post on camping while female, I mentioned I bring weapons that are legal and that I’m trained to use.Out of curiosity, I asked what folks envisioned those weapons might be. Most of the answers involved firearms.

Before I say more: THIS IS NOT AN INVIATION, NOR AN EXTENSION OF PERMISSION, TO DISCUSS OR DEBATE GUN CONTROL AND RELATED TOPICS IN THIS SPACE. ANY COMMENTS THAT CROSS THE LINE—AND I DETERMINE THE LINE, DARLINGS—WILL BE DELETED.

Guns are the default, truly. When we hear a...

MileHiCon Is On the Horizon!

MileHiCon happens next weekend, and I am so looking forward to attending for the first time! Already the organizers have me feeling welcome to my new home-state convention. I’m so looking forward to sitting on a few panels, and sitting in on quite a few more.

Here’s my schedule thus far:

Friday, October 23

4:00 PM Inside Writing Workshops

I’ll be offering insights about Viable Paradise and Writers of the Future. Other panelists will discuss their experience with Clarion, Odyssey, and more. Co...

Reviewers On the SPFBO

So Fantasy Faction put up its consolidation of responses from reviewers taking part in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. It’s worth reading for the range of responses—from the majority who found good reads to the minority who seem to believe indie writers are arrogant little things who ought to buck up.

As of this moment, my comment is still in moderation,* but I’ve included it here:

Thank you for putting these answers together! It’s interesting to see the numbers–the majority–in line with...

All Alone and Safe

According to many people, I put myself in great danger last week. I took an irresponsible risk. I performed an act that, while totally stupid, required great bravery. I did something many others said that they’d like to do, but never would, because of the danger involved.

What did I do?

I—a 44-year-old-woman—camped in a state park without a human companion to share my tent.

Yes, the fun enjoyed by families and couples and (usually male) groups of friends—the outdoor activity that’s described...