Steven R. Southard's Blog, page 2
August 8, 2025
Author Interview—Amanda Russell
Words can heal, and inspire others. Today let’s meet a writer who crafted poems to help her through a terrible experience, and whose words might lift you from a bad place, or just help you understand life through her insights. I met Amanda Russell at an Afternoon with Authors event at a local bookstore. In her responses to my questions, you’ll learn about travel, grief, book covers, gardening, and more. Here’s her bio:
BioAmanda Russell is an editor for The Comstock Review and webmaste...
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August 3, 2025
Music of the Seasteading World
What comes after Rock? In my book The Seastead Chronicles, you’ll find a story about the next sound, the coming musical wave.
The world of The Seastead Chronicles shows much of humanity abandoning the land to live in cities on and under the sea. That new environment shapes them and gives rise to new art, new jargon, a new religion. And new music.
LiquisicThey call it liquid music, or liquisic. I introduce it in my story, “Deep Currents.” Like rock, liquisic employs syncopation. Unl...
July 28, 2025
Author Interview—Rob Jolles
Change of pace today. Most often, I interview fiction authors. Today’s guest has done everything but write fiction. Rob Jolles coaches speaking and writing. He’s written several nonfiction books and hundreds of blogposts he calls “Blarticles®.” He hosts podcasts and was kind enough to interview me on his “A Book Finds You” podcast.
Here’s his bio:
Rob JollesA sought-after speaker and five-time Bestselling author, Rob Jolles has spent over three decades traveling close to 3 million miles...
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July 27, 2025
Seasteads—Not Just for Billionaires or Libertarians
Search on the internet for “seasteads” and you’ll soon see mentions of billionaires and libertarians. Why is that? Are seasteads only for people in those small groups? Let’s explore the question.
Billionaires
Propeller Island
, by Jules VerneI believe billionaires get mentioned with seasteads for two reasons: (1) Seasteads cost much more to build than houses on land, and (2) Billionaires often chafe at paying high taxes in their home country and long to escape to a low-tax country, of wh...
July 13, 2025
Author Interview—Fabiana Elisa Martínez
Today I interview an author who writes first drafts like nobody else. Read further to hear about her unique process. I met Fabiana Elisa Martínez at an Afternoon with Authors event at a local bookstore. A polyglot, she doubted her writing abilities at first, but started with one-word prompts and crafted stories that have won numerous awards. Here’s her bio:
Fabiana Elisa MartínezBioFabiana was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She graduated from UCA University in Buenos Aires...
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The Other Ink—Tattoos in Fiction
Do one or more tattoos adorn your skin? About a third of Americans can say yes. How many tattooed fictional characters can you name? Today, I’ll discuss the use of tattoos in fiction, and mention how and where I’ve used tattoos in my own writing.
Examples
I remembered only two tattooed characters in the books I’ve read. Queequeg, in Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, bore tattoos of mystical symbols theorizing about heaven and earth.
July 6, 2025
How do the Two Chronicles Compare?
Seventy-five years ago, Doubleday published Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (TMC). One month ago, Pole to Pole Publishing released my book, The Seastead Chronicles (TSC). A comparison of similarities and differences follow.
Similarities
Both books (1) contain the word “Chronicles” in their titles, (2) concern colonization, (3) belong in the science fiction genre, and (4) could be classified as fix-ups. I’m hard pressed to think of more similarities. On to the differences.
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