By G. S. Norwood Male authors, including Edgar Allen Poe, Wilkie Collins, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, were pioneers in crime fiction—a genre which arose in the mid to late 1800s. Even Charles Dickens tried his hand, with his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. But, from femmes fatales to the distraught daughters of the landed gentry, there has usually been a mystery woman at the heart of any crime novel. And it wasn’t long before women began to…
I really love going to readings at science fiction conventions. There’s always a new story, something interesting, and a chance to talk with the authors one-on-one. As I did at SoonerCon in June, I went to lots of readings at FenCon XVI. And, as usual, I discovered some real delights. I caught four Friday readings at FenCon XVI. All were delightful, but I was having a terrible time with my access to Facebook and Twitter. In the process, I lost some of the…
The Artdog Image(s) of Interest I displayed my artwork at FenCon XVI. You might remember I mentioned that in my mid-week post. I spent a large chunk of time Thursday on the FenCon XVI Art Show. That was “setup day,” when the tables and display panels went up, and then the first of the art (the mail-ins and the work of artists able to arrive today) did, too. As much as possible, all the rest of the art went up Friday, preferably before the Art Show opened to the…
This evening begins the holy festival of Eid-al-Adha for our Muslim friends. From what I’ve been able to learn, an appropriate greeting is “May the divine blessings of Allah bring you hope, faith, and joy on Eid al-Adha and forever.” I’m trying to stay current with holiday greetings for major religions throughout this year, instead of only thinking about holidays in December! This festival changes dates, based on a lunar calendar, but if I got this right, it runs from this evening through Wednesday…
The Artdog Quote of the Week Women’s Equality Day inspired my Quotes of the Week this month. This year the day itself happens to fall on a Monday (when I try to make sure my Quotes of the Week go live). So that worked out well. I went looking for appropriate quotes for the rest of the Mondays. That’s when I found this little gem from Letty Cottin Pogrebin. She’s the writer and social activist who founded Ms. Magazine (full confession: Ms.was massively influential in my early life). This is one of those quotes that makes…
Authors, Reading–Part Two Last week I posted about several authors whose readings I attended and enjoyed at SoonerCon 28. But wait! There are more! I hope you enjoy this series of posts. Wherever I could, I’ve linked the authors’ names to their websites and/or books, so you can learn more about any who interest you. I have one more “Authors, Reading” collection to share next week. I hope you’re enjoying this series. IMAGE CREDITS Many thanks to SoonerCon 28, and artist Matt Frank, for…
Ty and I made it to Chicago between storms, and then again home from Chicago, between storms. We lucked out massively, and for that I’m intensely grateful. Better yet, Capricon 39 made it WORTH dodging storms in Chicago in February. Con Chair D’Andre Williams and his concom outdid themselves, and for that I’m also intensely grateful. It was a full-range sf convention, featuring an Art Show, gaming, special events, panels, a large, well-stocked dealers’ room, and a fine range of excellent parties, including a bunch of them on Thursday night of the con. Capricon cultivates its evening parties, and the results…
The Artdog Image of Interest The best way I know to activate one’s creativity is to actually do an art. You don’t have to actually be good or “go professional” to enjoy performing or making things. Did you take arts classes in school? What interested you the most? Have you attended a live performance or art show in the past 12 months? Taken classes? Participated by doing? What art forms are a regular part of your life today? IMAGE: Many thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts, for the infographic on the ways that Americans participate in the arts.
The Artdog Quote of the Week Yesterday was Human Rights Day, when this post was originally supposed to go live (many apologies!). But human rights are important every day. My theme for the December Quotes is homelessness. I think this excerpt from the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, ratified 70 years ago in 1948, is fittingly consistent with that theme. IMAGE: I created today’s image. The background photo is one I took last September in Dallas, TX; the words, as credited, are from the United Nations Universal…
How “worldly” is your reading? This post started as a panel at Westercon 71/ Myths and Legends Con 6. It was presented on Saturday, July 7, 2018, by panelists Olivia Wylie, Stant Litore, and Amalie Howard. From L-R: Amalie Howard, Stant Litore, and Olivia Wylie at their Saturday Westercon/MALCon panel. They discussed the lively and fascinating world literary scene, and the diverse literary works that are becoming more and more widely available in English. During the panel, Wylie announced that she was compiling a list of the books, stories, and resources mentioned during the panel discussion. She…