Mona is home. She is recovering well. Her main issue right now is the hygienic shave that the vet gave her. Mona can't scratch her butt and she is not happy with that. All of us are very happy she is still with us. Many thanks to the Austin Vet ER Noctis, the other furry member of
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The Remarkable Life of Judy-Lynn Del Rey
Do you know why Del Rey imprint is named Del Rey? It's an interesting story. On May 25, 1977 Star Wars was released and altered the cultural landscape forever. It flung the doors and revealed a glittering cosmos, and suddenly science fiction wasn't just a little genre hiding in a corner. Don't
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The Moment Everything Changed: Part 2
Jeaniene Frost I wanted to be a writer since I was eleven. I began with poetry, and moved onto novels around age thirteen, but I could never stick with an idea long enough to finish an entire book. My first inkling that I had talent was my senior year in high school, when a friend asked me to
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The Moment Everything Changed: Part 1
Every writer has a moment when the world shifted. For me, it happened when I was 14 years old. Once the Iron Curtain fell, Russia was flooded with bootleg translations. I had plenty of exposure to hard science fiction, but what I got after Perestroika was fantasy, sword and sorcery, sword and
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Entomologist/Biologist
Thank you, expert found! Dear BDH, I'm looking for an insect expert for some brainstorming regarding research for the book involving imaginary oversized insect monsters. If you are reading this and happen to be an entomologist who doesn't mind answering a few questions, please email me at
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Characters: Stories and Descriptions
You do such a wonderful job describing people so that we can almost visually see them, the little details that just make a person come alive in our imaginations. How do you keep from everyone blending together? Do you search for images? Do you just imagine that person? Do you
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Trad Publishing: Editing and Production Glossary
I heavily debated posting this. I might still take it down, because I've long ago decided that the internet doesn't need my "wisdom." Also, I am bitter and jaded. However, we keep getting repeated questions and there is some weird erroneous stuff floating out there. With that caveat, here is the
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Bake on, Bake off
I'm happy to report that Ilona made it home yesterday in one piece and will be back to give us a full update and more good news after some well-deserved rest. We’re staying in the realm of food today, but moving on to more sensitive matters. The kind that can divide nations, friendships, and
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Explain the Plot Badly
It’s Monday! Before you boo, we’re ushering in a week when classic museum heists are back on the news, the clocks are about to turn back, and it’s hard to focus pocus on anything but tricks and treats. The immortal Texan wereferret hedgehog diaspora fun in Friday's comment section have once again
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The Two Sides of the Reading Coin
Thank you for all the blog prompts. I wanted to answer this one sent to us by an aspiring author: Since I started writing, I hate everything I read. Reading used to be an escape. It makes me feel like I’ve lost a part of myself. I think I've talked about it before, but coincidentally, Grace
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Special Edition FAQ
When Mod R sent over the list of questions, my first instinct was to dismiss it, but then I realized that she is going to spend a long time posting individual replies and that time needs to be spent elsewhere. So let's talk about the special editions. What is a special edition? A special,
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Kindle Unlimited and Libraries
Amazon lifted KU exclusivity for libraries. More information in this article from New Shelves. My question is to the librarians among us. Will your libraries be taking advantage of this feature? Is this something useful or will this have no bearing on your library collections?
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