Jason had another client we'd met... Chapter 17: Laughing Assassin I really don't like this one. I'd done plenty of work for the police, and other people. I may not have been very old, but I'd already done everything from enhance photos and research prior art on patents to, well, finding out that vampires were real. Sometimes you get feelings about things, and right now, I had a very strong, very bad feeling about the job I was doing for Xavier Ross. Not that I felt there was anything wrong [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 12
June 30, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Another completely new chapter! Chapter 12: Mystery of a Brother "Sure, Syl – I'd love to go out tomorrow. You want a movie or something else?" "How about Sabers of Twilight? I've heard that one's a lot of fun and just up your alley, Jason." I grinned into the phone. "Because of the pretty girls in interesting costumes? Sounds fine. Odd how you don't mention the pretty boys in tight leather outfits." "I didn't say it wasn't up my alley too," she said with a laugh. "All right, after we [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 8
June 16, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Jason had concluded one adventure. Now we move on -- and hit the first completely new chapter in the book! Part II: Lawyers, Ghouls, and Mummies May, 1999 Chapter 8: New Client, Closed Case For some reason, Syl's words echoed back to me at odd hours in the next few weeks. I did find myself glancing at shadows out of the corner of my eye more often, looking at mist-fogged streets with a different perception, but for quite a while nothing of any note happened. The only real reminder of the strangeness in my [ Continue reading... ]
What is an Editor Good For?
February 21, 2014 By Leave a Comment
A lot of people who are not published authors don't have a clear idea of exactly what an editor does, or why they're needed by an author. In addition, there's a lot of stories out there about horrible things editors do or have done to people and their stories. This is becoming a VASTLY more important issue because so many people are going the self-published route and really, honestly don't understand why they might need an editor at all. I want to talk about my own experiences and views of editing, garnered over the [ Continue reading... ]
Just For Fun: The Annotated Evil Overlord Part 5
November 18, 2013 By 2 Comments
Herewith is the final part of the dissection of the Evil Overlord list. Back to more "regular" columns later this week! For convenience, I'm including our panel listing in each post. Our Expert Panel We have assembled for this special conference several fine villains who have wreaked havoc throughout the known multiverse. Let's meet them: Virigar. King of the Great Werewolves and progenitor of the species, Virigar is the most-feared monster on all of Zarathan. A soul-eating, nearly indestructible being, Virigar's [ Continue reading... ]
Just For Fun: The Annotated Evil Overlord, Part 4
November 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Almost to the end. Part Five is the final section! For convenience, I'm including our panel listing in each post. Our Expert Panel We have assembled for this special conference several fine villains who have wreaked havoc throughout the known multiverse. Let's meet them: Virigar. King of the Great Werewolves and progenitor of the species, Virigar is the most-feared monster on all of Zarathan. A soul-eating, nearly indestructible being, Virigar's age is unknown, his full powers a mystery. He has killed gods and demons and [ Continue reading... ]
Just For Fun: The Annotated Evil Overlord, part 3
November 11, 2013 By 9 Comments
For convenience, I'm including our panel listing in each post. Our Expert Panel We have assembled for this special conference several fine villains who have wreaked havoc throughout the known multiverse. Let's meet them: Virigar. King of the Great Werewolves and progenitor of the species, Virigar is the most-feared monster on all of Zarathan. A soul-eating, nearly indestructible being, Virigar's age is unknown, his full powers a mystery. He has killed gods and demons and men, shrugged off or consumed spells and energy weapons, and [ Continue reading... ]
Just For Fun: The Annotated Evil Overlord, Part 2
November 8, 2013 By 7 Comments
For convenience, I'm including our panel listing in each post. Our Expert Panel We have assembled for this special conference several fine villains who have wreaked havoc throughout the known multiverse. Let's meet them: Virigar. King of the Great Werewolves and progenitor of the species, Virigar is the most-feared monster on all of Zarathan. A soul-eating, nearly indestructible being, Virigar's age is unknown, his full powers a mystery. He has killed gods and demons and men, shrugged off or consumed spells and energy weapons, and survived [ Continue reading... ]
Just for Fun: The Annotated Evil Overlord, Part 1
November 6, 2013 By 11 Comments
Back in the days when Usenet was the largest discussion forum on the Net, there was a discussion of all the things that an EFFECTIVE Evil Overlord had to do -- and NOT do -- that were often overlooked, or directly worked AGAINST, in many works of fiction. It became a thread of discussion titled "If I Am Ever the Evil Overlord...", and various people (including myself) contributed to it as it grew. Eventually it (and its successors/companion pieces such as If I Am Ever the Hero, If I Am Ever the Sidekick, etc.) was gathered together and [ Continue reading... ]
Magic, Crime, and Punishment Part Three: Fit to be Tried
May 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Fit to be Tried "Pardon my saying so, Majesty… but there appears to be a distinct lack of prisoners in your cell." -- Poplock Duckweed in Phoenix Rising Okay, now let's say you managed to catch (rather than kill in a desperate battle) that criminal. What do you do with him? If the fantasy world has an advanced judgment system, you'll have to give him a trial. If not, you may have to bring him in for execution, or put him in a dungeon until the King or Tribunal or whatever decides his punishment, but in any case, you've [ Continue reading... ]
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