2019-08-11 16:57
This week, there's no theme... beyond writers' rights. It's a smorgasbord!Victoria Strauss posts on Writer Beware about an alleged pirate site named for osculation.https://accrispin.blogspot… Read More
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A by-invitation group blog for busy authors of SFR, Futuristic, or Paranormal romances in which at least one protagonist is an alien, or of alien ancestry.
2019-08-08 12:00
The National Conference of State Legislatures publishes a magazine called (appropriately) the STATE LEGISLATURE MAGAZINE. Their July/August 2019 issue contains an article titled, "Is There a… Read More
2019-08-06 15:00
Targeting a ReadershipPart 15Why Readers Feel They Have Outgrown A GenrebyJacqueline LichtenbergPrevious parts in this series are indexed at:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/10/i… Read More
2019-08-04 18:23
If you are a writer (or a racing driver -- according to RUSH), it helps to have friends. But...Writers tend to have thousands of friends of the social media kind, who, in the real world woul… Read More
2019-08-01 12:00
3D printing is now being used as an aid to cardiac surgery. The printers don't yet make actual replacement hearts. What they do is use information from ultrasound images to construct three-d… Read More
2019-07-30 15:00
Targeting a ReadershipPart 14Readers Are A Moving Target(but so are you)byJacqueline LichtenbergPrevious posts in this series are indexed at:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/10/i… Read More
2019-07-28 16:27
Preamble: please be aware that Blogger places various types of cookies on any device that accesses Blogger blogs. By visiting this blog, you accept this fact of internet life.Authors and asp… Read More
2019-07-25 12:00
There's a podcast series called Extra Sci-Fi, produced by people who also create podcasts on Extra History and Extra Mythology. All these short (usually around 10 minutes) presentations are… Read More
2019-07-23 15:00
Theme-Plot IntegrationPart 18Stating Your ThemebyJacqueline LichtenbergPrevious entries in Theme-Plot Integration are indexed at:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/05/index-to-them… Read More
2019-07-21 03:30
I have a problem with drones.In December 2018, my holiday travel was disrupted by the Gatwick airport (London, England) drone scare, but long prior to that, when my offspring participated in… Read More
2019-07-18 12:00
Cory Doctorow's latest LOCUS column explores what "fake news," conspiracy theories, and hoaxes can reveal about our culture: Fake News Is an Oracle He begins by discussing the mistaken idea… Read More
2019-07-16 15:00
Business Model of Writers In A Changing WorldPart 4Patreon and Teaching Previous Parts in this serieshttps://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2013/01/business-model-of-writers-in-changin… Read More
2019-07-15 04:00
July 14-July 20 The 5 Book Kindle-only Omnibus is on sale, marked down from $3.25 to 99Cents then up a little. Individually, the books are 99c each. They are all free to rea… Read More
2019-07-13 22:47
Talking of legalities, this author would like to remind all visitors, especially those protected by vigilant European regulators, that this blog will drop cookies on your devices. When you r… Read More
2019-07-11 12:00
Recently, author Delilah Devlin hosted me on her blog, where I wrote about what to do with books and stories "orphaned" by the closing of a publisher: Rescuing Orphaned Works In re-releasing… Read More
2019-07-09 15:00
Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding Integration Part 13Historical VerisimilitudebyJacqueline Lichtenberg Previous parts in this advanced series are indexed at:https://aliendjin… Read More
2019-07-07 16:32
I once took a close up photograph of Fabio at the height of his cover model fame. I never used it or digitized it, but I thought about it, because, as the photographer, I owned t… Read More
2019-07-04 12:00
Happy Independence Day to our American readers! I sometimes involuntarily overhear snippets of podcasts by Ben Shapiro, a lawyer, columnist, and author on the political right. He impresses m… Read More
2019-07-02 15:00
How Do You Know If You've Written A ClassicPart 3Podcast Interview With Jacqueline LichtenbergPrevious parts in "How do you know if you've written a classic?" series are:Part 1 in this Serie… Read More
2019-06-30 16:19
Information is addictive, even when it is not particularly useful. Owners of brains seek it (information) as voraciously as a predator seeking prey.This is good to know for writers. The revi… Read More
2019-06-27 12:00
Speaking of burnout (last week), coincidentally the current issue of RWR, the magazine of the Romance Writers of America, contains an article by multicultural romance author LaQuette, rebutt… Read More
2019-06-25 15:00
Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding IntegrationPart 12The Character Driven PlotPrevious parts in this advanced series are indexed at:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2015/12/index-to-t… Read More
2019-06-23 16:11
One would have preferred a highbrow homage to "Sartor Resartus", but the go-to translation app does not check out, so one settles for alliteration.Two recent legal cases result in a righteou… Read More
2019-06-20 12:00
Kameron Hurley's essay in the latest issue of LOCUS focuses on burnout. This isn't the same as "writer's block" (which some authors maintain doesn't actually exist, as there is always an ide… Read More
2019-06-18 15:00
Reviews 46Police Family LovebyJacqueline LichtenbergReviews haven't been indexed (yet). In the entry, Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding Integration Part 11 - Arranging Marriages,https:… Read More
2019-06-16 03:02
Extrapolated from an alert on the Yahoogroup "AuthorsAgainstEBookTheft":For authors who were published by Mundania.com, it has something in common with the Monty Python parrot. It is no more… Read More
2019-06-13 12:00
The June 2019 issue of SMITHSONIAN magazine includes a long article on little-known aspects of the Apollo lunar exploration project. Unfortunately, the online publication is behind a paywall… Read More
2019-06-11 15:00
Theme-Plot-Character-Worldbuilding IntegrationPart 11Arranging MarriagesPrevious posts in this series for advanced writers on blending individual techniques so readers never notice you did a… Read More
2019-06-09 16:03
Assuming that the opposite of good faith is bad faith, the latter is this author's theme this time. This week's news in the legal blogosphere has been thin for copyright-related matter… Read More
2019-06-06 12:00
Sometimes it doesn't matter whether one has accurate beliefs about facts as long as one's beliefs have a correct or useful effect in practice. In one STAR TREK novel in which the crew brings… Read More
2019-06-04 15:00
Theme-Worldbuilding IntegrationPart 21The Couple's First Fight Previous entries indexed:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/04/index-to-theme-worldbuilding.htmlJust because you… Read More
2019-06-02 11:40
They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery... until they call it plagiarism or copyright infringement.And then, there are famous hairy features, attractive hairy features… Read More
2019-05-30 12:00
No, not the book of that name, which was the only reference that popped up on a full page of Google results. I first encountered this term in the section on "Disgust" in HOW THE MIND WORKS… Read More
2019-05-28 15:00
Theme-Worldbuilding IntegrationPart 20Why Love Matters Previous parts in Theme-Worldbuilding are indexed here:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2014/04/index-to-theme-worldbuildin… Read More
2019-05-26 11:55
Legal blogger Ally Tow, writing for Boyes Turner LLP, discusses a case of sudden death, and denied access to the deceased's albums stored with a secretive social media giant.https://www.lexo… Read More
2019-05-23 12:00
Cory Doctorow's latest column briefly surveys the history of antitrust enforcement, considers the effect on creative artists of the concentration of market share in a few mega-organizations… Read More
2019-05-21 15:00
Index to Soul Mates and the HEA Real or FantasybyJacqueline Lichtenberg Why don't people believe a Happily Ever After "ending" is possible in real life, and if it isn't possible to achi… Read More
2019-05-18 22:56
Just because Amazon has made a movie --about the infamous tossing (out of a car window) of a severed male member-- does not mean that any writer can write about such an event. That par… Read More
2019-05-16 12:00
A blog post by fantasy author Seanan McGuire on what genre is and is not, plus her own expectations for genre: Genre Is Not a Prison For one thing, it can be easier to tell what genre a part… Read More
2019-05-14 15:00
Soul Mates and the HEA Real or FantasyPart 6Love Vs. Romance Previous parts in the Soul Mates and the HEA series are:Part 1https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2016/03/sou… Read More
2019-05-12 22:11
EFF compares the unlawful practice of reproducing and distributing copyrighted works in violation of the lawful rights of copyright owners (copyright infringement) to bad driving (a civil tr… Read More
2019-05-09 12:00
I love a good "redeemed villain" story, but creating a good (i.e., plausible and emotionally engaging) one isn't easy. The chief villain of Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE IT, Duke Frederick, unde… Read More
2019-05-07 15:00
When Should You Give Up On A ManuscriptPart 6 Should You Ever Rewrite Your Previously Published NovelsbyJacqueline LichtenbergPrevious parts in this series indexed here:https://aliendji… Read More
2019-05-05 15:35
This is a call to action for authors, and friends of authors.The C.A.S.E. bill has been reintroduced in the new Congress. The EFF doesn't like that... so perhaps you should like it.C.A.S.E… Read More
2019-05-02 12:00
One of my favorite authors, C. S. Lewis, published many books of essays over the long span of his career. A few of the early volumes have been allowed to go out of print. Aside from fabulous… Read More
2019-04-30 15:00
IndextoWhen Should You Give Up On A Manuscript? byJacqueline LichtenbergShould you rewrite endlessly? Should you scrap work just because it didn't turn out very well? Should you stop t… Read More
2019-04-28 03:16
This opinion piece is not about a miscarriage of justice in the dunes, but about the destructive power of repetition of a particular word: "deserve". A purveyor of a skin care regimen says t… Read More
2019-04-25 12:00
I recently watched the movie THE GREEN BOOK, about a famous black concert pianist in the early 1960s who hires an Italian-American as a driver and general assistant for a tour of the Midwest… Read More
2019-04-23 15:00
Theme-Story IntegrationPart 3Sexy VillainsbyJacqueline LichtenbergPrevious Parts in Theme-Story Integration: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/04/theme-story-integration-part… Read More
2019-04-21 11:53
In the USA, the Persuasive Litigator blog offers advice on seven ways to improve storytelling in front of the jury in the courtroom.https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=57847ac6-45… Read More
2019-04-18 12:00
Kameron Hurley's column for the April issue of LOCUS explains how her writing has recently shifted from a pessimistic to an optimistic view of human possibilities. She decided "being grim an… Read More
2019-04-16 15:00
Theme-Story IntegrationPart 2Villain Into HerobyJacqueline Lichtenberg Part 1 is here:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/04/theme-story-integration-part-1-villain.htmlWe are d… Read More
2019-04-13 22:52
World IP Week is April 22nd - 26th.World IP Day is April 26th.Among the events is a workshop with the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) who do pro bono work for creators. Don't miss… Read More
2019-04-09 15:00
Theme-Story IntegrationPart 1Villain Story ArcbyJacqueline Lichtenberg This is the opening of a new "walk and chew gum" exercise.We have "integrated" various combinations of (artificial… Read More
2019-04-07 11:54
....PASSWORD worse, and in case you were wondering, DR0W55@P is not much better.The most interesting legal blog this week came from Linn F. Freedman writing for the law firm Robinson and Col… Read More
2019-04-04 12:00
I'm thrilled that my nonfiction book DIFFERENT BLOOD: THE VAMPIRE AS ALIEN is back on the market at last. It's been re-released by a new publisher with some updating and a fantastic new cove… Read More
2019-04-02 15:00
How to use Tarot and Astrology in Science FictionPart 5The Story of A Life Previous entries in this series:Tarot:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/10/index-to-posts-abo… Read More
2019-03-31 03:54
This week, this writer noticed that at least two legal blogs are warning about Memes.For the purpose of this discussion, a meme is an image or short clip of video, to which a caption is adde… Read More
2019-03-28 12:00
Cory Doctorow's latest column explores the doctrine of "terra nullius" (nobody's land), which he traces back to John Locke's 1660 work TWO TREATISES OF GOVERNMENT: Terra Nullius Under this t… Read More
2019-03-26 15:00
Dark MatterTV SeriesJust a quick heads-up about an old bit of entertainment making the streaming rounds.Before they disappear it forever, do watch some of the episodes of Dark Matter.Just a… Read More
2019-03-24 16:53
Your privacy is my problem. It is your problem.Disclaimer: the authors who share this blog do not knowingly or intentionally exploit other peoples' data. We do not accept paid advertisements… Read More
2019-03-19 15:00
Theme-Conflict IntegrationPart 6A Character Under InfluencebyJacqueline LichtenbergPrevious parts in this Theme-Conflict Integration Series are Indexed at:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot… Read More
2019-03-16 21:20
On March 12th, Eric Carter for NBC News revealed that IBM, and possibly others, are scraping social media sites for faces... to help Watson (presumably) to get really good at recognizing tho… Read More
2019-03-12 15:00
Worldbuilding From RealityPart 8 Flamewars Over The Double SpacebyJacqueline LichtenbergPrevious posts in the series Worldbuilding From Reality are indexed here:https://aliendjinnromanc… Read More
2019-03-10 04:32
The Supreme Court has spoken with unanimity. If a copyright owner wishes to sue, they must first have the copyright of the work registered with the Copyright Office.Additionally, if a copyri… Read More
2019-03-07 13:00
Do you watch THE ORVILLE? Now that I've caught up with all the episodes to date, I'm still not sure how successful it is at what it tries to do. It begins as an affectionate parody of STAR T… Read More
2019-03-05 16:00
Theme-Worldbuilding IntegrationA Stitch In TimebyJacqueline LichtenbergPrevious posts in the Theme-Worldbuilding Integration Series are indexed here:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2… Read More
2019-03-02 23:08
Every author wants 5-Star reviews, on Amazon, on EBay, and elsewhere. Amazon tries to remove reviews that it deems to be fake (often in the process unfairly removing legitimate reviews), and… Read More
2019-02-28 13:00
In the March-April 2019 issue of FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, an article by Jerry Oltion discusses what effect the confirmed discovery of extraterrestrial life would have on the people of Ea… Read More
2019-02-26 16:00
What Exactly Is EditingPart VIIINon-human Words Previous parts of the series on what Editing is and why it is done at all, why Editors seem to be (but aren't) "gatekeepers" preventing g… Read More
2019-02-24 23:12
Blogging friends, if you plan to travel, and it is a stormy time of year, pre-write that blog and schedule it. That way, even if there are internet and other connectivity outages, you will n… Read More
2019-02-21 13:00
I recently read an article about college students confined to their homes by medical issues (e.g., a pregnant woman on enforced bed rest) "attending" classes by means of telepresence robots… Read More
2019-02-19 16:00
Index To What Exactly Is EditingThis is the Index to the series of posts by Jacqueline Lichtenberg explaining to writers what the world looks like from the editor's chair. Learn what t… Read More
2019-02-17 19:30
The copyright of a photograph belongs to the photographer.Photographed persons have the right of publicity (which means that their images are not free for advertisers to use to promote servi… Read More
2019-02-14 13:00
Fantasy author Theodora Goss has just released a new collection of stories and poems that retell and reflect on fairy tales, SNOW WHITE LEARNS WITCHCRAFT (with an introduction by Jane Yolen)… Read More
2019-02-12 16:00
Theme-Character Integration Part 16Building a Hero Character From ThemebyJacqueline LichtenbergPrevious Parts in the discussion of skills necessary for integrating Theme and Character into o… Read More
2019-02-10 20:24
Why would you spend your own money to purchase and install a listening device in your home that the government can use against you, and that you cannot turn off?If you are an author, and you… Read More
2019-02-07 13:00
Do you follow THE ORVILLE? This TV series begins as an affectionate parody of STAR TREK (even the uniforms look similar) but—as far as I can tell from reading about it and watching the… Read More
2019-02-05 16:00
Reviews 46The Private Eye Genre Progresses Reviews have not been indexed, but you may find most of these posts by searching this blog for keyword Review.In Reviews 45, we looked at the… Read More
2019-02-03 16:41
In a recent article for vox dot com, Constance Grady wrote that, "In book publishing, the onus for fact-checking is on the author. That creates problems."https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/1/1… Read More
2019-01-31 13:00
If you're looking for unusual, non-European creatures to use as fictional characters, check out the yokai of Japan. This word, often translated "demon," is a broad term covering all sorts of… Read More
2019-01-29 16:00
Reviews 45Military Science Fiction and Mystery GenrebyJacqueline LichtenbergReviews have not been indexed yet, but I talk about many books within the general writing craft discussions, examp… Read More
2019-01-27 12:44
Everyone who seems to matter decries fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas. nuclear), but not a lot of mention is made of what is used to generate the electricity that powers those clean electric c… Read More
2019-01-24 13:00
If you stepped through a portal into a magical realm and had to choose whether to stay there permanently or live permanently in this world with no chance of revisiting the other one, what wo… Read More
2019-01-22 16:00
How To Use Tarot And Astrology In Science FictionPart 4Explore Solutions New To Reader The previous entries in this series are:Tarot:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/10/inde… Read More
2019-01-20 17:15
"CDL" is an acronym for "Controlled Digital Lending", and the trouble with CDL is, it is controlled and run by persons who have absolutely no right to copy, publish, or distribute copyrighte… Read More
2019-01-17 13:00
One of my Christmas presents was a clever little item called the Writer Emergency Pack. It's a deck of cards with prompts to help a stuck fiction writer get unstuck. The pack includes brief… Read More
2019-01-15 16:00
Copyright, DRM, and Phone Repair Back in October, 2018, things changed that most people didn't know needed changing.Changes like this one are the substance of science fiction futur… Read More
2019-01-13 04:30
Let's dive straight into the gutter. Can you call your clothing and lifestyle "FUCT" (for trademark purposes)? For that matter, is it decent to name your restaurant "PHO KEENE"? Could… Read More
2019-01-10 13:00
More new developments in household robotics: Are Domestic Robots the Way of the Future? One problem foregrounded by this article is people's expectation for robots to look humanoid, versus t… Read More
2019-01-08 16:00
Reviews 44MarkedbyBenedict JackaIn the How To Use Tarot And Astrology In Science Fiction series, Part 3https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2019/01/how-to-use-tarot-and-astrology-in.htmlw… Read More
2019-01-06 04:24
Pundits on news and opinion networks seem particularly fond of analysing the body language of British royal family members, and of Prime Minister Theresa May as she shakes hands or has her f… Read More
2019-01-03 13:00
Happy New Year! Do you eat black-eyed peas for luck on New Year's Day? Although my grandmother, who grew up in rural North Carolina, often cooked black-eyed peas, she never mentioned this tr… Read More
2019-01-01 16:00
How To Use Tarot And Astrology In Science FictionPart 3Suspend Reader Disbelief Previous posts in this discussion:Tarot:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/10/index-to-posts-ab… Read More
2018-12-30 12:42
Would you permanently affix someone else's copyrighted intellectual property onto your body, so that you might have to pay that copyright owner royalties every time you exposed their p… Read More
2018-12-27 13:00
When is Christmas not Christmas? When its equivalent appears under another name in a holiday episode of a TV series or movie franchise. TV Tropes has a page on this phenomenon: You Mean Xmas… Read More
2018-12-25 16:00
How To Use Tarot & Astrology In Science FictionPart 2Now SpeculatePart 1 is found at:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2018/12/how-to-use-tarot-and-astrology-in.htmlIn Part 1… Read More
2018-12-23 13:32
A copyright owner has the exclusive right to publish, reproduce, and distribute her work. This applies to music files, and to ebooks.Fair use is, apparently, a rule that was created by a jud… Read More
2018-12-20 13:00
The TV Tropes site has a page called "Acceptable Breaks from Reality," about the "unrealistic" things regularly allowed to happen in fiction and film in order to move the story along, even t… Read More
2018-12-18 16:00
How To Use Tarot & Astrology In Science FictionPart 1Real History Tarot and Astrology Just For Writers are indexed here:Tarot:https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2017/10/index-t… Read More
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