S. Boyd Taylor's Blog, page 6

Just ran into this one:

http://soireb.blogspot.com/2012/01/teddy-bears-and-tea-parties-spoilers.html (spoilers in the review, warning!)

My favorite (non spoilery) quote from the review is this:

“I’m hoping that the author publishes a sequel or at least another book set in the same universe to try to get a better sense of world itself.”

Well, if they want to read another story in that universe, they must have liked it a little, right? That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I am currently in the process of making some revisions to the East Texas novel. The changes that were suggested to me are all pretty good, and I think I can handle them, but I’m doing one other major edit that wasn’t asked for:

I’m killing Cousin Darrell.

Okay, so I’m not killing him, really — he’s already dead by the end of the novel.

One of the edits I know is a problem, but I don’t know how to fix it. A couple of them I’m not sure really are problems The other’s are fair enough, but will req...

In case you’ve been down a hole with a white rabbit somewhere, my short story, “Our Vast and Inevitable Death” is up at Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, here (you can read a sample for free).

http://sideshowfreaks.blogspot.com/20...

AND NOW my non fiction article, “On the Writing of ‘Our Vast and Inevitable Death”, which describes all the various influences that went into the story (and is almost as long as the piece itself! Is up on the...

I have not been writing. Instead, I have been "researching" wuxia fiction and TV shows for the past several weeks — that's my official excuse.

I've always wanted to write a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon style story — possibly a whole epic fantasy trilogy — and, for some reason, I decided to start researching it now.

That said, I still have not finished the Dark Sequel. Instead, I've been watching a Wuxia TV series. Bad me! I know! But now that series is done, and I have my life back — I...

Monty Python Speaks! by David Morgan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How satisfied you are in reading books about the history of Monty Python will be reflected in which order you read them in — most of them regurgitate the same quotes over and over, with just a little bit more spin.

This is the first of several history of Python books that I finished, and, most of the information being new, I enjoyed it. If you've listened to the Python Autobiography or read some of the other books a...

American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story by Cynthia True

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been playing around with stand-up comedy for a VERY short period of time, and one of the first things I ran into is this — if I did a bit on religion or politics or advertising, I'd be told, "Bill Hicks did something similar, cut it."

And, yes, Bill Hicks has done just about everything. If you want to learn about the origins of political satire here in America, it all goes back, almost in a...

I will be a panelist at ConDFW XI, February 17-19, 2012 at the Crowne Plaza Suites in Dallas, TX, right next to 635 and 75.

Exciting thing is: Guests of Honor are Cheri Priest and William Stout!
…That, and I get to see all my writing buddies, too.
Per their website:
"ConDFW is a literary science fiction and fantasy convention featuring writing- and publishing-focused programming, science programming, excellent guests, art show, charity book swap, short story contest, and a slew of...

Trifectas are a little bit different these days — I have MORE hobbies, not fewer, and a lot of different things draining on my time. And through it all, I still absolutely MUST find time for the family.

So… With all that said, let me introduce you to a new trifecta:

1) Standup Comedy

Standup Comedy for 4 hours, did a little networking, but I could've done better. I missed a great opportunity to hobnob with the veteran comedian that — in all likelihood — is about to go pro. But I really needed t...

The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Continuing with the Sabina Kane series, Jaye Wells starts this book out with a bang — and a HUGE one. This book takes off a fast clip and just keeps going. Like I always say, if you're looking for Vampires+Action, Wells should be your first stop.

Sabina Kane, half-vampire half-mage, has to come to terms with the magic-wielding side of her bloodline and the self-destructive streak inside her. There is more focus here on ...

Revolution World by Katy Stauber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Texas revolutions, fire-breathing cows, ninja pomeranians, Canadian vampires, and terrorist plots — this book has something for everyone! Stauber is out there pushing the envelope, welding outrageous concepts together until you have something new, something fresh — a tilting, juddering steel rollercoaster of a novel.

The core of the novel is an unexpected romance, but everything from gene manipulation to totalitarian g...