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Opinion: More Fuel for the Recent Baenfire

In the couple of days since I first spoke about the furor evoked by Jason Sanford’s criticism of a specific subforum of Baen’s Bar, the discussion boards sponsored by Baen Books, for encouraging armed insurrection and white supremacy, a good bit has happened*.

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Opinion: On Baen Books, Moderating Discussion Boards, & Political Expression

A few days ago writer Jason Sanford published an investigative report into what was happening on the discussion boards known as “Baen’s Bar,” run by the fantasy and science fiction publisher Baen Books, specifically in its Politics group, where people were posting in support of the Jan 6 coup attempt and suggesting ways it could be better organized and executed. Baen, as well as some authors, replied. Others replied to them. Now I’m weighing in too.

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Fiction Reading: Acquainted with the Night

Trigger warning: child murder, violence
This is an early superhero fiction story of mine that originally appeared in Corrupts Absolutely?, edited by Lincoln Crisler.

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Fiction Reading: The Coffeemaker's Passion

This short story about a woman and her appliance was originally published in Bull Spec.

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Fiction Reading: An Appetite for Love

This piece of flash fiction originally appeared in Sybil’s Garage Issue Five.

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Useful Gifts for Writers: The 10% Solution by Ken Rand

This is the most useful book on writing I have ever found, and it’s the only one I will actually buy to give to people. I ended up writing the introduction to the 10th anniversary edition, because I know the publisher and, well, I’ll let that introduction tell its own story. The “Patrick” referred to in it is Patrick Swenson, the publisher who owns Fairwood Press.

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Useful Gifts for Writers: Various Kinds of Notebooks

Buying a notebook for a writer? There’s so many to pick from, and you can opt for the one that best suits your recipient’s writerly type.

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Useful Gifts for Writers: Bookplates

With 2020’s vicissitudes, I haven’t been doing any book signings this year. I suspect 2021 will be much the same, which is one reason I’m getting book plates made for some of those upcoming books: one for the Tabat books, one for Carpe Glitter, and a very cool “Cat Rambo” one that combines some of the motifs and symbols important to me. In the meantime, I’ve picked up some simple bookplates to use.

Want to give one of my books to someone and include a special touch? Drop me an e-mail telling me who you want the bookplate made to, and which book you’re planning on putting it in, and I’ll put a signed bookplate in the mail to you. Or want it signed to you for one of the books you already have or are planning to acquire? I’m happy to do that too.

Want your own bookplates? I got mine through Bookplate Inc. I got some extra to stick in books I occasionally loan out; that way they may come back to me. I’m still trying to remember who I gave my collection of Zenna Henderson stories to.

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Vacationing, plus Reinvented Heart Update

Mentioned this on Patreon yesterday and putting it here now. I’m taking November 2 through the 15th off and going to chillax and recuperate a bit. I’ve got that section of time blocked off in my schedule with big letters that say “DO NOT SCHEDULE” and I’ve managed (for the most part) to avoid doing so.

Here’s the anthology update so you don’t have to wade through the rest for it. Yes, the anthology is still happening, but right now I’m working to get it handed off to someone else who has more bandwidth (and organizational skills) but everything should go as planned. But I am gently easing much of it off my plate.

Why? Because I’m tired. So tired. Between teaching and Zoom sessions I haven’t had a single day where I wasn’t working in one form or another in recent months. I’ve been keeping on keeping on unrelentingly since the beginning of 2020 and I need to spend two weeks recharging after 10 months of staying cheerful and finishing two books and a bunch of stories in the face of the pandemic, dealing with the death of two close loved ones, an attempt to move to Portland that fell through, a lot of ongoing online harassment, and the general state of American politics.

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Chez Rambo in the Time of the Pandemic, mid-July Check-in

Wow, it’s been a long time since I last checked in. By now, pandemic existence seems somewhat normal. We have masks, plastic gloves, and sanitizer by the doorway; we’ve been out for fast food maybe once a month and felt quite daring about it. The move to Portland is on hiatus for now as we wait to see how the world shakes out.

I have a StoryBundle up today, focused on glitter and hope! Please check it out and spread the word.

Writing-wise:

  • I’m wrapping up the final edit of Exiles of Tabat and am on track to hand that in to the publisher on July 31.
  • After that I’ll spend August working with Devil’s Gun and getting ready to hand that in at the end of the month.
  • I’m up to installment 12 of serial novella Baby Driver, have found a publisher for it, and am also working on a comics script, while thinking about eventually funding that via Kickstarter as a comic book series.
  • Forthcoming stories include “I Decline” in Daily Science Fiction and “Crazy Beautiful” in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, as well as a story I co-wrote with my spouse in issue three of Dark Matter Magazine, “Stand and Deliver.” Anthology publications include “Snowflakes” in The Last Cities of Earth.
  • I’m one of the three writers behind And the Last Trump Shall Sound, which appears in August, and I’m beyond the moon at the chance to work with James Morrow and Harry Turtledove. Thank you to David Boop for acting as our development editor.
  • Also in the pipeline: an awesome space western collaboration; the final Tabat book, Gods of Tabat; book three of the space opera series, tentatively titled Flower Power; a 3/4s-written novella I’ve been tinkering with; at least three other novellas I would like to be tinkering; and a literary horror novel.

Other Non-Writing Stuff:

  • I have an anthology project in the works and am establishing some of its structure. Stay posted for announcements and slush reader calls.
  • I’m also thinking about a game module set in Tabat after having listened to Monica Valentinelli talking about adapting novels into games in her class last weekend.
  • Continuing to build my Patreon, which is currently at 241 patrons (!), who are getting fiction, snippets, Zoom events, co-writing, chat server access, and free/discounted Rambo Academy classes.
  • Finishing up the on-demand version of Writing Your Way Into Your Novel. There’s some other cool on-demand classes in the works from Evan J. Peterson and Jamie Lackey, along with others!
  • I started some little bonsai trees and have named two of them, Groot and Augustus.
  • Continuing to sous-vide all the things. Recently have been making homemade sandwich bread as well as my own butter. One recent success: garlic chili oil

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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."

~K. Richardson
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