Melinda Snodgrass - Science Fiction Author - Busted Flush - Edge of Reason - Star Trek

Plotting, Plotting, Plotting

Melinda — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:47:46 +0100

I wish that was a reference to something exciting and nefarious, but it's just me describing my morning. I've been putting cards on the board for the Wild Card movie, and started stressing over needing a B story. Then I realized I already had a B story, and it intersects nicely with the A story (always what you want).

Next issue -- do I need a small C runner in this movie? I feel like I do. I'm not sure there's enough going on without it. So, I wentRead More...

Easy Rules

Melinda — Fri, 11 May 2012 22:54:04 +0100

Here's a few simple rules that need to be followed. When you get exposed for having done something cruel and dickish that has haunted your fellow actors all their lives. Do not first say you "don't remember the incident." Stand up and own it.

Second, apologies do not include the words -- "If my actions, words, offended anyone...." You don't start apologies with "if". Apologies go like this. "I am so very sorry for what I did. There is no excuseRead More...

The Avengers

Melinda — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:00:20 +0100

I liked it a lot. I went with GRRM, Parris, Raya and Ty yesterday afternoon. Our timing was perfect. The crowds weren't bad (Santa Fe isn't much of a movie town), we had great seats, and anticipation was high. I was going to get my fix of gorgeous men -- my personal favorites, Captain America, and Loki. I know, I know, Thor is gorgeous too, but I like more sensitive suffering types. Or I guess in Loki's case, bat shit crazy, but he's got the kind of narrow Read More...

Love Stephen King

Melinda — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:42:37 +0100

I love King for a lot of reasons. Some of them personal. He treated a terrified newly minted writer with great kindness, humor and friendship when I got assigned to autograph with him at an S.F. convention many years ago. I didn't even have a book out. All I had was a cover flat. He had a line that went out of the building, but he was so nice to me. He's a gent.

But I also love him for this article in the Atlantic.

I hit insert before I had coRead More...

Fog of Blog

Melinda — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:05:43 +0100

I realized my last post about combat and writing about combat experiences wasn't as clear as it could have been. I didn't mean to imply that you can't write about combat if you haven't experienced combat, though it probably came out that way. I really hate the argument that you can only "write what you know" since I'm an upper middle class white girl who hasn't been to Mars, or fought demons, etc. etc. If had to write only about what I know those would be pretty dull storiesRead More...

Some Things You Just Can't Fake... or Research

Melinda — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 07:17:47 +0100

I’ve now read one book SHADOW OPS: CONTROL POINT by an Iraq veteran, Myke Cole and I am in the processing of reading a terrific novel in my crit group by an Afghanistan veteran, M.T. REITEN, (not sold yet, but that’s going to happen soon), and I’ve discovered something fascinating.

Neither of these men have their heroes resort to redemptive violence. Or use torture or even condone it. They’ll fight when attackeRead More...

Book Recommendation

Melinda — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:15:33 +0100

It's not just because he's my friend, but an absolutely brilliant book is now available in paperback, BITTER SEEDS by Ian Tregillis. Book two in the Milkweed Triptych, THE COLDEST WAR, will be out in July, and the third and final volume, NECESSARY EVIL, drops in April of 2013.

These books are brilliant so run don't walk to order/buy/download them. I believed in the power of this series so much that I pitched it to my manager, and Ian and I wrote a kickass screenplay based oRead More...

How Do We Counter This?

Melinda — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:23:38 +0100

I just read this stunningly depressing article by Frank Rich one of my favorite editorialists. I don't know who We the People hold back this tide of money unleashed by Citizens United. I make monthly donations to the President, and various candidates I support, but they are $25 to $50.00 dollars. Are there enough of us to counter this tsunami of money?

Maybe working the campaign, being on the ground to mobilize our voters and get them to the polls is the only answer. Read More...

Feeling Grumpy

Melinda — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:44:56 +0100

I'm just in the mood to be pissy this morning. First, I hate Joomla. It makes me feel stupid because I can't even effectively upload photos much less link to a video and have it actually show up as a picture.

Then I was putting away my test scores from the dressage show, and I started thinking about the woman who won first place over Vento and me, and I got annoyed all over again. She has a fabulous older horse (15 or so) who is trained to within an inch of his life, Read More...

Check This Out

Melinda — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:14:04 +0100

Well, this is very interesting. It seemed the Founding Fathers, and any number of the framers of the Constitution had no trouble with individual mandates. Check out this article.

Personally I wish we'd fought for Medicare for all rather than this mess that is a gift to the frackin' insurance companies, but I'll take anything that doesn't leave me without health care because of my pre-existing condition.

Experimenting and Funny as Well

Melinda — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:42:03 +0100

I'm trying again to figure out how to actually embed a video in Joomla. Actually, I'm contemplating a redesign of my website -- it's been a number of years with it looking exactly the same, and changing back to WordPress which I found easier than Joomla, but I need time to think about a new design. Actually, I would love to hear from any readers about what they think would be a cool design that honors the sense of adventure and science fiction and rationality, plus be an easily naRead More...

Games Aren't Books

Melinda — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:21:57 +0100

Now that Bioware has said they will "amplify" the unsatisfying ending to the Mass Effect saga some game critics are bemoaning the power of the "spoiled" fans, and saying that games are art and this crybaby attitude is threatening artistic integrity. They point out that people might not like the end of The Hunger Games or the Harry Potter series, but they don't get to demand that the author write a new ending.

Yeah, that's because books are different from games. These big viRead More...

What's So Wrong With A Happy Ending?

Melinda — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:20:35 +0100

Why do happy endings get such a bad rap? I’m not talking about sappy, unrealistic endings, but honest endings in which people get what they need even if they may not get what they want. I know it’s fashionable for critics to sneer at the happy ending as if only grief and suffering have value, but I think that devalues the things we celebrate as humans -- friendship, love, laughter and triumph.

As my friend Sage Walker said -- lifeRead More...

Bye Bye Pasta

Melinda — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:01:48 +0100

I think I've figured out why breakfast is my favorite meal. It's because mostly I eat a small piece of ham or bacon and an egg. I rarely do toast. And that's because carbs, particularly those with gluten in them are starting to really make me sick.

It was cold and snowing, and I wanted comfort food, and to cook something easy for dinner last night so I thawed some of my home made spaghetti sauce, cooked up some pasta, and made a salad. I ate part of it, aRead More...

Midnight In Paris

Melinda — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 20:43:11 +0100

I'm not a huge fan of Woody Allen movies. I've only liked a handful of them. Then I watched MIDNIGHT IN PARIS this morning. I loved this movie. First it's a fantasy, and I wish I had seen it before I did my Hugo nominations, and it speaks to that all too human condition of dissatisfaction with our lives.

Owen Wilson was enormously appealing and hapless, and he was a writer which made him all the more endearing to me. I loved the fact that (apparently) muchRead More...

I Like This

Melinda — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:59:44 +0100

We've been having a discussion of religious belief on a chat group that includes a lot of my writer buddies. Most of us are agnostic or atheist, but Steve Gould posted this lovely little quote. It sort of sums up my feelings on the subject. As I've said repeatedly, I don't care what damn crazy thing people believe as long as they don't push their beliefs on me, or make public policy or laws based on their beliefs. And no, atheism isn't just another religion. But Read More...

Walking While Black

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:39:47 +0100

And apparently the penalty is death. I know several African-American fathers who advise their sons -- don't ever run in public. Don't drive your car in predominately white neighborhoods even if you went there to visit a friend. Now, according to Geraldo you shouldn't wear a hoodie either. What a horrible burden we are placing on these kids. Make one mistake, be exuberant and you can get killed.

This reminds me of women getting blamed for being raped becausRead More...

John Carter -- _OF MARS!_

Melinda — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:49:43 +0100

Going into this you have to understand that I adore A PRINCESS OF MARS. It was the first science fiction book that I ever read all by myself. When I was a miserable 7th grader I’d dream about being transported to Mars and riding across the dead sea bottoms and exploring the vast ruined cities, and maybe a handsome Martian prince would love me the way John Carter loved Dejah Thoris.

And that is why, at the most basic level, the DisneRead More...

Read This

Melinda — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:31:26 +0100

I've been trying to post this link to a guest post on John Scalzi's blog, but Facebook seems to be unwilling to allow the post to go up.

So, I'm going to put it here, and hope I can at least reference it over on Facebook.

I'm linking to an amazing guest blog post on John Scalzi's blog. It is well worth reading, and before someone screams at me the VA removed the requirement from their law please recall it is still required in Texas and is poised to pass a lot more statRead More...

Okay, Now I'm Really Scared

Melinda — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:37:30 +0100

Here is a teaser of a bill that has passed the house in Arizona and is on it's way to the AZ Senate for a vote.

Arizona legislators have advanced an unprecedented bill that would require women who wish to have their contraception covered by their health insurance plans to prove to their employers that they are taking it to treat medical conditions. The bill also makes it easier for Arizona employers to fire a woman for using birth control to prevent pregnancy despite the employeRead More...