A couple of speaking slots at WorldCon 2026…
See my post for more info!
A Murder Weapon
Plus Ça Change – July 28, 2026 You’re a rich white man in antebellum New Orleans. How do you kill your accountant? RESEARCH! Yes, that might kill the accountant, but we’re talking about weapons here. Because the federal government is after your corrupt ass, and they’re about to bring in… Continue reading
Plotting Murder
Plus Ça Change – July 27, 2026 That title is gonna raise some bot’s attention. I know how the story ends. I’ve known for a long time, really for a couple of years. Sorta. There’s a murder. This isn’t a murder mystery, and certainly not a true-crime detective story. But… Continue reading
Cholera and Marie
Plus Ça Change – July 15, 2026 As noted in Healing the Plot, I found myself going down a rathole of boring real estate shenanigans. So I went back to basics and tossed most of those. I replotted, focusing on her healing skills in the face of the first cholera… Continue reading
What She Said
Plus Ça Change – July 14, 2026 The author obsessively revisits his story concepts and implementation, and thinks again. OR It seems I have some of my best conversations with my characters while I’m in the shower. Perhaps the white noise of falling water blots out the vagaries of the… Continue reading
Plus Ça Change
The Legend of Marie Laveaux These are the research articles and musings on my discoveries writing Laveaux: Mother. The oppression of slaves and free people of color in antebellum New Orleans has certain parallels in these days of modern times. The Making of Laveaux: Mother
La-La-La-La-La
Plus Ça Change – July 13, 2026 The chapter I’m working on is fraught, to say the least, in more ways than one. The working title is “Torture” so that gives you an idea. On April 10, 1834, Delphine LaLaurie was the absolute pinnacle of white society in New Orleans…. Continue reading
Last Run’s Bad Run
I’ve been hawking one of my manuscripts since just before Covid. It’s a post-apocalyptic SF novel. I used a friend-cum-agent at first. She was a food book agent, so lets say there’s a mismatch in terms of her experience and the material. Still, even after I wrote the pitches she… Continue reading
What’s a Balero?
Plus Ça Change – July 7, 2026 You may have played with this toy. You have a wooden cup attached to a handle. There is a ball attached to the handle by a string. You swing the ball up and try to catch it in the cup. I’m crafting the… Continue reading
Wordwright Writes Right Word – Or Not
Plus Ça Change – July 5, 2026 I have a child use the word “yum” about the prospect of good food. A colleague asks, is that a period-correct term for 1822? It isn’t. It turns out “yummy yummy” dates back to 1861. A diary entry written by an English journalist… Continue reading
