Oh, if I had a dime for every time a character recognized a long-lost parent or sibling based on eye color, a widow’s peak, a peanut allergy, or some other physical quirk. Sure, first-degree relatives do tend to look alike, and many visible traits tend to run in families. Yet they should not be used to establish (or disprove) kinship because it’s not that simple.
Read MoreEye-based Paternity Testing & Other Human Genetics Myths
It always starts in a bar. The barmaid (always buxom) has been serving beer since the church bells rang, precisely at five. Inside, the minstrel has been playing his lute, and the blacksmith drinking one stein after another.
Read MoreNever Enough Farmers! Class and Writing Fantasy Novels
I knew I loved horror before I knew I was gay.
Oh, I knew I was…different from an early age, but I had no real concept of sexuality until I was older. However, by the time I was 5 years old I had already developed a deep and abiding love of the horror genre.
Read MoreA Whole New WorldI’m a skeptic. If you tell me a story about a ghost or that time you saw Bigfoot, my instinctive reaction is to look at the evidence and figure out what non–supernatural reason there might be for something so seemingly weird. But I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes the truth gets in the way of a good story.
Read MoreSupposedly True (but Probably Not, and That’s OK) Weird TalesOur social lives are fraught with peril over the question of who belongs and who doesn’t. What’s the difference between becoming a friend and getting friendzoned? Is it love or is it a stalker? Should I get to know my neighbors, even though we have nothing in common but location?
Read MoreThe Other: HP Lovecraft, Alien, & Ghost Stories: Monstrifications of Dunbar’s NumberAs I supervised the towering pile of tentacle hentai, my boss started cursing behind me. “Dammit, dammit! Sell it all, sell it all! They’re going out of business.” While I had always known a company somewhere made the products I helped sell, that was the moment I realized that conventions were more than costumes and fun.
Read MoreFandom: Not Just Funny BusinessAs an author of historical fiction, there are several debates about what to do and what not to do as an author that I don’t hear as much in regard to other genres.
Read MoreStatistics vs. Story‘Why bother?’
It may seem innocuous, but this question is one of the most prevalent — and sometimes most damaging — when it comes to social activism. In fandom activism specifically, it can be a death knell to any campaign that seeks better and more diverse representation in its entertainment media.
Read MoreFandom Activism for Change in Visual Entertainment Media: We Have the PowerIf this was a movie, there would be a flashback to my freshman year in high school when Alanis Morisette’s “Ironic” was playing on the radio, Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness was the craze, and the 33.6k modem had just been released.
Read MoreHow to Live Safely in an Online Universe