Author Archives: BT

The joy of short fiction and Star Trek film reviews

Posted on October 12, 2016 by BT

Autumn is here in deep pooling shadows and icy-fanged mornings. Some quick doses of news: Nature Futures’ podcast selected my story “Interdimensional Trade Benefits” as their favorite sci-fi tale published in August, and gave it a classy recital on … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged asimov, Galaxys Edge, hic sunt monstra, i arachnobot through the eons darkly space pirates, robots, Star Trek | Comments Off

Redshirt Revolution and WorldCon

Posted on August 31, 2016 by BT

Together with my good friends at The Skeptics Guide to the Universe, I had a chance to advance screen the Star Trek – The Original Series Tour in Ticonderoga, New York. While the building is rather unassuming from the outside, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged Bob Novella, Clash of the Titles, Evan Bernstein, Flame Treet Publishing, Gil Bavel, jay novella, redshirts, science fiction, Skeptics Guide to the UNiverse, Star Trek tour, Steve Novella, WorldCon | Comments Off

Virtual Realities

Posted on July 30, 2016 by BT

Some writing news to begin with: I was notified this month that I’m a Baen Fantasy Adventure Award Finalist for a non-western, non-medieval fantasy novelette of mine. I also sold my flash piece “Interdimensional Trade Benefits” to Nature Futures; this … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged Atari, Baen, castlevania, consoles, Futures, Holodeck, Lily, Metaverse, Nature, Nintendo, Oasis, playstation, rabbits, Tomb Raider, Valve, Vive, xbox | Comments Off

Who chooses the end of the world?

Posted on June 30, 2016 by BT

Some sales news to start things off. My 500-word flash piece “Disc Stutter” was awarded 1st Place in Escape Pod’s Flash Fiction IV contest. This marks my fourth appearance in the venerable podcast, following the dark sci-fi piece “The Nightmare … Continue reading →

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Last of the Sharkspeakers in Fantasy & Science Fiction

Posted on May 30, 2016 by BT

When I was a kid, one of my first stories (scrawled in blue pen on a large, lined, and yellow legal pad) was about an asteroid that smacks into the Earth on New Year’s Day in the year 2997. (Side-note: … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged Aliens, civil war, fantasy&science fiction, jungle book, marvel, sharkspeakers, trottier, world-building, writing | Comments Off

March Monsters from the Id

Posted on March 23, 2016 by BT

I’m not entirely convinced that social media is a positive thing. Ostensibly, it’s to promote greater communication; I recall Demi Moore’s line in the film Disclosure about how one day a connected world would allow people to communicate as “pure consciousness.” … Continue reading →

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Can 2016 stop killing people, please?

Posted on January 23, 2016 by BT

Imagine if a terrorist had killed David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Lemmy Kilmister, and 500,000 other people around the world each year. We can only be so angry at the destruction of the Library at Alexandria. At some point we have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged astronomy, ASX, Cancer, daily science fiction, sparg, toronto | Comments Off

Star Wars: The Force Awakens – The Good and Bad

Posted on December 22, 2015 by BT

I’m a Star Wars fan. So is the planet Earth. Growing up, being a fan of the series (and of anything science-fiction or fantasy) was like being in a relatively small secret society. One of the great joys I’ve had … Continue reading →

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The Horror! Sales and Thoughts

Posted on November 4, 2015 by BT

Horror is a strange, wonderful, and frustrating genre. Frustrating because there’s so much bad horror out there: cheap ghost stories, torture porn, and yet-another-goddam-zombie movie. Wonderful because it’s a time for masks and secrets, allowing us to twist the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged castlevania, Clash of the Titles, horror, lovecraft, Pseudopod, Salem | Comments Off

Mad Max and Furiosa’s Road

Posted on September 15, 2015 by BT

It’s been a long time since I’ve been impressed by an action movie. The CGI scourge has rendered so much into a barely watchable cartoon over these last several years, and what’s been lost amid such Loony Toon antics is … Continue reading →

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