An e-zine about spaceships, aliens, science, memory, motherhood, magic, and cats.
For all the posts from AI-related people that I see bemoaning the lack of sci-fi writers who don’t hate AI, I sure don’t see much support from that same crowd for the few of us out here who actually do love AI.
And believe me, we get a lot of hate.
So, if you want to see sci-fi writers who like AI, you might want to actually actively support those of us who are willing to put ourselves out there. Continue reading “The Lack of Support for Pro-AI Sci-Fi Writers”
“Brigadoon, Kokomo, and Hona Lee” is about how imaginary places are sometimes more real than the real ones.
They’re not changed by time. They’re always there for you, always waiting for you to revisit, always as real as they ever were.
“IDIC” is a song about infinite diversity in infinite combinations. Continue reading “Insipid Liner Notes: The Event Horizons Infinitely Remixed”
We’re ready to sell lots of books and toys! If you’re at BayCon42, come by and check it out!
“When the moon hits your eye
While you wait for pad thai
That’s a… BayCon!” Continue reading “While at BayCon42”
What’s this then? Did Acting-Ensign Leslie Keller get into a cloning machine? Mischievous puppy!
Well, at least that means we’ll have plenty of her available for sale at BayCon42 next week!
Five days until I head to BayCon! Continue reading “Gearing Up for BayCon42”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Red Setter Medic, May 2026
The starship Initiative was docked at a space station close to the border between Tri-Galactic Union and Reptassan space. There had been a lot of turmoil along the border lately, skirmishes between independent worlds and the Reptassan Empire. Sometimes, Dr. Keller felt like it’d be easier if everyone was uplifted dogs like her and her daughter Leslie. Dogs are pack animals, friendly, gregarious, and outgoing; they naturally want to get along with each other.
In fact, the red setter’s daughter had immediately struck up a friendship with the daughter of a Lupinian diplomat who’d be traveling on the Initiative from this station to the next. Lupinians weren’t uplifted dogs, but they were canines — wolf-like and wild-grown. The Lupinians had developed sentience all on their own on their small world, right at the border of Reptassan space, and Lakoina was traveling with her daughter Tava on a mission to speak on behalf of her people and the fate of their world to the Tri-Galactic Union. Continue reading “Gone, Not Forgotten”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Red Setter Medic, May 2026
Most of the dogs and cats who crewed the starship Initiative spoke very fondly of away missions. They liked getting their paws on the solid surfaces of real planets or asteroids, feeling fresh air in their whiskers, and enjoying the view of an unobscured sky. Doctor Waverly Keller heard them speak with excitement about visiting strange new places on their missions, meeting weird new kinds of animals, and just basically broadening their horizons.
The red setter doctor, though, didn’t feel the same way. Sure, she enjoyed taking shore leave to a beautiful world for her vacation as much as the next canine, but she did not look forward to away missions. As the ship’s chief medical officer, Dr. Keller was rarely called on to join an away mission if it didn’t involve assessing casualties or providing emergency resuscitations. Continue reading “I, Hive”
How many more stories can they tell about toys, people ask…
But somehow people keep telling stories about humans, and surely if any type of story has been played out by now, that would be the one.
Having a brand new Paul McCartney album to listen to is making a hard week a lot easier. Like having an old friend stop by to help out by just keeping me company. Continue reading “Toy Story, McCartney, Fable, etc.”
Stealthing around is one of the coolest things about being a rogue in Warcraft, so that’s where the rogue album begins — slipping into a crowded tavern, not being seen by anyone
Back in the day, I remember having to apply poisons and sharpening stones to my daggers as a Warcraft rogue. So, I thought that would make for a nice moment on the rogue album. Continue reading “Insipid Liner Notes: Doo-Wop Rogue”
The first character I got to 60 way back when Warcraft was new was my Night Elf hunter, and she’s still one of my mains now.
“Reader of Signs” sets the stage for a kind of mini doo-wop musical inspired by that character.
Back in the day, tracking things on your mini map was a special skill for hunters that not every class had. Even though that’s not true anymore, it still seems like tracking is core to the concept of being a hunter. Continue reading “Insipid Liner Notes: Doo-Wop Ranger”
My spouse asked me to make an album for his 45th birthday. “Purple Goes with Green” is the opening and title track. Those are our favorite colors, and when we met, we’d each independently concluded the best complement to our favorite was the other.
“So Many Unicorns” is a fun, silly, cheerful song about several kinds of animals… that turn out to not be unicorns. And one that is. Continue reading “Insipid Liner Notes: Purple Goes with Green”