It feels rude to complain about rain while large parts of the world are actively on fire, but for the record: it’s been pissing down in Edmonton for the past couple of weeks. And it’s Alberta, so damp means mosquitoes. I am being eaten alive. At this rate, the government… (keep reading)

I’m camping in Beaver County this week, which involves surprisingly reliable Wi-fi and occasional polite conversation with elderly rural Albertans. These people have heard all about me from my parents, who also camp out here; my parents have proudly informed everyone that I’m a writer, which has led to a… (keep reading)

My research for the next Casefile of Jay Moriarty story has led me to try and figure out where the Metropolitan Police Service in London stores its firearms. It turns out this is information that the Metropolitan Police Service would really rather prefer I not have. (I understand why this… (keep reading)

My dad has been using the same computer since 2014, and it’s been failing by degrees for the past couple of years now. A few weeks ago, he finally bit the bullet and upgraded to a new machine running Windows 11. Friends and enemies: I cannot overstate the extent to… (keep reading)

In the British government’s latest round of throwing policy at the wall to see what sticks, a bill has just cleared parliament that would permanently ban tobacco products (cigarettes, vapes, dip, etc) for anyone currently under the age of 18. To be clear: this is not just a ban on… (keep reading)

Alyx Jones is an independent game developer from the UK. She’s been working on The Quiet Things, a deeply personal game about sexual abuse, trauma, and survival. A trailer for The Quiet Things was slated to be shown during the BAFTA Games Awards on April 17; for an independent developer,… (keep reading)

I started using Scrivener in 2012 or so, and I’ve kept the same license going ever since — despite the fact that support ended for my version of Scrivener years ago. I’m now at the point where the app crashes on two startups out of every three. Upgrading to the… (keep reading)

Book publisher Hachette has pulled out of its deal with author Mia Ballard over accusations that her novel, Shy Girl, was written with the assistance of a large language model. I say “accusations” because the actual evidence here is pretty thin. The arguments presented are all either “the writing looks… (keep reading)

It’s fascinating to me how the cultural object of The Book, defined as a physical stack of paper with words in it, generates so much more excitement than an ebook. Both take arguably the same amount of effort, and yet one “counts” as an achievement in a way that the… (keep reading)

When I was a kid, my mom explained to me why she didn’t really enjoy Mother’s Day: she felt as if celebrating mothers one day a year gave everyone free reign to take them for granted during the other 364. I kind of got it after a while, but I… (keep reading)