BlueMusings

Poet, Novelist, Doctor Who fan. Figuring out this tumblr thing. My writing blog: http://ljcbluemuse.blogspot.com My books are available in all the usual places. Links here: http://ljcohen.net/novels.html

[georgetakei]

Donald Trump recently said he might have supported the internment camps of WWII. I felt I had to respond, and in the best way I could.

[ljcohen]

In honor of 'black Friday' my fae changeling novel THE BETWEEN is free on Amazon^ until midnight Pacific time TONIGHT (11/27).

If you have an Amazon account, I would very much appreciate it if would you consider downloading the book while it's free. Even if you don't want to read it, Amazon ranks books depending on downloads, and it will help the viability of all my novels, which increases the likelihood of my work being found.

http://www.amazon.com/Between-Changelings-Choice-Book-ebook/dp/B006UVP724

THE BETWEEN: High school senior, Lydia Hawthorne, is less than grateful when Oberon has her snatched from the mortal world and she finds out she's actually Fae. And not just any Fae, but a trueborn with enough inherent magic to tip the balance between Oberon and Titania's warring Bright and Shadow courts.

But that's their game and she doesn't want to play by their rules. Together with Clive Barrow, a Bright Court Fae with embarrassing family ties to the mortal world, Lydia fights to regain her old life, fueling her magic with the very human power of love and loss, challenging the essential nature of Faerie itself.

---

I can promise you, no love triangles or sparkly anythings, and despite Oberon's and Titania's beliefs to the contrary, this is no 'chosen one' narrative. If you like Lydia's story, you can continue with the sequel TIME AND TITHE. However, both books function as stand-alone, complete stories.

This novel is appropriate for young adult and adult readers.

I would appreciate it if you would share this to your circles/followers/friends/enemies/frenemies/etc.

^if epub is your format of choice, let me know and I will send you the appropriate version.

[ljcohen]

Goodreads giveaway for one of five signed paperback editions of ITHAKA RISING. Enter now through July 18th.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/145487-ithaka-rising

[ljcohen]

Space, the Final Frontier for Gender Stereotypes - Curiosity Quills Press

Space heroines are few and far between in movies and on TV. While occasionally you get your Ellen Ripleys (Alien) and Princess Leia (Star Wars) the truth is women rarely make it to fictional space in any kind of leadership capacity. It’s like they’re spackle: We need a Not Man Character so let’s put her …

[sandandglass]

The Nightly Show, June 22, 2015

[legit-writing-tips]

World Building Resources

World Building Worksheet (Great for Fantasy/Science Fiction)

Forms of Government

Types of Art  - Perhaps the culture you’ve built doesn’t emphasize painting and drawing, but glasswork or sand art as an art form. Be creative.

7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding - What NOT to Do

Cyberpunk Derivatives (Steampunk, Clockpunk, etc.)

Rules of Building Believable Mythology

Fantasy Resources

Medieval Demographics Calculator

Fantasy Calendar Generator - (Can also be used for Sci-Fi)

Social Organization - List of Worldbuilding Questions

Random City Generator

Guide to Fantasy Subgenres

Types of Superpowers (Wiki)

Types of Magic

Magic in Fiction - Wikipedia, discusses ways characters can use magic.

List of Magical Creatures

Creating Fantasy Religions

Science Fiction Resources

Types of Planets

Types of Spaceships

Star System Generator

Creating Believable Aliens

Designing a Hypothetical Alien World

List of Emerging Technologies - Wikipedia

Weapons of the Future

Applications for Artificial Intelligence

Misc.

Things to Remember When Writing Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

Types of Fictional Apocalypse

10 Universal Myths of the Ancient World

List of Mythologies

Future Timeline - Predictions technology, natural disasters, etc., for future; organized by year. An easy to use resource.

[brickhousewench]

OMG, saw this over on Facebook.  I am SCREAMING inside.

[stayuglystayangry-deactivated20]

do not meet up with anyone from Massachusetts in real life

they could very well be a medium regular ice coffee from dunkin donuts

[ljcohen]

Happy Book Birthday to me! http://ljcbluemuse.blogspot.com/2015/06/happy-book-birthday-ithaka-rising.html

[the-walrus-squad]

The novels of Halcyone Space

The novels of Halcyone Space

When a reckless young computer programmer resurrects the damaged AI on a long dormant freighter, she and her accidental crew expose explosive secrets from a war they were taught ended decades ago.

DERELICT (Book 1)

ITHAKA RISING (Book 2)

Praise for Derelict:

“Cohen has real talent with character development and interaction, and prickly, defensive Ro is a sympathetic and interesting heroine.”      –Publishers Weekly

“Get on board Derelict, and you’ll take an edgy, nonstop flight into an audacious SF future with unremitting danger as your pilot – and thrilling adventure your destination.”         –Lynn Viehl, NYT best selling author of the Stardoc and Darkyn series

“LJ Cohen deftly weaves together realistic teenage characters, futuristic technology, and big stakes for a real page turner.“ 

      –Wen Spencer, Award winning SF&F novelist, author of the Ukiah Oregon and Elfhome series

[the-walrus-squad]

From a reader

[ljcohen]

Hey! Those are my books! :)

[macleod]

You are all Terrable according to Neil deGrasse Tyson (x)

[signepierce]

AMERICAN REFLEXXX

[assgod]

holy shit

[mezamir]

American Reflexxx is a short film documenting a social experiment that took place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Alli Coates filmed performance artist Signe Pierce as she strutted down a busy oceanside street in stripper garb and a reflective mask. The pair agreed not to communicate until the experiment was completed, but never anticipated the horror that would unfold in under an hour

The result is a heart wrenching technicolor spectacle that raises questions about gender stereotypes, mob mentality, and violence in America.

[xekstrin]

You see how quickly it escalates– and how quick people are to harass when they feel there is no reprecussion. But as soon as they are confronted, they ran away.

[supraliminally]

Notice that it’s a cis woman who shoves her down and that there are cis women hurling slurs at her right along the men. You can’t just chalk this up to male violence and act like it’s not your business. Cis women who consider themselves allies need to take a stand against violent transmisogynist cis women just like men need to take a stand against violent rapist men and white people need to take a stand against white violence.

[ljcohen]

Final artwork for ITHAKA RISING, my upcoming SF/Spaceopera release. Why yes, that is a non-white guy on the cover. . . 

Ithaka Rising, book 2 in Halcyone Space When his young brother Jem disappears, Barre races to find him before he sells his future and risks his mind for a black market neural implant. But locating The Underworld along with its rogue planet Ithaka has political consequences far beyond what Halcyone's crew imagine, pitting Jem's life against deadly secrets from a war that should have ended forty years ago.

[natashamaximova]

[themarysue]

Ladies of SHIELD + motorcycles

HECK YES

[alliterationink]

BOOK CREATED TO HELP FAMILY OF A NAVY VET AFTER A FIRE (16 January 2015 – DAYTON, OHIO – ) An award-winning lineup of over fifty authors are collecting stories to help raise money to help the family of a Navy veteran and fellow author recover after a home-destroying fire. The anthology,...

[moreauphoto]

10 Worst Science Fiction Cliches

As a science fiction writer I must say that there are certain cliches that just really annoy the hell out of me. I’m going to hash out a few of them and why I think they’re just overplayed.

Read More

[revolutionarykoolaid]

Can’t stop, won’t stop: Protesters in Ferguson rally again, seeking justice for Mike Brown. More than a month and a half after his death, his killer, Darren Wilson, is still a free man. (Pt 2) 

[revolutionarykoolaid]

Because it wouldn’t be a protest in Ferguson without fuckery from the police. A driver plowed his car through protesters, grazing several and running over a young boys foot. Beyond taking several hours to transport the boy to the hospital, they took even longer to arrest the motorist. Who did they not wait long to arrest? Two of the protesters who had been documenting the altercation for the world to see. If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention. #staywoke #farfromover #nojusticenopeace