I get asked a lot what I’m currently reading or whether I’ve read any good speculative books lately. As a speculative author, I try to keep up with what is being published. I like to read what other a...

Speculative Fiction Writers' Summit

(Photo: Creative Commons - John Hurt photographed by Walterlan Papetti)In 2017, the world lost a great actor and a mainstay of speculative fiction movies and television shows. Sir John Hurt was a lege...

Archive of quarterly newsletters, which include news, notes, reviews, writing excerpts, and humor.

Two members of the Speculative Fiction Writers Association, Matthew Cushing and Paul Martz, have work published in a new anthology called Earth(ish), Tales from the Splinterverse…

Like in many professions, writers have to hustle to get their stories out there. Though we would all love to be best-selling authors with household name recognition, the hard truth is that the vast (v...

Most readers love a whodunnit story. A trail of clues to follow and reasoning to understand. These types of stories fall into two major categories: mysteries and thrillers. In both types, something dr...

Amazon.com: FRACTAL: A McLeod and Masters Thriller (The McLeod and Masters Thriller Series Book 2) eBook : Fallin, Cheryl P.: Books

Though book clubs have a reputation similar to sewing circles, i.e. more gossip than actually accomplishing anything, this is rarely the actual case, and book clubs can provide several benefits to aut...

Few books manage to combine humor, strong character work, and relentless pacing in a way that keeps you turning pages late into the night. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie does exactly that. It may be th...

When writing a novel, the first aspect that comes to mind for most people is the plot. The events that happen. Usually, there is an idea and maybe a twist at the end. And as important a plot is to the...

Complex stories engage multiple characters in a variety of situations, and it is completely acceptable to tell those stories from more than one character viewpoint. But multiple character POVs does no...

Discover the latest books, blog posts and tweets from the mind of author Matthew Cushing. Read book reviews, critique and editing advice, and top ten lists about sci-fi and fantasy books.

AI is the enshittification of civilization

Which would you rather read, a good book or a good story? The difference between the two has arisen a few times over the past couple of years as I’ve learned more about writing and publishing novels—a...

Speculative Fiction Writers' Summit

I’m nearly ready to tie the bow on a creative project. A novel in this case.

A recent debate sprang up in my online critique group over whether or not to publish a particular story on the website. The story had won an award and publishing was part of the prize. But the story c...