Book Impressions: Pwned

Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 15, 2016

Pwned, by Shannen Crane Camp, is a story about Reagan West, the co-captain of the high school cheerleaders. She’s beautiful. She’s popular. She can be kind of mean. But this is all to conceal her terrible secret… her secret identity: Reagan is a gamer. A full-on uber-geek and MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) addict. […]

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League of Utah Writers Spring Conference

Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 11, 2016

Over the weekend I attended the League of Utah Writers Spring Conference (Workshop) held in Taylorsville, Utah. My friend John Olsen went into more detail (and took way more pictures – my two didn’t turn out well), and has a write-up of his experiences here. With so many different classes packed into a little under […]

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What Am I Playing / Reading? That’s a Complicated Question!

Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 8, 2016

When people ask me what video game I’m playing or book I am reading, I tend to stammer a lot. I mean, if they are pointing to the screen or the book in my hand, then sure. No problem. But if someone asks it as a more generalized question, like “What have you been reading […]

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Book Impressions: Servant of the Crown

Posted by Rampant Coyote on March 8, 2016

Romance novels aren’t really my thing. At least, I don’t suppose so… I think I could count the number that I’ve read on one hand and have fingers left over. Novels with romance, sure. Romance movies, sure, a few. Romantic comedies, more than a few. But straight-up romance novels, not so much. The thing with […]

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Book Impressions: The Aeronaut’s Windlass

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 22, 2016

It took me a long time to get started on the Harry Dresden series, by Jim Butcher. Everyone was talking about it, but I thought I’d be smart and wait until the series was further along before starting. Then, you know, I wouldn’t have to wait so long to get to the next one. In retrospect, […]

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Personal Relationships with the Audience

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 17, 2016

I’ve recently noticed that about half of the video games I play and the books I read are written by people I am personally acquainted with. Maybe not close friends – in some cases they are just people I’m Facebook friends with, or who I’ve exchanged emails or forum posts with, or who I’ve chatted […]

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Some Thoughts on the Craft of Writing

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 16, 2016

Back in high school, I thought I was pretty good at writing. I have one surviving example from that era. I used it as reference for an article I wrote for The Escapist several years ago on my first LARP experience (before that was even a term). I winced a lot when I read my […]

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LTUE 2016 – What I Learned

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 15, 2016

I came home with dozens of pages of notes from Life, the Universe, and Everything.  I think I gathered an average of 2 pages of notes from each of the panels, and hit an average of five panels a day, dealing with such topics as: Managing a giant project, marketing on a budget, how to […]

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Leveling Up at Life, the Universe, and Everything

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 12, 2016

I was driving home this evening with Golden Earring’s Radar Love playing on the stereo. I resisted the urge – only barely – to crank it up to eardrum-bleeding levels. I’m not even sure my car stereo goes that high, but it’s the thought that counts, right? It’s the perfect music for driving alone on […]

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A Fistful of New Books

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 8, 2016

Okay, I guess you can’t REALLY make a fist if you are holding a book, but that’s besides the point. Here are some very new / upcoming books I wanted to tell ya’ll about, by or featuring friends of mine. And one that even includes my own humble contribution. First of all, there’s It Came […]

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Upcoming: Life, The Universe, and Everything and Sibyl’s Scriptorium

Posted by Rampant Coyote on February 4, 2016

I’m a finalist for Sibyl’s Scriptorium’s annual DragonComet writing competition. The awards will be presented at this year’s Life, The Universe, and Everything Symposium held in Provo, Utah next week (February 11-13). Regardless of how I place, my story (“Best Wishes”) will be published in the anthology. So… exciting times! I will be at the […]

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Book Impressions: Stay Awhile And Listen

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 20, 2016

What a great age we live in! As a kid I was lucky to find a handful of books that would talk about my niche hobby, video games. Today? Not only are there plenty, but there are books devoted just to individual games. I’m not talking strategy guides or licensed novels about the really popular […]

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Quick Take: A Lady of Spirit (and the Magnificent Devices series)

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 15, 2016

Before my first steampunk short story was published (in Terra Mechanica: A Steampunk Anthology – plug! plug!), I was trying to get an idea of the modern “lay of the land” in the steampunk literary field, and I came across the Magnificent Devices series by Shelly Adina. At the time, there were only four books […]

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Quick Take: Hellhound On My Trail

Posted by Rampant Coyote on January 12, 2016

A rock band that changes its name for every gig. A new bassist with an unpleasant past haunted (literally) by the ghost of his brother, contemplating suicide. Some twists on religious tradition and mythology. A giant attacking hellhound and swarms of demonic giant flies. And lots of guns, knives, swords, and chase scenes. That pretty […]

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Massive Xchyler Publishing EBook Sale

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 27, 2015

I believe this is the first time they’ve done this, but Xchyler Publishing is discounting *everything* for this weekend for the Kindle editions… starting today (so-called “Black Friday”) through Monday (“Cyber Monday”). That includes the most recent anthology, Beyond the Wail, which includes one of my stories. I also have stories in two steampunk anthologies, […]

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Retro-Reading: Pulp Fiction and Fish Men of Venus

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 18, 2015

When I saw the April 1940 cover over at the Amazing Stories magazine digital archive, I had to read it. “Fish Men of Venus.” How could I not? It’s like Mystery Science Theater 3000 fodder, but in short-story form. And considering my mood over the weekend, I really needed a story about fish-men from Venus. […]

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