Bringing you stories, book and game reviews, writing tips, and updates from author S.G. Baker.
"Don't move," mommy whispered. We stood together in the middle of our cornfield. We had our arms stretched out in a T-pose, resting along poles lashed together like a cross. The same as the poles that held up the scarecrows dotting the field around us. We each held bundles of straw or twigs. "We're being … Continue reading #Spooktober2020 Day 7: Scarecrow
I opened the trashcan because the contents were almost too heavy to empty into the dump trunk. Inside, a cadaver had been squished down to fit - knees pulled up to the chest, arms crossed, head pushed facedown. I got a good glimpse of lank brown hair and a bad whiff of death before I … Continue reading #Spooktober2020 Day 6: Cadaver
On day five after my parents took away my depression medication, I sat in class staring listlessly. Everything my teacher said about the lesson slammed against the wall in my brain blocking out my will. I heard none of it. Cared even less. Upon the inside of my arm, I copied out fragments of sigils … Continue reading #Spooktober2020 Day 5: Sigil
I got a summer job working in an occult supply store. There, I met the scariest person of my life: myself. "I need wasp stingers," I told myself. My face stared dead-eyed from beneath the hood of my favorite jacket. As I handed the packet across the counter to myself, I said, "What happened to … Continue reading #Spooktober2020 Day 4: Occult
You set up your camp on the place where I died. All that snow stomping, tent rustling, stakes hammering, cookpot rattling woke me. You woke me up. You brought light. The sun set fast behind the cold mountains, so when you wanted to keep reading in your heated tent, you lit your fancy, vintage looking … Continue reading #Spooktober2020 Day 3: Lantern
We writers all resonate with different methods - typing, handwriting, chiseling, hieroglyphs, whatever. What works for one writer may not work for another, so we love to compare our methods with each other's.
"Please, you have to help us! They're coming!" My screams made the humans encircling us flinch. Several projectile weapons rose, prodding me back toward the middle and our stolen space cruiser. They shrank away, glancing up at the red, boiling clouds above. Clasping three-fingered hands together, I hit my knees in the green grass. "Please..." … Continue reading #Spooktober2020 Day 2: Asylum
In the corner of my vision, the notification light on my phone blinked blue. Again. Again again again. Never when I looked right at it. Just in my peripheral. Still, I picked the phone up. Swiped the screen open. No app notifications. No one to communicate with me. Not even a dumb automated political message. … Continue reading #Spooktober2020 Day 1: Illusion
Introduction The narrative of The Tangled Lands, written by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell, follows the separate but intertwined stories of a handful of people living in or attempting to leave the Blue City, so named for the blue fires whose smoke detects those who have recently used magic. Choked with bramble and briar, … Continue reading Book Review: The Tangled Lands by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell
I'm not telling you to develop a thick skin, because you may never manage that. But I am telling you to be brave. And most of all, clever.
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