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Writing

Mightier Than The Sword, And It Fits In Your Pocket A Lot Easier! Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender

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Mightier Than The Sword And It Fits In Your Pocket A Lot Easier by Jeff Baker “I’ll call for pen and ink and write my mind.” —–Wm. Shakespeare. A review for Goodreads and my recent flash fiction story about superheroes. What they have in common is they weren’t initially written by my typing them up on a laptop but by writing them up by hand in a spiral-bound notebook. So why is it that I do not always opt for the convenience of a laptop, where I can create quickly, edit easily and with less onscreen distractions. But electronics aren’t … Read more

John Van Druten: His Closet Was The Stage—Jeff Baker; Boogieman In Lavender

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John Van Druten: His Closet Was the Stage by Jeff Baker “Oh, Pye, Pye, Pyewacket, what’s the matter with me?” —–from “Bell, Book and Candle” I grew up reading plays. Part of that came from my watching a lot of TV shows and movies. In High School I had the run of the Library as my Mom was one of the Librarians and I read plenty of plays as well as a lot of books about plays and TV and Movies. (I didn’t get on stage until college, but I digress.) As I liked movies and TV shows with sci-fi … Read more

400!!! (I Can’t Believe It Either!) Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender. May 12, 2025.

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400! (I Can’t Believe It Either!) by Jeff Baker Four-Hundred Stories! I almost can’t believe it! But I’d better explain. Back in May of 2016 I stumbled across a mention of a Facebook page called “Monday Flash Fics.” The idea was simple; they would post a picture prompt Monday and anybody who wanted to had a week to write up a flash fiction (usually less than 500 or 1000 words) story to go with the picture; post it on their blog and link it to the Facebook page. “Sounds interesting,” I told my (late) husband Darryl. I set about and … Read more

Jeff Baker: Boogieman In Lavender “Snacking With Panthers.” Oscar Wilde’s Short-Stories. April 2025

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My Well-Worn Copy Of Wilde’s Short-Stories. Snacking With Panthers; The Short-Stories Of Oscar Wilde by Jeff Baker One of my very favorite short stories is Oscar Wilde’s “The Selfish Giant,” which I read as a children’s book in about third grade. The book included most of the text and the story was definitely there. I have since re-read the original many times and it was a few years later (also in Grade School, during those blissful days when a month stretched on for half a year) that I read Wilde’s famous novella “The Canterville Ghost.” That starts off as a … Read more

“…Until It’s Sold…” – Boogieman In Lavender

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I’ve been getting back into the groove of writing in the New Year after slowing down on doing longer stories. I actually have a list of longer stories I started that are unfinished. (“In progress,” as I say.) I’ve also been submitting stories to various markets online. I can do the last bit because I’ve been writing a lot of stories over the last decade or so and I have a lot that never sold. Some editors dismiss that as “in the trunk” stories but I disagree. Legendary writer Robert A. Heinlein once listed some rules for writers. Among them … Read more

Jeff Baker: Boogieman In Lavender. Lou Rand’s “The Gay Detective.”

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Lou Rand’s “The Gay Detective” by Jeff Baker Bay City…Early Nineteen-Sixties…Fog rolling in across the bay…the famous bridge…you know which city this is supposed to be. Bars that are clandestine rendezvous for furtive meetings between men in back rooms…bodies found in the darkness. Not warm, welcoming bodies but Gay men, murdered. No suspects. Few clues. One looks like murder-suicide. It isn’t Into this foggy mess steps Francis “Frank” Morley, detective for hire. The classic private eye with a dingy office, a loyal secretary and a hulking mass of muscle for an assistant. And Morley is as openly Gay as you … Read more

Jeff Baker; Boogieman In Lavender; “Facing the Blank Page.”

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Facing the Blank Page by Jeff Baker Oh Hell! It’s August! I spent most of last month writing “June” on my checks and now it’s August and I have a column due. What to write? What to write? What to write? Damn. Blank page. Damn! Review a book I’m reading? I haven’t read a book lately. Write about what I’ve been doing? Let’s see; sitting around, typing, watching TV, going to the store, drinking beer. Nope. Not enough word count. What time is it now? Damn! Later than when I started. Closer to the thirteenth. I could write about deadlines. … Read more

Spellcheck – Boogieman In Lavender

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If I Ran the World… Well, first I’d get rid of war and poverty and injustice and crime and hatred and all those awful “Children of the Corn” sequel movies that even Stephen King wants nothing to do with. Then I’d get down to the really important stuff. There are words I just can’t spell worth a crap! I’m a writer, I’m supposed to be able to do this. I do use spellcheck but it’s so damn frustrating that after decades there are words I continue to spell the same way, and that way is WRONG! For openers, let’s check … Read more

New Release: Writing Fantasy – C.J. Solomon

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Writing Fantasy - C. J. Solomon

QSFer C.J. Solomon has a new non-fiction fantasy book out: Writing Fantasy. Are you a fantasy author who wants to create more vivid worlds or give them greater depth? If so, this is the book you have been waiting for. Subjects covered include: This is the perfect book for writers of fantasy. Get your copy now so that you can take your writing to a whole new level. Please note that only the paperback version is illustrated. Get It At Amazon Excerpt his book is less about telling you how to write and more about guiding you through the three … Read more

New Year’s 2023: Jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender

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This Is Myyyyy New Years Resolution by Jeff Baker (title from Spike Jones) So here we are in Two-Thousand-Twenty-Three. As a guy who was watching reruns of “The Jetsons” back in 1969 I find that amazing. There are plenty of reasons for hope about 2023, if only from naive optimism. At the very least, Civil War did not break out in 2022 and the partisan hacks who thought they wanted civil war were shocked, shocked at any violence seemingly directed at them. And the possibility of turning back rights for LGBT people in the U.S. was squelched at least for … Read more