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Step inside the world of Tales From a Warming Planet. My new BES website Is live!
The Bureau of Environmental Security website expands the universe of the climate fiction series, Tales From a Warming Planet. The site offers interactive content, such as briefings, quizzes, and blogs connected to the novels. The project encourages readers to expand their connections to the stories of life in a warming world.
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AI shaming: How to use your voice to silence AI shamers
The emergence of AI shaming targets artists using AI tools, often leading to damage to reputations. This new social boundary enforcement questions creativity, originality, and the definitions of art in modern society.
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Climate science fiction: Are there stories that make climate change less scary?
Climate science has earned a reputation as the “dismal science” of our time. Today, many people struggle with environmental science without feeling overwhelmed by dread. Climate fiction offers a powerful solution to this problem.
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UPDATE: Paperback historical fiction: The Stowaway’s Secret released
A new paperback edition of my YA historical novel The Stowaway’s Secret, as well as a new ebook version, is now available for purchase on Amazon and other ebook platforms.
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AI narration: Why I decided to use AI to create audiobooks
The author highlights the growing demand for audiobooks, shares personal experiences with traditional and AI narration, and discusses the financial challenges of audiobooks while embracing Amazon’s virtual voice technology for future projects.
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Lost museum ships: 16 historic vessels lost in the 21st century
Lost museum ships represent irreplaceable pieces of America’s maritime past, with World War II ship museums particularly vulnerable. These vessels once preserved our naval heritage from World War II and beyond, but many have succumbed to age, neglect, and insufficient funding over recent decades.
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AI Panic on YouTube: Who’s fueling the fire?
The post critiques the growing hysteria around AI, likening it to past technological fears. It highlights sensational predictions about job loss and societal collapse, questioning their validity and motivation.
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Writing with AI: How AI became an everyday partner in my work
Generative AI has enhanced my productivity and creativity by providing tools for writing, visualizing ideas through image generation, and assisting with programming tasks, ultimately transforming my creative process.
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AI Film Festival: Seattle shows the future is here and it’s ‘RoadKill’
Around 200 artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders watched more than 90 AI films from 20 countries during the inaugural Seattle AI Film Festival.
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Stolen work and AI: Why writers and artists worry about Meta
The arts community opposes generative AI, fearing theft of intellectual property. Accusations target Big Tech’s practices, particularly Meta’s, while a certification process for ethical sourcing in AI may offer reassurance.
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Can AI Make a Blockbuster? Staircase Studios’ Plan for $500K Feature Films
A new Hollywood venture, Staircase Studios AI, aims to release up to 30 feature-length films, including its first effort, The Woman with Red Hair.
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AI video short Mnemonade hints at a new genre: Review
The AI short film Mnemonade (2024, Drama, MetaPuppet), winner of the inaugural Culver Cup for generative AI, is the the product of a talented filmmaker and storytelling, with good structure, believable dialog, and a twist that will make you hug your mom.
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Screenplays into novellas: Dipping my toe back into print
The author transitions from screenplays to novellas, finding potential in shorter works that could attract film interest. Despite challenges with publishers, self-publishing and audio adaptations remain viable options.
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From Fast-Paced Hooks to a Slow-Burn Pace: A Mystery/Thriller Script
Some of the best movies of recent years prefer to pull back the curtain slowly on character and action, teasing the audience to come along for the ride.
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Modern Crime Pulp: Raw Law in ‘The Gods Demand Blood’
Fans of crime fiction know many of the works of the great authors by heart: Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, for example. But few remember another one of the great, and I think overlooked, pulp crime writers. Frederick Nebel (1903-1967) wrote stories for the leading pulp magazines, including Black Mask,…
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Corruption, Queer Fear, and ‘The Red Feather’: A Story of Vice and Family
My hometown of Seattle marked its modern debut in 1962, when a World’s Fair gave it the iconic Space Needle. It was also a city of corruption and secrets, when cops took bribes to tolerate vice, and people then called “queer” feared for their lives.
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How One Screenplay Evolved Via Revision: Crafting ‘Doomer’
A story idea can evolve into a finished product almost completely unrecognizable from the thing that first pops in your head.
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Mysterious Rage: A Healing Hero in ‘The Angry Road’
You’re driving down a lonely two-lane road. You’re on unfamiliar ground, so you’re a little anxious. You look in your rear-view mirror, and a large, black pickup comes up from behind and tailgates you.
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Turning Point on the Docks: ‘The Brothers O’Neill’
The Brothers O’Neill is the story of a young Seattle police officer, Sam O’Neill, whose beat covers the piers and wharves teeming with labor tension. Read the first portion of the synopsis.
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Five Screenplays Complete the First Phase of My Portfolio
Transitioning from novels to screenplays, I crafted five crime scripts, all positively received. I seek collaboration with industry professionals as I develop more projects in this genre.
J.G. Follansbee
Climate science fiction, fantasy fiction, maritime history, screenplays, short stories