News and commentary about maritime heritage activities and other subjects that take my fancy.
I’m thrilled to report what I consider to be one of my best successes on the writing contest circuit. My short story, The Pupfish of Miracle Spring, made the short list of ten finalists in The End of Our World contest, managed by Aftermath Magazine, which is based in The Netherlands. The contest drew more … More One of my stories makes a contest’s short list in a field of 1,400
A new sub-genre of science fiction—climate fiction—has taken hold. Read these 14 lesser-known climate fiction novels and anthologies. … More Read these 14 lesser-known climate fiction novels and anthologies
I was thrilled to work with podcasters Ben Franke and Marie Kammerer-Franke on two episodes of their epic Indie Beginning podcast, which features independent authors, such as myself. They recently published two podcasts related to my work. The first podcast was a reading of chapter one of Carbon Run, the first full-length novel in my … More Download the podcast of Carbon Run, chapter one
One of my stories is published in the new anthology, After the Orange: Ruin and Recovery. … More One my stories is in a new anthology, After the Orange, about a post-Trump world.
Robot fed Dr. Smith lines that set up the most creative insults ever hurled at a computer. … More Why I miss the old Dr. Smith and Robot in the Netflix Lost In Space reboot.
My climate fiction novel Restoration is now available for download! … More Restoration is now available for you to enjoy!
City of Ice and Dreams, the third book in the Tales From A Warming Planet climate fiction series, is now available on Amazon in print and Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and for your iPad. … More City of Ice and Dreams is released! Download now.
President Trump did not repeal the Affordable Care Act. … More Know your rights! Sign up now to check your eligibility for health insurance help
If you want to understand the Chinese mind, read its science fiction. … More You’d better start reading Chinese science fiction right now
Carbon Run, the first full-length novel in my climate fiction series Tales From A Warming Planet, is now available for purchase as an ebook or a print book. … More It’s here! Carbon Run is now available in digital and in print.
The Mother Earth Insurgency, the first story in my climate fiction series Tales From A Warming Planet, is now on sale. … More At last! The Mother Earth Insurgency is available for download!
Today is the official launch of my new dystopian thriller series, Tales From A Warming Planet. I’m celebrating by offering a free novelette, The Mother Earth Insurgency. It’s available for a limited time only via Instafreebie and Bookfunnel. Set in the future when climate change has taken hold of our planet, The Mother Earth Insurgency … More Available now: Free, limited-time download of my first TFAWP story!
The publisher who signed me last week is a demanding asshole. … More What’s my indie publishing plan? Go all in.
I’ve made a decision. Screw traditional publishing. I’ll sink or swim on my own. … More Just signed a four-book publishing deal. With myself.
Under the best of circumstances, I like to post on my blog about once a week, but school has a way of sucking time out of the universe, at least my universe. … More School is a huge time suck, which isn’t a bad thing
Earlier this year, I was contacted by Kari Berger of the Seattle Metals Guild, a non-profit arts group with a focus on metalworking. The group was working on an exhibit of jewelry and sculpture made from wood salvaged from the historic schooner Wawona. I published a history of the ship in 2006, three years before … More Repurposing Wawona: Pieces at new exhibit made from ship’s salvaged wood
James Marquis is a Seattle writer and author of science fiction novels, a memoir, and a collection of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror stories titled Dark Day Dreams, written under the pen name of James Hawthorne. He enjoys writing as a way to explore and expose the ways pop culture, politics, music and literature shape our … More Five Questions: James Marquis and his Dark Day Dreams
As moral beings, humans try to align their behavior with their values. I don’t use Microsoft Word to write. I’ve successfully resisted putting Office on my laptop. I refuse to have anything to do with Office, if I can help it. I admit it’s a quirk, but it’s how I live my values. Why would … More How LibreOffice freed my inner rebel from the shackles of Microsoft Office
I heard author Sherry Decker read from her upcoming novel A Summer with the Dead at Two-Hour Transport, a monthly open mic and guest reading series at the famed Cafe Racer in the city’s Roosevelt neighborhood. I’m not normally a fan of horror, but her reading was so compelling, that I thought she was perfect … More Five Questions: Sherry Decker, author of A Summer with the Dead
Seattle’s reputation as a literary town includes an enormous presence in the science fiction and fantasy universe. The great Octavia Butler, author of the Parable of the Sower, penned her works in the shadow of the Space Needle, the city’s iconic landmark. Other authors include Don McQuinn, Cat Rambo, and Shawn Speakman. Lesser known and … More Two-Hour Transport: A journey into Seattle’s sci-fi and fantasy community
