Dr. Shaun Duke, Professional Nerd

Editor. Writer. Professor. Host.

Writing Question: Best Method for Introducing People of Color?

I’m currently writing a relatively far future military SF novel (or revolutionary military SF, since it involves revolution).  One thing that I want to indicate about this future and its wide-reaching human empire is its relative inclusiveness.  Race is not as much an issue there as it is today, which means that the cast of […]

Source Help: Books on Race in the Spanish Empire (and Mexico)

The other day, I stuck my foot really far into my mouth.  While recording an episode of The Skiffy and Fanty Show, we managed to get into a discussion about race in the various colonial empires (a discussion that is not part of the actual episode — beyond off topic, really).  I managed to say […]

Comics and Tablets: Your Thoughts?

I’ve recently become interested in reading comics again.  I used to read them as a youngin’, but sort of gave up on them for one reason or another (I used to collect all the trading cards from Marvel, too, and probably still have some floating around — there’s a box of comics somewhere in my […]

Hugo Award Recommendations Needed! Inquire Within…

I’ve never voted for the Hugos before, which means this year is a huge “first.”  Regardless, I’ve always had a problem filling out some of the categories, sometimes because I’m not familiar with the field (comics, for example).  This is where you all come in.  Below is the list of all the categories in which […]

Writing Wonders: Are Flashbacks Evil?

I think with all writing concepts, there are no simple answers.  Flashbacks are no different.  Just as you can ruin a book with poorly constructed multiple POVs, so too can you ruin a book with flashbacks.  It all comes down to how and when you do it. Case in point:  I am currently reading Tobias […]