Marty’s photo of the day #2667: This is the Castle of the Sad Countess, in Spain. Now that Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! is at my editors, I’m already thinking about having Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon go back to 1461 to visit this castle in Time Is Irreverent 3. In the […]
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Category: Stories
Happy Birthday, Deb Essen!
Marty’s photo of the day #2665: Today’s photo doubles as a Paul Bunyan-sized Happy Birthday to my wife, Deb Essen. When I took this photo of her, a while back, we were just having fun. In today’s light, it’s actually political. Melania Trump is infamous for appearing in photos that are incongruous for the occasion: […]
Neptune’s revenge
Marty’s photo of the day #2657: I took this photo on Deception Island, which is near Antarctica. You are looking at the remains of the Hektor Whaling Station. This short excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, provides more information: We went ashore instead at the more sheltered Whaler’s […]
Snake education
Marty’s photo of the day #2583: I was flipping through my photo files this morning, trying to decide what to post, when I came across this shot. Several years ago, I helped with an after school program at the Stevensville, Montana library. The kids are holding Eve, my seven-foot-long rainbow boa. Most were touching a […]
Writers write what they know
Marty’s photo of the day #2576: One advantage I have over other science-fiction writers is that before switching to fiction, I wrote two nonfiction eco-travel books that took me to all seven continents and numerous islands. Even fiction writers write what they know. So in Time Is Irreverent, when Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon went […]
Republicans are obsessed with hating Hillary Clinton
One thing I find disturbing about Republicans is how they can’t let their hate for Hillary Clinton go away. Think about it: After Barack Obama beat John McCain and Mitt Romney, liberals basically forgot about the two defeated Republicans and moved on. But since Republicans apparently believe that hate is a Christian value, they just […]
The dramatic turnaround of a depressing day
My books have always received great reviews from both amateur and professional reviewers. Cool Creatures, Hot Planet has received 88% 4 to 5-star reviews, Endangered Edens has received 94% 4 or 5-star reviews, and my latest, Time Is Irreverent is currently at 79% 4 to 5-star reviews. Because Time Is Irreverent is a controversial satire, I […]
The story of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
Marty’s photo of the day #2562: I will let a short excerpt from my second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico, explain this shot: Shortly after returning to the gulf, we spotted a domed object—roughly the circumference of a trash can lid—on the surface of […]
Inside a Spanish castle
Marty’s photo of the day #2558: I will let a short excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, explain this shot from Spain: If medieval real estate agents existed, they would have listed the Castillo de Monfragüe as a “starter castle.” Built in the fifteenth century, it was much […]
Bush snakes, boomslangs, and cobras
Marty’s photo of the day #2539: This excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, explains today’s picture: I was looking forward to a nap until Ashley, the camp manager, mentioned over lunch that she had recently seen both a Mozambique spitting cobra and a spotted bush snake on […]
Farewell to the late-great Stewart Brandborg
Marty’s photo of the day #2519: This is me with the late-great Stewart Brandborg, who died last Saturday. Here’s what I wrote about Stewart in my book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico: Before we move on to the next section of our journey, I […]
Crossing the Drake Passage
Marty’s photo of the day #2502: To get to or from Antarctica, you must cross the Drake Passage, which is famous for having the roughest seas in the world. Why? If you put your finger on the globe, just a little below the southern tip of South America, you will touch the Drake Passage. Now […]
The solar system via Chromosphere Cruiser
Marty’s photo of the day #2496: From my novel, Time Is Irreverent, in the year 2020: “Can I drive?” “I’ve read about how you human males always like to be in control. But in my society, pilots are chosen based on skill, not sex.” Reminiscent of the big ship, the cruiser had a vertical cockpit. […]
The day I held up the world
Marty’s photo of the day #2463: I can’t believe it’s been fifteen years since I held up the world! This excerpt from my book Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents explains the shot: I had a debt to pay for our successful Antarctica landing. Besides Shackleton and Neptune, another larger-than-life being had been […]
Writing fiction is more scary than writing nonfiction
Now that I have written two nonfiction nature-travel books and one science-fiction political-comedy, I have to say that writing fiction is more fun than nonfiction, but also more frightening. With “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” and “Endangered Edens,” I was pretty much limited to telling stories of adventures that I had already […]
Matterhorn at sunrise
Marty’s photo of the day #2452: While in Switzerland, Deb and I met up with Emad, our Swiss-Egyptian friend, and we stayed at a hotel at the base of the Matterhorn. The only way to get to the hotel was via gondola. Here’s a short excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures: Hot Planet: Exploring […]
Fun with dugouts
Marty’s photo of the day #2450: This photo, from Peru, explained with a short excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: Other than Yaguas paddling in their dugouts (a skinny canoe carved from a log), we had the Rio Orosa to ourselves. When we passed the occasional tribal village, […]
Goldfrapp, Melissa Etheridge, Garbage concert happiness
Marty’s photos of the day #2409-2011: This past year was the year to check-off the last three acts on my bucket list that I absolutely had to see live: Goldfrapp, Melissa Etheridge, and Garbage. All three concerts were outstanding. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Goldfrapp, because their Seattle concert was […]
Only one day left to win . . .
With just one day left to the end of my Kindle Scout campaign—and a chance for you to win of free copy of Time Is Irreverent—I’m featuring some of the new liberal Ten Commandments Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon present to the people of Galilee in AD 31 when they crash the Sermon on the Mount. […]
Only two days left to win . . .
With just two days left to the end of my Kindle Scout campaign—and a chance for you to win of free copy of Time Is Irreverent—I’m featuring some of the new liberal Ten Commandments Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon present to the people of Galilee in AD 31 when they crash the Sermon on the Mount. […]