Here we are: December 23, only two days from the Feast of the Nativity, Christianity’s second-biggest holy day. But many Americans’ thoughts remain on entirely secular matters, especially the purchasing and wrapping of presents for others. As one of my parish priests put it, this is the time of year we go running around …
Category: fiction
Dec 12 2021
New Fiction
Loren was good looking, well mannered, and highly intelligent. He was broadly competent in applied mathematics, the physical sciences, and computer technology. He could fix almost anything, and would do so happily. Yet for years he’d spent most of his days doing janitorial work at a state college. While at age forty-eight he had …
Dec 06 2021
Stylings
One of my perennial quandaries, which rises afresh every time I complete a novel, is expressed in a simple question: “What is style?” Perhaps even more tellingly, I could ask: “Where is style?” How does it manifest itself in a story? I’ve batted this around with other writers, other avid readers, and my Newfoundlands …
Dec 01 2021
Timing Is Everything
We’ve had enough politics and current events for now. Let’s talk fiction. If you undertake to write suspense or thriller fiction, you will come to grips with the problem of timing: in your staging of the conflicts, in your characterizations of the antagonists, and above all in the selection and narration of events …
Oct 23 2021
The War Is Over
All right, enough of that uplift stuff. Let’s get back to the depressing crap: Yes, do have a nice day.
Sep 21 2021
Hard Times For Superherodom
“What do you mean?” I hear you say. Well, you know how tough it can be when a trade gets overpopulated. Think of America’s legal profession. Today there are more than one million lawyers in these United States. More than a lawyer for every three hundred Americans. There simply isn’t enough legal work to …
Sep 16 2021
Under Way As We Speak…
…is a brand new F&SF convention, specifically oriented toward writers and readers in the Right: BasedCon survived a July deplatforming attempt. Currently underway in beautiful Norton Shores, Michigan, BasedCon has sold out and turned a profit in its debut outing. Celebrate this gathering for based authors and fans of science fiction and fantasy …
Sep 01 2021
A Comment On Commentary
Back in the heyday of blogging, everyone and his halfwit Uncle Herman had a blog. There were, at peak, over 50 million such sites. Most, of course, were of no broad consequence: little was posted there, and most of that was worthless. However, they gave their “proprietors” a sense that they could be listened …
Aug 09 2021
Assorted Fiction Notes And Observations
In case I haven’t done so before, I’d like to issue a hearty recommendation of Philip S. Power’s Damsel series: Damsel: No More Damsel: Slaying Demons Damsel: Wilderness Hannah Damsel: Soda Supreme You know what a raving beast I am about originality. Well, here’s a giant helping. Hannah de Peyser is an heiress …
Aug 07 2021
Free Fiction
For today only, my latest novel In Vino: …is a free download at Amazon. Pope Clement XV, the first American to be raised to the papacy, is under attack from within the Vatican. Powerful cardinals, averse to his efforts to reform the Catholic clergy, are trying to force him to resign his …
Jul 31 2021
One Week From Today
…that is, on Saturday, August 7 in this Year of Our Lord 2021, …will be a free download at Amazon. Feel free to indulge yourself (and save a few bucks) in the paramount near-future Catholic science fiction novel of the year! Pope Clement XV, the first American to be raised to the …
Jul 22 2021
Having It Both Ways
I’ve ranted on other occasions about my strong preference for stand-alone novels: i.e., no unending series in prospect and no need to purchase a sequel to find out how the story ends. Now and then I find one that “cheats” in some fashion, usually by incorporating plot threads that aren’t critical to the resolution …
Jun 29 2021
An Inherently Un-Titleable Piece
Full Disclosure: There are people who think I’m crazy. They’re not a majority…yet. But I would be remiss were I not to mention their existence. “But why?” I hear you ask. Well, mostly because I’m a libertarian-conservative Catholic patriot, with emphasis on Catholic. “How,” they ask, “could anyone so devoted to freedom simultaneously embrace …
Jun 27 2021
How They Did It
A bit obscure even for a Fran Porretto title, eh? Well, that’s not accidental. I own exactly one “collectible” book: a first-edition copy of East and West, the earliest collection of W. Somerset Maugham’s short stories. I inherited it from an uncle who was a great reader and an aficionado of Maugham. The …
Jun 26 2021
For Those Who’ve Been Waiting…
…if any: In Vino is now available in paperback. $9.99 US at Amazon.
Jun 20 2021
New Fiction
Pope Clement XV, the first American to be raised to the papacy, is under attack from within the Vatican. Powerful cardinals, averse to his efforts to reform the Catholic clergy, are trying to force him to resign his office. To undermine him, they spread rumors of his involvement in financial and sexual improprieties. To …
Jun 11 2021
Another Novel Looms
I’ve just completed the first draft of In Vino, a sequel to The Wise and the Mad. And it was one hell of a tough slog. Blood everywhere. But failing a scathing report from my “alpha reader,” it will soon be available at Amazon. Anyway, I’m too exhausted to write something pithy and …
Fran’s Recent Novels
Margaret’s Recent Novels
