Question – Deborah Makarios

March 31, 2026March 31, 2026

Name the Mystery Beastie!

Behold, the Mystery Beastie!

A strange looking animal with its mouth open toward the viewer. Above its mouth is a short trunk ending in a piglike nose. One raggedy ear is visible on its black somewhat horselike head. The front half of the animal seems black and its back half white.

This particular species of Mystery Beastie already has at least nine names (seven English, two Latin, not counting subspecies names, or its many names in other languages), but frankly, none of them do the poor endangered freaky creature justice, in my opinion.

In order to give you a good all-round view of the subject to guide your naming efforts, I have gathered an assortment of images of the Mystery Beastie. (Note: clicking on an image will take you to the Wikimedia Commons page for that image, which may bestow upon you spoilers as to one or more existing names for the Mystery Beastie.)

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August 31, 2023August 31, 2023

Who Made This?

The nature of creativity has been given a bit of extra scrutiny lately, with the rise of AI art. Which (you may be relieved to hear) I do not propose to discuss. But the question of who is the creator of a work – or what involvement counts as creation – is one that isn’t limited to interactions with bots, algorithms, or any of that other techy stuff.

I read a book recently, about a garden called Federal Twist. James Golden, the man who wrote the book, lives in the house in the garden (at least part-time; I wasn’t sure if it’s just a weekend place or what), and designed the garden. And he identifies very closely with the garden. So much so that he says, “I am Federal Twist.” Well, he wouldn’t be the first human to identify with place, and he’ll be far from the last.

But.

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July 6, 2023July 6, 2023

Cover Copy: Choose Your Favourite

One of the most valuable things a writer can obtain is the opinion of readers prior to publication. (After that it’s called a review, and there’s not much you can do about it.) And consider how fortunate I am to have a group of Guaranteed Reading People right here! Reading! Caught in the act!

On this particular occasion, the valuable opinion I would like to acquire is your view on the short description and cover copy for the upcoming publication of Amiant Soul. The short description (30-60 words) is just what it sounds like: a short description of the book, designed to appear on book websites and make people think “oo, I would indeed like to Read More.” The cover copy (100-150 words) appears on the back cover of the paperback – ebooks being notably deficient in back covers – and also in sundry places around the internet where attention spans are likely to exceed the handful of seconds required to read the short description.

Below you will find three of each, and I am eager to know which of each three is your favourite (and why, if articulable), which phrases you particularly like or dislike, any improvements you think of – any feedback at all is welcome, thank you!

So, with no further ado…

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