Tag Archives: Harlan Ellison

We want to do a Scrivener show — we really do — but what a Valentine’s Day week we had. It was a week of politics and heated discussions on Facebook that ended up inspiring this week’s episode topic. With special guest Lisa-Anne Moore, authors take a look at those soapboxes we all have in a corner and ask the tough question — when do we as authors (of any standing in a career) voice our opinions, and when do we walk away from heated debates?

00:00 — Introduction

• Why we brought Lisa on board this episode
• What happened last week
• Virginia wants to make vaginal probing in abortion cases a law.
• Lawmakers debate new contraception health coverage. No women are present. (Washington Post)
• Now that you know the background, here’s what happened to Pip…
• …and here was Lisa’s reaction to what was going on in the news and in the State and Federal forums.
• Lisa’s (heart-felt and honest) blogpost from Life in a Nutshell. (This is a raw and honest reaction to the Virginia bill, so be ready for this.)
• How did the ladies feel not about the issues, but in voicing opinions and emotions that might be “unpopular” (in a broad sense) with readers, agents, and publishers?
• Tee draws a line in the sand on where authors damage their careers
• Tee breaks the Prime Directive and drops a few names of authors that go deep in their non-writing rants
• Harlan Ellison, the grumpy old man of Science Fiction
• Ringo, Drake, Flint, and Weber — The Baen Books Mafia
• When should authors step up and when should they let the argument go?
• And while authors face the issues, the cats make their own opinions know. (Tee recommends Bissell.)
• When Tee made the “delete a comment” call…all very personal.
• Can one comment or a single blogpost completely destroy a carrer or reputation?
• Lisa’s manages another heated debate (thank you, Indiana) concerning the Girl Scouts.
• Pip reflects on starting the following morning picking up where she left off.
• Tee calls Pip on the lost writing time over politics.
• Beware the Perfect Storm of PIP RAGE!!!
• Tee, Pip, and Lisa talk about the authors whose politics and philosophies affect their works.
• The three go deeper into the topic…
• When authors (and other artists) use their notoriety to push an agenda
• When artists and commentators use their notoriety to step into a different arena
• The big questions authors should ask before taking a stand on current events

48:45 — The Wrap-Up