https://peevishpenman.com/blog Essays and dispatches from OA Allen on self-publishing, character archetypes, and metaphysical science fiction. en-us https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/buy-artwork-from-family-or-friends https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/buy-artwork-from-family-or-friends A painter's survival guide to being asked for free murals: what commissioning art actually costs in skill, time, and materials—and how not to be a dick about it. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 culture entrepreneur painting https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/on-being-happy https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/on-being-happy A meditation on a father's turbulent past and peaceful present, painted in sailboats and calm seas, and what his happiness taught a daughter about walking away from what doesn't work. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 culture painting minimalism https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/post-apocalyptic-or-postapocalyptic https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/post-apocalyptic-or-postapocalyptic A tongue-in-cheek case for dropping the hyphen from "post-apocalyptic"—and a look at why search engines, spell-check, and plain laziness might matter more than the rulebook. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 wordcraft writing postapocalypticscifi https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/tell-me-a-big-lie https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/tell-me-a-big-lie A 2017 op-ed connecting "America First" rhetoric, The America We Deserve, and the Reform Party—daring readers to explain away what was standing in plain sight. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 culture politics colonization https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/what-the-knights-templar-found https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/what-the-knights-templar-found A speculative dig through Grail legends, Asherah worship, and the Knights Templar's rise—asking what medieval crusaders really found beneath the Temple Mount. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 worldbuilding sciencefiction writing https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/love-of-money-self-publication https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/love-of-money-self-publication From cash-paid pizza murals to Amazon candles, an indie author weighs what self-publishing earns per hour against what books keep: the fragments of a life, left for the people who come after. Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 selfpublishing writing https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/ontology-of-ether https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/ontology-of-ether Cosmology, consciousness, and unseen forces in The Bright Dark, with a creation story from the world after the apocalypse. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 sciencefiction writing postapocalypticscifi consciousness metaphysicalscifi worldbuilding losttechnology anomalousphenomena https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/authority-of-authors https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/authority-of-authors Author and authority share a Latin root: someone who causes something to exist. A look at where that word comes from, who really controls the narrative, and how writers can question the power dynamics they put on the page. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 writing wordcraft selfpublishing https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/the-magician https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/the-magician From Merlin's hidden knowledge to Victor Frankenstein's fatal overreach to Ren's inner alchemy in The Bright Dark, a look at the archetype of transformation, and why good and evil were never the point. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 archetypes writing meditation consciousness https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/confirmed-independent-publisher https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/confirmed-independent-publisher A librarian-turned-writer looks back at how a bookmobile patron, a fake reptilian finance book, and five years of false starts led to becoming a confirmed independent publisher. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 selfpublishing writing worldbuilding https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/the-everyman https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/the-everyman From Pearson's "Realist" to medieval morality plays to Samwise Gamgee, a look at the archetype of continuity, and why writers keep mistaking ordinary for unimportant. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 archetypes writing https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/wasteland https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/wasteland Merriam-Webster says a wasteland is barren, ugly, and spiritually arid. So why does the word feel so good to write? A dig through etymology, Chernobyl, and the Wasteland Rules of 1838. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 sciencefiction wordcraft writing postapocalypticscifi worldbuilding https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/closed-eye-visualizations https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/closed-eye-visualizations Exploring the phenomenon of closed-eye visualizations in meditation—from subtle patterns to vivid imagery. A personal account of CEVs, their neuroscience, and their role in inner alchemy. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 meditation consciousness metaphysicalscifi anomalousphenomena https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/i-wrote-this-post-in-vr https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/i-wrote-this-post-in-vr A sci-fi author tries to write inside a Meta Quest 3, fails through every "obvious" input method, and ends up with a grudging respect for the tech—plus a blunt take on AI, ethics, and accessibility. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 writing sciencefiction technology https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/nine-parts-of-speech-f-word https://peevishpenman.com/blogs/nine-parts-of-speech-f-word A shamelessly profane grammar lesson proving that one very specific word can stand in for all nine parts of speech. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000 wordcraft writing