Hello! I’m Patrick Hester – writer, podcaster, and two-time Hugo Award winner. Welcome to my site – All Things From My Brain.click for my full bio
News & Updates
INTO THE FIRE available pretty much everywhere!

INTO THE FIRE available pretty much everywhere!

Samantha Kane: Into the Fire, my new Urban Fantasy Novel, is now available pretty much everywhere! I’m excited you can download the eBook or order the paperback of my new book, published by WordFire Press, by...

A Moment About Grief
A Moment About Grief

As I’m looking to get back into writing things here for the blog, my brain is working through stuff related to my mother’s death – and that’s going to bleed through to things I post here. So – if that’s not something you want to explore right now, you won’t hurt my feelings by skipping

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My Mom Died
My Mom Died

So, it’s been a while. I realized that when I thought about getting back on the blogging horse, and checked this site. Not only has it been a while, something big happened since I last posted something here – my mom died. Talking about it isn’t easy. But I feel like I need to here

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Streaming Consciousness: Cobra Kai
Streaming Consciousness: Cobra Kai

This post originally appeared in a Patrons-Only area for backers of the Functional Nerds Podcast. For access to great content like this, and other rewards, consider backing the show over at patreon.com/functionalnerds. So. Cobra Kai. Where to begin? Anealio talked about this on The Functional Nerds Podcast back when it hit YouTube and encouraged me

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ATFMB
Plot Holes. It Doesn’t Make Sense But We Really Don’t Care – Mostly
Plot Holes. It Doesn’t Make Sense But We Really Don’t Care – Mostly

A series of things came together to make my brain go, “Huh.” This is the way. The way of my brain… First thing. I was watching a rerun of Young Sheldon with my mom. The episode was about how Sheldon’s mother and father were dealing with the fallout of Sheldon’s mentor being hospitalized for a

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I Hate Themes
I Hate Themes

The thing about themes is – they make things sooooo easy, right? Someone else takes the time to lay everything out, make it look good and all you have to do is fill in a few blanks. Except, they still have their challenges when it comes down to it. Take, for example, the theme I

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Quarantine Ramblings
Quarantine Ramblings

It’s been an interesting couple of months. Understatement of the century? We’re all cooking more, reading more, playing more games, watching more things online. Adapting. For the most part. For me, I’ve definitely been cooking more. I post most of it on social media. Cooking provides a bit of control in a situation that feels

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Wild Colorado
Photo Tuesday
Photo Tuesday

So.  Yesterday on Twitter, I mentioned that my car slid right out into a busy intersection and that I was lucky I didn’t get t-boned. I thought I’d use some satellite imagery to illustrate exactly what happened. Here’s where I live: Nice little neighborhood, am I right?  Lots of green, leafy things. The ‘A’ indicates

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Photo Friday: A Stream By Any Other Name
Photo Friday: A Stream By Any Other Name

Here is the photo: Here was the conversation (mostly paraphrased from memory): “There’s a stream!” “Stream or creek?” “Creek?” “Crick?” “Babbling brook.” “Brook.” “Tributary.” This was taken in Rocky Mountain National Park, July 2014.

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Photo Tuesday-Rattlesnakes
Photo Tuesday-Rattlesnakes

The way we read things isn’t always the way an author intended. Take, for example, this sign from Red Rocks Park, elevation 6,400 ft. It makes me wonder – when is the rattlesnakes area open…? ~P

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Photo Tuesday: Lookit all the books!
Photo Tuesday: Lookit all the books!

This past weekend, I flew to Columbus, Ohio to attend the World Fantasy Convention.  I knew from past conventions that I’ve attended, that you usually get a bag of goodies.  It never occurred to me that this convention would give me a bag full of books. Holy cow. Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled

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Photo Friday: Rocky Mountain National Park 1
Photo Friday: Rocky Mountain National Park 1

I thought I’d start us out with a nice shot pretty close to the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. I was -thrilled- to see so much green up there compared to a couple years back when the beetle damage was so rampant and you could see these brown veins pulsing through the trees. The

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Photo Friday: Portrait in Stupidity
Photo Friday: Portrait in Stupidity

On a recent trip to Estes Park / Rocky Mountain National Park / Trail Ridge Road, I was able to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes – photographing Colorado.  I’m gonna be sharing those photos with you in the weeks to come, but before I do, I wanted to start with one I am

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Photo Gallery