The Limit of Tolerance

The October issue of The Martian Wave features a reprint of my short story "The Limit of Tolerance." This little tale continues the story of the crew of the Astrid and their misadventures with the Lemec...in other words, it's a continuation of the below mentioned A Problem in Translation. A modified version of this story will also be the second chapter in the novel I'm currently working on.

This issue of The Martian Wave also features two stories from Keith Graham, who often posts on this blog, so make sure you check his work out as well...and there are also some great poems as well.

A Problem in Translation

I have a limited number of copies of my illustrated short story A Problem in Translation that I'm now making available through my website.

This story is the inspiration for the novel that I'm currently working on...so pick up a copy today and enter the disturbing world of the Lemec.

RustyCon

I just received prelimiary confirmation that I will be a panelist at RustyCon in Seattle in January. So, if anyone is in the area, make plans to stop by...

I've finished the first draft

I've just finished the rough draft of my new novel. This has been a work in progress for a long time. It started out as a novel, but after the first chapter, it stalled out.

I then turned that first chapter into a short story which appeared in Alternate Realities and then was later released as an illustrated chapbook by Sam's Dot. The cover of that chapbook is pictured here. You can order copies from The Genre Mall by clicking on the link above.

Eventually, I wrote the second chapter, but it died again after that. So, I went back and re-wroked the second chapter into a short story which eventually sold to Hadrosaur Tales. It's in issue 20, which is also available from The Genre Mall in the zines section.

Nothing happened for years after that. Once I left Grubway, I started working on the book that doesn't want to get written...and it still doesn't, so I pulled this one out, and it all came together. I added another 40,000 words, and we now have a rough draft.

It will take quite a bit of re-working because some things did change mid-stream, but that's ok...the first draft is always the hardest for me...

Ecotastrophe has arrived

Ecotastrophe is now available from Sam's Dot Publishing. This is a trade paperback collection of short stories and poems that look at some of the most dire futures brought about by global warming. As you can tell by the cover (designed by scott virtes, with cover art by scott virtes), I'm the editor on this project.

Curious to know what's in this collection? Here's the back cover blurb:

ECOTASTROPHE is a collection of short stories and poetry that examines futures we could face if we continue to damage Earth’s ecology. The oceans are dying and only desperate measures could save them in Jan Mortimer’s The Empty Ocean. Michelle Mellon’s Undiscovered Horizons questions whether we can truly find the answers out among the stars, or can we only hope to change the future by changing the past as Rebecca S.W. Bates postulates in Walking the River. Also featuring the works of JE Gurley, Bruce Boston, E. Catherine Tobler, Kristine Ong Muslim, and Adam Banks, among others, ECOTASTROPHE is a grim but illuminating view of several possible ecological futures for humanity.

This book will be on sale for $10 through the end of September...and that's not a bad price for a trade paperback.

Religion in SF

I've been reading quite a bit lately, mostly SF, and one thing I've found that really disturbs me is the fact that a lot of SF, even the stuff set tens of thousands of years in the future has the human race still worshipping gods.

As many of you are probably aware, I'm an atheist. I don't really have much use for religion, although I am fascinated by it. It distresses me to think that we might not outgrow our superstitions even when we go to the stars (assuming we don't kill ourselves off.) I'm sure some people might be offended by that statement, but oh well, this is my blog.

21st century Americans look back at the Greeks, Romans, and other ancient peoples and often laugh at their polytheistic religions, as if Judeo-Christian beliefs are somehow better. The simple fact is that they're not. If you really cut the fat away, they're just silly superstitions as well. Much of the Old Testament is stolen from those earlier religions that people now look down their noses at.

It frightens me to think that we can't outgrow this. Here in America, there's been a definite increase in religious beliefs as a result of recent events. Yes, most Americans really do laugh at the Muslim faith...thinking it's somehow less than their own beliefs. Take some time to look it over...it makes just as much sense as what the Christian right is trying to cram down our throats.

Evolution has come under attack quite a bit since dubya came to power, especially with the argument that "Intelligent Design" should be taught in science classes, even though there's limited science to it. It's simply faith wrapped up in science...but completly untestable, which is the primary requirement for any scientific theory.

But, back to where I started...I find it completely unfathomable that ten thousand years down the road we'll still be worshipping gods. The worship of gods has caused more death on this planet than any other man-made artifice. If we as a species don't chose to grow up, there will be no future for the human race.

Entropy

My short story, Entropy has just been published in the premiere issue of Allegory e-zine, which used to be Peridot Books. There's something about this market that I've always liked, and I'm glad to have finally cracked it.

The story is about one man's obsession, and what that obsession does to him...