Cyber Monday sales

A couple of Cyber Monday sales have kicked off that feature some of my work. You can find the Ephemeris Cyber Monday Bundle at http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=96365. This include the Ephemeris core rulebook, Critters and Pest, the Expanded Ephemeris Equipment List, Mission of Trade, or Mission of Mercy, The Derelict Ship of the Ancients, the Book of 1st Level Characters, the Book of Tables, and the Species Compendium. All of this is available for just $17.50...a huge savings, but only through Cyber Monday.

Another Cyber Monday sale you might be interested in is the Cyber Monday Nomadic Delirium Press Fiction Bundle, which can be found at http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product_info.php?products_id=65958. This bundle features four Nomadic Delirium Press e-books, including three of mine, all for the low price of $4.00. This one is also only good through the end of Cyber Monday, so order right away.

Some stuff to write

I just finished reading through a big stack of fragments I've written over the last decade or so. There is definitely some stuff to work with in that stack. Of course, I have no idea where I was going with some of the best of them, but I'll figure out something to do with them.

At least it looks like I'll have some stuff to work on now that I'm starting to find time to write again.

Nothing to sell

With the sale of my most recent novel, I've come to the shocking revelation that I have no fiction to submit. Granted there are some stories from before I actually had a career, but those are locked away in a box in a dark corner of a closet, never to see the light of day again.

I guess I need to get my writing muscles back in shape and start cranking out some new material. I have a few short story ideas I might work on, and I also have a novel that's only about a third done, so that should give me enough to do for a while...

Happy birthday Alexis!

Today is my youngest daughter's first birthday. It's hard to believe that it's already been a year. It's also hard to believe all of the changes we've seen in her. She's gone from being completely helpless to becoming a functional human being. It's absolutely amazing.

Since the older two are "technically" my step-daughters, I missed out on all the wonderful things that babies do. I love coming home from work and seeing her smile at me, waiting for me to pick her up, or seeing the big grin on her face when she first wakes up in the morning. I'm proud of every achievement she's ever had, even the smallest of them, because they're all huge to her.

I'm just very happy and proud to say that I'm now the father of a one year old. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEXIS!!!!

October recap

I really miss writing

My MileHiCon 43 schedule

A Red Moon Rising sequel?

A Taste of Armageddon

Nomadic Delirium Press is looking for novels

Updated MileHiCon schedule

MileHiCon 43

My third novel has sold

A video review of the Ephemeris Role Playing Game

A video review of the Ephemeris Role Playing Game

A more or less positive video review of the Ephemeris Role Playing Game...
http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNQS6mRdkdzQ&ct=ga&cad=CAcQAhgAIAEoBDACOAFArpWp9QRIAVgAYgJlbg&cd=uZ6W5RPzQzs&usg=AFQjCNHncCGKjbdBpkZ56evu0sXvRvsoaQ

I'm very happy that he took almost thirteen and a half minutes to talk about the game, and I agree with quite a bit of what he saw as issues with the game...most of which were more with the design of the core rulebook, as opposed to the actual design of the game.

I hope he reads this blog, because I'd like to say thanks!

My third novel has sold

Many years ago I wrote a story entitled "A Problem in Translation." This story was picked up by Alternate Realities, and was then later turned into an illustrated chapbook by Sam's Dot Publishing. I later wrote another story in the universe that was published by Hadrosaur Tales. The stories fit so well together that I decided to expand on them and turn them into a complete novel.

I'm now very happy to say that the novel has been picked up Sam's Dot Publishing and will be released in the Spring. As more details come in, I'll be sure to let all of you know...

MileHiCon 43

Another year's con has come and gone, and this one seemed to go faster than any in the past. I got an opportunity to talk to all of the usual suspects...and you know who you are...that I usually hang out with, and met lots of new people. Everyone was, of course, in love with the baby. She mostly stared at people at the beginning, but she eventually opened up and started smiling and waving at people.

Friday started out with a panel on the state of publishing, and we basically determined that it's in a state of flux, although I was surprised to learn that David Dvorkin in pushing for the grammerpocalypse (you had to be there.) In looking at my badge, I was surprised to learn that I was going to be a part of autograph alley, so I went to that after opening ceremonies. As I wasn't sitting with the main guests, I spent most of my time catching up with David Lee Summers, Gary Jonas, Carol Hightshoe, and Dana Bell.

Saturday was more or less an off day for me with no programming. I spent a lot of time doing the family stuff with the kids, and then took a break to sign at the Wolfsinger Publications table. They published one of my stories in their new Tale of Armageddon anthology. That night we went to the Smashy Claw concert. We've always been big fans of Odd Austin, so we were curious to see what this new project was. Unfortunately, the mix was off, and it was difficult to hear the vocals, so we still aren't sure what it's about. The baby really loved the music, however. She was dancing around in her stroller, and generally going crazy. Everyone sitting around us was laughing at her. After the concert was the masquerade, which had several good costumes, and several that seemed to be re-hashes of years gone by.

Sunday was my crazy day. Did a panel early in the day about fiction and RPGs. We had a good discussion, and we seemed to keep the audience entertained, which is always a good thing. The panel was moderated by my friend Ian Brazee-Cannon. This was the first time we'd ever done a panel together, so I had to have some fun at his expense. Next time you see him, just ask him if he's done any LARPs lately. I then did a reading and a signing, neither of which was well attended, and then concluded the day by moderating a panel on Mining in Space. I was the least qualified on the panel, which is probably why I was moderating it, but I think we put out a lot of good information, and hopefully the audience learned something.

MileHiCon is always so well done, and the entire staff deserves several rounds of applause, but especially Rose Beetem who does the programming. She always does a great job, and this year was no exception.

Updated Mile HiCon schedule

Here's my updated schedule for the Con, along with more information than was in the previous post...

Friday 4:00 pm
The New Landscape of Publishing
Grand Mesa B-C
Dan Dvorkin, Stephen Graham Jones, Eileen Schuh, James Van Pelt

Saturday 3:00 pm
I'll be signing at the WolfSinger Publications table.

Sunday 11:00 am
RPG Games: Fiction vs. Playing
Wind River B
Ian Brazee-Cannon, MT Fierce, Joseph Paul Haines, Christopher Salas

Sunday 1:00 pm
Author Reading
Mesa Verde C
Reading with Paul Cooley

Sunday 2:00 pm
Signing
Autograph Table
with Paul Cooley

Sunday 4:00 pm
Mining in Space
Wind River B
Dan Dvorkin, Rebecca Lickiss, Alastair Mayer, Wil McCarthy
I'll be moderating this panel, and there are actual rocket scientists on the panel...so it should be very interesting...

Nomadic Delirium Press is looking for novels

Nomadic Delirium Press is now open for novel submissions. We're looking for a couple of science fiction novels that we can release in 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nomadicdeliriumpress.com/novels.htm.

A Taste of Armageddon

A new anthology, entitled A Taste of Armageddon has been released by WolfSinger Publications. The lead story in the anthology is by little old me. If you'd like to pick up your copy, you can find it at Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936099306.

Smashwords also has the e-book, and you can find that at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/83785.

The write-up for the book looks like this:
Advances in modern war techniques have led many to "cleaner" and "cleaner" weapons.
Countries have created missiles that can pinpoint a room within a building - greatly reducing the risks to
non-combatants in a war zone.

In the Star Trek episode "A Taste of Armegeddon" Captain Kirk challenged that war had to be messy so that
people had a reason to avoid it. In this collection 11 authors will look at ways that warfare will advance in the future
- from a war that has determined safe zones that cannot be attacked to a virtual war where a law still exists that can
require one-tenth of the population to be killed to a closed meeting room where world leaders order the destruction
of their own people to show just how far they will go in attacking the enemy.

Whether you agree with war or not, these stories will cause you to pause and think about the ways in which war is
waged.

And the contributors:
J. Alan Erwine
Grig Larson
David Lee Summers
Henry L. Lazarus
David Turnbull
RA Fitzgerald
Joyce Frohn
Dana Bell
John Lance
Frank Taveres
Ryan Kinker

A Red Moon Rising sequel?

My publisher was telling me that he sold a copy of Red Moon Rising to a convention goer recently. Apparently the guy bought the book on Friday, read it over the weekend (how anyone finds time to read at a convention, I'll never know), and returned on Sunday asking if there was a sequel available for the book.

This surprised me. I wrote the book as a stand alone novel. The main story in the novel is the main character trying to come to terms with the death of his brother, and I think I wrapped that up pretty well. At the end of the book, it is clear that the main characters still have goals and things they want to accomplish, but their main goal has been achieved, and I never really thought that the other possibilities would be interesting to readers. Perhaps I was wrong.

At this time, I'm not planning on writing a sequel, but it is nice to know that someone enjoyed the book enough to want to read more.

My MileHiCon 43 schedule

MileHiCon is almost here, running October 21st-23rd. Here is my schedule, and although it's still subject to change, this should be where you can find me...

Friday
4-5
The New Landscape of Publishing

I have no programming on Saturday, but Sunday should make up for that...

Sunday
11-Noon
RPG Games: Fiction vs. Playing
1-2
Reading
2-3
Signing
4-5
Mining in Space

I'll post room information in a later blog, and I'll also let everyone know if there are any changes. I certainly hope that many of you can make it to most or all of these panels.

I really miss writing

2010 wasn't the most productive year for me, and 2011 is looking like it will be even less so. Although I have done some work on a new novel and I've written a lot of supplemental material for the Ephemeris RPG, there hasn't been much else.

The arrival of Alexis has obviously taken up a lot of my time, and I certainly wouldn't want to give up any of that time, and the job is also taking up a lot of my time, especially since Rebecca and I work opposite schedules, which doesn't leave much free time for writing. The job would be something I'd be willing to give up, although there's that whole money thing...we just can't seem to do without it, even though we've tried.

Hopefully as 2011 winds down, and 2012 starts, I'll find the time to write again...it's always good to hope, right?

September recap

Eventually I'll start blogging as much as I used to, but time's just not allowing it right now. Here's what I was talking about in September...

The Goebbels Churn The Company vs. Red Moon Rising

Ephemeris e-books Now Available at Smashwords

Ed Bryant needs our help

The first issue of The Martian Wave

The first issue of The Martian Wave

I recently learned that the first issue of The Martian Wave has sold out completely. I hope you were able to get a copy. From what I've seen so far, the second issue is selling even better, so if you want a copy, you'd better order soon...

http://sdpbookstore.com/tmw.htm

Ed Bryant needs our help

Anyone reading this who is involved in the literary genres almost certainly knows Ed Bryant, and any of you who have actually met him probably have stories to tell about what a great guy he is. Well, Ed has had some health problems, and he's in need of help from all of us in the writing and genre communities. Please visit http://friendsofed.org to learn more, and while you're there, you can donate at the bottom of the page.

Ed's a regular at MileHiCon, and I had the good fortune of having dinner with him on one occasion. Even given his "renown," he is a very humble gentleman and he gave me a few small nuggets of advice that I've at least tried to put into play in my own career.

So, if you can help, please do...

Ephemeris e-books now available at Smashwords

After a lot of furious formatting, I'm happy to announce that the Ephemeris core rulebook and most of the Ephemeris RPG supplements are now available at Smashwords. In the weeks to come, they will also be available at a number of other e-book retailers.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nomadicdelirium

The Goebbels Churn: The Company Men vs. Red Moon Rising

This is the rather long title of the latest of Tyree's Tuppence in the new issue of The Fifth Di.... For those of you not familiar, Tyree's Tuppence is a quarterly editorial that Tyree Campbell writes for The Fifth Di....

In the September issue, Tyree looks at the portrayal of big bad business in film and in literature. For his literary sample, he uses my latest novel, Red Moon Rising. He has some interesting points to make, and what author doesn't like it when someone references their work to make a point?

Read the Tuppence

August recap

No WorldCon for me

What have I been up to?

The Bandits' Sourcebook

The Martian Wave as an e-book

Our trip to Farmington, NM

Ephemeris e-books

Ephemeris e-books

The core rulebook for the Ephemeris RPG has now been released in a variety of e-book formats through Smashwords. You can buy it in whatever format you need at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/83508.

In the weeks to come, it should be available from a wide variety of e-book sellers. We will also be releasing all of the game supplements for other retailers as well.

Our trip to Farmington, NM

A week and a half ago, Rebecca's Uncle Joe passed away, so we loaded into the mini-van on Wednesday night and headed to Farmington, NM. The trip down was pretty uneventful, other than my mother-in-law almost falling down an embankment in the dark.
We'd heard that the Motel 6 in town was cheap, but decent, so we booked two rooms there. The cheap part was true, but the place was a complete craphole. When we got there, there was no hot water, and after more than nine hours in the van, we all really wanted hot water. With that not being an option, we headed to lunch. On our way home, we were hit by a huge downpour. When we got back to the motel, my in-laws' room had flooded, and all of their funeral clothes had been drenched. The motel was more than happy to move them, so they moved them into a room with no air...and we still didn't have hot water.
The manager was gracious enough to offer us discount coupons for our next stay at Motel 6. I informed him that we would not be staying at Motel 6 any time in the future...so they refunded both of the rooms for the entire stay...I still feel like we got ripped off.
The funeral was a big affair, and I think most of the town was there. Joe had lived there most of his life, and he'd been a Navy veteran and a former Fire Captain, and he was very popular in the community.
Since he'd been in the fire department, the funeral procession was escorted by two fire trucks, and as we passed the main fire station, all of those left on duty were standing outside saluting the procession...a very touching gesture. I noticed a big difference about funerals in small towns as opposed to funerals in larger cities. For one thing, as the procession was passing through town, cars on the other side of the road were pulling over, and men were taking off their hats. In the "city," funeral processions seem to be seen as an impediment to traffic, and most people are quite rude in dealing with them. Also, the cemetery was right next to a park. As we passed the park, everyone stopped what they were doing and silently watched the procession...and it was a long procession.
Our return home was as uncomfortable as the trip down...you can only fit so many people into a mini-van. The highlight of the trip home was when were on I-25 just north of Walsenberg. Rebecca looked up a hillside, and started shouting "There's a bear." And sure enough, a small black bear was making his way down the hill. It was the first time I've ever actually seen a bear in the wild. I just hope he stayed off the highway.
We're now very exhausted, and we have to start back to work, with Rebecca going in very early today, and me going in very early tomorrow. I also have a lot of catching up to do as well.

The Martian Wave as an e-book

Sam's Dot Publishing has released Vol. 2 of The Martian Wave, which I edited, as an e-book.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/82388

What's in this issue?

This issue of The Martian Wave includes six evocative tales and five thought-provoking poems that will launch you into escape velocity! Bear witness to first contact with the starship crew of Molly Brown and an alien observer as they communicate via music in “Grand Ol’ Opry” by Laura R. Givens. Join Captain Anjela Stewart and her first mate Chris Lockwood of the Venture Forth, in Robert J. Mendenhalls’s “Full Moon”, as they, and other refugee ships, are turned away from Beta and Moon Base, seeking sanctuary in the wake of earth-destroying asteroid XF11. There are other unique and breath-stealing tales. . .from Robert N. Stephenson’s “A Miner Delay” where AI 7-12 Silva argues with his human-centered boss that he deserves to be sent to earth for an emotional and physical upgrade; Douglas A. Smith’s “Hydrogen” takes you on board the Sir Francis Drake while the crew wrestles with a sudden incapacitating illness. . .Is it connected to their propulsion systems? Dan Thompson’s “Terminator”, propels you into imminent disaster with Engineering Architect Ben Gage and Colonel Katerina Petrovna Mayakovski as they attempt to reform an asteroid to house refugees from the Belt Confederacy and the United Nations of Earth war--amid the imminent threat of an Assassin attack!; and N.E. Chenier’s “Latency”, where research vessel Naut-47 is investigating HRK-a for developers of human colonies. The science crew discovers that not only is the planet suitable for habitation, but there’s something in the environment that expands their latent potential exponentially—but at what cost?
Poets Lee Clark Zumpe, Kristine Ong Muslim, W.C. Roberts, and Shelly Bryant extend their creative tethers across space from “gilded captivity” in an alien zoo to a space trader who sells his organs to survive!

The Bandit's Sourcebook

It's taken a lot longer than we ever wanted it to, but The Bandit's Sourcebook for the Ephemeris RPG is now available...

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=94051

What have I been up to?

Regular readers of this blog have probably noticed that I haven't been posting much lately, so what have I been doing with my time?

I've been desperately trying to get The Bandits' Sourcebook for the Ephemeris RPG ready, and I'm happy to report that it should be available from DriveThruRPG some time in the next week.

I've been trying to get caught up on submissions for The Fifth Di... and The Martian Wave, which I was way too far behind on, and I'm happy to report that I'm not caught up.

I've also been busy formatting books and e-books for Sam's Dot...that battle never ends.

And on a personal note, I've been busy watching our youngest grow up so fast, and of course our older girls started back to school...so busy times indeed!

And of course I've been working at the "real" job...

Now, if I could just find some time to write...

No WorldCon for me

I'm really bummed that I won't be going to Renovation this year. With it being so close, I was really hoping that we'd be able to make the trip, but our finances just won't allow it. So, for those of you that are going...have a great time for me!

Hopefully we'll be able to make Chicago next year, but it will all depend on finances again...and with the monkey business going on in D.C., I'm not optimistic...

July recap

First blog of July

The Ephemeris anniversary

Christmas in July

The Martian Wave is here

An e-book price reduction

An e-book price reduction

Sam's Dot Publishing is tweaking prices on e-books as they figure out what the e-book market is really like. As a result, they've dropped the price on Red Moon Rising to $2.79.

Order a copy today...

The Martian Wave is here

I neglected to mention that my contributors' copies of the second issue of The Martian Wave arrived recently, and the issue looks great. I've been editing for many many years, but I'm especially proud of this issue. There is some truly great stuff in it.

Be sure to order yourself a copy at http://sdpbookstore.com/tmw.htm.

Christmas in July

DriveThruRPG is having their annual Xmas in July sale, and you can get any Ephemeris products for 25% off...so order before the end of the month.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/rpg_xmas_in_july.php?manufacturers_id=2805&filters=0_0_0_0_31815#selectpub

The Ephemeris anniversary

Tomorrow (Sunday July 24th) will be the second anniversary of the release of the Ephemeris Role Playing Game. To celebrate this, we will be giving away free pdfs off and on throughout the day at the Ephemeris page on Facebook. You can find it at http://www.facebook.com/groups/11118817285?ap=1.

You must be a "friend" of the page in order to win. We will be giving away core rulebooks and supplements throughout the day, so join us...

First blog of July

It's hard to believe that it's already the middle of July and I haven't posted a single blog yet. I've been really busy, mostly putting in a lot of hours at the "real" job, and of course little Alexis keeps me on the run...I can't imagine what it will be like when she gets mobile.

I haven't really been able to get much of the work done that I really want to do, but I'm sure that will come in time.

Stay tuned, I promise to post more in the days to come...

June recap

June 2011 Aoife's Kiss

The Martian Wave 2011

What's Wrong with Ephemeris

Are you coming to the book signing?

Contributor's copy of Aoife's Kiss

Book signing tomorrow

Martin H. Greenberg

Martin H. Greenberg

Yesterday, SF anthologies Martin H. Greenberg passed away after a long battle with cancer. For those in the field, Greenberg was a giant, and to me personally, he was someone I admired, respected, and was influenced by.

I've edited several anthologies over the years, and in the back of my mind I always hoped to some day edit an anthology that was as good as the ones he edited...maybe some day.

The SF field has been greatly diminished, and he will be missed.

Book signing tomorrow

I just wanted to remind everyone in the Denver metro area that I will be reading from, and signing copies of Red Moon Rising tomorrow at the Broadway Book Mall at 3 pm. The Mall is located at 200 S. Broadway in Denver.

I've had quite a few people tell me that they're planning on attending, so you might want to get there early.

Contributors copy of Aoife's Kiss

My contributor's copy of the new issue of Aoife's Kiss arrived earlier this week. It's a big thick issue since it's an anniversary issue, and it looks like there's some great stuff in it.

I can't wait to actually find time to read it...yes, I hear all of the laughing.

To order your copy, go to http://sdpbookstore.com/aoifeskiss.htm

Are you coming to the book signing?

Just a reminder that I will be signing copies of Red Moon Rising at the Broadway Book Mall in Denver at 3 p.m. on Sunday June 26th. They will have copies of the book there, but if you're interested in reading the book before the signing (so you can come up with some truly brilliant questions for me), then there are a lot of places you can buy it. For example:

The Sam's Dot Bookstore

Amazon

They should also have copies of most of the other books I've written or edited. Hope to see a lot of you there...

What's wrong with Ephemeris

I recently got an e-mail from someone (who shall remain nameless) telling me what's wrong with Ephemeris. For those of you that are new to this blog, Ephemeris is a science fiction RPG that I'm the co-designer of.

According to this fellow, the problem with the game is that it doesn't have rigidly defined rules. Instead, a lot of the game play is supposed to be created by the players and the game master. Apparently, I don't know much about gaming because that's what an RPG is to me. When we created the game, we wanted something that was going to have a wide open playing style, much like the original and the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games. We didn't want to tell you exactly how to play the game, but apparently that was what this guy wanted. Sorry.

We wanted a system that would allow you to create your own campaigns, and given that the setting is the galaxy, well, there should be a lot you can do with that.

I think that's one of the problems I've had with a lot of the newer games, they're too rigidly defined, but maybe that's just me...

The Martian Wave 2011

The 2011 issue of The Martian Wave is now out. This is a magazine that I edited on-line for many years, and the 2011 issue is the second print issue. There are some great stories in this issue, and I'd recommend a copy for anyone that has an interest in the exploration and colonization of space.

The Sam's Dot Bookstore Martian Wave page

Here's the official write-up for this issue:

Where are we going? What will happen once we arrive? Will humanity endure, and if so, will we like what we become? The short answer is: we don't know. But we can guess. In The Martian Wave you'll find stories that make some very good guesses. You'll find heroes and heroines, characters to love and to loathe, and above all you'll find people very much like yourselves trying to find out what's out there, examine it, cope with it . . . and live.
The 21st Century holds many surprises for humanity. The Martian Wave will give you a few hints.

Issue 2
This issue of The Martian Wave includes six evocative tales and five thought-provoking poems that will launch you into escape velocity! Bear witness to first contact with the starship crew of Molly Brown and an alien observer as they communicate via music in “Grand Ol’ Opry” by Laura R. Givens. Join Captain Anjela Stewart and her first mate Chris Lockwood of the Venture Forth, in Robert J. Mendenhalls’s “Full Moon”, as they, and other refugee ships, are turned away from Beta and Moon Base, seeking sanctuary in the wake of earth-destroying asteroid XF11. There are other unique and breath-stealing tales. . .from Robert N. Stephenson’s “A Miner Delay” where AI 7-12 Silva argues with his human-centered boss that he deserves to be sent to earth for an emotional and physical upgrade; Douglas A. Smith’s “Hydrogen” takes you on board the Sir Francis Drake while the crew wrestles with a sudden incapacitating illness. . .Is it connected to their propulsion systems? Dan Thompson’s “Terminator”, propels you into imminent disaster with Engineering Architect Ben Gage and Colonel Katerina Petrovna Mayakovski as they attempt to reform an asteroid to house refugees from the Belt Confederacy and the United Nations of Earth war--amid the imminent threat of an Assassin attack!; and N.E. Chenier’s “Latency”, where research vessel Naut-47 is investigating HRK-a for developers of human colonies. The science crew discovers that not only is the planet suitable for habitation, but there’s something in the environment that expands their latent potential exponentially—but at what cost?
Poets Lee Clark Zumpe, Kristine Ong Muslim, W.C. Roberts, and Shelly Bryant extend their creative tethers across space from “gilded captivity” in an alien zoo to a space trader who sells his organs to survive!

June 2011 Aoife's Kiss

The June 2011 issue of Aoife's Kiss has just been released. This issue features my short story, "R-Complex." The story looks at who's crazier, government or radical religion...tough call, eh? Also in this issue is a short story from Robert Sawyer...yes, that Robert Sawyer. It's nice to share pages with such a great writer.

Here's the official write-up:

This is it: our 10th Anniversary issue. It's a Double Issue! The cover features Sandy DeLuca's "Lonely Night." Inside you'll find a short story by multiple Hugo Winner Robert J. Sawyer, who makes his debut with us. You'll also find a heap of other names, some familiar and some new, in this spectacular double issue, including Shelly Li, Greer Woodward, Marge Simon, J Alan Erwine, Tyree Campbell, Tim McDaniel, D. Moonfire, Edward Cox, Terrie Leigh Relf, Kimberly Richardson, Keith Graham, Dawn Marshallsay, Bruce Boston, Yunsheng Jiang, Shelly Bryant, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, K. S. Hardy, and many, many more. There's also another writing article by KW Taylor, and a review of the movie "Thor" by Jacob Edwards.
stories
Greer Woodward: In Search Of Flight
Robert J. Sawyer: Star Light, Star Bright
Tyree Campbell: Starlet
Shelly Li: The Architect Of Apathy
J Alan Erwine: R-Complex
Tim McDaniel: A Little Green
D. Moonfire: Best Of Enemies
Kimberly Richardson: Violin
DoA Worrell: The Fermi Paradox
Ramon Rozas III: Night Of The Sevens
Edward Cox: Ideal Village
Dawn Marshallsay: Sleep-Less Highs
Susan E. Curnow: A Gift Horse
Gale Merrick: The Jeweled Necklace Of Ishtar
Keith P. Graham: Carnival Of Blood
Edward W. Robinson: In The Veins Of Arawn
Sam Kepfield: Azaleas
Barbara A. Barnett: The Deepening
poems
Denny Marshall: The Last Ride
Brock Marie Moore: nature, godhood, and the grave
Marsheila Rockwell: The Apprentice Stitchwitch
Bruce Boston: The Music Of Shapeshifters
Yunsheng Jiang: The Last Scene Of Act I
William R. Ford Jr.: The Last Day Of The Grieving Summer
Natasha King: Children Of All Spheres
Terrie Leigh Relf: The Ambassador From Ariadne IV
Brock Marie Moore: Tumble
Marcie Lynn Tentchoff: There Will Be Tea
Daniel Ausema: Spell
Marge B. Simon & Michael Fosberg: Cat Woman
William R. Ford Jr.: For Empire
Linda Ann Strang: Scheherezade Of The Fully Automatic
J. P. Cashla: The Hound
N. R. Allen: The Lamia
JC Crumpton: Another Year Has Passed And Still I Cannot Fly
Ilona Hegedus: After The Fright
Shelly Bryant: In The Goldilocks Zone
flash fiction
K. S. Hardy: Old Man Winter
features
KW Taylor: Science Fiction’s Usefulness As A Tool Of Argument
Jacob Edwards: Milestone Or Millstone – Sam Hignett & Eric Frank Russell
Jacob Edwards Review: Thor

May recap

2011 issue of The Martian Wave

An Ephemeris special

E-book price reduction

First words

Book signing

Book signing

I will be doing a reading and signing of my new novel, Red Moon Rising, at 3 pm on Sunday June 26th at the Broadway Book Mall in Denver. I'd love to see a big crowd, so please add it to your plans for that weekend.

The Broadway Book Mall can be found at 200 S. Broadway in Denver.

First words

Our little Alexis has now said her first words. She's been babbling for quite some time, but we realized that some of her babbling was actually directed, and not random. When she's saying na na na, she's actually saying no. She also say ama when she's looking at Rebecca, so obviously that's mama. And the first word she ever said? That's right...da da. She used to repeat the sound over and over, but then we realized that she would get really loud and call for me when she was upset and wanting me to carry her around to calm her down. She'll also look at me and say it, so it became obvious that she was actually addressing me.

Those are her first three words, and I'm sure there will be plenty more to follow. We even think she's trying to sound out her sisters' names, but she hasn't quite figured out how to do it yet.

E-book price reduction

Sam's Dot Publishing has reduced the price of the e-book version of Red Moon Rising. You can now order it for just $3.99, and you don't even need an e-reader.

Simply go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/40341 and choose the format that works best for you.

An Ephemeris special

Over the next couple of months, Nomadic Delirium Press will be releasing the final three character sourcebooks. These will be for the Bandit, Cyber Wizard, and Nanist. In honor of this, we have a special on the PDF version of the game. You can order it for just $5 by going to http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?discount=66426. This sale ends on May 22nd, so order soon.

As we're finishing up these titles, we're very curious to see what gamers might be interested in having us create for the game in the future. Please feel free to drop by The Ephemeris Facebook Group or The Ephemeris Message Board, and let us know.

2011 issue of The Martian Wave

The 2011 issue of The Martian Wave was supposed to be released in May, but due to printing delays, the release has been pushed back to June, but I've been guaranteed that it will be no later.

So, if you contributed to this issue, we'll all get to see it in a little over a month.

April recap

Here's what I was blogging about in April...

Beyond Centauri 32

Red Moon Rising as an e-book

The SDP Bookstore

An Earth Day special

Beyond Centauri has arrived

Beyond Centauri has arrived

My contributor's copy of the new issue of Beyond Centauri arrived in the mail. My story, "The Martian Orphans and the Moons of Jupiter" appears in this issue. This is my second YA publication, and it could be the start of a series of stories about the orphans...

To order a copy, simply go to http://sdpbookstore.com/beyondcentauri.htm.

An Earth Day special

My new novel, Red Moon Rising is being classified as environmental science fiction, and since Friday, April 22nd is Earth Day, Sam's Dot is putting the e-book version of the novel on sale for just $2.95...that's $2 off the usual list price.

To order, simply go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/40341 and when you check out, use the coupon code VM34F.

But don't delay, this offer is only good on Earth Day.

The SDP Bookstore

Now that The Genre Mall has closed, you can find my two Sam's Dot titles at the SDP Bookstore.

My new novel, Red Moon Rising can be found at http://sdpbookstore.com/novels.htm#redmoonrising.

My illustrated short story chapbook, A Problem in Translation can be found at http://sdpbookstore.com/fiction.htm#translation.

Red Moon Rising as an e-book

Here are a few places where you can purchase the e-book version of my new novel...

Barnes & Noble...just click on the Nookbook link

Diesel e-books

Kobobooks should have it soon

Beyond Centauri 32

The new issue of Beyond Centauri, Sam's Dot's YA zine, has just been released and my story "The Martian Orphans and the Moons of Jupiter" is in it. This is my second attempt at writing YA fiction. A lot of people seemed to like the first effort, so hopefully they'll like this one as well.

There are a lot of stories about the Martian Orphans still kicking around in my skull, so there's a chance that these characters will be making a comeback in the future.

http://sdpbookstore.com/beyondcentauri.htm

March recap

It's been a crazy busy month, so I haven't been blogging much. Hopefully there will be more in the months to come.

I'm closing The Genre Mall

Big e-book sale

Meatless Marty's Existential Cafe

Your local bookstore

Your local bookstore

So, if the store you usually buy your books at isn't currently carrying my new book, Red Moon Rising, you can have them order it. Normally they just want the author and title, but if they need the ISBN, it's 978-0982897584.

And if you are a local bookstore, you can order as many copies as you'd like...

The publisher does offer normal discounts through Ingrams.

Meatless Marty's Existential Cafe

This is one of my favorite settings from my new book...

The one redeeming quality of the area was Meatless Marty’s Existential Café, home of the best vegetarian food in all of Florida, especially their almost world famous tofu burger; Erik’s favorite meal. He’d first come to Meatless Marty’s when it had its grand opening, more than two and a half years ago. He’d come with Jeromie, and that memory always made him pause at the door before he could go in. He did it again this time.
The interior of Meatless Marty’s was almost always changing. Marty, who was almost always there, said he was constantly changing the restaurant as a direct challenge to the rest of society, which never changed. The tie-dyes that had decorated nearly every available inch of the restaurant two weeks earlier had been replaced with various paintings and photographs of wild animals doing what wild animals do, with an emphasis on wolves, whales, dolphins, and bears. Erik thought it was one of the best decors Meatless Marty had chosen so far. It was definitely better than the photos of the animals being butchered that had been up for a week four months ago. That décor had almost closed the place down. It would seem that even animal rights vegetarians hated to be reminded of why they’d made the choice they’d made, at least they seemed to hate being reminded while they were trying to eat.


Read the first chapter

Order from The Genre Mall

Order from Amazon

Order from Barnes & Noble

Order the e-book version

Big e-book sale

Smashwords is having a mammoth one week event where you can get big discounts on quite a few e-books. This includes all of the Sam's Dot Publishing titles, including my new novel Red Moon Rising. Simply go to http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/samsdot and enter the code RAE25 at checkout.

This also includes most of the Nomadic Delirium Press titles, including my short story collection, Seedlings on the Solar Winds and my first novel, The Opium of the People. For these titles, go to http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nomadicdelirium. Use the same code, RAE25, at checkout to get the discount.

Keep in mind that all of these titles can be read on your PC, so you don't have to have an e-reader to order any of them.

I'm closing The Genre Mall

With the new baby, a new job, and new responsibilities at Sam's Dot Publishing, I'm finding less and less time to write. Since I've always considered myself a writer, first and foremost, this is not a good thing.

After a lot of thought, I've decided that I'm going to close The Genre Mall. I've had a good time doing it, and we've sold a lot of magazines and books over the many years I've done it, but it just takes up too much of my time.

The official last day to make purchases at The Genre Mall will be March 31, 2011.

The Genre Mall

February Recap

Red Moon Rising is here

The e-book is here

A note about e-books

Sam's Dot e-books

Red Moon Rising copies

Red Moon Rising at B&N

Red Moon Rising at Amazon

Charlie Chases Crows

Want a signed copy

Want a signed copy?

I have a limited number of copies of Red Moon Rising available that I can sign and send off to anyone that's interested. When I say limited, I mean limited.

If you're interested in ordering a copy, please go to http://www.jalanerwine.com/signedcopies.htm, and order today. Please let me know if you just want it signed, or if you want it personalized.

Thanks for reading, and hope you're all enjoying the new book.

Charlie Chases Crows

I've had some people comment that Charlie Chases Crows' dialog in the first chapter of my new book sounds a bit stilted.

This is actually intentional on his part, as he explains later in the book. According to him, people expect Indians to act a particular way, either like savages, or like a "noble savage, so he chooses to be eloquent...or at least try...

Red Moon Rising at Amazon

My new novel is now available at Amazon as well. You can find it at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982897588.

As of the writing of this blog entry, Amazon has not yet reduced the price, but I'm expecting that they will...especially given the huge discount that Barnes & Noble is giving.

Red Moon Rising at B&N

Barnes & Noble now has copies of Red Moon Rising available. This is a trade paperback, and the normal list price for the book is $12.00, but at the time I'm writing this blog entry, they have it listed for just $6.94. I don't know how B&N does their pricing, but I know that price could change at any time.

I hope some of you will pick up a copy, and I hope you'll enjoy the book.

Red Moon Rising copies

For those of you who have ordered copies of my new novel, Red Moon Rising, copies should be shipping from the publisher by the end of the week.

For those of you who haven't ordered your copies yet, what are you waiting for? You can currently order them from The Genre Mall, and we should have an Amazon link very soon.

If you want to read the first chapter of the book, you can read it at http://www.jalanerwine.com/rmrch1.htm.

Sam's Dot e-books

Sam's Dot Publishing is now diving into the e-book market, with me as the e-book editor. We've released two novels so far, but a lot more are planned for the future, and we may even start releasing some of our print zines as e-books.

All of the books we are doing right now are also available as print books, so we are not trying to become solely an e-book publisher.

The two novels we've released so far are:
The Guardener's Tale by Bruce Boston
and
Red Moon Rising by yours truly

To keep up with all of the future releases, please visit our Smashwords page at: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/samsdot.

A note about e-books

I've had several people tell me that they can't read e-books because they don't have an e-reader. This actually isn't a problem. Kindle makes apps available for pcs and a lot of other e-readers do this as well.

My older books, as well as my new book have all been set up as e-books through Smashwords. In addition to the normal e-reader formats, they also make books available in PDF, HTML, and text. Not everyone has a PDF reader (although that's hard to believe,) but everyone with a computer has the ability to read HTML (web pages) or text files, so there's no reason to avoid e-books.

So, go ahead and buy Red Moon Rising and let me know what you think.

The e-book is here

You can now get an e-book version of Red Moon Rising for $4.95 from Smashwords. In the coming weeks, the e-book will also be available from other distributors.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/40341

Red Moon Rising is here!

My new novel, Red Moon Rising is now available from Sam's Dot Publishing. At the moment, you can order copies from The Genre Mall, and they should ship by the middle of the month. In the next couple of days I will hopefully be posting links so that you can order the book from Amazon, or so that you can order the e-book version from Smashwords.

A little about the book...


J Alan Erwine takes you into a future environmental nightmare that is not only all too possible, but is in fact well on the way there. The air and seas are filthy with pollution and oil spills, the U.S. Government is an effete and toothless replica of its former self, and business decides which rules they will allow to be enforced. Corporations lie, people die.
Including Erik Singer's brother Jeromie, killed while seeking evidence against an oil company regarding their spills in the Gulf. After five years, Erik has had enough of wallowing in loss and self-pity. Emboldened by the words and visions of a Native American environmentalist, Erik is ready to act.
And he has colleagues. The reluctant mayor of Tampa. The daughter of the most egregious industrialist. And a tree-hugging terrorist. Can just four people make a difference?

You can read the first chapter for free here.

January recap

3 for 3

An Ephemeris update for February 2011

Preditors & Editors

E-book sale

Red Moon Rising is coming

Red Moon Rising back cover blurb

Red Moon Rising back cover blurb

J Alan Erwine takes you into a future environmental nightmare that is not only all too possible, but is in fact well on the way there. The air and seas are filthy with pollution and oil spills, the U.S. Government is an effete and toothless replica of its former self, and business decides which rules they will allow to be enforced. Corporations lie, people die.

Including Erik Singer's brother Jeromie, killed while seeking evidence against an oil company regarding their spills in the Gulf. After five years, Erik has had enough of wallowing in loss and self-pity. Emboldened by the words and visions of a Native American environmentalist, Erik is ready to act.

And he has colleagues. The reluctant mayor of Tampa. The daughter of the most egregious industrialist. And a tree-hugging terrorist. Can just four people make a difference?

Red Moon Rising is coming

My new novel Red Moon Rising will be released by Sam's Dot Publishing in February. You can now read the first chapter of the book on my website by going to http://www.jalanerwine.com/rmrch1.htm.

Let me know what you think.

E-book sale

Two of my books are on sale as e-books through Samshwords. You can get Seedlings on the Solar Winds for just $1.48. Simply enter the code ZH36J when you check out. You can also get The Opium of the People for just $2.48. Simply enter the code TT88C when you check out. Both of these books will be on sale for the rest of January.

My third book that Smashwords has available, Marionettes on the Moon is always available for just 99 cents.

Preditors & Editors

The annual Preditors & Editors readers poll has begun again, and although I've become a bit disillusioned by this poll over the years, there are still opportunities for people to vote for me...so of course I'm going to push for those votes.

Here are the categories you can vote for me or my stuff...

Author

Zine Editor

Book publisher...in this case, Sam's Dot Publishing

Bookstore-The Genre Mall

Magazine-The Martian Wave

Voting ends on Jan. 26th...

An Ephemeris update for February 2011

It's been a while since I've updated this blog about what's going on with the game, so now seems like a good time.

I'm currently finishing up The Bandit's Sourcebook, and we should have it out by the middle of February. Our second print title has also come out. You can now get The Ephemeris Species Compendium from DriveThruRPG. We will also soon be releasing Ephemeris: Critters and Pests in print as well.

A couple of other creators are also working on projects, so we will hopefully have those available in the coming months. We're still thinking about what kinds of projects to start on once all of the character sourcebooks are out, so if you have any ideas, please feel free to post them on the Ephemeris message board.

3 for 3

My story, "And the Lamb and the Lion Shall Not Lie Down Together" has been accepted for the A Taste of Armageddon anthology that will be released by WolfSinger Publications. As I mentioned previously, I only wrote three short stories in 2010. This was the third one that I was waiting to hear back on...so that means that I went three for three in 2010.

All of the stories will be published later this year, and I'll post more information when they come out.

December recap

Another light month of blogging with the baby trying to adjust to Rebecca being back at work, and me trying to adjust to having a day job again.

Anthology rough draft

Anthology story

Great holiday gift idea

Sleep deprivation

Merry Christmas

2010 in review

2010 in review

What a year it's been. In May, Rebecca and I were finally able to get married after so many delays. Then in November we welcomed our new baby, Alexis. Our two older girls are thriving in school and growing up so fast. On a personal level, 2010 was the best year I've ever had.

On the writing front, it was a pretty good year as well, although not as productive as I would have liked. I finished (not wrote) two novels. One of them, Red Moon Rising will be released by Sam's Dot Publishing in February. The other is getting some serious consideration from another publisher...so hopefully there will be some good news in early 2011. I only wrote three short stories this year. Two of those stories will be published in 2011, and I'm waiting to hear back on the third.

I did a lot of writing for the Ephemeris RPG, and although sales on the game haven't been booming, we have seen fairly steady sales year round.

So, overall, I would have to say that 2010 was a damn good year!

Merry Christmas

Around here, we don't celebrate Christmas as being the birth of a god, or the birth of a son of a god. Instead, we just celebrate it as a time to be with family and friends. So, to all of my family and friends, Merry Christmas.

Here are a few Christmas songs you might like...

Sleep deprivation

I'm having a lot of trouble adjusting to having the baby in the house and working early in the morning. My new job starts at 6 am every day, so I have to be up at 4:30, and of course, anyone who has ever had a baby will tell you that they don't sleep through the night.

At first, Rebecca was doing a lot of the staying up with her because she was still on maternity leave, but she went back to work last night...and Alexis was not too happy about it. We had a very rough night with her basically screaming for hours on end. So, I didn't get to sleep until Rebecca got home at midnight.

Tonight's been a much better night so far. Normally she wants to be held whenever she's sleeping, but I've been splitting time between that and putting her in the car seat next to my desk and gently rocking her. She hasn't had any fits yet, and she seems quite happy...so it seems to be working.

Needless to say, trying to adjust to her and the job has meant that my writing and editing have suffered a lot, but I'll get back into the swing of things in the next week or two, and then everything will be back to normal...or as normal as it ever is in my life...

Great holiday gift idea

If you're looking for a great gift idea for the science fiction or fantasy fan on your holiday list, might I suggest the Sam's Dot Publishing calendars? Not only do these calendars feature the usual holiday dates, they also feature important dates like the birthdays of some of your favorite authors, the dates of major literary and scientific achievements, and much more.

There are two varieties of the calendars, and here is the cover art for each:





You can find them at The Genre Mall. Just scroll down to the Sam's Dot Calendars.

Anthology story

I finished the story I was asked to write for an anthology. The actual deadline was the end of November, but the editor is a nice person, and she gave me extra time since I was quite busy during November, and because I was losing a lot of sleep due to the new addition to our family.

I still feel like my short story skills are a bit rusty, but I'm two for two on the stories I've written so far this year, so maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about.

Hopefully the story will be accepted. It would be a new publisher for me, and a publisher who puts out some good books, so I would certainly be happy to see my name in one of their collections.

Anthology rough draft

As I mentioned previously, I was asked to write a story for an upcoming anthology. I finished the rough draft a couple of days ago, and now I'm getting ready to start on revisions. I think the story still needs a lot of work, so these will probably be some long and tedious revisions...

November recap

A lighter month of blogging with the birth of the baby...

Writing stuff

Alexis

Getting back in the swing of things

Ephemeris holiday bundles

Happy Thanksgiving

Black Friday Specials

R-Complex

Cyber Monday Special

Cyber Monday Special

DriveThruSciFi has a special bundle offer on four e-books from Nomadic Delirium Press. Three of the books are mine. You get Seedlings on the Solar Winds, The Opium of the People, and Marionettes on the Moon from me...and from James Baker, you get The Poet. All four e-books are just $5.

Go to http://scifi.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=65958 and order, because the deal is only good for one day.

R-Complex

My short story "R-Complex" has sold to Aoife's Kiss. This is only the second short story I've written this year, and it's my second sale...pretty good run.

The story will appear in the June issue, which will be a very special anniversary issue. I can't go into details yet, but I do know that there are two VERY BIG authors from the SF field who will also appear in this issue.

Black Friday Specials

Smashwords has three of my e-books on sale for 99 cents for Black Friday.

You can order Seedlings on the Solar Winds by going to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/16551 and using coupon code TD26P.

You can order The Opium of the People by going to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/16609 and using coupon code TX57H

You can order Marionettes on the Moon by going to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/16865. This book is always 99 cents, but if you're ordering the others, you might as well order it too.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the U.S. A lot of Thanksgivings I use this blog to talk about something that's very important to me...Native American rights, but I'm going to forgo that this year and talk about the things I'm actually thankful for.

First, and most obvious, would be my beautiful wife Rebecca. And right along side her would be my three wonderful daughters, including the youngest, who will be celebrating her first Thanksgiving...although she's not actually aware of that.

I'm also thankful for my extended family, as well as my friends, who have been there through good times and bad, and supported me every step of the way.

I'm also thankful for all of my readers...all two or three of you :-). You guys make all the hours I spend away from my family at the keyboard worth it. I'd also like to say that I'm thankful to all of the editors who have supported my writing over the years. Without you guys, I wouldn't be anything.

So, make sure you let everyone in your life know that you're thankful for their being there, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Ephemeris Holiday Bundles

There are two Ephemeris bundles available at DriveThruRPG at special holiday prices. The two bundles are virtually the same, except that one features the core rulebook and the other does not. This way the bundles are good for the new Ephemeris players, as well as the seasoned Ephemeris players.

You can find them at:

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=86038

or

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=86042

Getting back in the swing of things

Life is starting to return to normal here...or at least as normal as it ever gets. Alexis is turning out to be a great little baby. She pretty much only cries when she's hungry. She had her first sponge bath yesterday, and didn't complain once. She really doesn't seem to complain about the things that most babies complain about, and we're happy about that. Her circadian rhythms seem to be off a bit, as she sleeps more during the day than at night, so we've had a couple of rough nights, but hopefully we're getting her rhythms shifted.

I'm finally starting to get caught up on the pile of work that has fallen on me. I've seen early proofs of my next book cover, and I can't wait to share it with everyone once we have a final copy. I'm putting together notes for a story I need to write for an editor who approached me at MileHiCon. I'm hoping to get started on that in the next few days. All the other little annoying things that take up my time are also being taken care of.

I realized that in my last post about Alexis, I didn't post a picture, although most of you have probably already seen her...so, here she is...

Alexis

Alexis Brianna Erwine was born on Monday Nov. 8th at 2:14 pm. She weighed in at 9 lbs. 3 ozs. and was 21 inches long. Although she is my third daughter, she is actually my first biological daughter. I've heard a lot of people talk about how you instantly fall in lover with your child when they're born, and I figured I knew what they were talking about...but believe me, this is one feeling that really does have to be experienced to truly understand it.

We got home from the hospital Wednesday night, and we were prepared for a long night, but she slept pretty well. She woke up a few times to eat, but went right back to sleep. Last night she was a little fussier, but overall she has been a great baby. She doesn't cry a lot, although she does have a little of her mom's attitude when she doesn't get her way.

So far there hasn't been a lot of sibling rivalry, although the cat wants nothing to do with her...but we pretty much expected that.

The hardest part for me has been that I came down with a rather nasty cold from sleeping in the air conditioned hospital room. As a result, I have to limit my contact with her...which I REALLY don't want to do. I told Rebecca today that as soon as I'm over this cold, I'm going to be fighting her to hold Alexis.

Rebecca came through the delivery amazingly, and she's now recovering well. I was so amazed at the birth that I have a whole new level of respect and love for my wife. She is truly an amazing human being...and together it looks like we've created a truly amazing "little" baby.

Writing stuff

Assuming the baby doesn't make an appearance in the next 12 hours, I should be finishing up a new short story. This will only be the 2nd piece of short fiction I've written this year, but I'm hoping to place it in a special edition of one of my favorite zines. After I get that sent off, I'm going to start working on the story I've been asked for for an anthology. I will say it's nice to be writing short fiction again.

On an editorial note, I'm in discussions with a publisher about the possibility of editing a new anthology...more on that as it's available...

October Recap

Here's what I was talking about last month...

The Diplomat's and Explorer's Handbook

My MileHiCon schedule

10/10/10

Book orders

Ready for the con

MileHiCon Day 1

666

MileHiCon Day 2

MileHiCon Day 3

My short fiction muse

E-book sale

E-book sale

Now through the end of November, Smashwords has two of my e-books on sale for 25% off the usual cover price. This deal is being made available only through my blog.

Seedlings on the Solar Winds use coupon code JM58Q at checkout

The Opium of the People use coupon code BK29K at checkout

My short fiction muse

I'm trying to find my short fiction muse. Over the last year, I've spent most of my writing time finishing up two novels and writing material for the Ephemeris RPG. I've actually only written one short story in that time, but I obviously need to write more.

While I was at MileHiCon, I was approached by an editor who wants me to contribute to an anthology that she's working on. In addition, I had another editor (who was not at the Con) tell me that he's holding a spot open for me in a very special issue of his magazine. This means that I need to write two short stories and soon. Most non-writers don't realize that there's actually a big difference in how you go about writing short fiction as opposed to novels, but there really is, and now I need to get that part of my brain back into shape and get it working.

I would love to make an appearance in this anthology and in this zine, so I'd better get to work. Of course, there's also the matter of the baby who should be making an appearance any time now...

MileHiCon Day 3

Sunday came up on quicker than any of us could have expected. We didn't really have much going on in the early part of the day, so we decided to do some of the kids stuff.

We started out with "Carving with the Pumpkin King." The girls got to do some great relief pumpkins (even thought it was really the adults doing all of the hard work). I've never really been a big Halloween person, but I have to admit that this was kind of fun. After carving, the girls had a "Ranger" meeting. This is kind of like a LARP game just for the kids. They go on missions throughout the con trying to solve problems in the hopes of protecting their kingdoms. I think it's a great little thing for the kids to do, and I'd love to see it expanded, although that could be hard on the parents.

My final panel was "Villains: An Author's Best Friend." We had some great panelists on this one: Hilari Bell, Rachel Caine, Gary Jonas, and Katherine Kurtz. Since there were two of the Guests of Honor on this one, we drew a pretty big crowd, and I think we all had a really good time...and hopefully we imparted a bit of wisdom along the way. We bounced around in the discussion from Hannibal Lecter to Lando Molari, and on to Hitler. We were kind of all over the place, but it was one of the best panels I've ever done.

After this was the closing ceremonies, and it was time to say "So long, and thanks for all the fish!"

Rebecca didn't feel all that well through the whole con, but we still had a great time. I think the ConCom outdid themselves this year, and this was one of the best MileHiCons I've ever been to. And I'm not just saying this because I know that Rose sometimes reads my blogs, but Rose really did a phenomenal job with the scheduling this year and deserves several hearty rounds of applause. Thanks, Rose!

I can't wait for MileHiCon 43, but for now, I'll just be waiting for the birth of our baby...

MileHiCon Day 2

Saturday was to be the crazy day for me, but unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be as crazy as I'd hoped it would be.

I had a 10 am reading with Dan Hoyt. Readings in the morning are always hard to get people to come to. A lot of people party late into the night (or is it early into the morning), and they're not ready for readings at 10 am. Nevertheless, we had about 8-10 people, and I read the first chapter of Red Moon Rising, and the whole time I was wishing that the book had been released so that I would have had copies.

After the reading, I had a signing, which didn't draw much of a crowd. Last year they moved the signings out of the dealer's room and into the atrium. I'm guessing that the logic was that people were more likely to see the writers in the atrium, but I've noticed a definite drop in sales since we've moved to the atrium. I think more people might see the authors, but in the dealers room, more people who want to spend money will see the writers, and I think that works better.

After that I did something called "Speed Date an Author," and no, I was not cheating on Rebecca. The idea behind this was that there was a room full of authors and readers or author-wannabes could come in and talk to us. They had three minutes to talk to us, then a bell went off, and they moved on to the next author. I think it was a great idea, and I had some great (but very short) conversations with a lot of people. I'm hoping that I was able to pass on some good advice to a few of the author wannabes, and I'm hoping I gained a few new readers. I think if they do this next year, they need to lengthen the time to five minutes and have better organization of the movement of the readers.

Later in the day I was on a panel called "DM Bootcamp." This was a panel with Doris Beetem, Laura Givens, and Daniel Peak. As you can probably guess from the title, this was a panel about running RPGs. We had a lot of fun on this panel, and I think we gave out some good information to a rather large crowd. There seems to be one token gaming panel every year, and this is the second year that I've been on it. One thing the large crowd made me realize is that there seems to be a lot of interest in gaming at the Con. I noticed a lot of people playing games throughout the Con, and maybe they need to embrace the gaming aspect a little more...maybe even bring in a gaming guest of honor...if money allows.

After this panel was what I'd really been looking forward to...I was going to run a new adventure of Ephemeris. Unfortunately, a lot of people were grabbing dinner before the masquerade started, and the belly dancers next to the gaming tables seemed to draw a lot of people's attention away from the games, and I couldn't get enough players, so we couldn't debut the new adventure. Since we couldn't play, I was able to watch my oldest in a sword fighting contest. She'd never done anything like this before, but she made it to the third round...where she was knocked out by an adult who teaches sword fighting. Still, we were all very proud of her!

The night ended with us attending the masquerade. There were a few good costumes this year, but not as many as usual.

Rebecca was having a lot of problems during the Con. She wasn't feeling good, and being 38 weeks pregnant, she was very uncomfortable. Still, we did manage to get a few photos taken, which I've posted on my Facebook page. I noticed a lot more cameras flashing around me this year than in years past, so I'm sure more horrible pics of me will show up somewhere in the near future.

I'll post about day 3 tomorrow...

666

This is my 666th blog post...just thought I'd point that out.

MileHiCon Day 1

Friday was the start of MileHiCon. We spent the first few hours getting checked into our room, and then the Con. After that we just hung around for a while talking to old friends we hadn't seen in a year or so.

My first panel was titled "Small Press & Ezines: Finding the new Markets." There's always at least one small press panel at MileHiCon, and I seem to almost always be on it, but that's ok. It's a fun topic. On this panel we had Betsy Dornbusch, Ron Sering, David Lee Summers, and James Van Pelt. It was a good panel, and we talked about a lot of different things, but like many panels, we only had 50 minutes, so we couldn't go into as much detail as we would have wanted. On James Van Pelt's blog http://jimvanpelt.livejournal.com/294443.html, he mentioned that he thought we may have glossed over the e-book versus print book numbers, and I would tend to agree with him. A lot of times for a small press author, a shift of 30 or 40% in either direction is actually only a few books. Looking back, I agree with Jim that I wish we would have gotten into that more.

Immediately after my panel were the opening ceremonies, which were lead by toastmaster Paolo Bacigalupi, and with a theme like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (this was MileHiCon 42, after all) we were in for a great time. The Con was set to be demolished in 48 hours by a Vogon Destructor Fleet.

We closed out the night by going to the Floatilla, which is handmade boats raced in the pool. Not the most exciting part of the weekend, but the kids seemed to enjoy it...at least until they got too tired to keep their eyes open.

I'll report on days two and three later...

Ready for the con

The oldest's fever has broken, and we also went to the Dr. for Rebecca today, and she said that it's not likely that she will go into labor this weekend, so it looks like we're ready for MileHiCon.

This will be the first year that we stay in the hotel, and the girls are really excited about it. I think it will be a good thing for Rebecca too, so she can retreat to the room if she gets too tired...which she usually is.

Hope to see some of you at the things I'm doing. Of course, if you see me Saturday night, I will probably be pretty worn out as I have quite the schedule for Saturday...but I'm happy with it. I think we've figured things out well enough that it shouldn't stress Rebecca too much...at least we're hoping...

Book orders

I've had a few people e-mail me about where to get my books before MileHiCon starts. I will be bringing a few copies of most of my works with me, but if you wanted to order something ahead of time, here are some links for you...

Seedlings on the Solar Winds

The Ephemeris Science Fiction Role Playing Game

The Opium of the People

Lowering One's Self Before Fate

A Problem in Translation an illustrated short story book

Future Syndicate an anthology that I edited

The Martian Wave Issue 1 a magazine that I edit

Wondrous Web Worlds Vol. 9 The best of Sam's Dot's webzine anthology that I also edit

10/10/10

Everywhere I look on the internet today people are talking about 10/10/10 and how significant it could be. It seems like over the last few years, I've been seeing a lot more of this, and the answer to 10/10/10 is the same as it was for all of the other significant dates we've seen of late...no, it has no significance. Numerology is just mumbo jumbo like most other mystical ideas.
First of all, not everyone on this little planet of ours uses the same calendar, so the date is actually different in some parts of the world.
Second of all, the calendar we currently use is pretty arbitrary. It was started on a certain day, which actually is not all that important in the orbit of the Earth around the sun.
There seems to be this growing need to believe that our lives are somehow connected to something mystical, and I really don't understand it. The simple fact that humanity evolved is pretty amazing in and of itself, and we don't need to attach mystical meanings to everything that happens. As a society, we should have evolved beyond that need long ago. That sort of need is based in the "reptilian" parts of our brain, and it's these parts of the brain that teach us to fear the "other," and also leads us blindly following leaders, even if they may be bad for us.
It's time for humanity to put mysticism aside, and actually move towards the future instead of tying ourselves to the past, a past that we should really not be taking pride in...