From the Nomadic Delirium Press blog:
For some reason, a lot of people still prefer to buy their books through
Amazon, so for those of you that want to use them, you can find The
Best of Both Worlds Vol. 1 at https://www.amazon.com/dp/098637055X
Monday, January 16, 2017
Monday, January 09, 2017
Childishness and science fiction
Over the last few years we've seen a lot of childishness in the science fiction field. Most of it started when the "Puppies" started demanding equal representation, and such. I'm not really going to comment on that because I think there's been a lot of questionable behavior from both sides in this debate, and I think this subject has been done to death. Let's face it, the Hugos aren't what they used to be, and they probably never will be again.
What troubles me is some posts I've seen from some of the more "conservative" authors who feel that they've been blackballed by various editors in the SF community. The fact that these authors are saying this isn't what's bothering me. Instead, I'm bothered by the fact that I actually believe this to be true. Granted, I don't have any proof, but from things I've seen, I do think this is a very real possibility. This bothers me because as an editor, we're supposed to be publishing stories and not authors. As an author, I've had plenty of rejections that state that the editor is passing on the story...not on me as an author. So, based on that, why should we pass on an author because of their political views? The simple answer is, we shouldn't. If the author has written a good story, then we should publish the story.
Obviously the one exception to this is if we're publishing a themed anthology. I'm currently reading for an anthology in which global climate change is real. I'm obviously not going to accept a story that goes against that idea, no matter how well-written it might be.
In the past, I've published stories from authors with very different political and religious ideas from mine. The reason I did this is because I enjoyed the stories. I'm an Atheist, but I've published stories with very Christian ideals because the stories knocked my socks off. I've published some very conservative authors in the past, including one who eventually became part of a "puppy slate," and I would publish stories from them again if I enjoyed the stories.
There are times when I cringe reading some of the things posted on Facebook by authors I've published, but again, it's their stories that matter, not their beliefs, and that's what the writing world is supposed to be about.
I hate the idea of blackballing someone for their beliefs. In my opinion (and please make sure you understand this is an opinion before you all get upset), the only reasons for blackballing an author are because they're plagiarists, they continually refuse to follow your guidelines, or because they've assaulted you as a person in social media.
End of rant.
What troubles me is some posts I've seen from some of the more "conservative" authors who feel that they've been blackballed by various editors in the SF community. The fact that these authors are saying this isn't what's bothering me. Instead, I'm bothered by the fact that I actually believe this to be true. Granted, I don't have any proof, but from things I've seen, I do think this is a very real possibility. This bothers me because as an editor, we're supposed to be publishing stories and not authors. As an author, I've had plenty of rejections that state that the editor is passing on the story...not on me as an author. So, based on that, why should we pass on an author because of their political views? The simple answer is, we shouldn't. If the author has written a good story, then we should publish the story.
Obviously the one exception to this is if we're publishing a themed anthology. I'm currently reading for an anthology in which global climate change is real. I'm obviously not going to accept a story that goes against that idea, no matter how well-written it might be.
In the past, I've published stories from authors with very different political and religious ideas from mine. The reason I did this is because I enjoyed the stories. I'm an Atheist, but I've published stories with very Christian ideals because the stories knocked my socks off. I've published some very conservative authors in the past, including one who eventually became part of a "puppy slate," and I would publish stories from them again if I enjoyed the stories.
There are times when I cringe reading some of the things posted on Facebook by authors I've published, but again, it's their stories that matter, not their beliefs, and that's what the writing world is supposed to be about.
I hate the idea of blackballing someone for their beliefs. In my opinion (and please make sure you understand this is an opinion before you all get upset), the only reasons for blackballing an author are because they're plagiarists, they continually refuse to follow your guidelines, or because they've assaulted you as a person in social media.
End of rant.
Sunday, January 01, 2017
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Rot in hell 2016
As years go, 2016 pretty much sucked. Yes, there were good things that happened, but not many.
2015 ended with my family struggling financially. 2016 just increased those struggles. Instead of just living, our main focus most of this year has been how are we going to keep a roof over our heads. There seems to be some light in the tunnel early in 2017...but with our luck, it's just a semi headed our way.
Health issues have also been a problem. My chronic pain is only getting worse, and it's now getting to a point where even normal daily activities are becoming difficult for me. In addition, Rebecca was diagnosed with a chronic disease that will plague her for the rest of her life. All of this has led to more medical expenses...fun, fun, fun.
Overall, the family is doing well, and this is one of the few bright spots of the year.
I didn't do much writing this year, but that picked up some towards the end of the year, so maybe there's hope in the new year. There also wasn't much design work on the Ephemeris RPG done this year. A few supplements were released, and I did start work on a new supplement for the Battle for Turtle Island RPG, but still, not enough work was done on any of these.
I have done a lot of editing this year. Nomadic Delirium Press released several books this year and also several magazines, and while the quality of the work I've included in them has continued to increase, sales have not followed. The publications are growing slowly, but they aren't selling anywhere near the number of copies as they should. There is some great work in these books, and they deserve to be read by more people.
Hopefully 2017 will be a better year, but I'm not making any bets. We thought 2016 was going to be OUR year...
2015 ended with my family struggling financially. 2016 just increased those struggles. Instead of just living, our main focus most of this year has been how are we going to keep a roof over our heads. There seems to be some light in the tunnel early in 2017...but with our luck, it's just a semi headed our way.
Health issues have also been a problem. My chronic pain is only getting worse, and it's now getting to a point where even normal daily activities are becoming difficult for me. In addition, Rebecca was diagnosed with a chronic disease that will plague her for the rest of her life. All of this has led to more medical expenses...fun, fun, fun.
Overall, the family is doing well, and this is one of the few bright spots of the year.
I didn't do much writing this year, but that picked up some towards the end of the year, so maybe there's hope in the new year. There also wasn't much design work on the Ephemeris RPG done this year. A few supplements were released, and I did start work on a new supplement for the Battle for Turtle Island RPG, but still, not enough work was done on any of these.
I have done a lot of editing this year. Nomadic Delirium Press released several books this year and also several magazines, and while the quality of the work I've included in them has continued to increase, sales have not followed. The publications are growing slowly, but they aren't selling anywhere near the number of copies as they should. There is some great work in these books, and they deserve to be read by more people.
Hopefully 2017 will be a better year, but I'm not making any bets. We thought 2016 was going to be OUR year...
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Just a few days left
From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:
There are just a few days left to save 50% off of our fiction titles at DriveThruFiction. Go to http://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse/pub/2805/Nomadic-Delirium-Press and order now before you run out of time!!!
There are just a few days left to save 50% off of our fiction titles at DriveThruFiction. Go to http://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse/pub/2805/Nomadic-Delirium-Press and order now before you run out of time!!!
Friday, December 23, 2016
The Best of Both Worlds Vol. 1
Nomadic Delirium and Alban Lake, both publishers of science fiction and fantasy, and all points in between, have collaborated to bring you the very best of what they published in 2015. The selections within come from The Martian Wave and The Fifth Di…, and from Outposts of Beyond and FrostFire Worlds. Their settings might be an inner planet or a world-that-might-be. Their themes are universal, involving choices we all have to make at one point or another in our lives. This is science fiction and fantasy literature at its finest.
This is the first anthology of its kind; it won’t be the last.
http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-best-of-both-worlds-vol-1/
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Half off sale
My individual short stories, as well as my most recent short story collections are available in PDF format for half off at DriveThruFiction for the rest of the year. You can find all of them at: http://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse/pub/2805/Nomadic-Delirium-Press
While you're there, you can also pick up titles from Nomadic Delirium Press. All of their fiction titles are also included in the 50% off sale. What a great chance to stock up on reading materials for the cold winter nights...
While you're there, you can also pick up titles from Nomadic Delirium Press. All of their fiction titles are also included in the 50% off sale. What a great chance to stock up on reading materials for the cold winter nights...
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Revamped website
I've made quite a few changes to my website. I've taken out a lot of the useless stuff, and I've taken out a lot of the text...mostly focusing on the stuff I've written and edited. A lot of the text on the website was just copied from this blog, so why bother with it?
There are also fewer pages on the website. Most people only hit one or two pages on a site, so I've gone very bare bones and just kept what I thought was most important. Please feel free to check it out at http://jalanerwine.com/
There are also fewer pages on the website. Most people only hit one or two pages on a site, so I've gone very bare bones and just kept what I thought was most important. Please feel free to check it out at http://jalanerwine.com/
Friday, December 02, 2016
The Battle for Turtle Island continues
It's been a few years since I first created The Battle for Turtle Island RPG, but I'm happy to say that I'm now working on the first expansion for the game. This will be Pueblo Wars, so I'm guessing you'll be able to figure out where it's set.
There's no telling how long it will take me to actually create the rulebook, but I'm hoping to have available in the Spring of 2017.
There's no telling how long it will take me to actually create the rulebook, but I'm hoping to have available in the Spring of 2017.
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