The cover

Nothing has been finalized yet, but here's an early look at the cover for my new short story collection...

The Title

There was no clear cut winner in my quest to put the title of the new collection to a vote, so I've decided to go with one of my favorites. The title will be Seedlings on the Solar Winds and other stories. I think it fits me and my writing pretty well.

We should have an actual book in hand by the end of the year. Once I have it, I'll post ordering info...

Title for the new collection

Almost all of the responses I've gotten back about naming my new collection have said that I should use the title of one of the stories. So, I thought I'd open it up for voting and debate on my blogs and on my LJ account. No guarantee that I'll use the winning title, but I would like to hear what people think is catchy, because let's face it, I want to sell books!

There are going to be sixteen stories in the collection. I've ruled out the use of The Opium of the People as the title, since that's the name of my novel, but below you will see the other possibilities. Please feel free to comment with what you think is the best title...

Sad Grey Eyes on Tharsis
Sim-Shrink
Origins
A Chronic Mistake
Reality
A Singular Solution
Out of Plato's Cave
Lost in the Dark
The Limit of Tolerance
On the Word of Ancients
Seedlings on the Solar Winds
Living in the Styx
The Ancient Ones
The Mind of the Cat
Entropy

Cover art

Still talking about the new collection here. We've been discussing cover art with the artist, Laura Givens, who will be doing the new cover. Laura did the cover for The Opium of the People, and she had a suggestion for the new cover. In the past, I've done some "modeling" for her, and she suggested using something with me for the cover.

In some ways, I liked this idea, especially with the way she presented it, but at the same time, it seems like the height of arrogance to put yourself on the cover of your own book! What do you think.

I've also been looking at her space art, and I really love it, and I'm thinking I might want to use something like that. You can check out her work at http://www.lauragivens-artist.com/.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on all of this...thanks for reading...

Titles

I'm working on putting together a new short story collection, and I've been thinking a lot about titles. My first two collections were Lowering One's Self Before Fate, and other stories and Marionettes on the Moon, and other stories. In both cases, I used one of the stories in the collection as the main title, but I'm not sure if I want to go that route this time.

So, I thought I'd throw it out for discussion, what sounds better to a reader...a title incorporating one of the stories, something that tries to sum up the theme (although there really isn't one), or something a little more random.

Your feedback is valued...

Nomadic Delirium Press' Holiday Sale

From now until Christmas, NDP has reduced the price on The Opium of the People and Marionettes on the Moon. You can get one for $9.99 and the other for $5.95...and even better, there's no shipping & handling on either title!

Click on the title of this entry to go to the special sale page...

John Scalzi visits the Creation Museum

Fellow author and rationalist John Scalzi recently paid a visit to the newly opened Creation Museum. He has an extremely detailed report about it on his blog. Click on the title of this entry to check it out.

In reading through his report, I have to admit that I think I'd be on the ground laughing before I was finished with the second room. Some of the things these people are trying to push on people as science are a joke. For example, there were dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden and they were all herbivores before Adam ate of the apple. I just have this image of Adam and Even with their fig leafs chilling with a T-Rex. Absurd.

It's a great post from John, however, and he tries to examine the "museum" with as open of a mind as he could possibly have.

A blast from the past

I was doing a Google search of my name...I do it to look for reviews of my work...no, really I do...when I came across an old article I had written for the very first Halloween issue of Expressions Newsletter. This was many, many, many, many years ago. Since it's about writing, I thought I'd share it with my blog readers...

WRITING'S HORRORS

By J Alan Erwine



The door creaks open slowly as you turn the key, knowing that what you don't want to see is there. You take a deep breath as you reach in, hand trembling slightly. Suddenly, breath held in terror, you pull out that which you feared. It's a manila envelope, and it feels thick. Your story is back with a rejection.

All of us have felt this at one time or another...some of us have experienced it so many times, we're now immune to the feeling. So, what do you do?

What you don't do is write the editor telling him or her how you feel about them and their entire lineage. That's a sure-fire way to get yourself black-balled from that publication, and possibly many others. Remember, a lot of editors know a lot of other editors! The only thing you really can do is read the rejection letter, take what you can from it, make any changes to the story you need to, and send it back out. Then, you sit back and wait for the cold sweat to return again as you wait for the next time you're going to stick your hand in that mailbox.

Something that's very important to remember is that editors aren't evil demons sitting behind a desk waiting to reject you, your story, and your progeny (at least, most of them aren't.) An editor is just a person whose doing a job that they hopefully enjoy. Their main goal is to put out a quality product, and as such, they can be your best friend...or at least someone who can help you.

One thing many authors fear is the cover letter. When you write the cover letter, the most important thing is to let a bit of your personality show through. Don't send a letter that sounds as stale as last month's bread. Your cover letter reflects your abilities as a writer, and some publishers don't get past the cover letter. If you don't grab them right away, get ready for rejection.

By the same token, don't try to oversell the story. Don't tell the editor that the story they're about to read is the greatest masterpiece since Hemingway. Nobody likes a braggart, and if you're like 99.999% of the writers out there, your story will not be better than Hemingway.

Give a simple sentence on what the story is about, and why you wrote it, but like I said earlier, let your personality show through. If you don't have one, go to a costume shop and rent one.

The biggest fear of any writer, and you won't realize this until it happens to you, comes about when your wonderful story comes out, and it's been completely butchered by the editor. I speak from personal experience as one of, what I consider my best stories, had this very thing happen to it. There were numerous typos, and even two paragraphs left out. They weren't necessarily important paragraphs...it was only the climax of the story.

What do you do when this happens? Rant and rave, but don't kick the cat or dog...they will get even! Then, you sit down and write a polite letter to the editor. Keep all the anger inside because it's not going to help any. If they don't do anything to correct the problem to your satisfaction, don't ever submit to that publisher again.

In my case, the publication folded before they put out another issue. I'd like to say that I didn't take joy in that, but I'm only human.

I could go on about avoiding ghoulish publishers, but maybe that will be for another issue. For now, remember that as an aspiring author, you're going to encounter more tricks than treats early on, but once you start receiving those treats, they're better than anything you can imagine.

I've found another way to waste some time

I recently joined a site called Goodreads.com. It's a site for readers and authors both. I, of course, signed up as an author. If you want to check out their website, you can find it at http://www.goodreads.com. It doesn't seem anywhere as annoying as MySpace, so you don't have to be worried about that.

If you do join, please feel free to add me by going to my profile.

In other news, I've just finished seven straight days at the place worse than hell. I'm looking forward to a couple of days off!!!

Aargh! I be writin a pirate story...

I was recently asked to contribute a story to a science fiction pirate anthology. This is a new type of venture for me. I've written stories about criminals in the past, but never pirates. I've never really given much thought to space pirates. I've always thought of it as a possibility, but I've never thought of it as something I'd want to write about.

However, the editor has always treated me very fairly, so I figured I should at least give it a shot. There's no guarantee of acceptance, but I'll write the best damn story I can come up with. Since this is something I'm a little blind and dumb about as I go into it, I've decided to try to put together some kind of outline for how I want the story to work. This isn't my normal writing style, but I've used it successfully in the past, so we shall see...

Rough draft is done...more or less...

I've just typed the last word, "water," in the rough draft of the new novel. The book came out much shorter than I'd hoped, mostly because I deleted an entire section halfway through. It just didn't fit with the rest of the novel. I have, however, come up with a new sub-plot that I'll introduce. I just haven't decided yet if I'm going to go back and put it in this draft, or just work it into the second draft.

That plus adding in all of the description that I tended to leave out should give me the word length I need.

All I know is that I'm happy to be done! Now I'll take a break from the manuscript for a few weeks, and attack it with a fresh perspective later.

Big Brother Jared is spying on me

I was just noticing that someone in the last hour or so did a search on this little blog for the term "Subway." I can only assume that this would be one of my bosses or co-workers...so, hi, whoever you are. I know you've been here, and I'll be watching for you again...

I've done my civic duty

I mailed in my ballot for this year's election today. Democracy in action!

Granted, I live in a very small town, and there were actually only two things on the ballot, but I voted nevertheless. Voting is the most important thing we as Americans can do, and so I've done my part.

The LOL cats meet Star Trek

MileHiCon artist guest of honor and crazy man Frank Wu has been combining the LOL cats with Star Trek on his LiveJournal. If you click on the title of this entry, it will take you over to his journal. You can scroll through his entries and read them. Some of them are hilarious.

If you've never watched Star Trek, you won't get them, but since there are so many SF geeks and cat freaks who read this blog, I thought I'd pass it along.

Now, back to work for me...

Catching up

I've spent the last few days trying to get caught up. I went back to work on Tuesday, and we were very busy. Today I had to finish the Sam's Dot update, which is now up, and I've been trying to get everything else done that I need to get done.

I've done a little writing, but not as much as I'd like.

Expect more comment from me here once I get a a few (or five or six) thousand words written...

Final wrap-up of MileHiCon

Well, it's probably not the final wrap up, since I'm sure I'll have more to say about specific things that happened. So, what were the highlights of the weekend?

I was really happy to finally get a chance to meet Tony Ruggiero. After all the years of exchanging e-mails, it was nice to actually get to talk to him in person, and to reflect on what Jim meant to both of us.

Meeting Frank Wu, was just like, really cool! Too bad the Rockies didn't get their Glory and Redemption. Frank was a great character, and he really livened up the Con. I won't ever forget before the masquerade they gave him this very large glow stick so he could see the ballots...between his absolute amazement that he could make the colors flash and his decision to use it as a light sabre, we were all very amused.

It was great to see old friends that I hadn't seen in a while like Mike D'Ambrosio, Maggie Bonham, Carol Hightshoe, and all the rest. And it was also great to meet a lot of new people, including people I'd only known through MySpace. Yes, the networking actually works!

I learned a lot, and I always enjoy a chance to speak to the fans...not necessarily mine...but fans of SF.

There was one thing that I walked away with a negative feeling on...and this is one of those personal sections that I never post about, so feel free to skip to the pictures if you'd like. Throughout the Con, and especially as it drew to a close, I realized how great it would be to have someone to share it with. In general, I like being alone, but there are times when it might be nice to have someone else...but enough of the emotional drivel.

ON TO PICTURES...


The small press panel


Selling books at my signing


From the Masquerade


Before my reading


My reading with Rebecca Rowe

There are more pictures posted at http://www.jalanerwine.com/milehicon39.htm

MileHiCon Day 3

MileHiCon has now come and gone, and I feel like it flew by. This year's Con was a very good time, but I have to admit that by not staying at the hotel, I feel like I missed out on a lot. Next year, I will hopefully stay the entire weekend...although with WorldCon here in August, I'm going to have to sell a lot of copies of The Opium of the People, and my other books, in order to make it work.

Before I get into day 3, there was one thing I failed to mention about day 2. I had the opportunity on a couple of different occasions to talk to Tony Ruggiero. Tony had been publishing with ProMart Publishing when I first started out as a writer, and then I published a couple of his stories when I started editing for ProMart. In a lot of ways, James Baker, the founder of ProMart, was as instrumental in starting Tony's career as he was in starting mine. I hadn't realized that Tony had actually dedicated his short story collection to Jim. We talked a lot about how much Jim had meant to both of us, even though neither of us actually met the man.

Anyway, on to day 3...I started out by going to the Guest of Honor Speeches, or the Frank Wu and Friends Show as many of us were thinking of it. I like the fact that unlike a lot of Cons, MileHiCon just lets the guests talk about whatever they want. Frank used his time...well, actually it wasn't his time, but he talked about how baseball is like life, and the importance of "Glory and Redemption." Believe me, if you'd been at the speeches, you'd be laughing your asses off right about now...

Frank later went on to talk about microbes in space, while the other guests talked about more mundane things. Ed Bryant, who is a brilliant individual, and has his own quiet sense of humor, made a great foil for Frank. I think they should take the show on the road.

I then went to a panel about SF pirates. It's normally not my kind of thing, but David Lee Summers is doing an anthology on the subject, and he's invited me to contribute...so I figured I should find out a little on the subject. Unfortunately, I thought the panel was very one sided, with one person hogging most of the spotlight, and with way too much feedback from the audience. I'd have to say that Con audiences are great because they love their subject matter so much, and because they really are interested in what people in the field have to say...but sometimes I think they get a bit too exuberant in their desire to participate. Still, con guests are some of the best people in the world!!!!

After the pirates panel, it was off to do my reading. I read two different section from The Opium of the People. I'd have to say that I don't think the audience was ready. The other author with me was Rebecca Rowe, and I could literally hear her cringing at some of the imagery I used. Yes, one of the scenes I read was the torture scene from early in the novel. Rebecca then read a Halloween short story, which was very enjoyable. She's a brilliant writer, and I see big things in her future.

After the reading, I decided to go to a panel about cover art. My main reason for wanting to do this was because Frank Wu and Laura Givens were both on the panel. Given their, shall we say vibrant personalities, I figured the universe wouldn't be able to handle the excitement. It was definitely a great panel. Unfortunately, Frank had to leave early because he had tickets to this little baseball game here in Denver, and he was hoping that the Rockies would find "Glory and Redemption." After he left, Laura and the other panelist, Deb Taber, forged on and I thought they did a great presentation. Deb is the art director for Apex Digest and Laura is the art director for Tales of the Talisman. Both of them really knew their stuff and did a great job of explaining what works and what doesn't work.

I will have a wrap-up of the Con a bit later. I'm dead tired and can barely think straight...which means it must have been a GREAT con!!!

MileHiCon Day 2

Day 2 is now in the bag. After a series of delaying events in the morning, I made it to my first panel with one minute to spare. This was the small press panel. It was pretty well attended, and there were some good discussions. Unfortunately, we had one panelist who tried to dominate the panel. I really hate when that happens. I did learn some things, which basically reinforced my own ideas about small press publishing, and I will be passing those on to Tyree...probably tomorrow...after some sleep.

After that, we had the Break Out session, which was an opportunity for people to learn more about the small press, and to pitch ideas. It was a pretty small turnout, but we had some great discussions about publishing. A lot of talking about the pitfalls many of us had fallen into along the way.

We then popped in on the end of the Alien Archaeology panel. I did this panel two years ago, and we had the audience rolling...this year it was not quite as funny. There were a couple of good laughs, but mostly it was a disappointment.

Then I went off to the art room, and while I was there, I ran into Frank Wu. Like many artists, I really do think the guy is crazy, but it's that good crazy. He was actually a very nice guy, and we talked a lot about art and writing, and I'm now more determined than ever to make it to a convention that both he and Jay Lake are doing. I can't imagine what those two are like together, but I'm sure it's a level of insanity that most mortals would not be able to keep up with.

At my signing, I did sell a few books, which isn't a bad thing for a small press writer. None of us really expect to make a lot of money at a convention, but it is nice when someone does want to buy your books! I had a couple of interesting conversations about global climate change and politics. Plus, since I was signing with Maggie Bonham and Carol Hightshoe, we just had to harass each other!

They then had belly dancing in the atrium. The women were dressed up like the green Vegan women (I think it was Vegan women) from Star Trek. It was interesting to say the least. I'll have pictures later today or tomorrow.

Then it was off to the masquerade. This year some of the costumes were absolutely amazing, even though there were only a few entries. We didn't start taking pictures until the end, so we only got a couple of shots. I'll have some of those posted later as well.

That's it for now. My only panel today is a reading with Rebecca Rowe. I'm hoping that it will be pretty well attended. I'm planning on reading two scenes from The Opium of the People. I'll be reading the torture scene with Dominick and Shen's scene from prison...hopefully some of the audience will get the Taoist references in that scene.

MileHiCon Day 1

Day one of MileHiCon has come and gone, and the day got interesting before I even made it to the hotel.

I took the bus down there, and while we were stopped at a very busy intersection (for those of you from the Denver metro area, this would be Colfax and Broadway), we saw two mounted police officers chase down a suspect. As all of the lights went red, they galloped across the intersection, chasing a guy into the park directly across from the state capital. As they closed in on him, one of the officers jumped off his horse and brought the guy down. It was like something out of a movie.

The first day of the Con was a good time. I didn't really go to any panels. Instead, I mostly just sat and talked to people I'd met before, like Laura Givens, Ian Brazee-Cannon, David Lee Summers, David Boop, Maggie Bonham, Carol Hightshoe, Cynthia Felice, Michael Turner, Barb Nickless, Patricia Coleman, and I also had the opportunity to meet several others that I hadn't met before. Mostly we talked writing and politics.

After a while, I went to the opening ceremonies. The theme of this year's Con is zombies (don't ask me, I just go to these things), and seeing Ed Bryant, the toastmaster, in a zombie mask was priceless. During the ceremony, artist guest of honor, Frank Wu came in completely zombiefied chasing someone across the stage. Later he tried to eat Ed's brain, and unfortunately, this is when my camera screwed up, because I would have loved to have gotten that shot.

I'm completely convinced that Frank is insane, which means that I'm going to have to introduce myself to him today. You just can't have too many insane people in your life!

After the opening ceremonies it was off to Autograph Alley, which if you're not one of the guests of honor means that you sit around and talk to other authors. I was seated next to Mike D'Ambrosio, who I had met at CopperCon three years ago, so it gave us a good chance to catch up. I was also seated next to Maggie Bonham. I'm not sure what it is about the two of us, but we bicker constantly. I think we're both a couple of smart-asses, and we really enjoy it. We'll renew the rivalry today since we're signing together at 3:00.

Overall, it was a good first day, and now I have to finish getting ready for day two...I have a panel in an hour and a half.

I'm off to MileHiCon

MileHiCon starts in a few hours, and I'm just about to leave. This year I've opted to not stay at the hotel. I thought it would be a good way to save money, although I will miss out on some of the room parties. So, I will be checking in from time to time, but don't expect too many posts over the next couple of days. If I have the energy, I'll post daily updates, but we'll see.

I will try to get some pictures while I'm there...a lot of that depends on one of my friends actually making the Con.

I'm definitely looking forward to renewing some friendships, meeting some people I've only known on-line, and just meeting a lot of people.

See you on the flip-side...