My Denvention Schedule

I'm only doing one panel at this year's Denvention, but since this will be the first WorldCon that I've ever attended, I'm happy with the opportunity to even do a panel. There's still a chance that I'll have a signing, and as I've said before, I'll probably be hanging around the Sam's Dot Publishing table in the Dealers' Room quite a bit...and maybe Tyree will even set up a signing for me there as well.

So, if you're going to the Con, look for me at...

What Makes SF Work? Characters, Society, or Technology on Thursday at 1:00 P.M.

I'm still not sure who's on the panel with me, but it should be fun...

I'm selling some small press books and zines

People often send me or give me books or magazines, and now that I'm getting ready to move, I've found that I'm really not going to have room for them, so I've decided to set up an E-Bay auction. The opening bid is $9.99, and there are some great titles...

The link to E-Bay

THE TITLES:

Proverbs for Monsters by Michael A. Arnzen Signed Stoker Winner ISBN: 978-1-888993-54-7

Vectors By Charlee Jacob & Marge Simon Stoker Winner ISBN: 978-1-888993-53-0

25 Cent Rocket Ship to the Stars by G. Clark Signed ISBN: 978-1-888993-43-1

Defeated by S.D. McKee ISBN: 978-1-933016-23-8

Doomsdays by Jeffrey Thomas Signed ISBN: 978-1-888993-48-6

The Fisherman by David A. Sutton ISBN: 0-913045-15-2

Just Because: The Works of James Baker ISBN:1-4196-5782-8

Over the Darkening Fields by Scott Thomas ISBN: 978-1888993509

The Poet by James B. Baker ISBN: 978-1-4196-6578-3

Song of Silver by Laura J. Underwood Signed ISBN:978-1-888-993-44-8

Tango in the Ninth Circle by Corrine De Winter Signed ISBN:1-888993-42-1

Apex Digest Issue 10

Dreams and Nightmares Magazine Issues 74-75, 77, 78, 79.

Happy birthday George

Today would have been George Orwell's 105th birthday.


1984 and Animal Farm were two books which greatly shaped my view of the world, and although it is true that 1984 could never really happen as it was written. That doesn't take away from the book. Many people have argued that the book is unbelievable because no society would allow that sort of government to come to power, but we've seen many fascist states rise since this book was written. Even our own government here in the US has taken many steps towards this type of government...and although it's true that "Big Brother" may not be watching all the time...he can now legally check in on you from time to time.

The simple fact that I am now typing the words "America as a fascist state" will guarantee that I get several hits to this blog from government sites. I know because I'm watching them!

1984, along with A Handmaid's Tale, and Revolt in 2100 were huge influences on my writing of The Opium of the People. Like 1984, the events in the book probably couldn't happen the way I wrote them, but as speculative fiction authors, we really aren't trying to predict the future. Instead, in many ways, we're trying to prevent the future...or at least futures that we think are dangerous...and the destruction of freedom is dangerous.

So Happy Birthday George, and it's a damn shame that more people haven't listened to your message...

Memories

Stolen from Jay Lake...

“If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now,even if we don’t speak often, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want — good or bad. When you’re finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you.”

Because everyone else is...

I've seen a lot of authors doing these little word clouds of their works, so I decided to do the prologue for The Opium of the People



I like the fact that God came out kind of centered...sort of telling for the book...

You can click on the graphic for a better look.

Moving

Rebecca and I have found an apartment in Aurora...a southern Denver "suburb," and we'll be moving on July 18th and 19th. It's a nice place, set back away from the street with lots of trees and animals...so it will be a nice change for me. The rent is only slightly more than what I'm paying at my current place...and the new place is a two bedroom, as opposed to a one...so it should save me some money, although that money will go towards raising the kids.

Because it's so far away, I'll be leaving my job, which fills me with mixed emotions. I absolutely hate what I do for a living, but the owner of the franchise is one in a million, and I know I'll never have a better boss, so there's some good and some bad.

I also haven't lined up a new job, so that's kind of scary. Cross your fingers for me...

Even More Stories at Anthology Builder

I now have 10 stories listed at Anthology Builder...a build your own anthology site. You can pick some of my stories, and stories from numerous other authors as well. It's really a great way to sample new writers, while picking up stories from authors you already know you like.

My stories are:
Living in the Styx
One family is driven to the brink of madness by odd events in their lives, but are the events real, or are they only in their minds?

The Galton Principle
In a fascist state ruled by eugenics, one young man realizes he's not as perfect as he thinks...nor is his society.

Who Listens to the Voices of the Past?
When humanity discovers a new sentient, but "less-developed" species on a new planet, will they make the same mistakes that were made when Europeans came to the Americas?

Seedlings on the Solar Winds
One man is driven to madness by what everyone else says are imaginary voices in his head...but are they just imaginary?

Lowering One's Self Before Fate
No one ever really knew what happened during the massacre at Kira Len until the day the story mysteriously "appeared."

The Opium of the People
The story that inspired the novel
When the radical Christian Right seizes control of the American government, one man is forced to make decisions he never thought himself capable of.

The Lives of Billions
When a terraformer on Mars discovers that there’s really life on the Red Planet, what will she do to save that life?

Secret of the Coltao
Two young men on an icebound planet seek to learn the truth about the aliens that inhabit the world with them.

Harvest of Debts
As the American population ages, and American debt rises, the rich elderly find a new way to extend their lives…organ harvesting.

The Twin Sorceresses
Two young sorceresses find they must go to great extremes to protect their mother.

Two pieces of news

Almost 20 years ago, I made the decision that I wanted to be a science fiction writer. The first story I ever seriously submitted to magazines was a story called Tranquility. It was bad...very bad...horrible...but there was an element of the story that has always stuck with me, and I eventually re-wrote it. Today, Tales of the Talisman picked it up for their Spring 2009 issue.

I thought that was big until I went to the Denvention website...that would be WorldCon for those of you playing at home...and found that they've listed the participants for this year's convention, and I'm on the list. That's right folks, this small press writer/editor will be doing panels at WorldCon!!!

The Phoenix has landed

I just watched the coverage on NASA TV of the Phoenix landing in the northern polar region of Mars. It was mostly just telemetry data, but it was still pretty cool. The probe will be doing a lot of things while on Mars, but of course, the most exciting is that it will be searching for water and evidence of past or current life in that water...and of course, the polar regions are where a lot of Mars' water is locked up.

For more on the mission, here's a video from NASA

Engagement pics

I thought my regular readers might want to see pics from the big engagement. The close-up of the ring didn't come out...unfortunately.

I'm Engaged

That's right folks, the guy who swore off women a little more than a year ago is now engaged. I popped the question to Rebecca tonight, and she was crazy enough to say yes.

We're planning a May of 2009 wedding...and I can't wait!!!

Odd news story

The headline reads: "'Darth Vader' spared jail in Jedi church attacks." Yes, it's a real story. To read the whole thing, go to... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080513/ap_on_fe_st/odd_britain_vader_raider;_ylt=AmY..tVLx4UoPL6O4TJ2.RehOrgF

A meme

I posted this on my LiveJournal, but I thought I'd post it here as well...for anyone who might be interested...

Recently, mmerriam posted a meme that I thought was pretty cool. I've been meaning to do his, but I've been a bit brain dead lately...so hopefully I will soon.

All you have to do is cut and paste the questions below into the comments and fill in the blanks with whatever you want, and then I'll try to answer the best that I can in a new post...


1. What do you think of _____________ ?

2. When did you last ____________?

3. __________ or ___________ and why?

4. What did you ______________?

5. What's your favorite ______________?

6. How would you ______________?

7. Who would you most like to ________ ?

The Magenta Equations at Allegory

My story, The Magenta Equations, has been posted at Allegory. This is what I would consider somewhat of a hard SF story, although the hard science I used was psychology, which makes for an interesting twist.

Also, the idea of hyperspace and madness is something that plays a big role in the RPG I'm helping to create...Ephemeris. It's always interesting how these things tie together.

Enjoy the story.

UFOs

It's all over the Nets that more strange lights were spotted over Phoenix again. By strict definition, these are UFOs...Unidentified Flying Objects...however, that does not mean that they are aliens visiting us from another star system.

I have several problems with UFO's. First of all, our radio signals have only propagated about 50-60 light years into our galaxy, which on the galactic scale is not very far. Statistically speaking, the odds are fairly low that there are any intelligent civilizations that close. There could be, but it's not likely. So, why would aliens be here?

In America, southern Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico have the highest percentage of UFO sightings. It's probably not a coincidence that this is also where a lot of top secret research is done by the American military. Many years ago there were pictures of strange objects that were spotted throughout this area...many people claimed these were conclusive evidence of aliens visiting Earth. Then we had the first Gulf War, and we all got to see the stealth bomber, and guess what, it looks EXACTLY like the pictures that showed conclusive proof of aliens visiting us.

Why would aliens come to Earth and not make contact, but make it obvious that they're here with all of their lights flashing and moving in our skies...

...oh yeah, the lights. Why in the hell would an interstellar spacecraft need lights???? Especially the big gaudy lights that we see on these UFOs. Space is huge. Even if there are thousands of civilizations out there, the idea that they would need lights so they don't bump into each other is absurd. Plus, at relativistic speeds, flashing lights aren't going to help a whole hell of a lot when you suddenly see a ship approaching.

Although I do think it's likely that there is some kind of alien life out there, until I see proof that they've actually visited, and I mean real scientific proof, I won't believe it. Sorry, but I'm a rationalist, I have to have evidence...just like I don't believe in ghosts, gods, or the Loch Ness Monster...I don't believe in little green men...

Happy Earth Day!

Personally, I think every day should be Earth Day. I think we're destroying this planet, and we should all be ashamed of ourselves. Whether you believe global climate change is real or not, I think most of you would agree that we have done a lot to damage this planet...and ourselves. Certainly some forms of pollution are having an adverse effect on humanity.

However, one thing that bugs me more than corporate polluters is hypocritical Hollywood types that show up one day a year trying to tell me how I should care more about the planet...like they do...

WHAT??? In this video, Lewis Black calls them on it...

Forgive Men Their Trespasses

My story Forgive Men their Trespasses has just been picked up by Afterburn SF. The story is set in the same universe as my novel The Opium of the People, but it's a stand-alone story set in Denver.

This will be my first appearance in Afterburn...and it's always nice to get a publication in a new zine.

Order The Opium of the People

For Joe

Like me, Joe was a cycling fanatic. We'd watch the Versus coverage of the races, and then e-mail each other and discuss the race. Even through all of the doping scandals, we were both hardcore fans.

So, these videos are a tribute to Joe's passion for cycling...





It won't be the same watching this season's races without you buddy. You'll be missed.........

Mortality sucks

Early Tuesday morning, my friend Joe lost his battle with cancer. I got the news while I was at work tonight, and I'm still stunned. Joe had been my supervisor at my real job several years ago, but we quickly became friends. He was one of the few people I'd ever met who was actually a cycling fan...most people just stare at me with dumb expressions on their face whenever I talk about the sport. He was a super nice guy, and a bit of a smart ass, which fits my wise cracking personality really well.

He was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago, and he vowed to fight it like Lance Armstrong had fought his, but unfortunately, this time the cancer was too strong.

He was actually three years younger than me, so that's a slap in the face for me, and he was also very health-conscious, which just shows you that cancer can get anyone.

The worst part of all of this is that he had two young boys. I believe they were eight and four, and now they have to grow up without their father.

A sad day, a sad day indeed...........

If you were going to a Con...

...what kind of panels would you like to see?

Every year, MileHiCon asks its participants to suggest ideas for panels. This is one of the reasons why I love this Con, the participants get a lot of input into what's going on.

So, like I did last year, I thought I'd open it up to fans of speculative fiction and ask them what kind of panels they'd like to see.

So, how about it?