“It was not really Saturday night, at least it may have been, for they had long lost count of the days; but always if they wanted to do anything special they said this was Saturday night, and then they did it.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
Wishing You a Special Night
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The 58th Annual Nebula Awards
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Nebula Awards, Writers, writing on May 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Who won the latest Nebulas? Here’s an abbreviated list to get you started, but click through for all the details!
SFWA Announces the Winners of the 58th Annual Nebula Awards
NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVEL
Babel, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)
NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVELLA
Even Though I Knew the End, C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)
NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVELETTE
“If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You”, John Chu (Uncanny 7–8/22)
NEBULA AWARD FOR SHORT STORY
“Rabbit Test”, Samantha Mills (Uncanny 11–12/22)
THE ANDRE NORTON NEBULA AWARD FOR MIDDLE GRADE AND YOUNG ADULT FICTION
Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, K. Tempest Bradford (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)
Congratulations to all the winners!
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Who Needs Libraries? Everyone
Posted in Favorites, Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, choice, freedom, libraries, reading, Thoughts on May 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Like many of you, I love libraries. Like, a lot:
Run, Don’t Walk | J.R. Johnson
Passport to Wonders | J.R. Johnson
Keys to the Universe | J.R. Johnson
Inquiring Minds Want to Know | J.R. Johnson
Books Neverending | J.R. Johnson
Keys to the Universe | J.R. Johnson
I don’t love that some people are trying to control what others can read in libraries. If this is happening in your neighborhood, what can you do?
How to Protect Your Local Library From Book Ban Campaigns – Bloomberg
Library boards, school boards and legislatures are becoming battlegrounds in a push to censor books. Communities are fighting back.
I was also glad to see this policy on Intellectual Freedom And Controversial Material at my childhood library:
The libraries have a responsibility to serve all segments of the county. Materials useful to some may be objectionable to others. Selections are based solely on the merits of the work in relation to building the collections and to serving the interests of readers. The libraries attempt to represent all sides of controversial issues. Their function is to provide information, not to advocate specific points of view.
Reading preferences are a purely individual matter; while anyone is free to personally reject books and other materials, this right cannot be exercised to restrict the freedom to others.
Library materials will not be marked or identified to show approval or disapproval of the contents, and no cataloged item will be placed on closed shelves, except for the express purpose of protecting it from injury or theft. Items may be placed on temporary reserve for specific class assignment or projects.
Responsibility for what children and young adults read and view rests with their parents’ and/or legal guardians. Selections will not be inhibited by the possibility that controversial materials may come into the possession of children or young adults.
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Still Smiling
Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, genre fiction, inspiration, Writers of the Future, writing on May 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Why is that, you ask? Because yesterday was my book birthday and that makes me happy. Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest in volume 39, preordered, ordered, or requested the book from the local library!
It’s a little bit like a fairytale, so today let’s tag along with my Writers of the Future award, which went on a little trip to see the Hugh Comstock fairytale cottages in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Here’s the award visiting Storybook Cottage (although I digitally removed the barriers between the award and the cottage, because symbolism!).
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Happy Book Birthday, v39!
Posted in Entertainment, Favorites, Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing, yay on May 16, 2023| 5 Comments »
Today is the day: Volume 39 of Writers of the Future is live!
Where to buy: Amazon | Apple Books | Audible | B&N | BAM | Bookshop | Google Play | Indigo | Kobo | OverDrive Libraries | Powell’s | Vroman’s
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Here’s the synopsis:
In the world of speculative fiction…
Your favorite authors…
Have selected the best new voices of the year.
24 Award-winning Authors and Illustrators
3 Bonus Short Stories by Kevin J. Anderson • L. Ron Hubbard • S. M. Stirling
Art and Writing Tips by Lazarus Chernik • L. Ron Hubbard • Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Edited by Dean Wesley Smith • Jody Lynn Nye
16-page color gallery of artwork • Cover art by Tom Wood
Check out the stories Brandon Sanderson, Orson Scott Card, Nnedi Okorafor, Robert J. Sawyer, Kevin J. Anderson, Jody Lynn Nye and others chose as the best of the best.
Be amazed. Be amused. Be transported … by stories that take you by surprise and take you further and deeper into new worlds and new ideas than you’ve ever gone before….
Twelve captivating tales from the most exciting new voices in science fiction and fantasy accompanied by three from masters of the genre.
A miracle? An omen? Or something else? One day, they arrived in droves—the foxes of the desert, the field, the imagination….—“Kitsune” by Devon Bohm
When a vampire, a dragon and a shape-shifting Chihuahua meet on a beach in Key West, fireworks go off! But that’s just the background. —“Moonlight and Funk” by Marianne Xenos
Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., faces one of his funniest and most perplexing cases ever—an enlightened ogre, a salamander with low self-esteem, and a raging fire dragon terrorizing the Unnatural Quarter! —“Fire in the Hole” by Kevin J. Anderson
The Grim Reaper, trapped in an IRS agent’s dying body, must regain his powers before he dies and faces judgment for his original sin. —“Death and the Taxman” by David Hankins
In a metaverse future, a woman who exposes falseness in others must decide what is real to her—the love she lost or the love she may have found. —“Under My Cypresses” by Jason Palmatier
Vic Harden wasn’t lured by glory on a daring mission into the reaches of outer space—he was ordered out there by his editor.—“The Unwilling Hero” by L. Ron Hubbard
Dangerous opportunities present themselves when an alien ship arrives in the solar system seeking repairs. —“White Elephant” by David K. Henrickson
With her spaceship at the wrong end of a pirate’s guns, a former war hero must face down her enemies and demons to save Earth’s last best chance for peace. —“Piracy for Beginners” by J. R. Johnson
Years after the Second Holocaust, the last surviving Jews on earth attempt to rewrite the past. —“A Trickle in History” by Elaine Midcoh
When I said I’d do anything to pay off my debts and get back home to Earth, I didn’t mean survey a derelict spaceship at the edge of the solar system—but here I am. —“The Withering Sky” by Arthur H. Manner
High-powered telescopes bring galactic life to our TVs, and network tuner Hank Enos figures he’s seen everything—until the day an alien boy stares back. —“The Fall of Crodendra M.” by T. J. Knight
Knights, damsels and dragons, curses and fates foretold—the stuff of legends and stories, but unexpectedly perverse.—“Constant Never” by S. M. Stirling
Determined to save his wife, Tumelo takes an unlikely client through South Africa’s ruins to the heart of the Desolation—a journey that will cost or save everything. —“The Children of Desolation” by Spencer Sekulin
When a terrorist smuggles a nuclear weapon into London, a team regresses in time to AD 1093 to assassinate a knight on the battlefield, thereby eliminating the terrorist a millennia before his birth. —“Timelines and Bloodlines” by L. H. Davis
The Grand Exam, a gateway to power for one, likely death for all others—its entrants include ambitious nobles, desperate peasants, and Quiet Gate, an old woman with nothing left to lose. —“The Last History” by Samuel Parr
You will love this collection of the best new voices because, as Locus magazine puts it, “Excellent writing…extremely varied. There’s a lot of hot new talent.”
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One More Day!
Posted in Likes, Reviews, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #WritersOfTheFuture, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Writers, writing, yay on May 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Tomorrow is the book birthday for Writers of the Future Volume 39, which includes my story “Piracy for Beginners” and much more. The publishers went all out, with 544 pages plus a full-color gallery for illustrations, and of course electronic and audiobook versions.
Am I excited? I am. Am I eager for you to meet my fellow authors and illustrators, who are all amazing talents? They are! Will I remind you of these facts again tomorrow? Probably, because I think that anyone with an interest in science fiction and/or fantasy will find something to love in this collection. After reading the book and spending a week with the other new authors, I was impressed and I hope you will be too.
Links!
e/BOOK/AUDIO: Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Google Play | Kobo
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Fun Puzzle
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #wotf39, creativity, fun, inspiration, Writers of the Future on May 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Here’s a puzzle based on one of the illustrations in the forthcoming Writers of the Future Volume 39 (coming out May 16th!). Both the writer and illustrator of this piece are great artists and lovely people. Can’t wait for you to meet them both in Volume 39, but until then, enjoy Death and the Taxman!
Have fun with this story illustration from Writers of the Future Volume 39 depicting the Grim Reaper, trapped in an IRS agent’s dying body, who must regain his powers before he faces judgment for his original sin. Take a good look at the image before you push the re-start button at the lower left side of the page!
— Galaxy Press newsletter
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Many Times, One Special Place
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, J.R.R. Tolkien, Middle Earth, Thoughts, Writers on May 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »
This article is for the Tolkien fans among us. Hello all you beautiful hobbits elves dwarves wizards ents
people!
Middle-Earth isn’t a place. It’s a time in (English) history
Although Middle-Earth is most definitely a fictional place, this does not mean it is completely unrelated to reality…. This interpretation argues that the various regions of Middle-Earth visited in The Lord of the Rings were inspired by, and intended to represent, specific moments in English history.
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Home Again
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #wotf39, #WritersOfTheFuture, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
How would I describe the past couple of weeks?
Intense, educational, once in a lifetime!
I’ll need some time to process all this but until then, I recommend anyone interested in furthering their writing and career check out the Writers of the Future contest.
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How (Not) To
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, writing on May 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »
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