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Posts Tagged ‘#365Ways2023’

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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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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Writers of the Future 39 Book Cover with Flaming Dragon

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For my mother, and my other mothers, and to all those out there who appreciate flowers, here’s a piece on the history of tulips (one of my mother’s favorite flowers) and their role in art (another of my mom’s favorite things).

Happy Mother’s Day!

A Brief, Blossoming History of Tulips in Art, From a 17th-Century Dutch Flower Craze to Koons’s Controversial Bouquet

There is no other period of art history more closely associated with tulips than the Dutch Golden Age. Marked by economic prosperity, scientific discovery, and flourishing arts and culture, the tulip came to be a hallmark of the Netherland’s successes. There is some disagreement about exactly when and by whom the first tulips were brought to the Dutch Republic, but it is known that they were imported from the Ottoman Empire sometime in the latter half of the 16th century. Already a costly commodity, the demand for specific bulbs of different colors and varieties quickly outpaced the supply of tulips—and thus Tulip Mania, or the Tulip Craze, began. At its height, the price for a rare and prized tulip bulb was on par with a craftsperson’s annual wage.

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Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

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Today would have been my grandfather’s 113th birthday. I’ve written about him on this day for the past two years, and I thought it would be nice to keep up the tradition. 

My previous birthday posts about Grandpa:

Eleventy-First, with Memories | J.R. Johnson

To Be Fair | J.R. Johnson

My grandparents lived in Chicago for most of my life but when they retired they became snowbirds, the kind that fly south for the winter. Later, they moved down there permanently. My grandfather walked the beaches south of Cape Canaveral and found, among other things, the bleached white skeletons of Echinarachnius parma, otherwise known as sand dollars. 

I saw live sand dollars for the first time on our recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They resemble their skeletons only in shape, and even that is unexpectedly flipped upright. Check out the images in the article below.

9 Fascinating Facts About Sand Dollars

The sand dollar—or “sea biscuit,” or “sand cake,” in other parts of the world—is purple and hairy in its prime.

Grandpa used to collect sand dollars and give them to us kids, a tiny piece of a magical, tropical land far to the south.

I still keep one on my bookshelf.

Happy birthday, Grandpa.

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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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Photo by Antoni Shkraba on Pexels.com

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Boring Covid update: More coughing, more tiredness, more urges to curl up on the closest floor and sleep. These elephant seals from the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery know what I mean about that last bit. Here they are basking in the sun.

Photo by J.R. Johnson, and nature.

We went for a soggy visit to Hearst Castle and after, drove a few miles north to the Rookery. We arrived between bouts of light rain. It’s molting season and the beaches were crowded.

The beaches are even busier today. Check out the live webcams for updated views.

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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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Photo by Simon Forster on Unsplash

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Snapshot

Mr Man and I were able to take a couple of days after the writing workshop to visit California. Here’s a snapshot of the beautiful beach in Santa Barbara, complete with some of the millions of superbloom flowers, pelicans, gulls, and the town pier.

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Taken by J.R. Johnson as the clouds rolled in off the sea, one fine May morning.

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Still sick, but back to work. Slowly.

“I always wanted to be someone better the next day than I was the day before.”

— Sidney Poitier

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Photo by Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash

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I am sorry to report that it has been 0 days since my positive Covid test. It’s my first positive and I have five shots on board, but so far I will say that the experience has been less than fun. It’s still better than an earthquake, interplanetary shock or solar flare, all of which have also happened in the past week:

Days Since Incident

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Photo by NASA on Unsplash

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