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Posts Tagged ‘creativity’

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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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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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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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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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

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Space Elevator

This is the flip side to the deep ocean explorer post

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Photo by Daniel Ramírez on Unsplash

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Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

— Albert Einstein

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Photo by Ricardo Frantz on Unsplash

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Success is not about winning a competition. It’s about making a contribution.
Takers aim to be better than others. Givers strive to bring out the best in others. The most meaningful way to succeed is to help others succeed.

— Adam Grant

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Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash

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May you have a creative and happy Easter!

Ukrainian newcomers teaching the art of pysanka ahead of Easter

“I think that the main thing for the artists is to show their feelings, express their feelings, with the lines and with the colours and with the style they’re using. When you will be focusing only on the process and just your aim will be to get the perfect pysanka, at the end you can lose something. You have to look inside—what you have inside—what you want to show in your piece. Maybe your feelings, maybe your sadness, maybe your happiness, something to share with people. And you can show it on the surface of pysanka. This is the most important. And we don’t need ten perfect pysankas, we need ten unique pysankas with unique feelings on it.

— Oksana, Ukrainian who came to Canada in 2022, at a pysanky-making workshop in Ottawa

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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

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I have mentioned my love of all things Murderbot before, and I am not alone in that sentiment. Here’s an interview with author Martha Wells, discussing the making of this cranky yet beloved character.

The MurderBot Diaries author Martha Wells talks about the latest novel in the series, NETWORK EFFECT, her discovery writing process, and building a sci-fi universe around a unique protagonist.

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Photo by NASA on Unsplash

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