Fiction | J.R. Johnson

Posts Tagged ‘Fiction’

Mysterious Origins Revealed?

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Carol Scheina, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Nature's Futures, submissions, Writers, writing on March 9, 2023| 1 Comment »

With apologies to turtles. And tortoises. And science.

Today, allow me to refer you to a story from Nature’s Futures, about a put-upon pair of frontline workers and the genetically-modified reptile who captured their hearts.

Clean-up on Planet 9 by Carol Scheina

A giant sea turtle swimming in a building-sized aquarium. Fields of toothy purple flowers. Goddamn dollhouse-sized pine forests. Quite a bit wasn’t the size or shape it was supposed to be.

While I appreciate the author’s discussion of her inspiration for the story, I can’t help but think that it could also be (at least distantly) related to the mysterious origins of the dimension-hopping tortoise* in my own story, “The T-4200.”

Sadly, “The T-4200” is not currently available online, but this story inspired me to send it off to a reprint market. Fingers crossed!

* I know, while a turtle and a tortoise are both members of the Testudine family of reptiles, they are not the same. Still (and with apologies to all right-thinking scientists out there), the story already adds animal-based faster-than-light travel, so I’m just going to go with it.

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Writers of the Future v. 39 Cover Reveal

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Fiction, genre fiction, Writers, Writers of the Future, writing, yay on March 1, 2023| 1 Comment »

I’m very happy to announce that the cover for Volume 39 of Writers of the Future (the one with more me in it;) will be revealed tonight!

If you happen to be reading this on March 1st, there’s a Zoom event tonight 10pm ET/7pm PT. Here are the details:

Join Illustrators of the Future judge Tom Wood, artist for the cover art of L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 39, and Writers of the Future judge Kevin J. Anderson, who wrote a short story inspired by the cover art and written in the Dan Shamble universe, for the reveal of this year’s amazing cover art and resultant new cover.

PLUS, a special bonus to anyone participating in the cover reveal — a free copy of a Dan Shamble: Zombie P.I. Adventure audiobook written and performed by Kevin J. Anderson!

You must register in advance to participate in the live Zoom event.

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Even if you come across this on any day after March 1st, the good news is that the book is now available for pre-order through Amazon or your favorite book outlet.

The anthology includes a great lineup of both new and established authors. Four hundred and eighty-nine pages. One hundred and fifty-one thousand words, in genres from hard sci-fi to magical realism to aliens, dragons, the final exam from hell, time travel and more.

The editing process I’ve been part of for the past couple of months means that I’ve read the full collection already. The work by established writers was good, both the fiction and nonfiction, but I was particularly impressed by the quality and inventiveness of the stories from my fellow awardees. There is some really great stuff here (even that one super scary story!).

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.”

Is it exciting to see this book come out, and to join these terrific writers in the wonderful world of authorship? Yes, yes it is.

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I Like Fun

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, free fiction, genre fiction, Jessie Mihalik, short stories, Writers, writing on February 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Jessie Mihalik, author of several series I enjoy, is putting out a short new serial called Books & Broadswords. As she says, “It’s strictly just for fun. :)”

Here’s the link to Chapter 1.

I set the royal mark on the counter, and the merchant’s eyes glowed, first with greed, then regret. “I can’t make change for that,” he murmured, his gaze on the gold coin. “You’ll need to go to the bank.”

“I don’t want change,” I replied quietly, trying to keep the barely contained excitement out of my voice. “I want books.”

Well, that seems like a fine start. Follow along online, and enjoy!

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Is Superman Insured? And Other Important Questions

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Fiction, stories in real life, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Have you ever watched a movie and thought, “Phew, the caped crusader stopped the bad guy. It’s too bad he had to wipe out a city block to do it, ’cause that can’t be cheap”?

If you answered yes, or if you’ve ever wanted to know the difference between justifiable and reckless acts of damage (and why Peter Parker would be liable for millions before he’s legally able to drink), then this video is for you!

Insurance Lawyer Reviews Damage in Superhero Movies & TV | VF Reviews | Vanity Fair

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Nonfictional Fiction

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, public policy, science fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on February 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I started multiple posts today (mackerel? Winnie the Pooh? cracking CIA kiddie codes?) but none seemed quite right. I think I’ll go shovel some snow and see if that gets my mind going.

In the meantime, here’s a piece about the usefulness of science fiction in the nonfictional world.

Connecting Science Fiction to Science Policy by Avital Percher

Science fiction can help the science policy community envision both where we end up as well as how we get there. As our social-technological problems grow ever more complex, we need a range of stories that spans the human experience and even beyond. How will we leverage new tools to improve equity and democracy in society? Science fiction can help us imagine future possibilities, opening not just our minds but our hearts as well.

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Hope, Revived

Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, free fiction, genre fiction, reprints, Writers, writing, yay on February 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I am pleased to announce that the new edition of Polar Borealis is out, and it includes “A Needle Pulling Thread.”

I wrote the story in 2018 but the themes of humanity and hope still strike a chord. My thanks to editor R. Graeme Cameron, who remains dedicated to furthering the cause of Canadian speculative fiction, and congratulations to all those in the issue.

Find the free PDF online:

POLAR BOREALIS #24 – February 2023

Poems by Roxanne Barbour, Rodolfo Boskovic, Carlyn Clink, Robert Dawson, Catherine Girczyc, Jim Smith, Richard Stevenson, and Dean Wirth.

Stories by Warren Brown, Victoria K. Martin, J.R. Johnson (hey, that’s me), Cathy Smith, Rhea E. Rose, Jacqueline Thorpe, Gerald L. Truscott, and David Wiseman.

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And Over Again

Posted in Holidays, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, Thoughts, Writers on February 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I’m trying to deal with an online renewal and it is taking forever.

Click, load, spinning wheel, error.

Over and over again. It’s like it’s Groundhog Day.

I check the calendar. Wait, it actually is Groundhog Day!

Here’s some holiday history (and a little movie-related fun).

Groundhog Day – Wikipedia

Groundhog Day (Pennsylvania German: Grund’sau dåk, Grundsaudaag, Grundsow Dawg, Murmeltiertag; Nova Scotia: Daks Day)^[1] is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrows on this day and sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early.

While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.^[2]

Groundhog Day- the perfect comedy, for ever | Groundhog Day | The Guardian

“What’s so remarkable about it,” Jones observes over a pint in a north London pub, “is that normally when you’re writing a screenplay you try to avoid repetition. And that’s the whole thing here, it’s built on repetition. That’s so bold.”

Whatever is happening in your day, I hope it’s a good one!

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Action Is Hope

Posted in Likes, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, Motivation, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Action is hope. At the end of each day, when you’ve done your work, you lie there and think, Well, I’ll be damned, I did this today. It doesn’t matter how good it is, or how bad—you did it. At the end of the week you’ll have a certain amount of accumulation. At the end of a year, you look back and say, I’ll be damned, it’s been a good year.
— Ray Bradbury

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*A portrait of productivity. Photo by ModCatShop on Unsplash*

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Wild and Unpredictable

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, Kafka, music, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Some days you wake up with a story idea crystallized in your mind, bright and shiny and ready to go. And some days you wake up with “She’s An Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins stuck on repeat.

Guess which kind of day I’m having.

The funny part is that it’s not a song I’ve ever actively liked, I wasn’t dreaming about anything related to its subject, and it’s not the sort of fiction I tend to write. I mean, it’s not as if the song is about the lead singer of a band telling the story of how he stumbled into a dark street one night after a show and into the arms of a beautiful and deadly vampire or anything.

Right?

So maybe there’s a story seed here after all. I still don’t know why this particular song came to me at this particular time, but that’s the wild and unpredictable nature of creativity for you.

“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
― Franz Kafka

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