A catchupey type of post (is catchupey even a word? No? Oh well.)
As I sit here with a splitting headache from being out way too late late night at the Paul McCartney concert (it was amazing, but the jerks in the row in front of me kept lighting up all night, no matter how many times we asked them to put out their cigarettes (aside from smoking being completely prohibited at Nationals Field, it’s just plain rude/inconsiderate), hence my splitting headache (I’m allergic to cigarette smoke, YAY ME)), I realize there is no way I can give you a coherent blog post right now. BUT I do have a bunch of links & things I’ve been meaning to post, so here you go. ENJOY (or not. You choose!):
- Oh hey, I had a fun interview on YATopia here. Check it out if you have a chance.
- I was on an Origins podcast here at about 10:20 in. Ron’s in at about 15 min.
- Since we’re on the subject of Origins and podcasts, I was on another one here (called Lone Shark Live, I’m at about the 50 min mark with Aaron Allston).
- And speaking of Aaron Allston, remember how he did a guest post for me here on the Importance of Peer Review? Well, I did a guest post for him as well on his blog on the Importance of Mentors and Mentoring.
I went to ConCarolinas in the beginning of June, and had a WONDERFUL time. I saw many of the usual suspects/people I adore (Gail Z. Martin, John Hartness, Tim Zahn, Davey Beuchamp (CHECK), Jim Bernheimer, Betty Cross, and many others), and made some great new friends/acquaintances like Aaron Rosenberg, Carrie Ryan, Chris Jackson, and many others who I know I forgot to name (I’ve a horrid memory for names – faces yes, names no). It was great to catch up with the “old” and get to know the “new.” I was on loads of great panels (Is Disney taking over the World, Marvel vs DC, Hunger Games, Military Tactics, etc), and on the whole had a very good time. I also entered my very first costume contest in years with my genderswapped Thor costume, and much to my surprise took home 1st place in my division. 🙂 I don’t know when or if I’ll do another costume contest, but this one was a lot of fun & I’m glad I entered. Jada and her staff put on a fantastic convention that I’m honored to be a part of and hope I can continue to be in the future
I also went to Origins Game Fair in June. It was 5 days of exhausting awesomeness that I can’t even begin to post about, and now we are so many weeks out and I didn’t take notes… GAH! Let’s just say there were many wonderful writers, people, places, and things (because I’m certain to forget some). The big thing of note for me that weekend was the release of my newest anthology, A Hero by Any Other Name: What does a sidekick do after retirement? What does a super villain do when he meets an evil greater than himself? Is it power that defines a hero, or something else? All of these questions and more are answered in A Hero By Any Other Name, a collection of stories by some of today’s best-known science-fiction and fantasy authors. This collection of riveting adventures delves into the lives of some not-so-conventional superheroes, sidekicks, and villains. This isn’t all tights-and-fights, but a look at heroes that will forever alter your perspective on those who chose to live behind a mask. Featuring stories from: Aaron Allston, Michael Stackpole, Maxwell Alexander Drake, Janine Spendlove, Bryan Young, and many others! Want to buy a copy? You can get one here or pretty much anywhere (Amazon, bookstores, etc).
And since we are discussing my June travels, I also managed to make it out to the inaugural SkirtSports half marathon in Colorado. I still very much need to post about this awesome new running club I helped found, called GeekGirlsRun, but that should be a post all on its own. Meanwhile, read all about the race here. It was awesome! And yes, I ran as Thor. Because I am a geek. And a girl. And I run.
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And after reading all that, please don’t forget that I’ve got a kickstarter going for Time Traveled Tales, with stories by Aaron Allston, Michael A. Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, Bryan young, many others, and yours truly! http://tinyurl.com/m7w5ox6 It ends in like A DAY!
Lastly, need a copy of one of my books? As it happens you can buy them here.
The importance of author photos – oh hey, I’ve got a new one!
People say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover… but we do. We certainly shouldn’t judge people by their appearance, but again, we do. Now before you think this is me coming off super shallow and vain, here’s how I think it applies re: author photos.
When I see an author photo I can tell at first glance if that person takes what they’re doing (writing) seriously.
Meaning, is it a grainy phone picture? Is it a quick snapshot at a con cropped down? Is it an overly pretentious “LOOK HOW SIRIUS BIZNUS I AM” staged shot? Or is it clearly professionally done, but still natural looking?
An author photo, like a book cover, can be off-putting to readers if not done correctly.
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Guest blog post: Robert Osterman
I first met Rob many years ago at Dragon*Con through a mutual friend, Maggie Allen (her guest blog post is here). We clicked over love of all things geeky, books, and of course, costuming. In the pic above he’s DumDum to my husband’s Captain America (and that’s me as Agent Carter, in a vintage 1940s dress. The USO girls are Caitlin and Betsy, co-founders of GeekGirlsRun… but more on that in a later post). I’m thrilled that he was so willing to do a guest post for me, and without any further ado…
Jack Sparrow: “The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can’t do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can’t…. And me, for example, I can let you drown, but I can’t bring this ship into Tortuga
all by me onesies, savvy? So, can you sail under the command of a pirate, or can you not?”
In general I find that line “What a man can do and what a man can’t do” is amazingly applicable across life. When getting stressed about something it seems a good grounding to back up and ask “what can I do?” and “what can I not do?”
Recently I’ve been lucky enough to have the help of fellow writer Janine Spendlove who has asked me to write this guest post for her. We’ve been collaborating a great deal on a new project of mine, and it has gotten me thinking a great deal about not just what is “right” for a certain type of character or profession but also what is in the gray area between “right” and “so wrong it just doesn’t make sense”.
She has been kind enough to write up a “Top Ten Things People Get Wrong about Military Writing”. As a return favor I’m offering a discussion on the variations in that field.
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I’d like to break down characters into four groups and talk about the advantages and disadvantages of writing for each of those groups.
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More thoughts on “Man of Steel”…
…because apparently I’m a glutton for punishment – but what can I say, this has me “all fired up”, and here’s why:
So you may or may not have seen my “Man of Steel” review that posted here.
Long story short, I am not a fan.
I listed two primary reasons in my original post as to what were, essentially “dealbreakers” for me.
*SPOILERS
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A not so Superman
Dear DC:
I think we need to go on a break.
It isn’t because you have consistently put out terrible films (I’m not a Batman fan, so I’m sure those are wonderful for those of you who are, but seriously what was Green Lantern?), or that aside from when Gail Simone was writing Wonder Woman you can’t seem to get that comic line right. In fact I’m glad we don’t have a Wonder Woman movie yet, because if you can’t get Superman right, I don’t want you anywhere near Wonder Woman.
No, we’re going on a break because of the recent film you put out called “Man of Steel.” I’m really thankful you at least did us the courtesy of NOT calling this movie “Superman,” because it sure as heck wasn’t.
Beware, SPOILERS AHEAD!
My very first Kickstarter! Can I get a signal boost?
Hey everyone! Guess what?! I’m a part of my very first kickstarter with some names you might recognize (Allston, Stackpole, Young, & Zahn).
If you’d like to contribute I’d really appreciate it, even if it’s just $1 – every little bit helps!
But I now that sometimes even $1 is too much, so whether you can contribute monetarily or not, if you could please boost the signal I’d be very much appreciative!
Thank you so much!
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Time Traveled Tales Kickstarter Launches!
I’ve partnered with Silence in the Library Publishing, Kickstarter, and a host of renowned authors including names like Aaron Allston, Michael A. Stackpole, and Timothy Zahn, in the hopes of making the Time Traveled Tales Anthology available to a wider audience.
Originally released as a convention exclusive at the 2012 Origins Game Fair and limited to 500 copies sold only at the convention, Time Traveled Tales is a who’s who of your favorite science fiction and fantasy authors writing about time travel, the future, and contact with strange and wonderful beings.
In this Kickstarter limited edition, each story is beautifully illustrated by renowned artist Matt Slay. Best known for his work for IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Image Comics and several Upper Deck Marvel projects (most recently Iron Man 3), Matt brings a realism and emotional context to his illustrations that captures the spirit of each of the 19 stories in the anthology.
In addition to illustrating every story in the anthology, we’ve developed an amazing new cover that will look incredible on your bookshelf.
The cover and illustrations are only a small portion of the exciting surprises that are waiting for you when you visit the Time Traveled Tales Kickstarter project page. Please join us and become a part of the Time Traveled Tales journey by visiting http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/103879051/time-traveled-tales-a-speculative-fiction-antholog and contributing today!
Here’s one of the interior drawings:
If you want to help boost the signal:
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Visit the Time Traveled Tales Kickstarter, with stories by Aaron Allston, Michael A. Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, and others, and illustrations by Matt Slay. By contributing, you become a partner in bringing TTT to life. http://tinyurl.com/m7w5ox6
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Time Traveled Tales Kickstarter Launches! Stories by Allston, Stackpole, Zahn. Please support/RT http://tinyurl.com/m7w5ox6
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THANK YOU!!! 😀
And one more piece of interior artwork:
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Lastly, need a copy of one of my books? As it happens you can buy them here.
Guest blog post: Aaron Allston, the importance of peer review
Back in 1998 I first read a book titled Star Wars, X-Wing: Wraith Squadron by a – new to me – author named Aaron Allston. Not only did I devour the book (figuratively), but I absolutely loved it & read it multiple times over my life. Little did I know that 6 years later I would meet the author himself at a convention (Stellarcon – and yes, that is a picture of us out our first meeting, and yes I am dressed as a Jedi) and that, over time we would become friends, and that he would eventually become a mentor to me as well (though I still am, and forever will be, one of his many many fangirls).
So imagine my delight when he agreed to write a guest blogpost for my website. If only I could go back and tell teenage Janine now… she’d never believe me. 🙂
Janine is the co-host of, and Bryan Young is a regular participant in, an annual writers’ workshop I attend. This is the sort of workshop where participants perform peer review on one another’s manuscripts — the literary equivalent of each person handing his or her young child to the person to the left and saying, “Please tell me how ugly my baby is. Don’t hold back.”
Both Janine and Bryan have blogged in recent months (Janine here and Bryan here) about the benefits of such workshops.
I’m sometimes asked if such workshops are a necessary tool of the writer, either of new writerss or of veterans. I always give some variation of the same answer:
“Nope.”
(Janine and Bryan are now looking at me and sharpening their knives. But, hey, I often have that effect on people.)
To be more specific, workshops aren’t necessary — but the benefits they bring are. There are other ways to obtain those benefits. So I’m not arguing in favor of or against worishops, I’m here to talk about the benefits themselves.
So I saw Ironman 3…
I LOVED IT.
I NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN LIKE NOW!
So, the best review I’ve seen about it is here (no spoilers, (unless you consider knowing ANYTHING about a film spoilery)): http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/51475
I pretty much agree with everything Bryan said in that review.
Now for my thoughts, in no particular order. DEFINITELY spoilery: