A Speculative Fiction Writer's Blog
Each week, Michael J. DeLuca (guest-editor of LCRW #33) is posting an interview of one of his authors on his blog. Mine is up today! There are two other interviews before mine, and more to come after, so if you’re interested in those sharing the Table of Contents with me, read on! (I’m finding it fun and fascinating.)
If you’re finding me through that interview, hello and welcome to my online home. Feel free to leave a note; as always, comments are on.
I’ve been hopping here with Dasher’s recovery from a second patella surgery. Not fun; it’s a toss-up as to who will die first; me from worrying over the dog, or the dog when I kill him because he’s trying to do something stupid again. (Aargh! Good thing I think he’s cute!)
So, not much to say here. But I do want to draw your attention to this fundraiser for Earth & Sky.org. If you look over in my links, you’ll see Earth & Sky.org as one of the few that I link to. I get their daily email newsletter filled with fascinating things about our world and our universe. They’re currently hosting a one-month fundraiser. Yes, it’s already fully funded. They got there in one day(!!!), but I’m hoping they receive even more money, to expand and update even more. If you have some spare change, I hope you’ll join me in supporting them. And maybe spread the word to let their fundraiser grow.
Wish me patience. Dasher wants to play!!! (NO. You have to rest. Let the incision heal. Oh, please don’t whine. I’m sorry, pup…) Sigh.
If it’s not bad enough that my pup needed surgery, Wednesday night Dasher had a seizure, during which he ripped out the interior sutures that basically hold his patella in place (it’s really holding his ligaments, which hold the patella, but I’m simplifying for brevity). Needless to say, I haven’t been getting much sleep, what with worrying about the dog, and waiting for “the next” seizure to come. Which never may happen…but I can’t be sure. //stress//
And still, life is better for me than for some. Publisher Steven Saus (of Alliteration Ink!) has a friend and fellow writer who, although his human family survived, lost everything–including pets–in a fire. There is a crowd funding project running through Feb 2 to give these people a leg up. Steven has put together an ebook anthology as a thank-you to any who donate, and I’m happy to announce that my story, “Worthy” will be included in the anthology, now titled Life After Ashes.
It looks like a wonderful lineup of authors, and the cause is a good one. Donate if you can, and if you have $25, you’ll get the words of over 50 authors (most much better writers than I am) to thank you. Head over to Tilt to see their fundraiser. And thanks.
There’s a new “experiment” going on in publishing. A site called Quarter Reads lets authors upload very short stories (500-2,000 words), and, after a quick preview of a few sentences, lets readers access the whole thing for 25 cents per story.
There is no “editor” per se, no gatekeeper compiling a “magazine,” and thus no initial payment for the writer. But the writer gets 88% of each quarter read, and 100% of any tips dumped into the tip jar by a reader who really like a story. The writing can be of any genre, and search fields can narrow a reader’s options by genre, author, hottest read, latest uploaded, etc.
I think this sounds like a great idea, and I’ve got stories in the queue waiting to be uploaded. There are some great stories already there, and some wonderful writers contributing to the site. I suggest you pop on over and give it a try–read something. Drop in a tip, if you really liked something. Directly support writing, and writers. How awesome is that? I’d be interested in knowing what you think of the site.
Alex Shvartsman is running a Kickstarter for his upcoming short-story anthology. Unlike the UFO series that he edits, this collection, titled Explaining Cthulh to Grandma and Other Stories, is all his own work.
I know Alex–he’s a heck of a nice guy. He’s also a really good writer. If you like humor, especially quirky humor, you’ll love his work. If you like military-themed SF, you’ll like his work. If you like “giant alien, telepathic spiders that sing,” you’ll like his work! And Ken Liu will be writing the introduction, and I don’t know too many people who wouldn’t like that!
$10 nets you an e-book, $20 a physical book, and $25 a signed book. Check out the Kickstarter page for other amazing backer levels. And help Alex pay for his sacrificial goat, if you can. 😉
Today’s quick post is signal boosting for another VP graduate’s latest project. Erin Underwood is co-editing an anthology of of science fiction and fantasy stage plays from current SFF authors and playwrights. It’s to be called “Geek Theater,” and it seems pretty unique. I mean, you see SFF novels, short stories, and movies–but plays? Really? How cool is that? So if you love SFF, or theater, or both, consider dropping a buck in their Kickstarter.
