Peter's comments (member since May 06, 2009)

Peter's comments from the SciFi and Fantasy Book Club group.

um... final David Tennant? Nope. He has 4 total contracted episodes this year, and the final one (the Christmas special I believe) is when the next Doctor comes in.

Planet of the Dead, while amazing, still has him cast as the Doctor at the end, as well as in the preview of the next one.

I'm going to share a humorous anecdote now, related to the topic.

The Ultimate Bookstore Schizophrenia....

I was hunting for a particular author (Jeff Long) and couldn't find many of his books. Upon asking for help, and looking him up in the store's computer, we discovered him in...

Sci-fi/fantasy, Horror, Literature, and Fiction. 4 sections to hunt down all of his books... Yet all of his books are basically Micheal Chriton with mysticism thrown in (and slightly better writing quality).

Hmmm.. How to start - first - Sherri. I am an author - PLEASE never lump me in with a publisher again. NO ONE i know that is also a published writer likes the publisher, or agrees with many decisions made by publishers.

Why do we get lumpage? Easy. Branding. Publishers want to spend as few dollars as possible on marketing books, so they rely on lumping as large a group of books together as possible to tone down marketing on single authors/books.

If sci-fi and fantasy weren't together, a reader would have to go to two sections instead of one, and that would cut down impulse buys.

It might seem like I'm a bit jaded, but its the truth. I've had publishers throw my script out because my writing plan has me jumping genres :) I was told 'We'll publish you, once you stick to a genre.' Luckily I didn't listen to them :p

Micheal - New Authors aren't getting picked up. Thats why :p One house, (bantam?) can't remember who it was at the moment, flat out said that they aren't signing any new authors for the next several years. Most other houses refuse to put a single marketing dollar behind the few newbies they do sign.

Seriously though - the categories? Its about 'walk by branding' which is why at a video store you usually find 'sci-fi / horror', while fantasy is usually mixed in with action, drama, or comedy, depending on the movie.

Jeff wrote: "That's what my daughter said, too. I enjoyed Storm of Swords, but found Clash of Kings kind of boring. It's kind of been every other one, you know?"

totally with you there. Though his continual push backs of publication dates are starting to feel very Jordan-esque.

Jeff wrote: "I'm reading Turn Coat by Jim Butcher, and following that will either be the second Nightside book by Simon Green or Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind. Probably read the shorter one first before I t..."


I was dissapoint in Martin when I read a Feast for Crows. He had such promise :(

Astra wrote: "Finished The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie and started Before They are Hanged.

I don't see what all the hype around the book was about. I enjoyed reading it and the fact that I started to read b..."


I haven't read the books, but I can maybe give you some author's perspective on maps (as an author working on my second novel atm). Maps are.. well.. they are a cool detail for fans, but a potential hindrance for authors. The more detailed the map, the more we have to go back and double check, as well as pause while writing to make sure details of the map are correct so that we don't get yelled at by a reader. And a 5 min break to double check something on a reference table or map can slow down the writing a lot.

So as a reader - I support having maps for readers as a tool to help them get even further into the world, as a writer they annoy me :)

"Imagination has no map." ~Terry Pratchett

Chris wrote: "Mawgojzeta wrote: "I read them in the wrong order and still thoroughly enjoyed them. The prequel is quite a ways back (20,000 years) and is loosely related.


"

thanks for the info!
"

I read them in the wrong order too :) Think of it more as.. a second story in the same verse.

Mawgojzeta wrote: "Peter wrote: "Chris wrote: "Reading A Fire Upon The Deep by Vinge. Pretty interesting concepts that I'm still trying to wrap my head around. "

an excellent book!"

I would second that..."

A deepness in the sky is also amazing. I hadn't heard he's writing a new one though. That excites me :)

Chris wrote: "Reading A Fire Upon The Deep by Vinge. Pretty interesting concepts that I'm still trying to wrap my head around. "

an excellent book!

I know it may be a bit of shameless self promotion, but I'm actually rereading my own novel to make sure I'm not missing anything in the sequel's plot outline. And when I get too dizzy from that, I'm also rereading the entire Dresden Files series.

Second Paradigm by Peter J Wacks