Jeff Carlson's Blog, page 17

Rollerball!!! Podcasts!! Giveaway Contest!

Today we have a tasty smorgasbord of fun.  First, a friend in Estonia sent me this AWESOME link to a mad, mad, spectacular sport no doubt inspired by my childhood-favorite movie "Rollerball."

Yes!  Soccer with motorcycles!  Goalies being crushed!  Check it out.

Closer to home in Rockland, Maine, Paul Cole with radio station WRFR and the "Beam Me Up" podcast delivered a nice rendition of my short-short "Exit."  As with "Rollerball," there are also piteous screams of terror.  

In less horrific news, we have a small contest this week inspired by emails and comments after the Super Fan Exposes on io9.com and the Penguin USA blog.

The prize?  A free autographed copy of the November 2009 issue of Asimov's with my Julie Beauchain story "A Lovely Little Christmas Fire" will be mailed to the winner.

The question?  Who can be the first person to tell me why there's a small brass cannon on the shelf behind me?

Bwah ha ha ha ha!  Dr. Evil Strains Your Brains!!!

This One's For Joe & Gay…

…or, KMEFs Of The World, Unite!

Dipping my toes into the ebooks game, I've uploaded my novelette "The Frozen Sky" onto Kindle for all of you Kindle Mad E-Fans.  If you missed "Sky" in its print editions (Writers of the Future XXIII, Apex Magazine Vol. 3, Issue 1, or Starshipsofa Stories Vol. II) or if you just need your very own electronic file, bam, it's right here for 99 cents.

"The Frozen Sky" remains my favorite of my short stories partly because it's an ambitious, high concept piece — partly because it's loaded with freaky blind alien lifeforms inside lightless ice catacombs.

Some critics and bloggers panned the story because it's too complicated in its delivery.  That's what happens when you mix hard science with good ol' action-adventure.  Occasionally it's necessary to juggle the narrative.  Otherwise you'll have thirty pages of set-up before the excitement begins, and that's just weak storytelling.  The good stuff has to come up front… but if you ask readers to keep track of two parallel storylines, you're going to lose some of 'em.  Risky business.

Yet I stand by the story for several reasons.  It took first place in the prestigious and lucrative WOTF contest; it's been reprinted twice now in English; been translated into Romanian and Czech (where it instigated a bidding war for the Plague novels); is set to appear in Polish; and it's modeled closely on Joe Haldeman's riveting, classic novella "Seasons."

That's right.  Secrets revealed on the Internet!     ;>

I grew up reading and re-reading Joe Haldeman for his superb craft, his darkly beautiful ideas, and his evocative and compact use of language.  For my money, you'll never beat Joe Haldeman for sci fi storytelling and "The Frozen Sky" — like "Seasons" — is a First Contact story on a strange world with stranger aliens.

His collection Dealing In Futures is out of print now, but it also contains topnotch pieces like A !Tangled Web" and "Blood Sisters."  Do yourself a favor and find a copy.

In the meantime, given the chance, I dedicated the Kindle version of "The Frozen Sky" to Joe and Gay, whom I've had the great pleasure to meet at a con or three.  Giants still walk the earth, people.  I've seen them!  Heck, remind me sometime to tell you who was holding the first Gollancz edition of Worlds ever seen by the author himself.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank an anonymous fan for the Kindle edition cover art.  Someone known to me only as Ben put together this image of Europa's frozen crust after a podcast of the story ran on Starshipsofa.  Where are you, man?  You're credited on the copyright page.

I do appreciate it.

SUPER BONUS: SELF-REPLICATING NANOBOTS !!!

What's in this box?  Actually, the story behind it is the coolest thing I've seen all month.

I'll follow up on Ketchup this week with more, but, for now, turn your eyes toward the first of four fun photo essays — this one on Penguin USA's "The Author's Desk."

And to the Sierzengas,  thank you!    :>

UPDATE:

Penguin USA has posted a tasty fun essay on apocalyptic fiction here.

A detailed account of the Sierzengas' fantastic voyage, their nanotech schematics and more have been posted on genre portal io9.com.

BONUS UPDATE:

Penguin USA has gone live with their third piece.  You can find more nanotech and superfan action here.

WARNING: CONTAINS SELF-REPLICATING NANOBOT

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What's in this box?  Actually, the story behind it is the coolest thing I've seen all month.

I'll follow up on Ketchup this week with more, but, for now, turn your eyes toward the first of four fun photo essays — this one on Penguin USA's "The Author's Desk."

And to the Sierzengas,  thank you!    :>

Mainline Caffeine Overdrive!!!

It was a quiet week this week with my nose to the computer, banging through fresh pages, which is always a pleasure.

Nobody ever tells me anything, though, so I was surprised to learn that I was on Starshipsofa again — now the hot new fresh Hugo Award-winning Starshipsofa.

A few weeks ago, Tony Smith and I got on the phone to record an 8 minute Q&A that turned out much like the "three-hour tour" of the ill-fated Minnow, whose crew and passengers as we all know spent the remainder of their lives on Gilligan's Island.  But they had a lot of fun!  And bananas! I forgot to warn Tony that I sometimes ingest a pot of coffee instead of food for breakfast, ha ha, and suddenly we'd recorded 40 minutes of high octane excitement and chatter.

Perhaps better, Tony follows our interview with the smooth delivery of Mike Boris reading "Meme," which was in fact my first semi-pro sale to a magazine that you could actually find in stores (although this story didn't appear in print until after my stories in Strange Horizons, Space & Time, and the now-defunct Artemis Magazine).

Fresh, early Carlson fresh from the grind!   You can find the new SSS episode here.   

Meet My Mom

And introducing…  Patricia A. Kelly, fifth-generation San Fernando Valley Girl, college graduate (not a small deal for a poor girl who worked her way up), businesswoman, retiree, world traveler, skier, hiker, super chef and health nut, twice married and grandmother of four.

Here we see our educated and matronly grandma among the sweet fall colors of the aspen-rich Colorado Rockies near scenic Leadville, not too far from where she now makes her home.

Oh, and she's also packing 9mm Glocks with her spunky new boyfriend Buffalo Bob while blasting the buns off of Hula Hula Hannah.

Is it really any wonder that I write the books I do?   

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This Door Exists Only In Your Mind

Or, A Look Inside The Whimsical Writing Life:

Six years ago I disconnected our doorbell.  It was easy.  You take the screws out top and bottom, remove the fixture, unwind two wires, then put the fixture back.

Why did I do this crazy thing?  Aha HA ha ha!  Wait for it…

I disconnected our doorbell because people kept ringing it.

When the writing's going well and I have my head deep into my storyline, the last thing I want to do is talk to random strangers who want to sell me politicians, Jesus, cookies, yard services, etc.  That's right.  I don't even want to buy cookies.

If you're not at all home all day, you might be surprised how many people are roaming around banging on doors.

It's my position that this is rude as hell.  It's rude, man.  Did I say that already?  If I want politicians, Jesus, cookies or yard services, I will shop for them.  Right?

Okay.  Here's where I get dangerously out-of-mainstream.  Brace yourself.

I don't use my cell phone, either.  I mean I don't give anyone my number, which has earned me more than one what-are-you-psycho look from friends or family who ask about getting together.  My experience is that if you give people your cell number, they will call you even if you've told them only to use it in emergencies.

It's really not an emergency if you just want to chat about the weekend.  God forbid you need to text me because you just saw a funny YouTube video or ate the greatest taco of your life.  You can call me on the home number, but our ringer's off and the machine is on Mute and I won't pick up because even though we're on every No Call list you can imagine, the politicians passed a useful law that says every political campaign on the planet can still call and so can any company that's ever done business with you in the past.

Heck, why even bother with No Call lists with exceptions like that?

(The joke is that a few years ago, being Californians, we received a recorded call from The Terminator himself during his campaign.  "Come with me if you want to live."  Awesome.)

What have we learned today?  That I'm a fun, energetic, gregarious guy who loves to hear from friends and fans alike.  I honestly am!  I swear it! But not while I'm working.

They don't let random people into office buildings.  That I work at home shouldn't mean there's a double standard.

So ring that bell all ya want, stranger.  I can't hear you.    

The British Invasion

Fun news from the U.K. today.  Editor, host and deep space captain Tony C. Smith, in tandem with his brave crew, has finalized Volume 2 of Starshipsofa Stories, a series of reprint anthologies featuring the work of contributors to this Hugo Award-winning podcast.

Second of all, love the cover art. 

But first, holey schmololey, this is the kind of table of contents in which I like to find myself!  Headliners include Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, Jeff VanderMeer, Paul Di Filippo, Nancy Kress...

Sneak Mini-Peek Of The New Book!

In the course of polishing a novel, it's *always* necessary to go back through and trim material for reasons of pacing and balance.

Working on the Secret New Big Thriller, I'm finding these cuts especially necessary.  This book is more ambitious than any of the Plague novels with larger characters, greater concepts and a far-reaching plot.  While writing my early drafts, I let my fingers run away from me and type up all sorts of extra details as I worked through understanding the people and...

Exclusive Content at the JCFC

That's the Jeff Carlson Fan Club on Facebook, where I've just posted a sneak mini-peek of the new book.   But if you're not on Facebook, don't worry.  I'll post the same material here in 24 hours.