Jeff Carlson's Blog, page 18
September 1, 2010
One To Fewer Than Three
Ripped from the headlines! Today's paper has a small piece on a university study about the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol use. There's an accompanying photo of a glass of beer, below which is the caption, and I quote:
Consuming one to fewer than three drinks a day can extend your life, a new study says.
I assumed that was surely a fuzzy-headed summary banged out by an overworked editor until I skimmed the article itself, which includes this line:
Moderate drinkers were defined as...
August 23, 2010
Milestones
Two milestones to start this week, one belated, one as fresh as this morning's donuts.
First: Excited about the upcoming release of Valka S Pandemii (better known to you and I as Plague War) in the Czech Republic, I realized I'm over 150,000 books in print worldwide. With the rise of e-books, this is becoming a less relevant statistic every day, and, yes, I know plenty of writers with, like, eighty million books in print, but it's still a happy number.
How will publishers of the future gauge ...
August 13, 2010
Santa Claus In August
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of South Park. Yes, on the surface it's nothing but sacrilegious toilet humor. Truth to told, though, this show is very, very clever and well-informed. 
Lately I've been taking advantage of the fact that I work at home. For three weeks now I've watched an episode or two (sometimes for the eighth time) at lunch, you know, sprawled on the couch in my sweats with three days' beard growth and a bowl of Cheerios. Ah, the glorious writing life!
South Park...
August 6, 2010
The Strip Tease Continues…
This week we've got another slew of hot news.
First, super fan Jeff "The Other Jeff" Dutton has created a Jeff Carlson fan club on Facebook. Get in there and make some noise. Do you love Cam more than Ruth? Can't believe the turn of events in Plague Zone? Let the e-debates begin!!!
2) My short story "Planet of the Sealies," a far future adventure loaded with clones and battle armor, has been slated for the February issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine .
3) As mentioned previously, I ...
July 26, 2010
"Inception" – The Guy Next To Me Fell Asleep
This weekend, Diana and I ran off for a rare, childless, errands-and-sushi-and-a-movie date. We hadn't read any reviews because we're always pressed for time and because reviews are so often wrong.
My favorite example is when we went to National Treasure 2, which was the only thing playing we wanted to see that weekend. We'd liked the first National Treasure, which was a good fun adventure full of twists and turns… but when we got online to check the schedules, the movie theater site had...
July 15, 2010
The Invasion Is About To Begin
Fun news this week from many directions:
First, at home, I feel like I'm writing the best book I've ever dreamed up in all aspects from plot to character to concept, scope, and pacing. That's a good feeling. I hope to begin sharing some meaty tidbits about my Secret New Big Thriller soon and I apologize for the ever-lasting secrecy. The wheels in publishing turn at glaaaaaaacial speeds.
More soon.
Second, a few weeks ago I was contacted by Paul Cole at WRFR radio in Rockland, Maine. Paul...
July 2, 2010
Recommended Reading… or, The Zombie Apocalypse Of July
It should be no surprise to friends and fans that I have a taste for the undead. Well, maybe "taste" isn't the word we're looking for. An "appreciation." Ha!
I grew up on the original Romero movies and excellent knock-offs like The Return of the Living Dead and Army of Darkness. What were my parents thinking? Heck if I know. Why would you let a ten-year-old boy read books like The Stand and Lucifer's Hammer or take him to see Alien? To keep him off the streets?
In the end, good...
June 25, 2010
Too Stupid To Know It
There's a delusional leech who's been causing stress in my family for nearly two years. With permission from the most offended party, I may write about it here more in the future. The saga of this self-destructive idiot is definitely great material for a tragicomedy, but, for now, it's not yet my story to write. Nevertheless, when I came across this New York Times article (stop me if you've read it already) I immediately thought of this selfish hemorrhoid of a man.
The article is by Errol...
June 18, 2010
My Subconscious Is A War Zone
This week Starship Sofa, currently on the shortlist for this year's Hugo Award For Best Fanzine, has two stories that I highly recommend.
One is "Cats In Fiction" by the prolific David Barr Kirtley.
The other, bwah ha ha, is an old favorite and among the most successful of my short stories. "Pressure" has been translated into several languages and now finds new life with this awesome audio magazine.
You can find their podcast here.
In the meantime, I've also posted my introduction to...
My Subconscience Is A War Zone
This week Starship Sofa, currently on the shortlist for this year's Hugo Award For Best Fanzine, has two stories that I highly recommend.
One is "Cats In Fiction" by the prolific David Barr Kirtley.
The other, bwah ha ha, is an old favorite and among the most successful of my short stories. "Pressure" has been translated into several languages and now finds new life with this awesome audio magazine.
You can find their podcast here.
In the meantime, I've also posted my introduction to...
