David Lubar's Blog, page 10

Eureka! SFAM is born.

It just hit me. I am declaring May to be Short-Fiction Appreciation Month (though I guess we could call February "Short Fiction-Appreciation Month"). I'm not sure how SFAM will be celebrated, but I think the phrases "SFAMine" and "SFAMish" need to be worked into the discussion fairly often. And there should be SFAMples. Maybe some SFAMzines. This is going to be SFAMtastic.

All better

I had a nice email discussion with one of the instructors at the university that lifted my humor piece. They've removed it for now, but will put it back later with my permission, along with an explanation about what happened and why it was wrong. (The students are on break. The professor felt they should write the explanation. I agree.) So I'll have to find another distraction for today, or actually do some work.

Wait -- today is March 24th! That means we are exactly two months away from the launch of Attack of the Vampire Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales. Egads -- I'd better get the hype machine in gear. The first review is already out. If you set aside a penny and a quarter every day for the next two months, you'll have enough to buy the book when it launches. If you set aside a dollar, you can buy copies for three friends (or local libraries). If you use your credit card, it won't even be like spending real money.

What can we learn from this?

(If you haven't read my previous post, yet, this will make more sense if you do that, first. Here's the email I sent to the folks at Southern Ct. State U. I sent it to someone in the president's office, and to the head of the English Dept.

[start of email]
Since there was no email address for the president, I am sending this to you, along with a copy for the head of the English department. (I suspect he is unaware that this has happened.) I was surprised to see a piece of my writing copied without my permission on a blog that describes itself with the following words: "This is the blog for The English Department at Southern Connecticut State University.

http://literarytalk.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/david-lubars-guide-to-literary-fiction/

I would hope anyone managing a web site representing an English department would have a better understanding of the protection afforded by a copyright. (I'm sure someone will try to claim "fair use," but that statue has a section dealing with the portion of the work in question. In this case, that portion was 0.) Basically, this is theft. I am not vindcitive. I realize someone probably made a mistake. But I also feel strongly that people need to be made aware of the basic protection given by a copyright. If the department want to ask permission to post the piece, that would be fine with me, as long as they add a short introduction mentioning how they initially violated a copyright and explaining why that was the wrong thing to do. I'd love to see this turn into a teachable moment.
[end of email]

Really, it would make more sense if I ignored this and spent my time writing things I can sell. (Happily, at the moment, I'm in the position of a factory filling back orders.) I've already squandered several hours on various aspects of this. The reality is, my stuff -- and your stuff -- is constantly being stolen. Most people don;t know or care about copyright issues. And yelping at this university won't change the universe all that much. It might even make me look petty to the uninformed. But, in another sense, I feel I have to speak up once in a while, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. (Setting aside the impact on the factory's output today.) Okay -- I'm going to change hats and write some fiction. Or eat a sandwich.

Stop, thief

The English Department at Southern Connecticut State University just stole a piece of my writing from my web site, complete with my copyright notice. Here's the link:

http://literarytalk.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/david-lubars-guide-to-literary-fiction/

I'd expect as much from some clueless web site, but not from a university. And no, this isn't fair use. One of the four test for fair use is the amount of the writing that is taken. I'd love it if any of you with a free moment left them a comment giving your views on theft.

[Edited to add -- Here's what I'd like to see happen. I'd like for them to ask my permission to use the piece. I'd happily say yes. All I'd ask in return is for them to add an introduction mentioning that they initially violated my copyright, and also explaining the basic reason why this is wrong. (Though I love Laura's comment about compensation.) It's amazing how many people don't understand this. Someone elsewhere asked whether it was enough that they gave me credit and a link when they posted the piece. I explained that it was no different than if they'd scanned a book and posted it. Copyright is an essential asset. Writers need to respond to any abuse or violation.]

HP unLovedcrap and some random stuff

Rather than buy a third battery for my wife's three-year-old Dell Vostro, I figured it made more economical sense to get a new laptop. After a lot of study, we bought an HP Pavilion. I'm pretty sure new computers aren't supposed to randomly and repeatedly crash and give you the blue screen of death. There were other problems, including a badly engineered touch pad, and a maximum speaker volume that would be perfect for use in libraries. Happily, I bought it at a store with a 14-day return policy. Afterward, I Googled "HP pavilion bsod" and got 350,000 hits. "HP pavilion touchpad problem" gets 450,000 hits. Granted, there are probably some extraneous hits in the mix, but that's still a lot.

Earlier this week, I tried the demo of the eagerly anticipated (by me) Playstation Move Heroes. I am no longer in a state of eager anticipation.

I guess I live on another planet, because I didn't even hear about the Friday song thing until, amusingly enough, Friday. Which comes after Monday, though not immediately.

It looks like DLAW has wound down. I totally dropped the ball. I'll try to do better next year. I guess I'm saving my energy for WAM (Weenie Appreciation Month), a celebration I just invented in the middle of this sentence.

And, in conclusion, here's a totally unrelated-but-fun fact for fans of Raising Hope. My daughter was in a high school play with Kate Micucci's brother Matt.

It's alive! (again)

I'll get to the Lazarus story in a moment. But first, since so many people asked about the Weenie Thingee, I wanted to give applaude and credit to the creator. The thing itself is actually called a Zort. Talented artists Max Gyllenhaal creates all sort of them, in the form he calls Clothespin Puppet Noteholders. He has lots of different ones available.

Centuries ago, I had a paperback series called "Accidental Monsters." The series was inspired by the idea that it would be fun to write stories from the perspective of the monsters. Sadly, the series went out of print. Happily, Tor/Starscape is bringing it back to life. The four original books, along with two new ones, will be released throughout 2013. Here's the original cover of the first book:



Those of you who own calendars might have noticed that with Attack of the Vampire Weenies coming out in May of 2011, and the Accidental Monsters coming in 2013, there's a gap for 2012. I'm happy to say that the gap (that dark gaping gap) will be filled. I prefer not to announce books until I have a contract in hand, but let's just say I've been writing a whole bunch of stories, and there are things out there even more fun to mock than vampires.

There is even more news pending. Cool news.

The Weenie Thingee is finally revealed -- a photo essay

We are mid-way between the Ides of March and St. Patrick's Day, which is the central point of DLAW (David Lubar Appreciation Week). I decided that the best way to celebrate would be to show how much I am appreciated by my amazing publisher. In the past, Tor/Starscape has been stunningly generous with promotional items, including posters, book marks, buttons, flyers, and numerous ads. But they have transcended everything this time, by creating what I like to call the Weenie Thingee (it has a real name, but I have grown fond of "Thingee"). When my editor, Susan Chang, first hinted about its existence, she said it was difficult to capture the wonder and coolness of it in a description. (Being an editor, she phrased it much better than that, but you get the point.) She's right. So let me show the awesome Vampire Weenie promotional Thingee to you via 7,000 words worth of pictures.

It came in a box.



The first thing that met my eyes was a post card.



Beneath that, was some sort of Thingee. It was rubbery, hand painted, and looked like the Vampire Weenie on the book cover.



With a clothes pin in back.



Open wide.



It's a paper holder!




A perfect way to display important documents.



Or to add a touch of class to a shelf of books.



So, yeah, I'm feeling loved, and fortunate. And a year older. But that's not a bad thing, either. Tomorrow, more amazing news.

Final score: Me 9, Winter 0, Food Bank $512.00

The Winter Travel Challenge is over. My thanks to everyone who contributed any sort of mojo, or any sort of charitable gifts. And special thanks to Bill White of the Allentown Morning Call for giving me the pro I needed to launch another challenge.

In other news, I suspect the kidlit universe will have a lot to say about the picture-book episode of Celebrity Apprentice. As many bloggers have already pointed out, it was a shame they didn't identify the artists. Margery Cuyler seemed to be having fun. She was a good choice since she's both an editor and author.

Speaking of that show, I coined a term for an elaborate attempt to disguise baldness: Trump l'oiel.

To clarify for the many folks waiting for this year's celebration, we are currently in the midst of DLAW.

Snow melt

I'm heading off for the last trip in the travel challenge. There's no chance of snow. Although melting snow and rain have flooded a lot of NJ, I think the area I'm going to is fine. I'm also pretty sure that as soon as the travel challenge ends, nature will dump two or three feet of snow between me and my next destination.

Overwhelmed by a lack of ambition, I've decided to leave the details of this year's DLAW (David Lubar Appreciation Week) to the celebrants. Do whatever seems fitting. Feel free to post your actions. Book purchases are always strongly encouraged and appreciated.

I should be able to post photos of the amazing promotional thingee this week.

The Saddest Pumpkin Ever

I'm pretty sure Steven would have appreciated the macabre humor of the subject heading. For those who didn't know, Steven Kroll died Tuesday evening. We drove seventy miles through a torrential downpour, once, to a conference. It was one of those horrifying experiences that helps create fond memories. We signed together whenever we could. Sometimes, the lines were long and enthusiastic. Sometimes, we exchanged "why are we here?" glances. (This is one of the main reasons to sign with another author.) Organizers knew they could always lure me by saying, "Steven is coming." I suspect they pulled the same trick on him. The last time we were supposed to sign together, he called to tell me he was in the hospital. That was in September. He'd had successful surgery, but picked up a persistent infection. I'm rambling. Not sure what to share and what to hold close. I'ts a sadder, quieter universe right now. I'll miss him.