Brenda Cooper's Blog, page 26

Norwescon 2011 Schedule

I have a great schedule for NORWESCON, coming up in Seatac next weekend. I do want to draw attention to the reading for Mayan December (coming in August from Prime Books) – it's early in the con, and so I will have some limits on my time to advertise it.  I'm very excited about the book, and will shortly have first chapters posted.  The ARC's are rumored as likely to show by this reading, and they look like they are going to be a work of art in themselves.

Friday Noon Cascade 3       Brenda Cooper reads Mayan December

Novel coming out in 2011

Brenda Cooper

Friday 2pm   Evergreen 1&2           Can We Change the World through Science Fiction?

Science fiction literature provides the perfect oeuvre to hold a mirror up to humanity and look at who we are and what we might become.  Science fiction has long been the home of astute social commentary and in-depth exploration of what it means to be human; but can it be used as an art form to teach critical thinking?  Writers have used SF to tell allegorical stories that criticize political realties and challenge us to question the status quo.  How deep of an impact can literature, or any art form, have on informing people's thoughts and behavior?

Leslie Howle , Michael Alexander , Brenda Cooper, Eileen Gunn, Todd Lockwood

Saturday 9am          Cascade 9       Climate Change in the 21st Century

There is more CO2 in the atmosphere now than at any time during the last 650,000 years. Climate alterations are expected to be serious: more intense storms, more pronounced droughts, coastal areas more severely eroded by rising seas. At the high end of the predictions, the world could face abrupt, catastrophic, and irreversible consequences. Is there any chance at all that we can slow down global warming?  Are there geoengineering solutions to climate change?  Can giant space mirrors or salt water sprays realistically solve our problems?

Brenda Cooper , Paul Dixon , Janet Freeman, Mary Rosenblum

Saturday 11am        Cascade 13     The Citizen-Soldier in the High-Tech World

Perhaps not since the Age of Pointy Sticks has technological advances had such crossover between military and civilian uses. Is it time for the American model of the Citizen Soldier to take another step forward? And what direction is that? What are the advantages? The disadvantages? The story potential?

Bart Kemper , Mike Brennan , Brenda Cooper, Mike Shepherd Moscoe

Saturday 2pm          Cascade 5&6   Near Future Nightmares and Dreams

Science fiction writers will explore their personal visions of what might happen in the next decades as a result of political, social, and metaphysical events of recent years.

Brenda Cooper , Marc Laidlaw , Jack Skillingstead, Ted Chiang, Robert Ferrigno

Saturday 3pm          Grand 2           Autograph Session 2

Saturday 4pm          Cascade 5&6   The Best Writing Advice I Ever Received

…and Am Now Passing On To You.

Nancy Kress , Vicki Mitchell , Mary Robinette Kowal, Jack Skillingstead, Brenda Cooper, Eileen Gunn, Jay Lake, B. D. Gallagher

Saturday 9pm          Cascade 8       Space Colony Utopia

Within some of your lifetimes, sharia-law Islamists, nudists, kibbutzen, matriarchists, atheists… maybe even people like us, who might want to get away from the interferring politics and armies of Earth and join with like-minded people to form their own independent societies may be able to do so.   Assuming the technical problems can be solved, would this happen?  How would such colonies interact with Earth?

Mark Bourne , Brenda Cooper, G. David Nordley, Eytan Kollin

Sunday Noon           Cascade 8       Create a Character in One Short Scene

What's the best way to introduce a character? Panelists will explore how to show who your character is through dialogue and actions instead of relying on description.

Mary Rosenblum , Brenda Cooper , Kevin Radthorne, Craig English, Chris Pasden

Very cool patch for a new story

I have a new story coming out soon in the anthology "Defending the Future IV:  No Man's Land."  The anthology is being published by Dark Quest Books, and was edited by Mike McPhail.  Each story gets a patch that illustrates the story.  Here is the patch for "Cracking the Sky."

More in the anthology and the planned launch at Balticon later (although I can't be there, I hear there is a grand party planned).  We are also hoping to have a spot to do a reading at Worldcon in Reno, but I don't have word on that yet.

At any rate, this represents a few first for me.  It's my first pure military SF story (yes, the Silver Ship series does feature some futuristic fights).   It's definitely the first mission patch I've ever seen for one of my stories.  I like it a lot and it represents the story really well.

Reading Recommendation: River Marked by Patricia Briggs

I love Coyote stories.  I love Patricia Brigg's work.  This book is both.  It may be the best of the Mercy series so far.

This is, by the way, what I did last Sunday afternoon.  I sat in a big comfy chair, put my foot up (still recovering from surgery) , and read the thing from about chapter three to the end in one setting.  The book was so good, and Brigg's is so fabulous at creating a living story, that I felt like I'd been on a mini-vacation when I finished.

Mayan (er…Aztec) Reading: Servant of the Underworld, by Aliette de Bodard

I'm busy reading books and stories set either in 2012 or in the Yucatan Peninsula.  I read Aliette de Bodard's Nebula nominated novelette, "The Jaguar House, In Shadow" and loved it so much that I went right to her novel "Servant of the Underworld."  It's a bit of a cheat for this post series because it is Aztec rather than Mayan, but it is equally fascinated with the magic of Mexico.  I loved the book.  The world-building is confident and well-researched.  Yes – she's taken some liberties with the past – but so have I.  No matter how much research you do, these are ultimately fiction.  In Aliette's story and book, I felt like they story could have happened the way it's described. Even more importantly, the characters in this book felt real and human, and much of the story was the small story of being a human taking place inside a larger story with huge stakes.

The only warning I have on this is to give it a few chapters.  The story does start on page one, but the Aztec names and the strangeness of the world take some getting used to.  Trust me; it's a strength of the book.

I liked it enough that I ordered her second book, even though it's undoubtedly going to land in my "to be read" file since I have a long spate of manuscript reading coming up to prepare for a writing workshop.

Reading Recommendation: Nnedi Okorafor's "Who Fears Death"

While finishing up as much Nebula Awards reading as possible, I ordered and then devoured Nnedi Okorafor's powerful novel "Who Fears Death."  Interestingly enough, her story that I recommended a few posts ago, "The Book of Phoenix" fits into this novel.  The world-building is phenomenal, full of symbolism and magic and yet close enough for a reader to feel the grains of sand.

At it's best, fantastic fiction sheds at least some light on humanity.  Who Fears Death is a beacon.

It's also a lush and fabulous story; brave and magical.  When I read or listen to Nnedi's stories, I am absolutely transfixed not only at how far she reaches, but at the strength of her reach.  One of the best fantasy novels I have read in years.

Between Nnedi Okorafor and N.K. Jemison, we are being treated to two wonderful new voices in fantasy.  Now if I could only figure out how to have each of them walk away with both a Hugo and a Nebula.

Robotics, Synchronicity, and Tales for Canterbury

I've been writing about robots this past year or so.  I was preparing for a speech and looking deeply at robotics, and stories kind of fell out the air around me as I realized how much good work is happening in robotics.  One of those stories is "The Robot's Girl" which was published in Analog last year.   I have a story about robots helping in a quake zone coming out soon in a benefit anthology called "Tales for Canterbury" meant to help the victim of the Christchurch earthquake.  In that story, "Phoenix Dogs,"  a few of my characters are robots working rescue in a quake zone.  Well, in a rather nice synchronous bit of magic, I read a story today in CNN about robots being used in the quake zone in Japan to help clear rubble.   American robots, no less (my story in Analog was sparked by an article about Japanese robotics being designed to provide child care).

Anyway, in honor of that synchronicity, and of disaster victims everywhere, here is the information that was provided to me about the benefit anthology by Lynn Jamneck:

As you may know, New Zealand's Christchurch experienced a debilitating earthquake on February 22, 2011.

In response, both New Zealand and international writers have come together to produce "Tales For Canterbury", a relief anthology, with all proceeds to be donated to the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal to assist those affected by the recent events. The line up contains a variety of authors and a fantastic blend of stories, all of which focus primarily on the themes of survival and hope. Authors include myself, Jeff Vandermeer, Brenda Cooper, Neil Gaiman, Jay Lake, Jessie Bullington, Sean Williams, Grant Stone and Gwyneth Jones.

Pre-orders for "Tales For Canterbury" is now available, both for electronic (various formats) and print editions. If you would like to offer your support to Christchurch, please take a moment to follow the link below. And please feel free to pass this email along to friends and colleagues.

http://talesforcanterbury.wordpress.com/get-your-copy

http://talesforcanterbury.wordpress.com/list-of-contributrs/

I will post again when the anthology is actually available to download, but it will get help to New Zealand sooner to  pre-order.

Mayan December Pre-orders are now available

I'm very pleased to announce that pre-orders are open on Amazon for the print copy of Mayan December (Pub date August 23rd, 2011).  And for those of you wondering, yes there will be a Kindle version!  Thanks to Prime Books!

Transcript of #sffwrtcht

In case you want a break from the generally disturbing news, here is the transcript of a lovely hour-long chat I had on Twitter at the hashtag #sffwrtcht.  Thanks to Bryan Thomas Schmidt for hosting an excellent event.  Topics included my next book, Mayan December, writing, collaborating, and dogs.  Well, you know, there has to be dogs.

Mayan Reading: The Sacred Well, by Antoinette May

There are certain events – and places – that inspire creativity in many people.  Ancient Rome.  Egypt.  World War II.  One of those is also surely December 2012 and the end of the Mayan Calendar. The place – of course – is the Yucatan Peninsula.

Now that I'm finished with my own novel set there (Mayan December – coming out from Prime Books in August 2011), I'm reading what other people have done with the same place, and I plan to report some of that here and also to do some interviews with experts in the area.

Today, I finished Antoinette May's historical novel, The Sacred Well.  May explores the love story of journalist Alma Reed and Governor Felipe Carillo.  This journey takes her back to the 1800's, the early excavation of Chitzen Itza, and some of the more tumultuous days of class warfare in the region.  In fact, it turns out that I had already read about Carillo my research for a Steampunk story I set just before his time.  I very much liked the way that historical details and politics wove through the book, and I loved reading about a time I haven't yet explored in detail.  Faior warning:  this is a literary book, and will appeal to readers interested in place and character.

Crowd Power: Crowdsourcing Today

My newest column at Futurismic explores the power of crowds.  Before I started researching this, I knew about crowd-sourcing used to get people to a particular place to do something interesting like perform the Thriller dance in mass in public, or for demonstrations (Tahrir Square).  I knew about crowd-sourced translation projects.   I didn't know that one particular business raised almost a million dollars that way, or that I'd come to the conclusion that crowd-sourcing has basically gone mainstream.