Phil Giunta's Blog, page 102
August 22, 2012
Author Interview: Dave Galanter
Over the course of the next few months, I will be interviewing each of my fellow ReDeus authors. We start today with Dave Galanter.
I'd known Dave from the Maryland SF conventions, Farpoint and Shore Leave , having attended a few writing seminars that he'd co-hosted with Howard Weinstein , Kelly Meding , and Bob Jones. I can honestly say that Dave is one of the nicest and funniest guys I've ever met.
First, tell us where we can find you online.
I have a pretty big internet footprint, so you can find by on Google+ under my name, on FaceBook under my name, and on twitter under @DaveGalanter. Swing a dead nyancat and you’ll probably hit my internet presence.
Before publishing Star Trek stories professionally with Simon and Schuster, did you write Trek or other fan fiction?
I wrote things but never published them. I did write a few “Wonder Years” episodes on speculation and tried to sell them, but while the producers like them, they had similar stories in development and so I never sold one.
Although you write solo now, many of your early
Star Trek
novels were co-written with Greg Brodeur, husband of author Diane Carey. How did you come to know Diane and Greg?
I met them in a local bookstore when I was 16. We became friends, and then family as they sort of adopted me by taking me under their wings. I actually lived in their home for 6 years just out of college and consider them family. What’s funny is I was in that book store because I’d just read one of Diane’s books and thought “wow, these Trek books are good—I should get a couple more.” I only saw them on the way out and was shocked they lived just miles from me. I drove home and got my book for them to sign and after more than 25 years we’re still family and I talk to one of them or their kids (my “niece and nephews”) every day. Diane really taught me how to write, and Greg taught me how to plot. I owe who I am as a writer, and in some ways as a person, to them.
You and I both have stories in the new anthology,
ReDeus: Divine Tales
(Crazy 8 Press, August 2012). What inspired your story, “Tricks of the Trade”?
My father remarried a few years ago (my mother has been dead almost 10 years) and this sweet little old Jew married a Muslim woman from Africa. The religions are so similar, it inspired me to have a story which spoke to the similarities as well as gave some thoughts on how someone without a religion would approach the changes in the world if a bunch of “gods” returned.
What can readers expect next from you?
I’ve just adapted my last Trek book “Troublesome Minds” into a teleplay to be filmed by Star Trek: Phase II’s webseries in November, and I wrote the recently released Phase II vignette called “Going Boldly.” I’m also working on a detective novel with a science fiction conceit which I hope to get back to work on soon. It’s been a busy summer. You can also find that my wife and I have a blog called “Sam and Dave Blog Classic Trek” on Facebook (and a similarly titled radio show on MyBlogTalkRadio via NDBMedia.com) on which we watch and dicuss classic Trek episodes as I watch them for the millionth time and Sam (my wife Simantha) watches them for the first time.
What does Dave Galanter do when he isn’t writing?
Well, I spend time with my wife and my brother Josh and his wife recently moved to the area and so I love spending time with their daughter and watching her grow up. I watch too much Reality TV and play videogames and try to be as lazy as possible. I also have a day job at Gallaudet University as a server administrator.
Dave Galanter on Amazon
August 18, 2012
Monster Mania 22 - Cherry Hill, NJ
Other guests at the show included several cast members from the Hellraiser films (including Doug Bradley, Nicholas Vince and others), several cast members from The Walking Dead (including Jeff Demunn, Emma Bell, Norman Reedus, and Steven Yeun), comedic actor Jamie Kennedy, Nancy Allen (RoboCop, Blowout) and many more.
August 17, 2012
About This Writing Stuff...
However, I managed to squeeze in a standard sized edition of About This Writing Stuff. Alan Finder reviews the joys and hazards of self publishing. Courtney Carpenter lists 21 traits of excellent fiction while Brian Klems gives strength to minor characters. Mixing genres? Doing some worldbuilding? Jami Gold has some suggestions about all of that. Jody Hedlund helps us get our stories under control, Kristen Lamb talks setting, and Jurgen Wolff peels the "kick me" sign off our backs.
Finally, Paul Kupperberg thinks the gods are crazy as he discusses our new anthology, ReDeus: Divine Tales.
The Joys and Hazards of Self Publishing on the Web by Alan Finder
The 21 Key Traits of Best Selling Fiction by Courtney Carpenter
Questions to Ask (& Strengthen) Your Minor Characters by Brian A. Klems
How to Write Your Novel: 6 Pieces of Advice by Steven Raichlin via Chuck Sambuchino
Mixing Genres? In-Depth Worldbuilding? How to Manage Reader Expectations by Jami Gold (via Melinda S. Collins)
How to Rein In an Out-of-Control Story by Jody Hedlund
Setting: Adding Dimension to Your Fiction by Kristen Lamb
Writers, Let's Not Wear a Kick-Me Sign On Our Backs by Jurgen Wolff
The Gods Must Be Meshuggenah! by Paul Kupperberg
August 12, 2012
About This Writing Stuff...
Nevertheless, let's congratulate Crazy 8 Press as they turn one year old! Jami Gold provides the second installment in her New Publishing Paradigm series and makes it clear that only the author and reader truly matter in the publishing chain. Kristen Lamb gives us keys to unlock our futures as writers. Kathryn Kathryn Rusch talks more about publishing contracts and Ann Aguirre offers tips on collaboration.
Crazy 8 Press Celebrates its First Anniversary by Bob Greenberger
The New Publishing Paradigm Part Two: What Value Do Publishers Add? by Jami Gold
Unlocking Your Great Future - 5 Keys to Writing Success by Kristen Lamb
The Agent Clause by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Natural Born Collaborator by Ann Aguirre
August 11, 2012
Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con
August 10, 2012
Book Review: Heroic Park by Lance Woods
A week at the beach this summer. Check.
A weekend at Shore Leave SF convention. Check.
A few days at Heroic Park. Check.
Oh, what's Heroic Park you ask? You never heard of the place? Never heard of the theme park in Arizona where patrons can be infused with superhuman powers that allow them to fly, grant them super speed, or amazing strength for one day?
Where the hell have you been? Dorney Park?
Join Superhuman Times newspaper reporter Kevin Dunbar as he takes you on a tour of the world's most thrilling amusement park decked out to resemble Times Square in New York City yet constructed in Pima County, Arizona. During their visit, average humans can choose to be injected with a nano-serum that grants them the abilities of their fellow superhuman citizens.
Superhumans have been around for decades, you know, battling supervillains and saving the planet. However, once the last of the supervillains had fled Earth, what was a pantheon of heroes to do?
Get real jobs, that's what.
Take Nataliya Tzone, for example. A sorceress extraordinaire, Ms. Tzone now owns her own security company, Tzone Defense. It just so happens to be under contract to provide security for Heroic Park. Yet Ms. Tzone has her own reasons for wanting to watch over the place.
And then we have Rei Shinozaki, a superhuman with the ability to fly and fire mean green beams from her eyes. She's also hot and has a past with our intrepid reporter, Dunbar. That past is rekindled when Rei arrives at Heroic Park a few days prior to opening day, having accepted a job as Dunbar's photographer. Surprise, dude!
The creator of the park, Tony Lueras, is idolized by Dunbar who worked New Jersey boardwalk rides as a teen. Lueras is a legnendary theme park designer and visionary. Heroic Park is his greatest accomplishment, but it would not have been possible without the financial backing of Coral Mayhew. Coral not only financed the park but also ponied up the funds for the research into the nano-serum that grants superhuman powers to ordinary folks like you and me. The researcher and developer of the serum is Dr. Juno Moreta, the park's Chief Medical Officer.
Now, you might ask, "wait a minute, how can all this be happening without the federal government's knowledge?" Enter special agent Michael Windham, federal liaison to Heroic Park (which happened to be built on federal land).
After exploring the rides, the posh hotel, and the onsite Crichton Hospital (named for, you guessed it, Michael Crichton), along comes a death to ruin the fun.
The body of a teammate named Jakey is found in his dorm (Teammate is the term given to park employees). The cause of his death was, apparently, high speed collision with a door. Accidental, right? Well, when traces of a new form of untested nano-serum are found on Jakey, things start to get suspicious. See, Dr. Moreto was experimenting with a formula that would grant superhuman abilities for two days, not just one. Yet that serum was not to leave the lab!
The situation is kept fairly quiet by Windham until Jakey's roomate, Vicente, dies in a rather public and gruesome manner the next day. Dunbar, Rei, Nataliya, Coral, and Windham set out to unlock the mystery behind these bizarre deaths and when they do, they get a little more than they bargained for.
Heroic Park is based on characters and situations from Lance Woods' audio drama, Superhuman Times, as heard on Prometheus Radio Theatre. Woods does a delightful job of bringing that world into narrative form for his debut novel. Heroic Park is a fun and easy read with rich and diverse characters in a unique environment. Sure, there are plenty of fictional tales set in amusement parks but how many of their characters have super powers?
August 7, 2012
Shore Leave 34 Convention Review
For its 34th year, Shore Leave moved from its traditional July timeslot to August. This was primarily due to the lack of available guests in July, many of whom were at San Diego Comic Con. The change seemed to make little difference to most of the fans. Speaking for myself, this was one of the best Shore Leaves I've had in my 20 years of attendance.
After my fiancee and I checked in, we picked up our guest badges in the lower lobby where we met up with friends Bob Greenberger and Dr. Inge Heyer. As many of you know, Bob is a veteran writer and editor and co-creator of the new ReDeus book series. Inge is an astronomer and Shore Leave's author liaison who had just moved back to the DC area to accept a professorship at Loyola. We were very excited for her!
After that, it was off to host my first panel at 3PM about the SyFy seriesm, HAVEN. I was flying solo on this one and while the audience was small, it was lively and there was much to discuss for a solid 40 minutes before winding down. That was perfect for me as I'd had nothing to eat all day and still had to unpack the car!
We then paid a vist to friends Mike and Kate Riehl at their dealer table where we were joined by Eric Hawkins and Gayle Ruggieri. There was much catching up to do with Eric and Gayle who I had not seen in over a year.
Then came the mad text messages to friends Sharon VanBlarcom and fellow writer guest, Kieryn Nicolas who was just arriving. Finally, it was decided to meet up for dinner at Noodles and Company across from the hotel. Evon and I had just enough time to get our bags into the room, unpack, and unwind for a few minutes before heading out again to the convention floor where we found Bob Greenberger who had boxes filled with copies of our new anthology, ReDeus: Divine Tales, which was set to debut at the Meet the Pros party at 10PM that night.
As I had ordered 50 copies, I eagerly carried one box back with me to the room before heading to dinner. Afterwards, my fiancee and I played tour guide to Shore Leave first-timers Kieryn Nicolas, her sister Brynna and her mom, Mara.
Then it was off to the Ray Bradbury discussion panel hosted by Steven H. Wilson, Kathleen David, David Mack, Marco Palmieri and Scott Pearson. It was an engaging panel that reviewed the life and works of one of the masters of speculative fiction.
At 9PM, we took a break and caught up with friends Ethan and Christian Wilson and Blair Learn in the hallway before getting ready for the main event—Meet the Pros. Meet the Pros is a two hour book fair from 10PM to midnight where all of the author guests gather to sell and sign books. Local indie shop, Constellation Books, was also on hand with books for sale.
As mentioned earlier, our new anthology, ReDeus: Divine Tales, was slated to make its debut here and with 9 of the 11 writers lined up ready to sell and sign copies, we rocked! I never thought I'd sign so many books in two hours. It was wild! I shared a table with good friend, writer, and publisher Steven H. Wilson. Special thanks to Judith Waidlich for bringing homemade goodies to our table. They just magically appeared when I looked away! They disappeared almost as quickly when I saw them, if you know what I mean...
I want to stop here and express my deepest gratitude to Bob Greenberger and Aaron Rosenberg for inviting me to play in the ReDeus universe and for accepting my story into the first anthology of the series. And I would like to thank Lawrence Schoen, William Leisner, Scott Pearson, Allyn Gibson, Steve Wilson, and Dave Galanter for signing nine copies of ReDeus for me. I am honored to be included in the same collection as these wonderful talents.
Saturday morning saw me in line for my photo op with LeVar Burton and Kate Mulgrew. A very positive experience, despite the blistering heat in the hotel hallway. Mr. Burton and Ms. Mulgrew were very gracious!
At 11AM, I was elected moderator of the Farewell: Eureka panel in Salon E (E for Eureka!). Fellow panelists included T. Alan Chafin, Terry Osborne, Aaron Rosenberg, Lorraine Anderson and a room PACKED with fellow fans. It was one of the two best attended panels of the weekend. The audience was not shy and the time just evaporated with discussions about past episodes, lost characters, and future possibilities. While everyone agreed that it's wise to end a show on a high note, we will all miss one of the best SF shows ever made.
En route to my noon panel in the Hunt Room (1982: Sci-Fi's Greatest Year in Movies), I picked up my 8x10 photo with LeVar and Kate. I was relieved to see that the sweat stains under my arms were not terribly evident in the photo. The Hunt Valley Inn needs better A/C in the hallways!
The 1982 panelists included two Alan's and a Phil. Alan Kistler and T. Alan Chafin dominated most of the conversation on this one. I chimed with a few comments about the movies from that year which included TRON, Star Trek II, Blade Runner, ET, Dark Crystal, Secrets of NIMH, The Thing, Conan the Barbarian, Poltergeist, and Swamp Thing just to name a few.
Then at 1PM in Salon A it was Allyn Gibson's Everything's Better in a TARDIS. Fellow panelists included Lorraine Anderson, Terri Osborne, Kieryn Nicolas, and once again, T. Alan Chafin. The theme of this panel was to name your fantasy crossovers with The Doctor and I must say, the large and exuberant audience covered quite a bit of ground from fictional characters to historical figures.
I caught a break at 2PM before the traditional two hour All Kinds of Writing Workshop from 3-5PM in the Concierge Lounge. The workshop was hosted by Howie Weinstein, Bob Jones, Dave Galanter, and Kelly Meding. We focused on such topics as components of a good scene, the three act story, outlining your novel, word count, and more. All told, it was a fun and informative session as always.
In the same room at 5PM, it was time for the Firebringer Press panel hosted by Steve Wilson and me. With some new faces in the room, Steve spent the first 40 minutes or so introducing us and Firebringer. He described what he's published thus far, future plans, the relationship between Firebringer, Prometheus Radio Theatre, and Farpoint and then read from Lance Woods' debut novel, Heroic Park. Sadly, Lance could not join us for Shore Leave as his vacation plans conflicted with the convention's move to its August date.
After dinner, Evon and I hung out with Mike Riehl and his wife Kate at their dealer table. Though the dealer room was closed by then, Mike traditionally takes a few hours to hand paint ornaments that the convention staff give to the celebrity guests as gifts on Sunday. It was a nice, relaxing evening with friends after a day of running about the convention. It never ceases to amaze me to watch Mike at work, painting amazing detail on ornaments almost effortlessly. He is a truly talented artist which is why I tapped him to create the cover and interior art for a short story collection that I'm editing and contributing to later this year. Details forthcoming...
Evon and I checked out on Sunday morning and I started the convention by getting in line for Kate Mulgrew's autograph on a Warehouse 13 photo I had picked up in the dealer room on Friday. As I was a guest, the adept security team handling the line fed me into the main line smoothly so I did not need to wait long. I thanked Ms. Mulgrew for coming and she did the same. I cannot praise her enough for being a charming, elegant lady. It was a pleasure to see her twice this summer (the first was at Wizard World Comic Con in Philly). I had first met Ms. Mulgrew at another Philadelphia convention about 10 years ago.
At 1PM, it was time to gather the ReDeus writers and editors together in Salon E to discuss the project. Bob Greenberger and Aaron Rosenberg introduced the project, discussed its origins and what prompted them to invite their Shore Leave/Farpoint buddies to play in their universe. They then allowed each of the contributors to briefly discuss what inspired them to accept the invitation and how they felt about the project and I can tell you that all of us were excited, grateful, and energized to be a part of this wonderful anthology.
Finally, it was time for one of my favorite activities--hitting the dealer room. No SF con these days would be complete without a touch of Big Bang Theory. For me, this included the purchase of the new trading card set from friend, artist, and dealer Laura Inglis and from Starbase Atlanta, a "Bazinga" t-shirt that included the entire cast on a comic book cover. Also from Laura, I picked up a 49 card set of vintage movie posters from SF and Horror films ranging from the 1920's to the 1970's.
As if this Shore Leave wasn't already going well, I managed to catch up with a friend I had not seen in seven years--Sashi Wehle, nee German. Sashi had been captain of the USS Thagard Starfleet chapter in Philadelphia when I joined in 1995 and was one of the people who introduced me to the Maryland SF convention scene. I credit her for bringing me into the heart of SF fandom and fan-run conventions. Meeting up with her again was the icing on the cake for my weekend. We exchanged contact information and I gave her copies of my first novel, Testing the Prisoner, and ReDeus: Divine Tales. She was proud of my advancement from fan fic writer to professional. I hope never to lost contact with Sashi again.
My fiancee and I then spent the waning hours of the convention with Mike and Kate Riehl at their table only to find out that LeVar Burton had commissioned a Geordi LaForge ornament from Mike! Eventually, Mr. Burton returned to pick up his ornament and was very pleased with it. I had the honor of taking a picture of him proudly holding the ornament (see below). Needless to say, Mike was ecstatic! It was a wonderful note on which to end a truly magical Shore Leave. I will treasure the memories of an exhilarating book signing, of camaraderie, of friendship, of reunions, and of the joys of fandom.
Onto the next!
August 2, 2012
About This Writing Stuff...
ReDeus Divine Tales hits Amazon! And more...enjoy!
Take Your Author Website to the Next Level by Karen M. Rider
Anatomy of a Series Proposal - Part 2 and Part 3 by Paul Kupperberg
Harlequin Fail Revisit by Joe Konrath
Flip the Script: Start Anywhere by Jael McHenry
The Good Seed V by Donald Maass
Writing from the Discomfort Zone by Jeanne Kisacky
Why Are We Wired for Story? by Lisa Cron
The New Publishing Paradigm: It's Not About eBook vs. Print by Jami Gold
What's Life Really Like as a Published Author? by Jody Hedlund
The Bonfire of the Straw Men by David Gaughran
Killing Your Sales One Shot at a Time by Dean Wesley Smith
ReDeus: Divine Tales Hits Amazon!
July 29, 2012
About This Writing Stuff...
And more!
How to Write Great by Roger Rosenblatt
What was Satan Thinking? by Karen Syed
4 Ways to Improve Plot/Climax in Your Writing by Jeff Gerke
So You Want to Write a Novel (Video) posted by Brian Klems
5 Tips for Avoiding Distractions and Getting More Writing Done by Anne Lyle
ReDeus Brings Back the Gods and Goddesses of Yore by Bob Greenberger
Fear in Publishing by Dean Wesley Smith
The Writer's Team by Ken Scholes
Does Social Media Really Help With Success? by Jody Hedlund
The 5 Mistakes Killing Self Published Authors by Kristen Lamb
How to Publicize and Promote Your Book by Chuck Sambuchino
Anatomy of a Series Proposal (or, How to Have Your Chain Yanked 6 Ways from Sunday) Part I by Paul Kupperberg
July 28, 2012
My Schedule for Shore Leave 34
We're one week away from Shore Leave 34 and my tentative schedule for the convention is below. In addition, there are many wonderful panels and workshops taking place during the convention including writers workshops, panels on Ray Bradbury, audio dramas, the business of writing, author readings, and just about every current SF television show and movie you can think of. I hope to see you there.
FRIDAY, 3 AUGUST
3PM - Chase
HAVEN: Not Such A Safe Place with Phil Giunta. Discussion about the SyFy channel series.
10PM - Hunt/Valley Hallway
MEET THE PROS Party. Every author guest will be in attendance to sign copies of their books. Constellation Books will also be on hand with books from the author guests.
You can meet 9 of the 11 contributing writers to the wonderful new anthology, ReDeus: Divine Tales. This short story collection explores what might happen if all of the ancient gods from every Earth culture returned in 2012! ReDeus will be available in trade paperback from all 9 of us!
SATURDAY, 4 AUGUST
11AM - Salon E
Farewell EUREKA with Greg Cox, Aaron Rosenberg, Lorraine Anderson, Phil Giunta, T. Alan Chafin
A look back on one of SyFy Channel's most beloved series. (Note: I have a conflict so may not make this one.)
12PM - Hunt
30 Years Since SF's Greatest Year - 1982 with Michael Jan Friedman, Allyn Gibson, T. Alan Chafin, Phil Giunta, Glenn Hauman
Star Trek II, Blade Runner, ET, Tron, The Dark Crystal, Conan the Barbarian, The Thing, what a year for SF and Fantasy!
1PM - Salon A
Everything's Better in a TARDIS with Allyn Gibson, Lorraine Anderson, T. Alan Chafin, Kieryn Nicolas, Phil Giunta, Terri Osborne
Doctor Who discussion panel.
4PM - Concierge
FIREBRINGER PRESS panel and author readings. Publisher/writer Steven H. Wilson and I will be reading from some of our latest and upcoming works as well as Lance woods' debut novel, Heroic Park. Due to a scheduling conflict, Lance could not make his own book launch but we'll rope someone into reading an excerpt from his book.
Note: I am double booked here. The con currently has me scheduled for a Warehouse 13 panel in Salon F. The schedule may change and if so, I will note it here.
SUNDAY 5 AUGUST
1PM - Salon E
ReDeus: Divine Tales with Bob Greenberger, Aaron Rosenberg, Phil Giunta, Allyn Gibson, William Leisner, Steve Wilson, Dave Galanter
A discussion panel on the creation of the anthology and possibly, where it might go from here.
