Phil Giunta's Blog, page 19
November 14, 2020
About This Writing Stuff…
This week, Dustin Grinnell discusses techniques for writing scientific fiction ala Carl Sagan while Jami Gold explores the process of piecemeal, nonlinear worldbuilding.
Over at Writer Unboxed, Kathryn Craft offers advice for trimming our manuscripts, and Donald Maass challenges us to write timeless fiction.
Boyd Morrison and Debbie Burke put us through our paces with— wait for it—pacing! PJ Parrish provides tips on crafting that perfect first chapter, and if you’re struggling with your plot, Janice Hardy has a few solutions for you.
All that and much more. Enjoy!
How to Write Scientific Fiction: Analyzing Carl Sagan’s Contact by Dustin Grinnell
5 Random Ways to Trim Your Manuscript by Kathryn Craft
Fiction of Its Times or Fiction for All Times? by Donald Maass
Surviving—and Thriving—In The Brave New World of Publishing by Paul Dinas via Anne R. Allen
How to Beat Writer’s Block – 7 Tips from the Trenches by Brian Andrews
The Thrill of the Pace: Creating a Book That Reader Can’t Put Down by Boyd Morrison
Before It’s Too Late—Six Tips to Speed Up the Pace by Debbie Burke
How Can We Worldbuild on an Epic Scale? by Jami Gold
The Do’s and Don’ts of a Great First Chapter by PJ Parrish
3 Powerful Ways to Hook Your Reader with Emotion by Joslyn Chase
Why Your Plot Isn’t Working by Janice Hardy
November 10, 2020
Book Review: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
Shortly after his death in 1890, British explorer, linguist, and writer Richard Francis Burton reawakens in a massive chamber filled with bodies suspended in mid-air. He is then confronted by men in a flying craft who fire upon him, knocking him unconscious.
Burton and many others from the chamber are revived, hairless and naked, along the shores of a massive river in what at first appears to be paradise. Although for some, it does not resemble the afterlife as described by their religious doctrine.
It is soon learned that they had been resurrected from different eras of Earth’s history from Neanderthal through the 21st century—including an extraterrestrial from Tau Ceti who died on Earth in 2008.
Each is equipped with a container, later called a “grail,” tethered to his or her wrist. As they explore this pastoral land, noticably devoid of animal and insect life, the people discover large rocks every few miles. These “grailstones” provide supplies including many of the familiar foods and beverages of Earth as well as cigarettes, marijuana, and a “dream gum” that induces everything from hallucinations to loss of sexual inhibitions.
For mutual protection, Burton forms a group consisting of a Neanderthal who calls himself Kazz, a 20th century science fiction writer named Peter Frigate, the famous Victorian-era aristocrat Alice Liddell-Hargreaves, and Monat, the alien from Tau Ceti.
Eventually, Burton and his group build a crude sailboat and make their way down the river until, after a lengthy battle, they are captured and brought into a village ruled by none other than former Nazi leader Hermann Göring and Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome. Burton leads a successful escape from the village during which, Göring is killed—albeit temporarily. Almost everyone who dies on the river world is eventually resurrected elsewhere.
More importantly, Burton and company capture an agent of the “Ethicals,” the scientifically advanced beings who modified the planet onto which they resurrected millons of Earth’s dead. However, the man commits suicide before providing any helpful information.
Burton, now a target of the Ethicals, continues his quest to uncover their true motives—even if he has to die nearly a thousand deaths to do so.
To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) is the first book in Philip Jose Farmer’s groundbreaking magnum opus Riverworld saga, which continued with The Fabulous Riverboat (1971), The Dark Design (1977), The Magic Labrynth (1980), Gods of Riverworld (1983), River of Eternity (1983) and a few anthologies. Each book introduces true figures from Earth history including Richard Francis Burton, Alice Hargreaves, Samuel Clemens, Tom Mix, Mozart, Cyrano de Bergerac, Jack London, Marcellin Marbot, King John of England, Baron Lothar Siegfried von Richthofen, and others.
No science fiction reader’s journey should be considered complete without a journey to Farmer’s Riverworld.
November 9, 2020
On Perseverance and Moving Forward
Despite the tribulations, fears, and social adjustments resulting from the pandemic, and…
Despite the political and racial tensions that vehemently divided our country, and…
Despite the brutal demands of my day job, including many 12-17 hour days, and one or two 20-hour marathons (the stress of which landed me in the ER twice this summer)…
Somehow, I managed to keep writing. To be sure, my typical productivity plummeted in comparison to previous years, but four short stories and finishing the second draft of a SF novel ain’t too shabby.
Although I’m not participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year, I have two writing projects in play including a short story for an open call with a late December deadline and tweaking the second draft of that SF novel. So perhaps it’s NaShoSto&NoWriMo.
Sounds like Judoon speak from Doctor Who.
As of this blog post, I’m 1,800 words into the short story and nearly finished with all of the edits to the SF novel, which will undoubtedly go into a third draft before I’m satisfied with it.
In September, I entered four published short stories and one of my published novels into the Screencraft Cinematic Short Story and Cinematic Book Contest , respectively. Last month, I submitted two short stories to a horror anthology slated for late 2021 release. I won’t hear a verdict on any of these until well after the new year, of course.
In October, I launched an Indiegogo campaign in conjunction with Firebringer Press to finance the publication of the third and final anthology in the Middle of Etenrity speculative fiction series. We’re not seeing the support that we have in past campaigns. I don’t expect that we’ll reach our goal, but we might make enough to cover publishing expenses and pay the writers and artists for their incredible work.
In Q1 2021, I’ll have five short stories coming out in three anthologies and I’m lining up a few more open calls and contests to which I’d like to submit including the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable annual short story contest (theme: mystery), a science fiction horror anthology, possibly a western, and the annual Rehoboth Beach short story contest (if the theme appeals to me).
Of course, much of that depends on my schedule, demands of my day job, and any unforeseen circumstances (which describes almost everything that happened in 2020).
My ambitions are always greater than my availability. This is why prioritizing is critical. The SF-horror and mystery opportunities pique my interest far more than a western, primarily because most of what I write is speculative fiction (SF, fantasy, paranormal) and two of my novels are paranormal mysteries. I also wrote a detective story set in Rehoboth Beach (yes, the Delaware coast is a favorite of mine). On the other hand, I never wrote a western before and I always enjoy expanding into new genres.
As I conclude this blog post on November 3rd, I’m monitoring the results of a close and combative presidential election. There is enormous concern over potentially violent backlash from supporters on the losing side, whoever that might be. I can only urge hope and perseverance. If it brings comfort, focus on those people and activities that bring you the most joy. Write, read, ride your bike, take walks, revel in nature’s beauty, video chat with friends, binge watch a new show, or enjoy your favorite movies.
We will get through this together.
Stay safe and healthy!
November 7, 2020
Book Review: Tongues of the Moon by Philip Jose Farmer
In the distant future, the two major political powers on Earth consist of Soviet North America and the Argentinian-South African coalition (aka the South Atlantic Axis). The uneasy truce between them is shattered when the planet is destroyed in a nuclear holocaust.
The surviving colonies on the moon and Mars—both led by militant dictators—continue waging war on one another for dominance over what remains of the human race.
Assuming leadership of the moon colonies by killing or imprisoning his enemies, Colonel Scone of Soviet North America sends his most loyal ally—and romantic rival—Doctor Broward to the ruined Earth to retrieve a planet-busting bomb from a secret location beneath the ocean.
From there, the doctor is ordered to Mars to release the bomb and destroy the Argentinian colonies ruled by the brutal General Howards, but during his journey, Broward forms a different plan…
All told, Tongues of the Moon was little more than a space adventure story with two-dimensional characters and a simple, uncomplicated plot. Nevertheless, it was a fun, fast read.
November 5, 2020
It’s SCARY STUFF, People!
In all of the chaos of the election and our Indiegogo campaign to fund the publication of Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity, I neglected to mention that not only has the Scary Stuff anthology been released, but my author copy arrived on Halloween!
Defintely a treat! Even my ghoulfriend found it a jaw-dropping read and she ain’t easy to please.
The book also came with an autograph checklist card (below).
Scary Stuff, published by Oddity Prodigy Productions, is an homage to the classic EC Comics titles Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, and Haunt of Fear as well as the magazines Creepy and Eerie. The anthology includes my story. “Burn After Writing,” dedicated to one of my litrary heroes, Harlan Ellison (below).
Meeting Harlan Ellison at I-Con in 1999.
November 4, 2020
“If These Walls Could Talk” in the Middle of Eternity
We welcome Christopher D. Ochs into the Middle of Eternity with his extraordinary mythological fantasy tale, “If These Walls Could Talk.”Chris and I are both members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group where Chris currently serves as President. He also lends his layout and cover design talents for the group’s biennial anthologies consisting of stories, poems, and essays written by our members.
Below, Chris briefly discusses the inspiration behind his entry for Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity.
I grew up in a home where the TV was nestled in the haunted corner of the basement, surrounded by four walls of rough hewn knotty pine paneling. After being scared witless by the Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Night Gallery, and occasional whispers from empty rooms, it was only natural that an impressionable mind besieged with an overactive imagination and a healthy dose of pareidolia would see all sorts of mythological creatures, aliens and monsters staring back him from the knots and grain in those walls.
We hope you’ll check out the perks we’re offering in our Indiegogo campaign and consider a contribution to help us fund the publication of Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity. Thank you for supporting small press writers!
Christopher D. Ochs dove into writing in 2014 with his epic fantasy, Pindlebryth of Lenland followed by a collection of mirthful macabre short stories, If I Can’t Sleep, You Can’t Sleep . His latest release is the YA urban fantasy/horror, My Friend Jackson.
He continues to write the gamut from short fiction to novels in the veins of myth and legend, paranormal, horror, and the occasional sci-fi — all in the hope to reassure himself that his life is normal.
Chris has too many interests outside of writing for his own damn good. With previous careers in physics, electrical engineering and QA; along with his incessant dabblings as a CGI graphic artist, classical organist, voice talent on radio, video and anime conventions, it’s a wonder he can remember to pay the dog and feed his bills. Wait, what?
We look forward to launching Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity in February 2021. In the meantime, check out the first volumes in the series by clicking on a cover image below.
November 1, 2020
From Deserts to Forests in the Middle of Eternity
This week, April Welles reveals the inspirations behind both of her exciting entries in our upcoming speculative fiction anthology, Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity.
Years ago, I had to make a delivery from California to Arizona by way of the Mojave Desert. There were two of us in the truck. One of us drove while the other rested, and we would switch later. That way, no real stopping would be required in order to make the delivery as quickly as possible.
At the time of my idea for “Horror of the Mist,” I was the passenger, staring out at the desolation on either side of the highway and noticing the small exits onto narrow roads that led into the vast middle of nowhere. It felt as though if one were to take one of these exits, one could become lost and then anything could happen.
For about two months, I lived in a tent in the woods. At the time, I’d been writing adventures about a sword-wielding character. However, the idea for “Queen of the Forest” was akin to a lost tale, explaining how she found her “son”. What happened to the mother was not what I had intended. However, that was the way she—or the muse—compelled it to go. I’m still filled with tears when I read about her. The title is also meant as a play on words. A double meaning for the females in the tale.
We hope you’ll check out the perks we’re offering in our Indiegogo campaign and consider a contribution to help us fund the publication of Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity. Thank you for supporting small press writers!
April Welles found herself drawn to the diversity of writing within different fiction genres and the possibilities within each one from a young age. Her stories have been published in Fantasy Times Issues 1 and 2, and Pure Fantasy and Sci-Fi Volume 2.
April’s horror tale, “Terror in Agradeb,” can be found in Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity.
She lives with her sister and their two cats in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, loving the mountains and trees. Click here to visit April’s Amazon author page.
We look forward to launching Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity in February 2021. In the meantime, check out the first volumes in the series by clicking on a cover image below.
October 30, 2020
On Gods, Monsters, and the Rainbow Bridge in the Middle of Eternity
In keeping with tradition for this anthology series, I have three diverse stories in our final installment, Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity.
My New Mexico ghost story, “So Hungry…” is discussed in another blog post here. My other two entries include “Take a Cue from the Canine,” and “The Forest for the Trees.”
Both “So Hungry…” and “Take a Cue from the Canine” took Honorable Mentions in the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable contests in 2017 and 2019, respectively, and as a sneak preview to Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity, you can read “Take a Cue from the Canine” here on my website.
I was inspired to write the story when the Bethlehem Writers Group announced animal stories as their 2019 contest theme. I wanted to write a “boy and his dog” story, but with a fantastic and emotional twist that answers the question, what is at the other end of the fabled rainbow bridge?
Illustration by Laura Inglis.
“The Forest for the Trees” takes place in Finland during the great famine of 1697, but was originally one of three stories pitched to Crazy 8 Press for their ReDeus mythology series. They chose one of my other stories (“Root for the Undergods” published in ReDeus: Beyond Borders) so I rewrote “The Forest for the Trees” into the epic tale you will read in Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity, incorporating battles among gods, monsters, and mortals where willpower is the greatest weapon. Illustration by Michael Riehl.
We hope you’ll check out the perks we’re offering in our Indiegogo campaign and consider a contribution to help us fund the publication of Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity. Thank you for supporting small press writers!
PHIL GIUNTA enjoys crafting powerful fiction that changes lives and inspires readers. His novels include the paranormal mysteries Testing the Prisoner, By Your Side, and Like Mother, Like Daughters. His short stories appear in such anthologies as A Plague of Shadows, Beach Nights, Beach Pulp, the ReDeus mythology series, and the Middle of Eternity speculative fiction series, which he created and edited for Firebringer Press. As a member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, Phil also penned stories and essays for Write Here, Write Now, The Write Connections, and Rewriting the Past, three of the group’s annual anthologies.
Phil is currently working on the second draft of a science fiction novel while plotting his triumphant escape from the pressures of corporate America where he has been imprisoned for over twenty-five years.
We look forward to launching Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity in February 2021. In the meantime, check out the first volumes in the series by clicking on a cover image below.
October 27, 2020
Making First Contact in the Middle of Eternity
Susanna Reilly returns with an illuminating tale of first contact between a human starship captain and an enigmatic alien. A member of our core writing team since book one, Susanna reveals the origins behind her contribution to Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity.
I originally wrote “In the Eyes of the Beholder” as a fan fiction story based in the Star Trek: Enterprise universe. Around that time, sci-fi in general had taken a turn toward darker, more realistic stories and I missed the more light-hearted, positive view of alien/human interactions that original Star Trek exemplified. So I decided to create a story about aliens who were not only happy to see Earthlings going forth into the universe, but also delighted to see what mischief they would bring – while causing a little mischief of their own.
Taking the story out of the Star Trek: Enterprise universe presented its own challenges. Using an established universe allows a writer to take some short cuts in character development due to readers’ existing knowledge. I feel that I met those challenges and am pleased with the result. I hope you find the story as enjoyable to read as I found it to write.
We hope you’ll check out the perks we’re offering in our Indiegogo campaign and consider a contribution to help us fund the publication of Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity. Thank you for supporting small press writers!
SUSANNA REILLY has been enthusiastic about writing since she was named first runner-up in a story writing contest at the age of 11. For many years writing took a backseat to school, work, and motherhood, but the fire stayed alive. It was stoked in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s when she joined a science fiction fan club that published an annual fanzine. Although the fanzine sold less than 30 copies per year (mostly to friends and family of the authors), the joy of writing stories in her favorite sci-fi universes kept her going.
Susanna’s first professional publication came in 2013 when her short story “To Protect and to Serve” was included in the Main Line Writers Group’s first anthology Unclaimed Baggage: Voice of the Main Line Writers. She subsequently published two stories (“Form and Substance” and “Perchance to Dream”) in the 2014 anthology Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity and one story (“Tree of Love”) in the 2016 anthology Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity.
We look forward to launching Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity in February 2021. In the meantime, check out the first volumes in the series by clicking on a cover image below.
October 25, 2020
“The Dividing Wall” in the Middle of Eternity
We’re thrilled to have another of our core storytellers return for this final voyage into the Middle of Eternity.
Stuart Roth has been with us since book one and has crafted some of our most unusual and memorable tales, including his latest entry, which he discusses below.
Memories affect who we are, but if those memories become confused, how does that change our essence?
In my story, “The Dividing Wall,” twin sisters grow up in Berlin, living through World War II, the division of their city during the Cold War, and the eventual fall of the Wall. Time and experiences have defined who they are. During that time, the sisters are watched by a creature of the wastes of eternity. Individuality and identity are nothing but a curiosity to such a being. Memories and emotion become a snare that entangles the three and highlight the dividing wall between living and existing.
We hope you’ll check out the perks we’re offering in our Indiegogo campaign and consider a contribution to help us fund the publication of Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity. Thank you for supporting small press writers!
STUART S. ROTH lives in the Philadelphia, PA area. His work has appeared in anthologies for Pseudoscope Publishing and prior volumes of Firebringer’s Middle of Eternity Series. He has recently completed a novel entitled Myomria and is shopping it around for publication. For freelance work, Stuart can be contacted at stuartroth42@gmail.com. He also takes criticism, good or bad, and loves to hear from readers.
We look forward to launching Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity in February 2021. In the meantime, check out the first volumes in the series by clicking on a cover image below.
