Phil Giunta's Blog, page 68

Digging Up My Own Writing Past with Indiana Jones

After participating in a fanzine preservation panel at Philcon this past weekend, I was inspired to search for any of my old fan fiction stories online.

For any fellow Indiana Jones fans among us, here is an artifact I wanted to share. TheRaider.net has an archive of Indiana Jones fan stories, including mine from 1997, “Indiana Jones and the Towers of the Empty Quarter”, which was also adapted as a fanfic comic book.

This was from a time when I was still honing my writing skills, but it was definitely one of my better fan fic pieces.

You can read my story here, it’s sixth from the bottom. Enjoy all of the amazing tales and artwork on the site!

Why, That Guy’s Certifiable!

I am please to report that this afternoon, I passed my second Microsoft Office 365 exam to earn the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) certification!

Now I can take a break for the holidays and get back to writing. Two more exams next year to earn my Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certification in Microsoft Exchange Online.

 

 

 

Phun at Philcon 78!

Thoroughly enjoyed my first time as a program participant at Philcon, the Philadelphia Science Fiction Convention, which just celebrated it’s 78th year!

The discussion panel topics ranged from writing paranormal to fanzine preservation; from the benefits and dangers of Internet justice to whether our religious beliefs influence (or not) what we write and what we read.

Even better was the time spent with friends and fellow writers alike including Steven H. Wilson, Sharon VanBlarcom, Ethan Wilson, Jessica Headlee, Joe Berenato, Aaron Rosenberg, Russ Colchamiro, Glenn Hauman, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Zan Rosin, Keith DeCandido, Meredith Peruzzi. I also enjoyed meeting Michael Ventrella, Orenthal Hawkins, Gail Martin, D.H. Aire, Eric Hardenbrook, and many other fellow panelists. 

I look forward to returning next November!

 

New Audio Story – “Water to Share”

My final audio story for 2015! Part One of my science fiction tale, “Water to Share” from our 2014 speculative fiction anthology, Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity, published by Firebringer Press.

Desperate to save his dying wife, an exiled scientist makes a discovery that could change the fate of a galaxy…

Click here to listen for free on Prometheus Radio Theatre!

Tragedy in Paris

Tonight, my thoughts are consumed by the sadistic treachery unleashed in Paris earlier today.  As of this writing, 160 people have been reported murdered during six coordinated terrorist attacks.

I will not take this time to step atop a soapbox and launch into a diatribe against those who use religion as an excuse to slaughter.  We all know who they are and their time will come.

For now, respect, peace, and condolences to the free people of France.

 

 

My Schedule for Philcon

I’m honored to have been invited to the world’s first and longest-running conference on science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Philcon 2015 will take place on November 20-22, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, NJ.

My schedule for the convention is listed below. Hope to see you there!

FRIDAY

9:00 PM in Plaza III (1 hour): WRITING THE PARANORMAL OTHER

Panelists: D. Renee Bagby (moderator), Ken Altabef, Phil Giunta, Gail Z. Martin, Andi O’Connor

Authors are advised to write what they know, but how do you write about death, the afterlife, demonic possession, and other (un)living conditions you’ve never experienced?

SATURDAY

11:00 AM at Autograph Table (1 hour): KYLE WILLIAMSON AND PHIL GIUNTA

2:00 PM in Plaza V (1 hour): SOCIAL MEDIA: SHAME AND SCHADENFREUDE

Panelists: Phil Giunta (moderator), Orenthal Hawkins, Deborah Stanish

It seems that when an unpopular viewpoint travels through social media, the result can be devastating to those exercising free speech. Whether it’s a lion-slaying dentist or a feminist speaking out against sexism in the gaming industry the Internet mob can make threats and carry out attacks that drive private citizens into hiding. When, if ever, is Internet Justice a good thing? Can it be a force for good?

9:00 PM in Plaza II (1 hour): FANZINES OF THE PAST, PRESENT, AND…FUTURE?

Panelists: Steve Wilson (moderator), Phil Giunta, Eric Hardenbrook, Chris Fuller, Victoria Janssen

Before online social media, before Fanfiction.net and AO3, before podcasts and youtube, fandom’s creative outlet and primary method of keeping the lines of communication

open was the humble fanzine. The advent of the Internet may have seen a downturn in their production, but not in our desire to create and communicate. How did fanzines

get us where we are today? How much or our heritage still lies bound between those now-musty pages, and what’s being done to preserve it? Where do we go next?

SUNDAY

10:00 AM in Plaza IV (1 hour): RECONCILING FAITH & FANTASY WRITING

Panelists: Phil Giunta (moderator), D.H. Aire, Michael A. Ventrella, Gail Z. Martin, Christie Meierz, Steve Wilson

What difficulties do you encounter writing a world whose system of belief does not match your own? How do you avoid unintentionally investing your stories with a message

you don’t mean to? Is it possible to fully enjoy works that contain elements your scripture deems as anathema?

2:00 PM in Executive Suite 623: READING by PHIL GIUNTA

I’ll read an excerpt or two from my books and try not to bore the audience to sleep.

Revisiting a favorite hobby

For many years, one of my hobbies was building science fiction plastic and resin model kits, mostly space ships from Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, etc. The only car model I ever built was the Delorean from Back to the Future.

Once my writing kicked into high gear, I had little time for model building. However, last year a friend stopped by with a model kit of a 1972 Chevy Nova. He had recently reunited with his high school sweetheart and wanted me to build a model of the car in which he had driven her to their prom.

It took me another year to begin working on it. I started building it in June 2015, but then had to put it aside for another four months before I began priming and painting it.  I thought I’d share some pictures of this work in progress.  It gave me an opportunity to work with my brand new Master airbrush that I bought in 2012 and only used twice.  

Work in Progress
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
Work in Progress
Work in Progress

High Praise for Testing the Prisoner and By Your Side!

Wow, now here is a unique reader review left for both of my novels on Amazon a few days ago. Thank you for the high praise, “Amazon Customer”!

Book Review: The Best of Lester Del Rey

You will find no shortage of robots and strange religions in this collection of stories from Lester Del Rey. Del Rey was an award-winning speculative fiction writer active from the late 1930s through the early 1990s before his death in 1993. He was awarded SFWA Grand Master in 1990.

As with any collection, there are stories ranging from mildly interesting to absolute gems. My favorites included:

Helen O’Loy – Robotics experts Dave and Phil create a female robot complete with emotions and decide to name her Helen O’Loy, a derivative of Helen of Alloy, which is a pun on Helen of Troy. Got that? The only problem is that she falls in love with Dave, making his life miserable…at least at first.

The Coppersmith – Industrious elf Ellowan Coppersmith emerges from a long sleep in the Adirondacks looking for work among humans only to find that his skills in repairing copper and brass items are no longer in high demand. Worse, mankind has developed horrid combustion engines. Perhaps Ellowan could use his skills to bring an eventual end to that…

Hereafter, Inc. – Righteous and judgmental Phineas Theophilus Potts returns to work after a long illness, forcing himself to be kind to the disgusting sinners around him, until he begins to realize that something is amiss. Some of his colleagues had died before his illness, so what are they doing here? Perhaps the question should be, what is Phineas doing there?

The Wings of Night – Two astronauts land on the moon to repair their ship and encounter a bizarre but benevolent alien named Lhin. Through trial and error, the astronauts find a way to communicate with the alien and learn that Lhin is the last of his kind, but with a small supply of copper could repopulate his species.

For I Am a Jealous People – A preacher’s faith is shaken when aliens attack the Earth claiming to be on a holy mission from the Lord Almighty to eradicate humans from the planet. This is one of three novellas in the collection.

Vengeance is Mine – A robot named Sam is left behind on the moon when the humans are evacuated to Earth. Shortly thereafter, Sam notices bursts of light on the Earth’s surface before the planet goes completely dark. Believing that aliens had attacked, Sam finds his way back to the planet only to eventually learn the truth behind the death of mankind. The last of three novellas.

 

The Arbiter Chronicles: Space Opera Spanning Audio Dramas & Novels

Writer pal Steven H. Wilson’s award-winning SF drama series, The Arbiter Chronicles, began as an audio podcast and has since evolved into a series of novels and novellas. If you enjoy exciting space opera with diverse characters and intelligent plots, this series is for you. Even better, it will cost you only 99 cents to get started with the first novella, The Arbiter Logs: Mutiny Springs Eternal. I’m confident that once you read it, you’ll come back for more. Enjoy!

Click here to check out Steve’s books on Amazon!

 

A Tale from the Arbiter Chronicles