Phil Giunta's Blog, page 97

Book Review: Stalking the Nightmare by Harlan Ellison

With an introduction by Stephen King and an amalgam of short stories and essays, Stalking the Nightmare is an entertaining read.  As with any collection of tales from a single writer, some stand out more than others.  In this case, the most memorable ones include:

"Grail" - in which a man spends his life searching for true love only to learn that it's an artifact that has been traded around the world.

"The Outpost Undiscovered by Tourists" - A parody of the three wise men in modern times after searching 2000 years for Christ.  They now drive a Rolls Royce and sleep on air mattresses while fighting the "forces of chaos".  Eventually, they find the savior in The Manger, a hotel by Hyatt, and surrounded by various folks including accountants, pet-store owners, and hairdressers.

"Night of Black Glass" - this one interested me mostly as it was written in 5 hours in a B. Dalton bookstore window after news anchor Tom Brokaw challenged Harlan to write a story based on one line: "August afternoon a person walking along a rocky beach in Maine picks up a pair of broken sunglasses.” 

"Djinn, No Chaser" - a young couple walks into a mysterious antique shop that materializes from thin air.  They purchase a cheap lamp before the owner kicks them out just as the shop vanishes once more.  Later, the couple finds that the lamp contains a sadistic genie who turns their lives into a living hell, sending the husband into an asylum. Later, his wife discovers a way to turn their situation completely around...

"Invasion Footnote" - another farce about a megalomaniacal robot hell-bent on world domination, until his own kind turn on him.  Predictable but funny.

"The Hour That Stretches" - Harlan fills in for Jerry Pournelle as a guest on a radio show and decides to allow callers to phone in one-line prompts to which Harlan will conjure up a story premise on the spot. After awhile, it becomes an exhausting exercise for Harlan, until the final caller...

"The Day I Died" - not so much a story, but a series of possible ways in which Harlan will die, with exact descriptions and dates ranging from 1973 to 2010.

In my opinion, the first three essays are actually more interesting than the stories.  

"The 3 Most Important Things in Life" offers moments from Harlan's life that deal with sex, violence, and labor relations. The latter of which is an incident that occurred when he was hired to write for Disney...and fired within hours of arrival.

"Saturn, November 11th" details Harlan's visit to JPL as a guest of Jerry Pournelle when the Voyager satellite begins sending pictures back of Saturn and its moons.

"Somehow, I Don't Think We're In Kansas, Toto" is a recount of Harlan's ludicrous experiences with Hollywood when The Starlost TV series went into production based on his story, “Phoenix Without Ashes". 

All told, Stalking the Nightmare is an enjoyable read and further evidence of Harlan's vivid imagination and reputation for fearless, and even experimental, storytelling.

About This Writing Stuff...

Back to reality!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  This week, Donald Maass argues that our stories and characters are all-important....and not.   Bob Greenberger looks back on a successful year in writing while also reaching out on behalf of friend and NYT bestseller Peter David who recently suffered a stroke.  Jane Dystel tells Digital Book World that agents must adapt to the changing world of publishing.  Kristen Lamb theorizes on what's to come for publishing in 2013 and offers tips on providing detail in your fiction.  Jami Gold provides methods for dealing with burnout while Donna Gambale finds room for a wee bit of arrogance.  Susan Shapiro advises you to reveal your pain and humiliation in your memoir.  Kerry Gans warns against the internal saboteur,  Bernard Starr gets litigious about self-publishing and Lylah Alphonse offers an inspiring tale of one writer determined to complete her memoir in her final days.


The Paradox by Donald Maass

2012: A Look Back and Let's Help Peter David and Family by Bob Greenberger

Agents Unwilling to Adapt Won't Last by Jane Dystel

What's Ahead in 2013: Predictions for the Future of Publishing and Authors of the Digital Age by Kristen Lamb

Writing Tip #1: How Much Detail Should Writers Use?   by Kristen Lamb

12 Tips for Recovering from Writer Burnout by Jami Gold

The Importance of Being (Slightly) Arrogant as a Writer by Donna Gambale via Chuck Sambuchino

The Internal Saboteur by Kerry Gans

Legal Issues in Self-Publishing: What Authors Need to Know   by Bernard Starr

Paralyzed by ALS, Susan Spencer-Wendel Writes Memoir About the Beauty of Living by Lylah M. Alphonse

Make Me Worry You're Not O.K. by Susan Shapiro

(Let's Hope for a) Happy New Year!

All my hopes for a new year that brings peace, happiness, good health and wonderful achievements to everyone!

An Update on Peter David

Peter's wife, Kathleen, has been posting daily updates on his condition on her blog, No Strings Attached .  Thankfully, his recovery is progressing well.

Prayers and Well Wishes for Peter David

Prolific veteran fiction writer Peter David suffered a stroke a few days ago while vacationing with his family in Florida.   Word has it that he is in excellent care.  I've enjoyed every single one of Peter's novels and comics that I've read.  He's been a permanent fixture at Shore Leave and Farpoint conventions for decades as well as many comic cons.  More recently, Peter, along with Michael Jan Friedman and Bob Greenberger, were brought on-board to write media tie-in comics and books for Will Smith's AfterEarth movie coming next year.

All of my hopes and prayers for Peter's full recovery.

Some pics I'd taken with Peter over the years!  1995 (top) and then 2011 (bottom) along with Michael Jan Friedman.  

Conventions and Conferences 2012

I will be a guest at these events in the coming months.  Hope to see you there!

BaltiCon - May 25-28, 2012 - Marriott at Hunt Valley, MD. One of the longest running SF and Fantasy conventions in the Northeastern US.   Writer guest of honor: Jody Lynn Nye.  Artist guest of honor: Jim Odbert.  Four days of programming centered around writing, art, publishing, podcasting, audiobooks, and more. 

Shore Leave 34 - August 3-5, 2012 - Marriott at Hunt Valley, MD.  Celebrity guests include Kate Mulgrew, LeVar Burton, Ryan Robbins, Musetta Vander, Jane Wiedlin.  Over twenty writer guests and nearly a dozen scientists.  A family oriented convention with three days of fun programming for all!

Sci-Fi Day at Olde Towne Books & Brew - September 22, 2012 - Mechanicsburg, PA.  Hosted by the USS Susquehannock chapter of Starfleet (the International Star Trek fan club). 

Amazon Reviews Deleted in a Purge Aimed at Manipulation

A few days before Christmas, the New York Times posted an article about Amazon deleting more book reviews .   As if fake reviews are a surprise to anyone.  Although this came to light a few months ago, I never commented on it, merely reported it.   I'm disappointed to know that authors have used "sock puppet" Amazon accounts to leave praising reviews for their own books and damaging reviews for competing authors. 

If you have enough confidence in the quality of your own writing, you would not feel the need to undermine another author.  That tells me that the other author has probably produced a better book or series and you feel threatened by it.  Rather than either support them or just leave them alone, your insecurity and envy leads you to try and destroy them even in some small way.  Your time would be better spent improving your craft or just quitting altogether.

Thanks to Howard Weinstein for sending this article to me this morning!

About This Writing Stuff...

...And we're back for a special End of Year edition of About This Writing Stuff.   I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful holiday season.  I was fortunate to have 11 consecutive days off from the FT job and I have been putting that time to excellent use.  First, I was invited back to contribute a short story to the second volume of a series that I'd worked on earlier this year.  More details to come on that.  Secondly, I am recording the audio version of my upcoming second novel, By Your Side, which is slated to be released in March. So far, the holidays have been pleasant and relaxing.

During the hiatus, I've accumulated quite a few articles, so the below list is longer than usual.  Dean Wesley Smith concludes his four-part series from the New World of Publishing while Jeremy Greenfield makes predictions for digital publishing in the coming year.   David Gaughran speaks out about the partnership between Simone & Schuster and Author Solutions.   We get a double shot of Guy Kawasaki and the topic of self-publishing.  Speaking of self-publishing, we celebrate 2012 as the year the indies made it to the top!   Jami Gold offers advice on avoiding the info-dump, Jody Hedlund keeps up the tension, and Jacqueline Resnick finds the perfect writing spot.  Writers Digest and Writer Unboxed offer some further gems on the craft and Veronica Sicoe talks POV in SF!

Enjoy and see you next year!


Libraries See Opening as Bookstores Close by Karen Ann Cullotta

How to Structure a Killer Novel Ending by Larry Brooks

How to Avoid Writer's Block by Tim O'Mara via Chuck Sambuchino

Top Ten Reasons to Self-Publish by Guy Kawasaki

7 Ways to Add Great Subplots to your Novel by Elizabeth Sims

How to Find the Perfect Writing Spot by Jacqueline Resnick

Simon & Schuster Joins Forces with Author Solutions to Rip-Off Writers by David Gaughran

How to Keep Production Going All Year by Dean Wesley Smith

Ten Bold Predictions for Ebooks and Digital Publishing in 2013 by Jeremy Greenfield

The Year Indies Finally Got On Top by Terry Giulano Long

Interview with Guy Kawasaki by Barry Eisler via Joe Konrath

Four Tips for Fixing the Infamous "Info Dump" by Jami Gold

Ten Techniques for Getting Tension on Every Page by Jody Hedlund

POV in Science Fiction by Veronica Sicoe

Is Hubris Holding You Back? by Lorin Oberweger

A Simple Approach to Revisions by Cathy Yardley

Farpoint SF Convention - Lots of Actors and Writers!

For those among us with an interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy, I just wanted to mention an upcoming convention in Maryland called Farpoint.

This February, Farpoint will be celebrating its 20th anniversary and in addition to a nice line-up of actor guests, the convention has doubled the number of writer guests including:

Peter David
Keith RA DeCandido
Michael Jan Friedman
Dave Galanter
Donna Galanti
Bob Greenberger
Bob Jeschonek
David Mack
Danielle McPhail
Mike McPhail
Kelly Meding
Nobilis Reed
Aaron Rosenberg
Don Sakers
Howard Weinstein
Steven H. Wilson
Richard White

...and several more, including...yours truly back again for my fourth year! My second paranormal mystery novel, By Your Side, will debut there during the Friday night Book Fair, also a new event for Farpoint. 

Additionally, 6 out of 11 authors (myself included) from the ReDeus: Divine Tales anthology will be on hand all weekend long.  Editors Aaron Rosenberg and Bob Greenberger will be on hand to discuss what's next in the series.

For those interested in Will Smith's upcoming SF film, After Earth, Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman and Bob Greenberger will be host a panel to talk about their media tie-in work (they actually met with Will Smith earlier this year!).

For the con's 20th anniversary, I'm managing the convention's writer programming track and I'm lining up some interesting workshops and discussion panels on the craft and business of our shared passion. Everything from Time Management for Writers to Writing Sequels to Creating Anthologies to Writing Historical Fiction and much more will be on the schedule.

Please consider joining us for the weekend or even just a day. 

Hope to see you there!  Happy Holidays!

Book Review: Reach for Tomorrow by Arthur C. Clarke

Reach for Tomorrow is a collection of Arthur C. Clarke short stories culled from various sources.  Overall, most stories are enjoyable but forgettable.  There are some gems, however. 

A Walk in the Dark: On a planet with no indigenous life, a man makes his way alone along a trail in the middle of the night to reach a spaceport.  His head is filled with stories of nocturnal monsters that roam the barren lands.  During his walk, fear and logic battle it out in his mind.  Clarke maintains tension well with absolutely no dialogue.

Technical Error: A technician at a power plant is accidentally exposed to several gigawatts of power.  When he awakens, his entire physiology and certain mental abilities are found to be the exact reverse of normal!  As his body begins to shut down, the scientists theorize a course of action to save not only the man's life, but also avoid trouble for the corporation...

Trouble with the Natives: Two well-intentioned, but slightly misinformed aliens with no fashion sense are sent to Earth to meet with our leaders. They encounter several different people who test their understanding of the human race--until they land in jail...

Time's Arrow: While on a dig, a group of archaeologists become curious about a research facility just over the hill.  After their professor meets with one of the physicists there, he learns of a startling new experiment but is sworn to secrecy.  His two assistants begin speculating and end up figuring out the nature of the experiment, a little too late for the professor and the physicist.

Jupiter 5:  A team of scientists venture to the moons of Jupiter to explore the smallest of them, which turns out not to be a moon at all but the key to understanding a mysterious civilization that perished on Mars eons ago.