Randy Henderson's Blog, page 6

Those Other Christmas Movies

I love the Christmas season.  But there are only so many good holiday movies.  And then you start to get into the less good holiday movies.  If you don’t ration properly, you may be watching Earnest Saves Christmas before you know it.

I also am a sucker for romance.  Anyone whose read my stories probably picked up on that.

Which brings us to that special class of movie: the Hallmark/ ABC Made for TV Holiday Romance.  These have, I’ll admit, become my guilty pleasure over the holidays.  And here’s my breakdown of the ones most commonly available.

HOLIDAY IN HANDCUFFS

Despite the lack of BDSM play, it still had a better story than 50 Shades.

She: Aspiring artist and waitress struggling with life.

Best Friend/co-consipirator/ token: Janeane Garofalo-lite, and secretly gay brother.

Category: Woman gets man to pretend to be her boyfriend/ fiancé.

Premise: Sabrina-the-no-longer-teenager must join her upper-middle-class perfect family in a cabin in the woods for Christmas, and her parents have made clear that they feel it is time she get her life together with a good job and good man.  But she blows the job interview her father set up, and her boyfriend dumps her, so she has a bit of a nervous breakdown and kidnaps a yuppified Slater from “Saved by the Bell” to play her boyfriend.  Wackiness and romance (if disappointingly little bondage) ensues.

Grade: C.  I really struggled with this one.  They manage to make her nervous breakdown and kidnapping half believable, and the later falling in love part half believable, and there’s decent chemistry between the stars, but it is a pretty difficult suspension of belief that he doesn’t do more to escape, or convince the family of his situation.  And of course, kidnapping is not cute — just reverse the scenario and imagine a guy kidnapping a woman to bring home for Christmas.  But darn that Melissa Joan Hart, I just wanna like it.

Note: In the cast interview, Mario Lopez says he hopes “Holiday in Handcuffs” is one of those timeless holiday movies you can watch year after year with your kids.  So, uh, yeah.

Stars: Melissa Joan Hart, Mario Lopez, Timothy Bottoms

HOLIDAY ENGAGEMENT

She: Aspiring journalist in a dying industry.

Best Friend/co-consipirator/ token: Janeane Garofalo-lite.  There were no tokens, this film is as white as Christmas snow.

Category: Woman gets man to pretend to be her fiancé.

Premise: A young woman who looks like Amy Poehler’s stunt double must go home for Thanksgiving, but her career-minded fiancé just broke up with her and she can’t face her large family’s disappointment, so she hires a struggling actor (who reminded me a bit of Xander from Buffy) to play her fiancé.  Wackiness and romance ensues.  This one technically takes place over Thanksgiving, with Christmas decorations.  The weakest point perhaps seems typical of the genre: when her fiancé breaks up with her she begs him not to dump her, offering to compromise all of her previously stated wants and needs to keep him.

Grade: B.  Does one of the better jobs with the ridiculous premise of fake fiancé.  The deception is mutually consenting, and the movie takes the time to show them actually connecting and getting to know one another, making it believable that they fall in love. Also, she’s a writer, so, sympathy.

Guess Sam and Diane had kids!

Stars: Bonnie Somerville, Shelley Long, Jordan Bridges

 

 

MARRY ME FOR CHRISTMAS

She: Career woman who runs an ad agency on the verge of taking off.

Best Friend/ Co-Conspirator/ Token:  Her best friends are her cousins.  Her co-conspirator is her business partner/ fake fiancé.  There are no obvious tokens in this one — the movie features an all African American cis-het cast.

Category: Woman gets man to pretend to be her fiancé, plus, The perfect man was in front of her the whole time.

Premise: She is guilted into returning home for Christmas after avoiding it/ being too busy for several years, just as she’s on the verge of sealing the deal on her first million dollar account.  She returns home with her assistant to work while there, and they end up pretending to be engaged.  Romancing and family antics ensues.

Grade: B.  The movie had plenty of heart and humor, and played with the typical fake fiancé formula a bit, giving it a couple of twists that added some tension, and made it less predictable and more believable than some of the other movies in this same Category.

Note: “LL Fool J” is now what I call my dog whenever he does something stupid.

Stars: Chace Beck, Dawn Halfkenny, Brad James

 

A CHRISTMAS KISS

“Oops, I think I just stepped in your acting.”

She: Single aspiring interior designer working as unappreciated assistant to tyrannical boss.

Best Friend/ co-conspirator/ token:  Artistic black friend, and bonus white friend.

Category: Woman who is everything man is looking for is right in front of him the whole time.

Premise:  She has a magic moment in an elevator with a stranger — who turns out to be the boyfriend of her boss.  He doesn’t recognize her from their encounter (she was wearing glitter paint after all, which is almost as good as glasses for making you completely unrecognizable) and her boss steals her designs for decorating his home, designs that capture his heart.  When oh when will he get over his rich boy blues and realize that she is really the perfect one for him?   Perhaps some time during the thousand romantic moments they have?  Or, you know, after that.

Grade: B.  This provides exactly what you’d want (and what you’d expect) from a made for TV holiday romance.   The male lead didn’t seem to have much chemistry (aka acting skill), but he filled the role of Rich Clueless and Handsome well enough that it didn’t detract from the overall charm of the movie.

Stars: Elisabeth Röhm (Detective Kate Lockley from Angel), Laura Breckenridge, Brendan Fehr (Roswell)

Note: Apparently, they made A Christmas Kiss 2.  Because why not.

 

 

CHRISTMAS CRUSH (aka Holiday High School Reunion)

Him: “Uh, is this my right or my left hand? I can’t remember which one to wax my ‘vette with.” Her: “God I love you.”

She: Single aspiring fashion designer working as unappreciated assistant to tyrannical boss.

Best Friend/ co-conspirator/ token: Artsy best friend from high school, Duckie Lite.  Because he’s also a love interest, the token is one removed in the form of his obsessive half-Filipino stalker ex.

Category: Man who was everything she is looking for is right in front of her the whole time.

Premise: 30-something woman returns home for holidays.  Once queen of high school, she is embarrassed to attend a high school reunion without having succeeded in life, but goes anyway hoping to connect with her high school boyfriend, the star football player.  Her old best friend, the Duckie she never appreciated, is also there.  And the trio of her former fellow Heathers are led by a mean girl model who is determined to prove herself the true queen bee. What could possibly go wrong?

Grade: C+   Her giggly panting obsession over the caricature of prettyboy meathead for so much of the movie, even after it is pretty clear he’s a spoiled moron who barely remembers her, makes her a bit less sympathetic.  But there’s some funny moments, and once the balance tips to her moments and memories with Duckie, the movie finds its charm.

Note: I noticed the closed captions showed the Simple Minds Don’t You Forget About Me playing as they enter the high school, but the actual music is generic Christmas music.  Guess they couldn’t swing the licensing costs.

Stars: Rachel Boston, Jonathan Bennett, Jon Prescott

 

 

DEAR SANTA

She: Social butterfly in NY who is entirely supported by her rich if distant parents and aspires to nothing except shopping and lattes.  So, you know, totes relatable.

Best Friend/ co-conspirator/ token: Sassy gay chef.

Category: Woman who is everything man is looking for is right in front of him the whole time (though in this case she also has to realize who she is and grow into it).

Premise:  Attractive 30-year-old is told by her rich parents she must get a job or a man by Christmas because they will no longer support her.  She’s out buying fashionable party wear one day when the wind carries a dropped letter for Santa into her hands, and she goes ahead and opens it and reads it. It is from a girl whose mother died 2 years ago and is asking for a new wife for her lonely dad.   After Googling the return address to make sure he lives in a decent area of the city, she decides this is her chance to change her life by granting the wish, so stalks the man and his daughter.  This eventually leads her to the homeless shelter he still runs as a promise to his dead wife, and she falls into volunteering.  The story begins to find its heart from this point as she interacts with the homeless people and the daughter.

Grade: C+   It stars Amy Akers (Fred from Angel) so I wanted to love it.  And it’s well acted and has some nice moments.  But I found the “rich girl learns to be like us common folk” gimmick and some of the problematic choices kept bumping me out of the Glowy Feelz, at least for the first half of the movie.

For example, the whole stalking thing after finding the letter.  Better if the letter somehow led her to the homeless shelter directly with the intention of returning it, only to be swept up in the moment.

Still had the warm fuzzy at the end though.

Illyria hungers for the souls of the innoc … er, do you like my cute and fuzzy hat?

Stars: Amy Acker, David Haydn-Jones, Emma Duke

 

HOLIDAZE

Does the title describes the state of viewers perhaps?

She: Jennie Garth is a high powered female executive who left her small town and her fiancé for life in the big city.

Best Friend/ co-conspirator/ token: She has her two catty friends-of-color in her executive life, and her scheming assistant is a young Asian man, but they are all two-dimensional at best and exist only to show she doesn’t actually have anyone that is truly close to her as a friend and co-conspirator until she falls back in love with her ex.

Category: Woman shown alternate reality and comes to realize what is truly important.

Premise: It’s a Wonderful Wife meets A Christmas, Carol.  The superstore chain she work for as an exec is attempting to put a megastore in her old home town — even though the folksy small town residents don’t want it.  Her ex-fiancé repurchased the old Inn they had originally bought together, and is refurbishing it into a B&B — but it is now going to be turned into a parking lot for the megastore.  And she has neglected her mother, who runs a small struggling cafe.  Then she gets bonked on the head, and wakes up in an alternate reality where she’s married to her ex and still lives in the small town, running the hugely successful cafe.

Grade: C-  The by-the-numbers story didn’t have any real surprises, I didn’t feel any chemistry between the leads, and the “small town vs megachain” theme lacked any of the nuance or complexity of that very real issue.  But I liked how her knowledge and agency drove the plot and resolution.

Stars: Jennie Garth, Cameron Mathison, Kristin Booth

 

SNOWGLOBE

She: works in the family’s Italian deli but dreams of something more, or different, or Christmasy.

Best Friend/co-consipirator/ token:  Generic co-worker friend, and her family.  Not really tokens.

Category: Woman shown alternate reality and comes to realize what is truly important.

Premise: Young woman from a large Italian family in Brooklyn wants to live a life not planned by her family, and to have a magical fantasy Christmas like her dreams.  She is transported into a magical Snowglobe that contains a perfect Christmas village full of golly-gawrsh folks, where she meets a lobotomized Feyd-Rautha in a sweater.  In between visits to globe land, she flirts with her neighbor from down the hall.

Grade: B -. The family dynamic was great fun and well done, and the main romance storyline was decent.  It fell apart a little for me when she continues to try dating Dufus McGlobeboy after she had a real moment with the neighbor, and it felt a little creepy when she basically tries to get it on with the man child, but the rest of the movie is pretty well done.

Note: The same actress was in another completely unrelated “transported into snowglobe” Christmas movie a few years later titled A Snow Globe Christmas, which I haven’t seen.

Stars: Christina Milian, Erin Karpluk, Hilda Doherty, Matt Keeslar (Feyd)

12 DATES OF CHRISTMAS

She: A woman with a plan for her future with her ex-boyfriend.

Best Friend/ Co-Conspirator/ Token:  Best friend/coworker Miyoko, and new friend Leigh.

Category: Woman shown alternate reality and comes to realize what is truly important.

Premise: After she passes out in a department store on Christmas, she experiences a Groundhog Day-style reliving of Christmas Eve over and over until she finds herself, and finds true love.

Grade: B+.  Movies that play with the Groundhog Day formula are often lame, with the person making too few changes and taking too little advantage of reliving the days (like the Fred Xmas movie).  And while I wondered a couple of times why she didn’t repeat the things that did work from previous days, overall I thought they did a fair job with the premise.  The character learns and grows, each iteration brings new information and opportunities, and I was happy when everyone finds love at the end.

Who wore the fuzzy hat better? Amy or Amy?

Stars: Amy Smart (Butterfly Effect), Mark-Paul Gosselaar.  Poor Amy, she can’t catch a break with the whole time thing — first the Butterfly Effect, now this.

 

 

CHRISTMAS LODGE

aka “A Lay in a Manger”

She: Career woman who loves the outdoors.

Best Friend/ co-conspirator/ token: Black co-worker. And Jesus.

Category: Time Spent at Quaint Christmas Lodge Helps to Fix Hearts.

Premise:  God-fearing career woman returns to childhood Christmas Lodge to find it in need of saving (along with the handsome man living there).

Grade: D.  Even if we put aside the music that alternates between a granola commercial and elves playing kazoos, or the fact that it takes 20 minutes of “as you know Bob” dialogue about why she loves the woods and how you can really feel God in them there hills before the story actually starts (and even longer before Dr. Daniel Jackson shows up), the movie had zero twists or surprises as to where it was going or how they’d resolve each problem.  Despite the multiple prayer sessions, and actual dialogue like “What would Jesus do?” and “You know I can’t argue with scripture” to move to the “plot” along, I watched the entire thing just to give it a chance to redeem itself, for it to find plot salvation.  It did not.  If you’re feeling guilty about missing church today and need some preaching, maybe watch it.  If you’re looking for a charming holiday romantic comedy, look elsewhere.

Shanks tries but cannot hide the pain he feels at having agreed to star in this movie. Poor Dr. Jackson.

Stars: Erin Karpluk, Michael Shanks, Rukiya Bernard

 

LET IT SNOW

She: Executive whose business-focused father (and company owner) has been distant and Bah-Humbugy since her mother died long ago.

Best Friend/ Co-Conspirator/ token:  None

Category: Time Spent at Quaint Christmas Lodge Helps to Fix Hearts.

Premise: Real Estate developer Alan Thicke buys quaint ski lodge from folksy family who value quality Christmas and relationships, and promises he won’t change anything — then sends daughter there to develop plans for tearing it all down and putting in high end adult resort (Thicke needs more money — plastic surgery is expensive, folks!).  But the magic of the lodge and love turn her into a champion for Christmas over cold corporate greed.

If only Citizens United had been decided in a small lodge in December, it might have been a whole other story.

Grade: C.  Predictable but enjoyable, and fun for its celebration of various Christmas traditions that may make you want to establish more of your own.  The better alternative to Christmas Lodge, with plenty of “meaning of Christmas” still.

Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, Jesse Hutch, Alan Thicke

Finn Fancy Charity Giveaway

Hey there fine folks,

The first 5 people who send me evidence that they’ve donated (today or later) $25 or more to one of the charities listed below, I will send a free hardback copy of Finn Fancy Necromancy.  Evidence would be, for example, a screenshot of the thank you screen or email receipt (with any sensitive info removed or blocked out).

Most donations tend to be tax deductible, and can even double as an Xmas gift to someone (though that can be seen as obnoxious if the receiver isn’t someone who would truly appreciate it).

You can post your evidence in a comment, or send to my email randy(at)randy-henderson(dot)com

Charities:

Planned Parenthood:provides millions of women essential care like birth control and cancer screenings.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: Works to create a culture where domestic violence is not tolerated; and where society empowers victims and survivors, and holds abusers accountable.

TrueColors: The True Colors Fund works to end homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth.

Or other charity of your choice battling such issues as poverty, illness, homelessness, or abuse.

Jessica Jones’ Broad Shoulders

Jessica Jones, Jessica Jones.

On the one hand, this is just a superhero television show, so expectations shouldn’t be too high. On the other hand, it is a FEMALE superhero television show, and that is extremely rare, and so it carries a lot of hopes and expectations.

On the one hand, it is a gritty and fresh take on the genre with a kickass anti-hero and an unflinching look at the aftermath of abuse and the burden of power, and addresses issues of rape and stalking that are too often ignored. On the other, it is a derivative noir with an anticlimactic ending and problematic depictions of stalking which is made even worse by the fact that, it BEING so rare to have female superheroes, having her opening storyline focused on stalking and rape and romance is itself a bit sexist (as Christy noted, “Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio… If only Vinny’s sole reason to engage was because he’d been in love with the hero. But it wasn’t, was it?”).

Yet I can’t imagine telling Jessica’s particular story without showing this chapter of it up front. So in the end, I felt that, other than fixing a few plot issues and making the stalking less sympathetic in parts (based on comments I’ve seen sympathizing with him), the real need isn’t to change Jessica’s story, but to have enough shows with female hero leads whose stories aren’t centered on romance (whether good or gone horribly wrong) that you can have a show like Jessica Jones and allow it to simply be an action drama without it having to carry such heavy hopes and responsibilities and expectations.

Author Fest 2015 at Powell’s

This IS the book you’re looking for!

Was part of Author Fest on Sunday at Powell’s Books in Cedar Hills, and enjoyed seeing so many friends and great writers, as well as Portland folks who’d bought my book or been to my Powell’s reading, and lots of new readers.  It was, all in all, a decent turn out and an enjoyable 2 hours.

Additional pictures after the jump.  Authors included:

Annie Bellet, Alma Alexander, Devon Monk, Barb & J. C. Hendee, Mark Ferrari, Shannon Page, Brent Weeks, Claude Lalumiere, Camille Alexa, Wendy Wagner, David Levine, Mike Moscoe/Shepherd, Jason Hough, Ken Scholes, J. A. Pitts, Patrick Swenson, Leah Cutter, Blaze Ward, Tina Connolly, Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Annie Bellet, Fonda Lee, Jason Gurley, Kristi Charish, Laura Ann Gilman, Randy Henderson, Django Wexler, and Jennifer Brozek.

From near to far: Barb Hendee, Patrick Swenson, Ken Scholes, J.A. Pitts, Devon Monk, Brent Weeks, Tina Connolly, Jason Hough, Jason Gurley, Django Wexler, Wendy Wagner, Jen Brozek, Annie Bellet

 

Wendy Wagner, Django Wexler, Jen Brozek, and Annie Bellet prepare for the well deserved tidal wave of fans

 

Shannon Page sells Our Lady of the Islands to a Stormtrooper – inspiring the better clone inside him.

 

Authorfest 2015 Lineup B (part 2): Cluade Lalumiere, Alex C. Renwick, Kristi Charish, Fonda Lee, Alma Alexander

 

Laura Ann Gilman, David Levine, Cluade Lalumiere, Alex C. Renwick, Kristi Charish, Fonda Lee, Alma Alexander

 

Ken Scholes, J.A. Pitts and the rest of the Authorfest gang swamped by fans.

 

Finn Fancy at Authorfest 2015

When Discussing Paris and Beirut and Kenya and Damn It

What a terrible week. As usual, there are folks quickly navigating to extremist positions (Thanks, Obama, for freeing terrorists!) (Thanks, Bush, for invading Iraq and creating ISIS!) (Not all Muslims are terrorists, but the “real” terrorists all seem to be Radical Islamists…)

Yes, I imagine this next week will see the inevitable debates between the extremist left and extremist right over where to lay blame for these recent attacks (in addition to those extremist Islamists of course — extremism and dogma are real problems over THERE).

I just want to make my plea for reason and kindness, and open minds. A problem can have more than one cause, and more than one solution, and laying blame seems to me more a cause than a solution. Understanding causes to prevent repeat of mistakes is one thing. Pointing fingers to score points for your team is another.

We should feel sympathy for the victims in Paris. And we should also take a hard look at why our feeds are filled with statements of solidarity for Paris but little mention of Beirut which suffered its own attack, or why the even more devastating terrorist attack in Kenya a few months ago was barely even noted, and certainly didn’t get a cool flag overlay for your profile pic. And we should question the reasons for the creation and the continued existence of ISIS. And we should question why all these white boys are shooting up schools. And we should question the burning of black churches. Doing one does not need to detract from the others. Pointing out one does not trump the need to do the others.

In the end, the real root of so many problems are divisions. Where compromise is viewed as weakness or unattainable, where tolerance fails, where some are more equal than others, where disparities in power and resources are allowed to grow unchecked, where extremists are allowed to direct the conversation and stir up the emotions of followers with inflammatory speech filled with rhetoric and spun “facts”, and where people surrender their morality to any external power rather than their own reason and compassion, things will continue to go horribly wrong.

If we cannot even discuss these issues as reasonable, caring human beings from the comfort of our internet armchairs, how can we expect those suffering starvation, abuse, war and exile to be any more reasonable in finding peaceful solutions?

There’s that bumper sticker: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” It’s a bit facile, and a misquote of Gandhi, but it is a start. The other half, of course, is actually working together with a LOT of other folks, even those who share different views, and a willingness to sacrifice in order to see that better world. It’s what Gandhi did. It’s what MLK did. It’s in the moral fables that inspire us from Jesus to Frodo.

And I guess that’s my thoughts on that.

Why Your Book Club (or you) Should Read Finn Fancy in January

While I hate promoting myself, I just have to mention that January 2016 is the absolute perfectest month to read my “dark and funny” contemporary fantasy novel from Tor Books​, FINN FANCY NECROMANCY.

Why?

* Reviews describe it as a fast paced and fun read full of laughs, laughs and more laughs — a great way to stave off those post-holiday winter blues!

* It comes out in paperback January 5th, and you will have all those gift cards to spend!  Or you can get the Hardback for nearly the same price earlier.

* The sequel, BIGFOOTLOOSE AND FINN FANCY FREE, comes out in February!

* If your book club is within reasonable driving distance, I’ll happily come join your discussion of the book if you’d like, and answer any questions you have!

* If your book club is in distant lands, or is online, I will happily participate in any online Ask Me Anything-style discussion you set up.

So when you all go to vote for what to read in January, might I humbly suggest that Finn Fancy Necromancy is, if not the best choice, then the even besterest choice!

Finn Fancy Tor Cover

 

Fun Little AMA on /r/Fantasy

While at Sasquan, I sat at the /r/Fantasy table for a bit and participated in a live AMA (Ask Me Anything).  It was short, but I had a lot of fun with it, as is obvious from my answers

Here’s the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/3hwhal/sasquan_ama_melting_your_face_off_randy_henderson/

 

WHY I MIGHT NOT BUY YOUR BOOK BUT I LOVE THAT YOU WROTE IT!

My social media feeds are chock-a-block full of posts from writers promoting the books they’ve written and published or had published.

I just want to pause a minute and point out why this is actually frakking AWESOME!  And say how AWESOME all of you writers and artists and creators are.  And what an awesome and wonderful time we live in!  And no, I’m not (just) high on caffeine and sugar right now!

 

And now, I’m going to get deep for a sec to explain why I think you’re all awesome.

 

One of the things that truly boggles my mind is people who have no real passions in life. And in this context, I’m not counting a passion for their loved ones and children, which is a perfectly worthy and lovely thing but is to be expected (even if, sadly, not always realized). Nor do I count religious devotion in this definition of passion, or devotion to the local sportsball team, etcetera.

Rather, I mean some art or skill they strive at, some achievement they pursue, some (non-religious, non- child-related) impact they hope to make on the world, some grail that they quest for.  And not with the sole goal of monetary riches, but because it makes their life richer, and potentially the world and/or the lives of others a little richer.

For many, this passion involves creating something, whether it is creating stories, games, artworks, music, artisan furniture, custom clothing designs, the most amazing pies, or whatever, because it fills them with joy and a sense of accomplishment to learn and improve and do these things, even if the end result is not something they ever sell or want to sell commercially.
For some, it is achieving some level of true excellence in a physical or mental skill, which often leads to a more balanced and engaged life, a true happiness that has a positive ripple effect.  They want The Glow.  Heck, I’d even count playing video games here if they are pursuing a national championship (and better yet, with ambitions to do something positive or inspiring with the platform and/or sponsorship money they gain).
For others, it is activism or volunteerism of some kind, seeking to help solve a problem or help a group of people, to directly make the world and people’s lives better in some way.  This includes fostering or adopting children who have suffered trauma or damage of some kind (one example of an exception to my definition of passion as not including our love for our children).
Or perhaps you do a little of all of these things, or your passion crosses all of these definitions.

Without my writing, I definitely feel like my life would have less of a point.  Don’t get me wrong, I have family and friends, and other interests, and I hope and try to make the world a better place in my own small ways.

But if you asked me what is the meaning of life, I’d probably says something like: “To strive to add something positive to the world so that you were not simply a waste of time and resources; to grow and potentially inspire or lift up others through your effort; and to do so in a way that brings you joy without making other people’s lives any suckier.” I’ve heard others say “To leave the world a better place than when you entered it,” which is a better soundbite but lacks the aspect of personal happiness, and begs the question of what is “better,” Mal. Also, the world might just get worse despite our best efforts, and why should we die feeling like we failed if we made an honest effort at accomplishing something, right?

So, since personally I believe there’s a better-than-even chance we simply cease to exist when we die, and this might be our one shot as “us” to do something, I just don’t understand folks who primarily spend their time doing, really, nothing.

Seeking our own happiness is important.  Doing so by watching reality television, getting wasted, chasing material possessions, consuming, etcetera isn’t necessarily bad in moderation, but these things don’t generally challenge our potential, or help us to leave behind any kind of positive legacy.  In fact, they generally seem to do the opposite.  And the internal rewards such acts offer are usually fleeting.
And while being a good parent is an incredibly important and difficult job, it is not in itself a personal legacy beyond creating more people who must themselves go on to do something positive (and if those children’s sole legacy are their own children, then really nothing is gained but more and more people consuming more and more resources and counting their children as their legacy).  [EDIT: See my comment below for a clarification on the term “legacy”).

But we live now in a time where it is easier than ever for more people to pursue their personal passions, to chase their dreams.  Certainly, there are still terrible inequalities in access to power and resources; and the luxury to chase one’s passions and the odds of success are impacted by varying degrees and types of privilege and circumstance and ability.  But generally speaking, computers and the interwebs alone open up so much possibility.

You want to be a writer?  You can access a ton of resources on how to write, edit, submit, and publish, as well as find local or virtual groups of likeminded writers, mostly for free or cheap online.  You can write a book, and self-publish it online.  Granted, there are deeper considerations if you want to actually be successful in writing and publishing a book, but again, it is perhaps easier than at any time in the past to do so.

And if you want to pursue some other passion, or find opportunities to support a cause you believe in, this too is easier than ever.

Like most of the folks reading this I imagine, I almost never click on a book link in my feeds unless I’ve already heard buzz about the book or I like the author (since, sadly, I can only read a finite number of books and have too many to read already).  It is rare my attention is truly grabbed by something new.  And of course, not every book in my feed is of a genre or topic that interests me.

I don’t mind folks promoting their book on occasion — I can definitely empathize with the dilemma of how to promote your book to people without, well, promoting your book to people. And there is, of course, a difference between promotion and spamming [EDIT: I further clarify in the comments below about the difference between Promotion vs spamming]

But I am genuinely thrilled and happy for every single person I see who has published a link to their book.

Because that means they wrote a book!  They spent many months (if lucky) striving toward something, creating something, living their passion and engaging in the genre they love in a deeply personal and meaningful way, and had the courage and determination to put that creation out into the world for others to enjoy.

That in itself is a HUGE achievement, and something to be incredibly proud of, independent of whether the book sells, or whether it is the best book ever written.  They contributed and participated rather than just consuming, they had the joy of writing (I hope) the kind of story they love to read, they overcame their doubts and fears, and perhaps will bring a bit of joy to someone else who needs it.

I count every one of these persons as part of a larger family of fellow creators and fans, a family that is (at least visibly via the interwebs) larger and more diverse than ever before.  And though there are, of course, the racist uncles and terrible-drunk aunts, I hold out hope that the family, overall, will continue to grow and be a source of support and inspiration and shared joy.

So yeah, my feed is chock-a-block full of writers promoting books that they’ve written and published, full of dreams pursued and passions embraced, and an unprecedented level of genre love and appreciation.

And gods, isn’t that a wonderful thing?

Writers of the Future Promo Vid

Here’s a copy of the Writers of the Future video that was shown during the big awards show this past April, which shares a few glimpses of my own experience there.  If you watch it, I’m sure you’ll find more than a few things interesting, humorous, and/or educational, but I’ll just speak to the parts in which I’m featured.

at 2:42 — I mention the blind submission process.  I really do appreciate and applaud this about Writers of the Future.  It helps to eliminate the chance of unconscious biases playing a role in the selection of winners — having no obvious clue as to the gender, location, or possible ethnicity of the writers when judging their work.

Of course, the contest is still looking for specific types of stories, just as any market does — they are, I believe, hoping to target younger readers, for example.  And obviously, the personal tastes, experiences and pet peeves of the judges will come into play at some level, and so perhaps a greater diversity in judges is something to strive for.  Which, again, is true many places.

 

at 4:02 — they begin talking about the 24 hour story exercise, where you have to take a random object, a random book from the library, and a casual conversation with a random person on the street, and write a story in 24 hours incorporating elements of each.  This was probably my favorite part of the workshop, the thing I found most useful.  Not because it forced me to conceive and write a story in 24 hours (though it is of course good to know you can do so), but in that it forced me to break out of my writer shell and engage with people.  I think a lot of us writers are introverts, or socially awkward, but in order to write richly detailed and unique characters it helps if we actually engage with people out in the world, people who are not other writers or people we already know.

 

at 4:28 —  Me chatting with a random person on Hollywood Boulevard.  He was a bucket drummer and standup comedian who followed his favorite pro ball player out to LA, and then began a string of career changes.  He claimed to have written jokes for the Chapelle show, to be a part-time actor, and after I mentioned I was a writer he said he’d switched from acting to writing scripts since he felt there weren’t enough shows and movies out there with positive roles for black men.  He also philosophized for a bit on the increasing disconnectedness of our society, with everyone staring at their cell phones and living virtually. It was one of the more interesting conversations I can remember, and would not have happened if I hadn’t engaged a perfect stranger on the street.

 

Randy’s Awesome Worldcon / Sasquan Schedule

Hey gang!  If you’re going to be at Worldcon / Sasquan, please come visit me at my panels, reading, and/or kaffee klatche!  

The Goonies look on in amazement as Randy reads from his novel

Sasquan 2015

Panel: Writing Diverse Characters 

Thursday, August 20 2015, 4:00 pm

Spokane Falls Suite A/B (Doubletree)

with Kameron Hurley, Mary Soon Lee, Grá Linnaea, Walidah Imarisha

 

Kaffee Klatche – Randy Henderson

Thursday, August 20 2015, 5:00 pm

202A-KK1 (CC)

 

Panel: The Work of Being a Writer

Thursday, August 20 2015, 9:00 pm

Bays 111A (CC)

with Brenda Cooper, Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Susan Palwick

 

 

Reading – Randy Henderson

As always, there will be fun, prizes, treats, and I’ll perhaps give a sneak peek at BIGFOOTLOOSE AND FINN FANCY FREE.

Saturday, August 22 2015, 3:30 pm

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Autographing – Randy Henderson

Saturday, August 22 2015, 11:00 am

Exhibit Hall B (CC)

with Susan A Bolich, Sarina Dorie, Valerie Estelle Frankel, Steven Gould, Nina Horvath