Alex C. Telander's Blog, page 84
March 20, 2012
BOOK REPORT: Book News for the Week of March 19th on Forces of Geek
Ernest Cline at Wondercon
Bestselling author of the "nerd crack" book Ready Player One and screenwriter for the cult hit Fanboys, Ernest Cline, was at Wondercon this past weekend and was interviewed by Bleeding Cool where he talked about his movie and his book, as well as what else he has in the works.
Joe Hill at Wondercon
Joe Hill, bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and Horns (and who also happens to be Stephen King's son), was also at Wondercon this past weekend where he talked about his comic book series Lock & Key, as well as his two next books, NOS4A2 and The Fireman, as well as about some other things.
Walter Dean Meyers is Ambassador to Young People
Walter Dean Meyers, the young adult author of Monster and many other books has been chosen to hold the recently created position by the Library of Congress as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, with the goal of raising awareness of the importance to literature to teens. In this video he talks with CBS at the position.
Digital Downloads From Marvel
In a smart move that may be the first step in the ever changing book industry, Marvel will now be offering a digital download edition with each purchase of the physical comic.
March 19, 2012
Spread the Word About "Unqiuet Slumbers for the Sleepers"
You can find the link to the book here (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/123676), where you can buy the ebook for just $0.99, and also view a good sample of it. You can share this link on Facebook, or any other social network, or by emailing it to friends and family.
Clicking the "Like" Button on the book page – http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/123676
If you're interested in possibly reviewing Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers, just drop me an email at alexctelander@gmail.com, and I'll get a free review copy to you.
If you have a Goodreads account, go to the book page for Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13416260-unquiet-slumbers-for-the-sleepers) and rate and/or review the book; or like the page; or share the page. You can also recommend the book to Goodreads friends this way.
Free wallpapers and icons are available on the BookBanter site (http://www.bookbanter.net/books.html) and can be used as desktop or laptop backgrounds, and icons make great profile pictures whether it's on Facebook, Google Plus, chat programs, or any number of other sites that use avatars.
The book is now available Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Itunes and more. Go to the official book site for links.
Using one or more of the tools above will go a long way to spreading the word about Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers.
Thank you for all your help!
Alex.
March 18, 2012
"The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle (Roc, 2011)
Every once in a while a book will come along and get written and be released to the world and become something so special and unique that it will stand the tests of time, whether it was published last year, or fifty years ago, or a hundred years ago. In the magical fairytale style of The Princess Bride, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle is certainly one of those ethereal books that generation after generation will read and enjoy for years to come.
"The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night." What she doesn't know, but eventually discovers is that she is the last unicorn on earth. These magical beasts once roamed free and helped and healed those around them, but now she is the only one left. And even though she is old, she is not very wise and soon finds herself a member of Mummy Fortuna's Midnight Carnival with no chance of escape. But then a most unique individual comes along, named Schmendrick the Magician, whose magical powers work most infrequently, and only when he really needs them to; and he frees the last unicorn. Molly Grue also joins the unusual travelers, who still has faith in fables and believes in legends, even though she has met a suspicious Robin Hood character and his band of overly-merry men. They journey far and wide across the lands, have many adventures in search of the other unicorns, and end up at the withered castle of King Haggard, where the Red Bull lies in wait for the last unicorn.
Many complimentary words can be said about this book, but still they will not do it complete justice, as it just transcends so many levels and ages, making us all, perhaps just for a moment, believe in these wondrous beasts. For the new anniversary edition, a quote on the front of the book from Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind, says it best: "The Last Unicorn is the best book I have ever read. You need to read it. If you've already read it, you need to read it again."
Originally written on February 13, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
To purchase a copy of The Last Unicorn from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.
March 17, 2012
BookBanter Column: The Authors of Stephen King
If you're kind of a Stephen King nut like me — and I know there are many of you out there — then you've read pretty much everything this great author has ever written. To date the man has published around seventy books covering just about everything (as well as repeating himself a couple of times with similar storylines). I can still remember the first book of his I read, Four Past Midnight, and that first story, "The Langoliers," which was just fantastic and scary and great in so many ways. I can remember my thirteen or fourteen year-old self actually feeling nauseous with the graphic detail of the little girl having the hatchet removed from her chest, and the quick surgery that had to be performed. Every time he has a new book come out, I'm there, dropping everything, gobbling it up and loving it. He's my happy place, where I can easily forget about the rest of the world and get lost in one of his.
Stephen King has also been incredibly instrumental (even though he has no clue) in shaping me as a writer, making me first want to create scary, evocative stories like his own, and then to just keep on writing and telling tales for now over fifteen years. A strange thing also happens when I read one of his books featuring an author as a character, for in addition to enjoying the book, it also makes me want to put the book down and write myself. I'm not sure why, but it just does; it's quite the conundrum.
March 16, 2012
Why Writing Excuses is so Good and You Should Listen to it
There's a writing podcast out there on the Internets that any aspiring writer, or writer looking to get published, or someone who just likes writing in some way, or even someone who just likes one or more of its three hosts should check out and start listening to. It's called Writing Excuses, and it's hosted and run by Brandon Sanderson, author of the Mistborn trilogy, The Way of Kings, and is currently finishing the last Wheel of Time book, A Memory of Light; Dan Wells, author of I am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want to Kill You; and Howard Tayler, creator, author and illustrator of the great Schlock Mercenary web comic. Mary Robinette Kowal also recently joined the show.
Writing Excuses is now working through its seventh season, with the average season being over thirty episodes . The other cool thing about the podcast, which is part of their tag line — "Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart" — is that while there are a number of episodes that run over the fifteen-minute mark, for the most part it stays true to that time limit, making it a great, quick and easy show to listen to as you know exactly how many episodes you can get through in a specific amount of time.
I've been listening to it in the car and at work a lot, and it has provided much entertainment during my eight-hour shifts. The key to the show really is that these guys do know a lot about publishing and writing, as they have all made careers out of it. Brandon Sanderson is an internationally bestselling author and really well known now, but at the time of the start of the podcast, in February 2008, his Mistborn trilogy had not yet been completed and published, so throughout the podcast, from season to season, he provides insightful details on his growing publishing career. At the start of the show, Dan Wells had just sold his book to Tor, so from season to season listeners get to hear the developments with his books and successes. And Howard Tayler, who runs his own webcomic and essentially self-publishes it and has made a career out of it by selling books and merchandise through his website, discusses throughout the show developments with his comic and website, as well as providing insights and writing tips he has learned.
Each episode is geared towards a specific topic and the three do a great job of getting each others' viewpoints and opinions and experiences on this topic, and with the diverse genres they write in — Brandon mainly does epic fantasy, while Dan has published young adult horror — listeners get a good rounded podcast with each episode. The show also features numerous guests authors like James Dashner, Eric Flint, and Mary Robinette Kowal (who has now joined the show), as well as editors, comic book artists, and a whole variety of other important people in the publishing and writing business. A number of episodes are recorded at various conventions and feature guest speakers and Q&As with convention attendees.
The guys are also really funny. They've been good friends for a long time, and Brandon and Dan went to school together, and because of this there's a great rapport and frisson (if you will) between them, making it dynamic and organic and, like I said, very funny. The Writing Excuses Wiki Page has a good episode listing for the first five seasons, with direct links.
The other impressive thing about the show is how bold its podcasters are; they don't hold back at critiquing each others' work in order to make a point about good writing. To put this in perspective, I just finished up season 4, and in episode 29, they discuss line editing and then proceed to line edit Brandon Sanderson's first, unpublished novel. And its both hilarious and very informative.
Over the last month of listening to the show, I've learned so much about writing and it's not that they discuss things about writing I've never thought about before, but they take it apart and break it down to its components and analyze it, which isn't something I've done with most of these topics. They also use real examples as often as possible, to put it all in exact context, so there can be no confusion about the meaning.
So the next time you have a spare fifteen minutes, which really isn't that much time, give Writing Excuses a shot, pick a random episode, and I guarantee: you'll learn something about writing you didn't know, and you'll laugh while doing it.
March 14, 2012
BOOK REPORT: Book News for the Week of March 11th on Forces of Geek
France to Digitize and Sell Half a Million Out of Print Books
The French government has passed a law to digitize and make available half a million books written and published before 2001 that are out of print and no longer available. France's Bibliothèque nationale is compiling the list of ebooks to be sold online.
Scholastic Books, the renowned children's publisher, is working on their own ereading app called Storia, featuring about 1300 ebooks and 250 "enhanced offerings that are available to teachers and parents who purchase books through the Scholastic Book Clubs and other Scholastic sales channels. It is currently in the beta version, with plans for the full release in fall 2012.
Paypal's Demands
The popular online pay site, PayPal, recently ruffled some e-feathers, when it demanded that the self-publisher, Smashwords, take down all the ebooks that it deemed "obscene." Smashwords has worked out some breathing room time, as it tries to decide what to do about this.
ABFFE Joins the Fray
As things begin to heat up with PayPal and Smashwords butting heads, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has stepped in, joining with the National Coalition Against Censorship to protest this move by PayPal.
March 13, 2012
The Future of BookBanter
It is a weighty headline for a weighty subject. After much thinking and contemplation, I have come to the decision that 2012 will be the last year I do interviews on BookBanter. December 2012 will be the last month I put up interviews on the BookBanter site, as I have decided to focus my work and career and the BookBanter site more towards my writing.
I did not come to this decision lightly, and it is certainly one I have thought about seriously. But I feel it is the right one. Having published my first ebook, Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers, I have really enjoyed all the work that has been involved in this, as well as all the work I continue to do (I'm not done yet!). I also plan to publish three more ebooks this year, ideally in April (a second short story collection), July (a young adult fantasy novel), and some time in Fall (a thriller novel).
Throughout the year, I will also be making small and subtle changes to the BookBanter site so it is more geared towards my writing. I will still continue to review books, as I consider that very much a part of my writing, as well as continue writing the BookBanter Column, which will primarily be published on Forces of Geek.
Come January, 2013, there will be no more new interviews uploaded to BookBanter, but the interviews already on the site will continue to be available to readers indefinitely. I will also do a site redesign that January.
As for the rest of 2012, I will continue to put up new interviews on the first of each month as part of my "Faces of Publishing" series, a listing of which you can see on the main page of BookBanter in the right-hand column. You can also subscribe to the BookBanter Blog at the top right of the blog to get all the posts and updates about BookBanter. I also plan on doing a few more author interviews throughout this year, and two that I have already confirmed are with Saladin Ahmed, author of Throne of the Crescent Moon, and Jack Whyte, author of the Camulod Chronicles and most recently The Forest Laird.
While I'm not done interviewing yet, by any means, I would just like to thank all the publicists and authors over the last three years who have been so helpful and courteous in organizing and doing these interviews, and I have made a number of good friends and acquaintances along the way. It was a dream that I worked at and it came true, but it never would've happened without the help of all these people along the way.
To end this then, I thank you for reading, and be sure to keep checking back on BookBanter for new interviews, reviews, BookBanter columns, and plenty of writing.
Thank you,
Alex C. Telander.
March 12, 2012
BookBanter Update Coming Tuesday
Due my arriving back too late Sunday after a busy weekend, I'll be making the big BookBanter announcement on Tuesday instead of Monday. Stay tuned!
"The Crack in Space" by Philip K. Dick (Mariner Books, 2011)
There's a unique style to Philip K. Dick's work that can perhaps be called unforgiving: his writing isn't easy and straightforward; you have to work at it and make sure you keep up, because he's just going to throw you in the middle of his complex world and drag you along for one crazy ride. The Crack in Space is a perfect example of this, recently released in a minimalist-looking new edition from Mariner Books, where the world is at a distant point in our future and all is not well. While technology has advanced, it seems that humanity has not, as it is a world divided by the color of one's skin, and now there's a black man running for president.
In this world, people are able to zap across continents and off planet in record time using "scuttler" tubes, until a lowly maintenance worker discovers a malfunctioning scuttler tube that has a hole leading to an alternate world. He enters this new parallel dimension and is soon killed. As news of this other world spreads, Jim Briskin, who could become the first black president, sees a big opportunity. There are millions of people (mostly non-white) who are in cryopreservation known as "bibs," looking to be revived when a solution is found to the world's overpopulation problems. Briskin hopes to use the promise of setting all these bibs free in the new world to help his presidency.
The only problem is that there are some beings on the other side that seem to be a form of our ancestors, Homo erectus, known as Peking Man, who beat out the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons on this world to become the dominant species, and they aren't about to let Homo sapiens walk all over them. For a book that is barely two hundred pages long, Dick manages to do an incredible job of revealing a complex world with plenty of unusual and unforgettable characters that will keep any scifi fan hooked until the very last page.
Originally written on February 13, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.
To purchase a copy of The Crack in Space from Amazon, and help support BookBanter, click HERE.
March 9, 2012
Only a Couple Days Left of "Read an Ebook Week"
There's only a couple days left of "read an ebook week," and Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleeper's is still free on Smashwords if you enter the coupon code RE100, so follow this link, or click on the cover below to take advantage of this offer, or share it on Facebook and tell your friends about it.
