Lou Anders's Blog, page 65

Why Science Fiction Authors Can't Win

Read this article, by John Howell, entitled "Why Science Fiction Authors Can't Win."

Then come back and read this quote, by James Enge:

I believe that the greatest danger to genre fiction nowadays is not the denial of respect from some notional group of literary tastemakers but the very real likelihood that sf/f may become respectable. Those who thirst for the foamy gray poison of respectability should consider the fate of jazz, once a popular medium, now respectable, ossified and ignored.

Whole Lotta Lou

SF Signal's latest MIND MELD is a brilliantly-informative round robin asking a Who's Who of anthologists, "Can you describe what goes on behind the scenes - from conception to publication -- when creating a short fiction anthology?" There is much wisdom to be had in part one and part two. I am in part three, using their question as an excuse to talk about whatever I felt like and not really answering it.

Meanwhile, I'm up twice at Tor.com talking about the fact that a band has named itself aft...

The Phantom

All I got to say is, if you are embarrassed by it, don't make the movie in the first place.

Con*Stellation XXVIII: Vulpecula

Last weekend, I attended Con*Stellation XXVIII: Vulpecula, a small-but-sincere convention in Huntsville, Alabama. The Guest of Honor was David Weber, and the Artist Guest of Honor was my good friend (and frequent Pyr cover artist) John Picacio. Fan Guest of Honor was Gary Shelton and my pal Jack McDevitt was the Master of Ceremonies.

I say small-but-sincere because the convention drew maybe 250 people, which seemed large in comparison to when I was there two years ago, and is small enough to f...

io9 Book Club Selects The Quiet War for Inaugural Read

io9 have announced that they are starting a book club, and choosing as their first selection, Paul McAuley's Clarke award nominated The Quiet War,conveniently just out from Pyr this month. They write:

The Quiet War explores the tensions between two factions in the solar system. The Outers, who live on the outer planets and their moons, are post-humanists by default. They're reengineering their bodies and environments to make it possible for human societies to spread far beyond Earth. But the E...

What Not To Do

When informed that an agent is required for manuscript submission, reply with an email that includes the phrase:

If you're looking for an author that mass produces meaningless insignificant pieces of tripe then you're absolutely correct, you're not ready to comprehend the wealth of thought provoking ideas embedded in my work.

Planet Of The Dead - Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

This says it far better than me. Really, if you've seen Planet of the Dead, you must watch this:



(Thanks, Colin!)

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (spoilers)

Finally got around to seeing Planet of the Dead. I enjoyed it more than the last Russell T Davies episode, perhaps because he wrote less of it (it was co-written with Gareth Roberts) and perhaps because it's been long enough I was starting to miss David Tennant (and when I get like this, I can watch him do anything). Now, the idea that a bunch of animals flying rings around a planet can generate a wormhole is new levels of dumb, though I have to admit to liking the creatures themselves and th...

This is Mutiny, Mr Christian!!

M ike Resnick's Starship: Mutiny, the first book in his Starship series, has just appeared for the Kindle. This is good, given that books 2 and 4 have been up a while. Also, before you say it, other ebook formats are coming soon!

I Will Not Read Your F'ing Script

This piece in The Village Voice by A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson is priceless.

I am so grateful that he spelled out a few things. He starts off with a many paragraph refusal--"I will not read your fucking script"--and then goes on to say, "At this point, you should walk away, firm in your conviction that I'm a dick. But if you're interested in growing as a human being and recognizing that it is, in fact, you who is the dick in this situation, please read on."

The full article is...