Roger Eschbacher's Blog, page 26

Star Trek: The Recognition Certificate

Back in 1993 Jaq Greenspon, a friend from my days at the Groundlings, and I went to Paramount to pitch some story ideas to the folks at Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jaq was aware that the show had an open invitation to published sci fi writers (Jaq is one) and since we're both sci fi/fantasy nerds who would frequently chew the fat on the subject he graciously asked me if I wanted to go in and try and sell something. I readily agreed. We met and came up with a bunch of story springboards and made an appointment. The writer/producer we met with (can't remember his name) was relatively cool/ neutral to the ideas we were pitching until it came to the very last one:

"Picard is taken captive by a Mark David Chapman-like fan of his military career."

In other words, the kidnapper was a fanatical Picard groupie. At that point, the producer's eyes brightened and he said something to the effect of, "I like that one. You know we have a lot of hardcore fans of this show." Oh really? (you're looking at two of them)

They bought the idea which we developed into a story that eventually was handed over to a couple of staff writers who turned it into the episode entitled "Liaisons." The whole process was loads of fun and I'm grateful to Jaq for getting us in there.

So. . . today in the mail I got an "award" certificate from the WGA (see above). They've apparently placed the series on their list of the "101 Best Written TV Series" and even though Jaq and I contributed to the show in a tiny little way, the Guild wanted to make sure we were recognized for it.

I don't know, but I think that's kind of cool. :)

Wonderstorms: A Fantasy Anthology is Now Available

Wonderstorms: A Fantasy Anthology went live on Amazon this past Wednesday. Huzzah!

This book is a collection of short stories from a group of five fantasy authors -- Jason Asala, Brian Clopper, A.E. Howard, Keith Robinson, and myself.  Each story is set in its own unique world with the common threads being the title of book and the element of either fantasy or sci fi.

The stories within are all a lot of fun and contain each author's interpretation of a wonderstorm. My story, Undrastormur, happens to be a Norse fantasy-adventure in the "classic" style while the other stories are set in modern day or alternate realities.

The cost of Wonderstorms is a rock-bottom $.99 but if that's still too rich for your blood, you can wait a couple of weeks for it to drop to $.00 due to Amazon price-matching. Our goal was not to make bank with this particular effort, but to put out a quality read that showcased each author's writing talent.

I believe the stories in Wonderstorms are all quite good and invite you to pick up your copy today -- or in a couple of weeks. ;)

Book Review: Fox's Bride by A.E. Marling

Fox's Bride , the sequel to author Marling's impressive Brood of Bones, continues Enchantress Hiresha's wildly imaginative adventures. This time we find her in Oasis City, the macabre playground of a truly evil and seemingly invincible sorcerer bent on eliminating her as a threat to his shadowy rule. Assisted by loyal spellsword Chandur, cantankerous maid Janny, and the deadly Lord of the Feast, Hiresha must find a way to expose and defeat the fiend before she's sacrificially married off to a desert fox and sealed in an airless sacophagus for all eternity.

Marling is at the top of his game in Bride, weaving a complex mystery full of magic (both dark and Hiresha's unique gemstone-based variety), humor, and flat-out adventure. Fox's Bride is a rich and complex read that I highly recommend.

To find out more about A.E. Marling and his books, please visit him here .

My Updated Writing for Animation FAQs

...can be found here . Enjoy!

I'm in a Wonderstorm!

Well, technically, I have a story in Wonderstorms, a new fantasy anthology that's coming out in the next week or two (sometime between 12/10-12/20). That's right, I finally have something new being published. Stop laughing. I'm a busy guy!

We five authors were given the challenge to write a short story based on the book's title. The only other stipulation was that it had to be fantasy-based. That's all we got. And so I sat down at the end of September and began working out Undrastormur (a cobbled-together Icelandic phrase that translates to. . . care to take a guess? You got it. Wonderstorm.

Icelandic, you say? Yes! My story has trolls, a draugr (the Viking equivalent of the walking dead), a bold shield maiden, and a couple of galdrakarls (Norse wizards). I'm very pleased with how this anthology turned out (all the stories are quite good) and hope our readers enjoy it, too.

I'll share more details as they become available. In the meantime. . .stop laughing!

iAi Book of the Month: Collateral Damage by Frederick Lee Brooke

This month's featured iAi book is...

Collateral Damage by Frederick Lee Brooke.

A love affair, obsession and murder are threatening to tear apart the lives of of Iraq War vets, after all they’ve survived overseas. Determined to find the murderer, Annie Ogden discovers she’s his next target.

Excerpt: 

Five hundred, twenty-three days, I thought, what is it about that number? I took too many math seminars. I can’t help it if my brain makes these associations. They come to me at odd moments. The significance suddenly occurred to me, like an email dropping in my inbox. Prime numbers. The one hundredth prime was 523. In itself it had no meaning, and yet…a coincidence like this, a number that was such a tremendous thing of beauty, in the canon of all numbers, prime numbers in themselves being exquisitely beautiful, and today being the one hundredth prime, a thing exponentially more beautiful than any ordinary prime, and this being the very day that Michael chose to reappear in my life bringing a love poem, after all my desperate pining and longing and refusal to give up all hope. Could it really, truly be meaningless?
My sister stood across the room, arms folded over her chest.“You have come a long way, Annie. Sometimes you do amaze me.”“You think so?”“Girl, I am buying you lunch. You were so strong. That was so hard. I saw every bit. You deserve more than a reward. You’re up for sainthood.”She took me to lunch, and afterwards we strolled down Michigan Avenue, and all afternoon I had trouble containing myself, even if we avoided the subject for the next four hours. It felt incredible to be alive. I felt like I was bathing in a circle of sunshine even though the day was cold and overcast.
##

About Frederick Lee Brooke

Frederick Lee Brooke launched the Annie Ogden Mystery Series in 2011 with Doing Max Vinyl and following with Zombie Candy in 2012, a book that is neither about zombies nor sweets. The third mystery in the series, Collateral Damage, appeared in 2013. The first book in Fred’s entirely new series is due before Christmas, 2013.

A resident of Switzerland, Fred has worked as a teacher, language school manager and school owner. He has three boys and two cats and recently had to learn how to operate both washing machine and dryer.

When not writing or doing the washing, Fred can be found walking along the banks of the Rhine River, sitting in a local cafe, or visiting all the local pubs in search of his lost umbrella.

You can find out more about Fredrick and his books by visiting these places: 
email:  info@frederickleebrooke.comTwitter: @frederickbrooke
Amazon page: Collateral Damage 
Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FrederickLee...
my blog:  http://www.frederickleebrooke.com/
Google +:   https://plus.google.com/1123312923986...

iAi Book of the Month: When Shadows Fall

This month's featured iAi book is...   




When Shadows Fall by Bruce Blake 




A hundred hundred
seasons have turned since the Goddess banished the Small Gods to the sky,
leaving the land to mankind alone. 




For Prince Teryk,
life behind the castle walls is boring and uneventful until he stumbles upon an
arcane scroll in a long-forgotten chamber. The parchment speaks of Small Gods,
the fall of man, and the kingdom's savior—the firstborn child of the
rightful king. It's his opportunity to prove himself to his father, the
king, and assure his place in history. All he needs to do is find the man from
across the sea—a man who can't possibly exist—and save mankind.




But ancient magic
has been put in motion by a mysterious cult determined to see the Small Gods
reborn. Powerful forces clash, uncaring for the lives of mortals in their
struggle to prevent the return of the banished ones, or aid in their rebirth.




Named in a
prophecy or not, what chance does a cocky prince who barely understands the
task laid before him stand in a battle with the gods?



##




 

Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in
British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and
building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog
sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his short stories and novels.







Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple
hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow, and the dog
is too small to pull a sled. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce
spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words
like "colour" and "neighbour" then he does shovelling (and
darn those double l's). The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of
a burlesque diva.




Bruce has been writing since grade school
but it wasn't until a few years ago he set his sights on becoming a full-time
writer. Since then, his first short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was
published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon, another short,
"Yardwork", was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod
and his first Icarus Fell novel, On Unfaithful Wings, was published to
Kindle in Dec., 2011. The second Icarus Fell novel, All Who Wander Are Lost,
was released in July, 2012, and the third, Secrets of the Hanged Man, in
July 2013. Sept., 2013 saw the publication of Blood of the King,
the first book in the Khirro's Journey epic fantasy trilogy, followed by
second book, Spirit of the King, in Dec., 2012, and the third, Heart
of the King in Jan., 2013. He has plans for more Icarus novels, several
stand alones, and several more books in the Small Gods series.




You can learn more about Bruce and his books by following thses links:





Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BruceBlakeWrites 

Twitter: @bruceablake 

www.bruceblake.wordpress.com 

bruceblake@hotmail.ca

 

Book Review: What Happened to Jory and Other Dark Departures

An anthology of short stories ranging in length from a few pages to novelette, What Happened to Jory and Other Dark Departures by Gary R. Henry is a fun and well-written read.



The titular story is jam-packed with backwoods creepiness and more than delivers on author Henry's promise of "dark departures." Roth's Machine is a dread-infused work of sci-fi that chronicles a rogue scientist's journey to "the other side" and is a true nail-biter.



All of the shorts are enjoyable but I have to say my favorite is A Barbarian in Rome, the novelette-length work of historical fiction at the end of the collection. Here, the author takes us back to Imperial Rome where Cugirtha, a captured barbarian warrior turned slave/gladiator, must use his wits and unmatched combat skills to survive in the brutal world of ancient Rome. The author promises Cugirtha's adventures will continue in a full-length novel and I'm going to hold him to that as the writing is superb.



My only complaint about the collection is the drab and uninteresting cover. I think a re-do is called for in this instance as the cover does not reflect the high quality of the stories contained within. Don't let this deter you from giving it a read, though, as What Happened to Jory and Other Dark Departures is highly recommended.




##




Gary R. Henry, "Grew up at the beach in Virginia. Discovered the Blue Ridge Mountains
and the Rockies in college, where I studied journalism and theater.
Honed my writing craft in the military as a "Navy Journalist." Taught
journalism at the Defense Information School. Discovered
spelunking while stationed in Nashville, Tenn. Love the AP Stylebook.
Retired from the Navy, live in Lawrence, Kansas with spouse Karen Ann
and dogs Sophie Jones and Lambchop. Write marketing copy and
technical for a manufacturer of construction products. Enjoy running all
day and night on trails in woods. Wrote my first novel a couple months
after discovering Smashwords. Now living happily ever after."



You can find out more about Gary by visiting his Back of the Pack blog.

Littlest Pet Shop: Season Two Starts Tomorrow!

And by "tomorrow," I mean Saturday, Nov. 2nd. Check your local listings...

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Official Trailer

I am so looking forward to this...








12-13-13