John E. Stith's Blog, page 3

MANHATTAN TRANSFER Optioned for Television

 

MANHATTAN TRANSFER, first published by Tor Books and the Science Fiction Book Club, has been optioned in 2022 for television by award-winning producer Sky Conway. The series iwas originally to be called SKYJACKED, but currently is using the original book title. More information here.

 

MANHATTAN TRANSFER Optioned for Television as SKYJACKED

 

MANHATTAN TRANSFER, first published by Tor Books and the Science Fiction Book Club, has been optioned in 2022 for television by award-winning producer Sky Conway. The series is to be called SKYJACKED. More information here.

 

Tiny Time Machine 2 sold to Amazing Stories

Amazing Stories has purchased TINY TIME MACHINE 2: RETURN OF THE FATHER a sequel toTINY TIME MACHINE. Expect to see it in 2023. TTM2 is also a novella-length piece. With luck, a third novella will round out the trilogy in the future.

New Short Story in NATURE

A new John E. Stith short-short story was published today (17 March 2021) in NATURE. A school prank turns a student green. Editor Collin Sullivan brilliantly scheduled it for St. Patrick's Day. "Chlorophyllis."

Artwork by Jacey.

New TINY TIME MACHINE Interview with Wild About Authors

A new interview about Tiny Time Machine is online now, this one with Wild About Authors. It also contains a plug for our favorite local bookstore, Hooked on Books.

From the interview:

 

February 10, 2021: This Week We're Wild About ... John E. Stith

There is nothing I love more than a great story about time travel. I can recommend you movies (The Terminator, Back to the Future, Peggy Sue Got Married) TV shows (Misfits, 12 Monkeys, Dark, Doctor Who) and books (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, To Say Nothing of the Dog, Kindred). I’m beyond excited to have a new entry in this genre to read, John E. Stith’s Tiny Time Machine. Read his interview below and then pick up a copy of the book from the Library (or buy it from his favorite bookstore online)!

And let me know if I left out your favorite time travel story...

-Natalie McCall (Head of Youth Services)

 

What's the title of your upcoming book?

TINY TIME MACHINE

What book should readers go to for an escape from reality?

One of my favorite escapes is WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams. It transported me to a place where rabbits must flee a development project that's about to destroy their habitat. It has all the drama, the pathos, the character growth, the tension, the narrow escapes, and the triumphs of other great fiction. But with rabbits.

What book should readers go to when they want to face reality?

One great place to look is 10% HAPPIER: HOW I TAMED THE VOICE IN MY HEAD by Dan Harris. It's part self-help, part autobiography, a good demonstration that we're never too old to learn new tricks or to find new ways to enrich our life.

What was your reading life like before the pandemic?

I grew up as a voracious reader, focused mostly on science fiction, fantasy, and mysteries. Love of reading is what enticed me into writing. But one of the unhappy ironies of writing, for me, is the result that I have less time for reading. At most, I now read two or three books a month, sometimes less. The technological change since I was young is that now I read more ebooks than print books. I love the feel of books, but I also acknowledge the ebook advantage of being able to always have the current book with me no matter where I am. Especially if it's a large book.

What has your reading life been like since the pandemic?

Paradoxically I'm reading less, now that it seems like I should have more free time. Instead, I'm consuming more news and spending more time communicating with friends, with some of that communication taking place during MMORPG gaming.

Why should people read for pleasure? Is that any different now?

Reading provides sheer enjoyment. Story-telling is as old as we are. In stories, we can share vicariously in the struggles and triumphs of others. We learn empathy by being dropped into the point of view of someone experiencing hardship or disappointment. We get the cathartic satisfaction of seeing someone overcome terrible odds and say to ourselves, "Maybe I could do that." We learn to dream and to dream big.

What do you hope your book gives to readers?

Most of all, enjoyment. I hope they grow to love my characters as much as I do, that they can laugh with them, commiserate with them, see themselves or see their own potential in them. Along the way, I hope readers find some food for thought, to maybe see some aspect of our world in a new light. I hope they laugh, they gasp, and they come back to the bookshelf saying, "More, please."

Should book lovers worry about the future of publishing during the pandemic? If so, how can they help?

Our independent bookstores are the weakest link in the chain. Love of books often outweighs the raw need to maximize income. Their margins are thinned by the growth of so many alternatives competing for our free time. Readers can help by patronizing their favorite independent bookstores, buying books for themselves, gifts for others, and gift cards for the future.

If you could imagine your dream virtual library, what would it be like?

It would be complete, containing all my favorite books, not just the ones I've located so far. It would have room for growth--my growth--by including books that I haven't been ready for yet, but may be ready for next year. And inside every volume, like a bookplate, would be a handy insert listing all the books that author has produced, telling me all the author's pen names, collaborations, and listing all the books and magazines they have contributed to.

Where can readers find you online?

My website and blog are at http://www.neverend.com . I'm most active on Facebook where I have a professional page in addition to a personal page. The personal page is where I share my favorite photos of wildlife and tame life and recommendations for books, movies, and TV.

Do you have a favorite bookstore? Where would you like readers to buy your book (we also have it at the Library, of course!)?

Hooked on Books is my favorite independent bookstore here in Colorado Springs. Friendly, knowledgeable staff, wonderful owners. Just the thing for the plague years. Or zombies. Or princesses, starships, self-sacrifice, laughter, robots, trolls, and mad scientists.

 

 

TINY TIME MACHINE Published by Amazing Stories

TINY TIME MACHINE has just been published on January 15th 2021. TTM is a young adult science-fiction short novel published by Amazing Stories under their Amazing Select imprint for stand-alone books. Buy Here!

 

 All life on Earth will die of thirst unless a couple of loners on the run can use a strange time machine to stop a secret project.

An Illustrated Novella, with intro, afterward, and bonus story

Meg is an angry scientist's daughter. Her father is not a mad scientist, just really angry--so angry that he and Meg have rarely spoken since the death of her mother. Meg has become a loner, obsessed with combating polluters like the ones who triggered her mother's death. And her father has had a different obsession.

When Meg breaks into a paint company to expose their practices, she runs into Josh, another loner out to save the world.

When Meg and Josh suddenly find themselves on the run from the cops, Meg heads for the one man who should always take her in--her father. But when Meg and Josh reach him, they find him dying. Just before he dies, he gives Meg a strange device that looks like a cellphone and tells her to use extreme caution.

When the invention proves to be a time machine that holds the key to humanity's future, Meg and Josh must find a way to do the impossible--to work as a team. They are up against the cops, a powerful billionaire, a Russian profiteer, and a romantic rival. Can they save the world, and save each other?

Praise for Tiny Time Machine:

"John E. Stith is one of our very best writers, and this is one of his very best stories: a big idea explored from every conceivable angle. Tiny Time Machine is a triumph." — Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo, Nebula, and John W. Campbell Memorial Award winner and author of The Oppenheimer Alternative.

"Stith brings a MacGyveresque enthusiasm, a Tom Swiftian innocence and ebullience married to technological savvy, to this story." — Dr Paul Levinson, Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon Award nominee, and author of the Phil D'Amato SF mysteries.

Contents

This volume features an introduction from Dr. Paul Levinson, author of the acclaimed Phil D'Amato SF mysteries.

Following the story is Stith’s “How I Built a Time Machine ... Story” afterword, which illuminates the evolution of idea into full novella.

Also included is the long out of print short story, "Redshift Runaway," set in the same slow-light universe as Stith's Nebula Finalist novel, Redshift Rendezvous.
 

 

Short Story Published in Daily Science Fiction

A new John E. Stith short-short story was published today (11 September 2020) in Daily Science Fiction. It's a mix of time travel and spamming. "Bob, We Really Need Your Help"

Short Story published in NATURE

A new John E. Stith short-short story was published today (15 July 2015) in NATURE. It's a mix of time travel and bureaucracy. "Goodbye, Howard Henning"

Stith's previous story in NATURE is still online here. "When I Was Your Age" appeared in the 7 September 2000 issue.

Video with Book Excerpt for Super Relaxed Fantasy Club

For the Super Relaxed Fantasy Club (SRFC) in the UK, I recorded a short video that includes an excerpt from the upcoming novella TINY TIME MACHINE. I also talk extremely briefly about a few favorite SF books. I think the club's normal pattern is to have folks stop in for a drink and a chat, but that format has obviously been disrupted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSQk4gLQqBs&feature=youtu.be

New Novella Sold to Amazing Stories

Amazing Stories has just bought "Tiny Time Machine," a 33,000-word novella. The plan is not that it be published in the magazine, but as a stand-alone, heavily illustrated book, possibly as soon as later this year. The book will be designed for the Young Adult market.

"Tiny Time Machine": All life on Earth will die of thirst unless a couple of loners running from the cops can use a portable time machine to stop a secret project.

In other news, a short-short SF story just sold to Daily Science Fiction.