David Lee Summers's Blog, page 101

Music-Evoked Imagery

This past week my editor handed The Brazen Shark off to the publisher for final formatting. This puts book three of the Clockwork Legion series one step closer to publication and I hope to have a release date soon. What’s more, I’ve seen a really cool cover concept from artist Laura Givens, so I’m hoping I’ll get to do a reveal soon.

In other posts, I’ve mentioned that when I write, I’m an outliner. However, I’ve noted that being an outliner doesn’t mean that I don’t find myself writing by the seat of my pants some times. A great example of how that works happened while writing The Brazen Shark. At one point, the outline had the wonderfully helpful phrase, “Fatemeh and Imagawa have a chance to discuss Imagawa’s future.” Fatemeh is one of the protagonists of the Clockwork Legion series. She’s a healer from Persia who immigrated to America where she met a Sheriff named Ramon Morales. The two married at the end of book two and book three tells the story of their honeymoon. Imagawa is a samurai warrior who stole a Russian airship as part of her conflict with Japan’s Meiji government.

By the time I reached that line in my outline it had become crystal clear that this scene was not a “discussion.” This scene was a confrontation that would resolve one of the novel’s central conflicts. The problem was, I had no idea how that conflict would play out until I heard this song, which was performed by Kokia for the end credits of a few episodes of the series Space Battleship Yamato 2199.

I was driving home from work when the song cycled around on my mp3 player and chills went up my arm. I “saw” the climactic scene form in almost synesthetic clarity. As soon as I got home, I sat down and wrote the scene. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you how it actually plays out without giving spoilers. What I can say is that Fatemeh was pushed to an extreme I didn’t expect and Imagawa demonstrates what makes her the kind of villain you can’t help but respect. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about the scene when it’s released.

By the way, you can find a translation of the lyrics at the Sound of Harmony website. Those who listen closely may notice the word Hoshi, which means stars, but is also the name of the samurai character introduced in Lightning Wolves.

Now, I can’t drop big hints about my forthcoming novel without giving you something for your trouble. Halloween weekend saw the release of the flash-fiction anthology Denizens of Steam which is completely free over on Smashwords. Just click the link to get a copy. My story in the antho jumps past The Brazen Shark and gives you a sneak peak at book four, Owl Riders. I can’t promise the scene in Denizens of Steam will appear unchanged in the upcoming novel, but it will give you an idea of what I have planned for Ramon and Fatemeh. What’s more, you’ll get splendiferous flash fiction from people like Bryce Raffle, Karen J. Carlisle, William J. Jackson, C.L. Zeitstruck, and Steve Moore. The anthology was created to commemorate the one year anniversary of The Scribbler’s Den group at The Steampunk Empire. It has been one of the most engaging writing discussion forums I’ve encountered on the web. If you’re interested in discussing steampunk writing, please come by and join us!

For those who have no idea who Ramon and Fatemeh are, you can grab Owl Dance and Lightning Wolves which are books one and two of the Clockwork Legion series while you’re over at Smashwords!

Gun Frontier

First off, Happy Halloween! I’m in Tucson, Arizona at the TusCon Science Fiction convention this weekend. There are lots of great panels and good people. If you’re in town and free, I hope you’ll drop by. There are details at the link above.

This month, I’ve been watching Leiji Matsumoto’s anime series Gun Frontier. It may not seem your usual Halloween fare, but it’s been an interesting way to wind down after days of working on my steampunk novel, The Brazen Shark, which is now back with the editor. I’ll have to admit, the first time I watched an episode of Gun Frontier, I wasn’t impressed. I came across the series in an article about Matsumoto’s famous Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Matsumoto is famous for recycling his characters into different situations to create new shows. In this case, he told a story about Harlock and his best friend, Tochiro, in the old west. This sounded like it would be right up my alley. What I got was a show, that to be honest, was rather crude with offensive humor and nonsensical situations.

So, why did I go back? I realized that Matsumoto was actually doing something in Gun Frontier very similar to what I’m doing in The Brazen Shark. In my novel, I imagine my characters from the western United States visiting Meiji-era Japan. In Gun Frontier, Tochiro is a samurai who has come to the western United States looking for settlers from Japan along with his long lost sister. I had the chance to see what it was like to view the Wild West of my ancestors through the lens of a Japanese writer and artist.

What I found after I watched several episodes was a rather interesting example of an acid western. The term “acid western” was coined fairly recently by critic Jonathan Rosenbaum to describe the Johnny Depp western Dead Man. Acid westerns are said to have a hallucinogenic quality with aspects derived from 1960s counterculture, which often includes a more contemporary score. In the traditional western, the west is often viewed as an optimistic place. In the acid western, the west is often seen as an almost nightmarish place. Other examples of acid westerns include Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo and Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.

Gun Frontier shows us a bizarre west. In one town, everyone can do what they want, no matter the consequences. This includes one gentleman perched on a toilet in the middle of the street. In another episode, the town has imposed a limit on the height of the people who can enter. Each of our primary characters has a superpower of sorts. This Harlock is a former sea captain, good with his guns. Tochiro can’t see worth a darn, but he’s an amazing swordsman. They travel with a woman named Sinonora, who uses her sex appeal like a weapon and wastes little time getting out of her clothes in many episodes. The score is Japanese pop, similar to many other anime series of the early 2000s.

I gather the Gun Frontier manga was actually the first time the characters of Harlock and Tochiro appeared in print. It was published in 1972, six years before we would meet Harlock as a space pirate, but only two years after the release of El Topo and a year before the release of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. It was prime time for the acid western.

What kept the series together and kept me watching was the ongoing quest and the hope that Tochiro would be reunited with his sister. Also, the Harlock and Tochiro of this series are still fundamentally the same characters as their space pirate counterparts and there are some nice scenes where they imagine themselves traveling the stars. Because I enjoyed the characters, I found Gun Frontier more enjoyable than its contemporary acid westerns. I also found it fascinating to see Matsumoto’s portrayal of the west, which looked more like Sergio Leone’s than John Ford’s.

Gun Frontier is crude, nonsensical, sometimes homophobic, but interesting. It’s clearly not a western for everyone but fans of acid westerns and Matsumoto will likely be transported back in time, if not to the old west, at least to the west as it was envisioned in the 1970s.

TusCon 42

This weekend, I’m in Denver, Colorado at MileHiCon. Next weekend, I’ll be in Tucson, Arizona at TusCon 42. The convention will be held at the Hotel Tucson City Center InnSuites Conference Suite Resort from October 30th through November 1. Spanning Halloween weekend, there’s sure to be lots of fun cosplay and treats. The author guest of honor will be Seanan McGuire and the artist guest of honor will be Bridget E. Wilde. Special guests include Geoff Notkin and Autumn Ivy. Ed Bryant returns as Toastmaster. My schedule is as follows:

Friday, October 30

5-6pm – Is it wrong to be nostalgic about retro? – St. Augustine. Everything old is new again, but is that idea old enough to be new again? On the panel with me will be Paul E. Clinco, Eric Hanson, and Gloria McMillan.
7-8pm – Meet the Guests – Copper Ballroom. Cash bar, bellydancing, buffet food, and stories from toastmaster Ed Bryant, plus a chance to meet the cool people who participate in TusCon.

Saturday, October 31

4-5pm – Mass Autographing – Copper Ballroom. Come get your wares autographed by all the cool TusCon authors.
5-6pm – How to stretch the reader’s mind without breaking the suspension of disbelief – St. Augustine. Where is the line between being crazy and unbelievable? Just how much strange stuff can you throw at your audience before they check out? Is there real stuff that’s so far out you can’t actually put it in a story?
8pm-11pm – Marty and Dave’s Birthday/Halloween Party – TBA. Marty Massoglia and David Lee Summers celebrate their respective birthdays a couple of weeks early at their annual room party. Stop by for snacks and good conversation. If I haven’t announced it here, look for Marty or me at the convention and we’ll be able to tell you what room we’ll be in!

Sunday, November 1

10-11am – What happened to our 21st Century? – Copper Ballroom. We were going to have flying cars, and rocket planes, and colonies and all this cool stuff. Unless you were into cyberpunk in which case we were going to have mass homelessness, rebreather and computers in our eye. So why are we living like none of the above? On the panel with me are Earl Billick, Codi Dolenac, and Patrick Connors.
1-2pm – Fen as Family – St. Augustine. How do chronically anti-social loners gain geek friends that stay with them for life, or is that just a myth? Do we really pull together in times of trouble? Has this dynamic changed since we took over pop culture and are no longer the insular group we used to be? On the panel with me are Gloria McMillan, Wolf Forrest, Bruce Wiley, and Liz Danforth.

MileHiCon 47

From October 23-25, I will be at MileHiCon 47 in Denver, Colorado. The convention will be held at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center at 7800 E. Tufts Avenue. The author guests of honor are Kevin Hearne and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The artist guest of honor is Ursula Vernon and the Toastmaster is James Van Pelt. My schedule is as follows:

Friday, October 23

8-9pm – Autograph Alley – Atrium. Presuming I make it to Denver in time, I will be available at autograph alley along with my books! You’ll also find many of the other authors represented. Be sure to drop by and learn about their books!

Saturday, October 24

Noon-1pm – 19th Century Martians – Wind River A. Join David B. Riley and me as we discuss discoveries made about Mars in the nineteenth century and why people expected to find intelligent life there.
2-3pm – MHC Poetry Reading – Mesa Verde A. Join Gail Barton, Stace Jonson, Deena Larson, Aaron Michael Ritchey, Angela Roquet, and me as we explore the worlds of science fictional, fantastic, and horror poetry.
4-5pm – Where’s the Punk in Steampunk – Mesa Verde C. Why are most steampunk stories written around upper class characters, and how can we bring the “punk” into steampunk? I’ll be moderating this panel featuring David Boop, Jason Heller, Kronda Seibert, and Carrie Vaughn.

Sunday, October 25

10-11am – Autograph Table – Atrium. In case you missed me, or I was delayed getting to MileHiCon on Friday, I do have an autograph session scheduled in the Atrium on Sunday. Who Else Books in the dealer’s room will have a selection of my books, and I’ll have a few as well, if they run out!
Noon-1pm – Reimagining Anime – Mesa Verde C. Classic anime such as Space Battleship Yamato, Gatchaman, Rurouni Kenshin and Space Pirate Captain Harlock have all had recent live action or CGI animated movies. How successful were they, and what anime would you like to see reimagined either as live action or rebooted for a modern audience? On the panel with me are Mike Clarke, B Edumunds, Ross Watson, and Corie Weaver.
1-2pm – Flash Fiction Discussion and Reading – Wind River B. Join Lou J. Berger, David Boop, U. Vernon, and me for some flash fiction tales.
2-3pm – That’s a Laugh: Why Do We Crave Humor in Fiction – Mesa Verde A. What does humor accomplish, and why do readers want it? Panelists will also share great examples of humorous writing/authors. On the panel with me are Carol Hightshoe, Betsy Dornbusch, Patrick Hester, and John E. Stith.

Synchronicity & Inspiration

I returned to my job operating telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory in February 2008. That same day, another operator also started. Her name is Krissy, and she took her leave this week because she and her husband Tom are expecting their first child. Here we are on Christmas of 2008 at Kitt Peak along with my daughters and Krissy’s dog, Sushi.

As I mentioned, I returned to Kitt Peak in 2008. I originally left in October 1995, almost exactly twenty years before Krissy’s departure, to take a job that allowed me to be home most evenings because my wife and I were expecting our first daughter, who is lying on the couch in the photo.

Krissy’s departure comes as I’m working on my novel The Astronomer’s Crypt. One of the novel’s characters is a telescope operator who happens to be a mom named Kendra. Despite the fact that they both have “K” names, Kendra isn’t based on Krissy. In fact, I created the character long before I knew Krissy would be a mom. Kendra, like any good character, is built from an assortment of people I’ve known over the years, including many amazing women who have operated telescopes at Kitt Peak, Apache Point Observatory, and elsewhere. As it turns out, two of those operators are moms, and both of them are named Karen. Another “K” name. Thing is, Kendra’s name was inspired more by my wife Kumie than it was by any particular telescope operator I knew!

The character of Kendra isn’t the first time I’ve been inspired by my co-workers. Jennifer was a telescope operator in the 1990s who coined the phrase “vampires of the mountain” to refer to telescope operators who were rarely seen except between sunset and sunrise. She also encouraged me to read Dracula and introduced me to the works of Anne Rice. All of that started me on the path to the novel Vampires of the Scarlet Order.

My co-worker Bridget left Kitt Peak to pursue graduate work in marine biology. Her interest in marine mammals inspired both the whale character Richard in Children of the Old Stars and the marine biologist Myra Lee in The Solar Sea.

I’ve worked with some pretty cool guys, too, such as Doug who spent a valuable day at the observatory showing me various sword forms. That time helped me better visualize the Samurai Hoshi’s swordplay in Lightning Wolves and my other forthcoming novel, The Brazen Shark. Doug’s a writer in his own right and you’ll find one of his stories in the anthology, A Kepler’s Dozen.

People often ask if my astronomy job inspires my science fiction. I think you can see that it has, and that the inspiration goes well beyond the realm of science fiction into my steampunk and horror writing as well. It’s important for a writer to get to know people and learn from them. I’ve been very fortunate to work in a place that not only lets me explore the universe, but lets me hang out with some very talented people. Now I’m just waiting to see if synchronicity takes effect and Krissy returns in a few years!

Victorian-Inspired Fantasia

This past week, I’ve been focused on revising my novel The Brazen Shark based on notes sent to me by me editor. My goal has been to tighten the novel in places, show not tell in others, and generally work to make the prose paint the pictures I want it to paint. This novel makes a break from the wild west setting of Owl Dance and Lightning Wolves. I’ve been having a great time making a trans-Pacific airship voyage with Captain Cisneros, and having Samurai Imagawa Masako match wits with the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev. I even wander the streets of Meiji-era Tokyo with our heroes Ramon and Fatemeh.

There’s a definition of punk rock over at urbandictionary.com that essentially reads as follows: One fellow asks another, “What is punk?” The second fellow kicks over a garbage can and says, “That’s punk!” So the first fellow kicks over the garbage can and says, “So, that’s punk?” To which, the first guy responds, “No, that’s trendy.”

Moving the action in my series from the western U.S. to Asia is one way I kick down my own garbage can. Hopefully it helps to put a new layer of “punk” in my “wild west steampunk.”

With that in mind, I came across a discussion this week about the definition of steampunk. The problem is that steampunk often gets the off-handed definition of “Victorian science fiction.” Well, some steampunk certainly is Victorian science fiction. It’s also true that for many readers, “science fiction” encompasses anything even remotely fantastical from paranormal horror to stories of space travel to stories of crossing over to the realm of faerie. And, the thing is, I’ve seen steampunk stories that would encompass all of those.

Another problem with calling steampunk “Victorian science fiction” is that it doesn’t do justice to how broad steampunk is. It’s not just a literary genre, but a music genre, a visual arts genre, even a lifestyle. Thinking about it, the phrase that popped to my mind is “Victorian-Inspired Fantasia.” Paraphrasing Merriam-Webster, a fantasia is a work in which the creator’s fancy roves unrestricted.

What I like about this definition is that it seems to cover all of the steampunk I can think of. It covers the diverse musical styles that steampunk bands play. It covers science fiction set in the Victorian age. It covers post-apocalyptic stories where people have returned to Victorian technology. It covers creative costumers who might start with some Victorian clothing and modify it, taking it in new and unusual directions. The definition also takes into account the punk element, because when you rove unrestricted, you’re liable to kick down a garbage can or two.

Have you heard or do you have a definition of steampunk that you particularly like? If so, feel free speak up in the comments.

The Race is On

This past spring, I signed a contract for my horror novel The Astronomer’s Crypt about a week before I turned in the third of my Clockwork Legion steampunk novels, The Brazen Shark. Editor Joanna D’Angelo of Lachesis Publishing sent me her edits for The Astronomer’s Crypt on September 15. Editor Irene Radford of Sky Warrior Publishing sent me her edits for The Brazen Shark exactly one week later on September 22. It’s certainly enough to feel like a race!

Despite some coincidental timing, it’s really not a race. Both of my editors have a common goal. They want to help me make the books they’re working on the best they can be. I do have deadlines for both projects—The Brazen Shark is actually due before The Astronomer’s Crypt, but how long after that each book takes to achieve publication will depend on how satisfied my editors are with my work and the production queues at each of the publishing houses. So, even though it’s not a race, it’ll still be fun to see which one comes out first! Either way, these will be novels nine and ten, marking something of a milestone for me.

The Brazen Shark continues the adventures of Ramon Morales and Fatemeh Karimi from Owl Dance and Lightning Wolves. Set in 1877, this third novel tells the story of their honeymoon in the Pacific and how they get caught up in a plot by samurai to steal a Russian airship in order to overthrow the Meiji Emperor. This story steps away from the familiar wild west setting of the first two novels and goes further afield. Of course, while you’re waiting for this novel, you can be sure to read Owl Dance and Lightning Wolves! Those who want even more of Ramon and Fatemeh will be delighted to know that book three of the series will not close it out. I am already contracted to write a fourth book in this series, tentatively titled Owl Riders. I’m still working out plots and I don’t want to give away any spoilers for The Brazen Shark, but I can tell you that you’ll get to see a very steampunked version of New Orleans in the series’ fourth installment!

The Astronomer’s Crypt is intended to be the first of a series called “Wilderness of the Dead” which accounts the spooky happenings of a fictional wilderness area in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico. This wilderness includes Carson Peak Observatory, a ghost town called Toledo with a haunted mine, and a number of caves, which are portals to other dimensions where monsters from ancient history were trapped by Apache warriors. Although this is a new series, you get a taste for my horror by reading my Scarlet Order vampire novels Dragon’s Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order and Vampires of the Scarlet Order. As you can imagine, with a title like The Astronomer’s Crypt, it must be set at the observatory. I can tell you that the second novel is tentatively titled The Miner’s Tomb and we get to know the ghost town near the observatory quite well.

So, with two series in the works, will there be a race between Owl Riders and The Miner’s Tomb? That’s a good question, but at this point, I expect Owl Riders will be written first. It’s the novel that’s actually under contract with a deadline. Lachesis has made a strong verbal commitment to The Miner’s Tomb, but the paper hasn’t yet been signed. Still, who knows what the future may bring!

Finally, I received a lovely review of The Solar Sea from fellow author, Erica Miles. You can read it at Amazon.com.

Haunted Observatories

David Lee Summers:

Although I am by nature a skeptic, I think stories and legends tell us a lot about ourselves. I’m curious whether any of my readers have heard about any haunted observatories or ghost stories connected with observatories. If so, please drop me a comment either here or in the original post. Thanks!

Originally posted on The Scarlet Order:

This past week, my editor sent me her notes for my novel The Astronomer’s Crypt. She declares it scary stuff, but has several good ideas for improving the pacing, strengthening the characters, and tightening the plot. I’ll be working diligently on that over coming weeks and will look for some insights about the process to share.

One of the hallmarks of The Astronomer’s Crypt is that it features a haunted astronomical observatory. Haunted observatories are not an area heavily explored by fiction or even ghost lore. So it’s fair to ask where I got the idea. Part of the idea comes from two prominent men who are interred in or just outside the observatories they founded. One is Percival Lowell, whose mausoleum is right outside the 24-inch telescope on Mars Hill in Flagstaff, Arizona. Another is James Lick who funded the University of California’s Lick Observatory and is interred…

View original 515 more words

Of Comic Cons and Solar Sails

I spent last weekend at Las Cruces Comic Con. Las Cruces is a relatively small town with a modest-sized convention center, so this was a much smaller event than say Phoenix Comicon, Emerald City Comicon, or the granddaddy of the them all: San Diego Comicon. Still, it was a great event with media panels featuring such people as David Zayas who played Sal Moroni in Gotham and Wendy Schaal who voices Francine Smith in American Dad. Lots of people turned out in some really inventive costumes and I was impressed with the photo area the convention organizers set up, which just allowed people to play. Here you see my youngest daughter and a friend having a light saber battle on Tatooine.

For me, it was an unusual convention in that I was the only writer in attendance. The organizers surprised me by giving me a “special appearance” credit in the program guide which was wonderful. Even though I was the only writer in attendance, I still managed quite a bit of networking. I got to speak to several of the artists in Artist’s Alley, had a productive chat with a film production team about possible book trailers, and of course, I got to speak with several friends and fans, some of which I knew from events in Phoenix and Tucson.

Unfortunately, at some point on Saturday I ate something that really disagreed with me. I didn’t sleep well Saturday night and I spent Sunday at the booth with my stomach churning. Still, I managed to have several nice conversations with people and by Monday morning I finally felt better.

Another feature of the weekend was that the DSL line to my house went dead on Friday, so even though I was at a local convention, I had limited internet contact. Fortunately, I still had access to wireless through the Convention Center, but it always amazes me how helpless I suddenly feel when instant communication—something that has come into existence during my adult life—has gone away. Still, I find these experiences helpful because I can channel them into my steampunk novels such as The Brazen Shark where my characters get to discover the novelty of instant, international communication, or my horror novel The Astronomer’s Crypt where my characters are literally and figuratively in the dark through the night and can’t even communicate with each other reliably through a building or across a mountaintop.

On Monday night, my older daughter called to say she got to hear Bill Nye the Science Guy give a talk in New Orleans. She said the talk was very inspirational and came right when she needed some encouragement about her recent decision to pursue a mathematics major. In addition to generally encouraging interest in STEM fields, Nye mentioned the Planetary Society’s recent success raising money for their LightSail Project.

In some fun synchronicity, the next day, Lachesis Publishing shared a guest blog post I wrote about creating a reading guide for my novel The Solar Sea. The novel imagines the first voyage to Jupiter and Saturn aboard a solar sail spacecraft. The reading guide presents activities and questions for any classrooms or book clubs who might be interested in reading the novel.

You can read my post at:

http://lachesispublishing.com/?p=6042.

You can learn more about The Solar Sea and download the reading guide at:

http://TheSolarSea.com

Reviewing Consumer Art

As a writer, one of the things I really appreciate is when someone takes a few minutes to place a thoughtful review of one of my books online, either on their blog, Amazon, or Goodreads. Whether they like the book or not, the fact that they took the time means the book meant something to them. That said, not everyone feels comfortable writing a review.

Earlier this week, I was going through some reviews of the movie Beasts of the Southern Wild on the website Rotten Tomatoes. Most of the reviewers loved it but a few didn’t. That’s not surprising. One movie can’t please everyone. That said, one of the reviewers compared the movie to Disney’s infamous Song of the South. I happened to notice the reviewer was a white male and I was curious if any black reviewers shared his opinion. Browsing through Rotten Tomatoes, it struck me how many professional reviewers are white men. In fact, I couldn’t find a black reviewer whose opinion was cited. It struck me that this is a serious problem and I couldn’t help but wonder if by giving such weighted value to the opinions of white men, it keeps others from sharing their opinions as freely as they might. It also made me wonder whether or not white men dominate other review venues so thoroughly. I haven’t had a chance to pursue that question.

At the same time as I’d noticed this, I took part in a discussion of book reviews at The Steampunk Empire. It occurred to me that one of the difficulties of reviewing books and movies is that they walk in two worlds. They can be both art and consumer products. What’s more not everything that’s good consumer product is good art and vice versa. In an ideal world, the two come together and a good thought provoking book will also sell well, but that doesn’t happen very often.

It occurred to me that when I review books, I tend to look for the best in them. Were they fun? Did they make me think? Were they good art? Did I have a good time reading them? I realize that’s not true of everyone. Some people have very specific things they look for in a title. For others a good review will simply reflect how well the book met that person’s expectations.

Do you review the books you read? What kinds of factors do you look for in your reviews?

Before I leave just a couple of news items. This weekend, I’m at Las Cruces Comic Con in Las Cruces, New Mexico. My table is the first one against the left-hand wall as you walk in. If you’re in town, be sure to drop by! Also, I’ve heard my editor is hard at work on The Brazen Shark and I should see her notes in the next couple of weeks. I’m wondering if I’m going to get notes for both my steampunk novel and my horror novel The Astronomer’s Crypt at the same time. Yikes!