Alan Baxter's Blog, page 88

2010 Aurealis Awards nominations announced

The Aurealis Awards, Australia's answer to the Hugo's, or the Spec Fic Oscars, have announced the list of nominations for 2010 publications. Revealed here at Tansy Rayner Roberts livejournal, the anxious wait is over.

I'll repost the full list below. Congratulations to all the nominees!

Judging Coordinator, Keith Stevenson, said that with approximately 600 entries across the thirteen categories, the judges had a big task.

Wow. Winners of the 2010 Aurealis Awards and the Peter McNamara Award will be announced at the Aurealis Awards ceremony, sponsored by Harper Voyager, on the evening of Saturday the 21st of May. Details of the evening and a link to the online booking website are available at www.aurealisawards.com.

2010 Aurealis Awards – Finalists

CHILDREN'S FICTION (told primarily through words)

Grimsdon, Deborah Abela, Random House
Ranger's Apprentice #9: Halt's Peril, John Flanagan, Random House
The Vulture of Sommerset, Stephen M Giles, Pan Macmillan
The Keepers, Lian Tanner, Allen & Unwin
Haggis MacGregor and the Night of the Skull, Jen Storer & Gug Gordon, Aussie Nibbles
(Penguin)

CHILDREN'S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)

Night School, Isobelle Carmody (writer) & Anne Spudvilas (illustrator), Penguin Viking
Magpie, Luke Davies (writer) & Inari Kiuru (illustrator), ABC Books (HarperCollins)
The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (writer) & Lucia Masciullo (illustrator), Penguin Viking
Precious Little, Julie Hunt & Sue Moss (writers) & Gaye Chapman (illustrator), Allen & Unwin
The Cloudchasers, David Richardson (writer) & Steven Hunt (illustrator), ABC Books (HarperCollins)

YOUNG ADULT Short Story

Inksucker, Aidan Doyle, Worlds Next Door, Fablecroft Publishing
One Story, No Refunds, Dirk Flinthart, Shiny #6, Twelfth Planet Press
A Thousand Flowers, Margo Lanagan, Zombies Vs Unicorns, Allen & Unwin
Nine Times, Kaia Landelius & Tansy Rayner Roberts, Worlds Next Door, Fablecroft Publishing
An Ordinary Boy, Jen White, The Tangled Bank, Tangled Bank Press

YOUNG ADULT Novel

Merrow, Ananda Braxton-Smith, black dog books
Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey, Allen & Unwin
The Midnight Zoo, Sonya Hartnett, Penguin
The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher, Doug MacLeod, Penguin
Behemoth (Leviathan Trilogy Book Two), Scott Westerfeld, Penguin

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK/ GRAPHIC NOVEL

Shakespeare's Hamlet, Nicki Greenberg, Allen & Unwin
EEEK!: Weird Australian Tales of Suspense, Jason Paulos et al, Black House Comics
Changing Ways Book 1, Justin Randall, Gestalt Publishing
Five Wounds: An Illustrated Novel, Jonathan Walker & Dan Hallett, Allen & Unwin
Horrors: Great Stories of Fear and Their Creators, Rocky Wood & Glenn Chadbourne, McFarlane & Co.

BEST COLLECTION

The Library of Forgotten Books, Rjurik Davidson, PS Publishing
Under Stones, Bob Franklin, Affirm Press
Sourdough and Other Stories, Angela Slatter, Tartarus Press
The Girl With No Hands, Angela Slatter, Ticonderoga Publications
Dead Sea Fruit, Kaaron Warren, Ticonderoga Publications

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Macabre: A Journey Through Australia's Darkest Fears, edited by Angela Challis & Dr Marty Young, Brimstone Press
Sprawl, edited by Alisa Krasnostein, Twelfth Planet Press
Scenes from the Second Storey, edited by Amanda Pillar & Pete Kempshall, Morrigan Books
Godlike Machines, edited by Jonathan Strahan, SF Book Club
Wings of Fire, edited by Jonathan Strahan & Marianne S. Jablon, Night Shade Books

HORROR Short Story

Take the Free Tour, Bob Franklin, Under Stones, Affirm Press
Her Gallant Needs, Paul Haines, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press
The Fear, Richard Harland, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia's Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press
Wasting Matilda, Robert Hood, Zombie Apocalypse!, Constable & Robinson Ltd
Lollo, Martin Livings, Close Encounters of the Urban Kind, Apex Publishing

HORROR Novel

After the World: Gravesend, Jason Fischer, Black House Comics
Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson, Orbit (Hachette)
Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott, Pan Macmillan

FANTASY Short Story

The Duke of Vertumn's Fingerling, Elizabeth Carroll, Strange Horizons
Yowie, Thoraiya Dyer, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press
The February Dragon, LL Hannett & Angela Slatter, Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga Publications
All the Clowns in Clowntown, Andrew McKiernan, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia's Darkest Fears, Brimstone Press
Sister, Sister, Angela Slatter, Strange Tales III, Tartarus Press

FANTASY Novel

The Silence of Medair, Andrea K Höst, self-published
Death Most Definite, Trent Jamieson, Orbit (Hachette)
Stormlord Rising, Glenda Larke, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)
Heart's Blood, Juliet Marillier, Pan Macmillan
Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts, HarperVoyager (HarperCollins)

SCIENCE FICTION Short Story

The Heart of a Mouse, K.J. Bishop, Subterranean Online (Winter 2010)
The Angaelian Apocalypse, Matthew Chrulew, The Company Articles Of Edward Teach/The Angaelian Apocalypse, Twelfth Planet Press
Border Crossing, Penelope Love, Belong, Ticonderoga Publications
Interloper, Ian McHugh, Asimovs (Jan 2011)
Relentless Adaptations, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Sprawl, Twelfth Planet Press

SCIENCE FICTION Novel

Song of Scarabaeous, Sara Creasy, EOS Books
Mirror Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)
Transformation Space, Marianne de Pierres, Orbit (Hachette)

.

2011 Best Australian Blogs Competition

I discovered today that the Sydney Writers' Centre is running a competition to find the 2011 Best Australian Blogs. They're not looking for just over two thousand great blogs – that's the year. I self-nominated my own blog here, partly because it's awesome, but also to make sure you guys all know about the competition. I've entered this blog in the Words category, obviously:

Words:
Blogs that focus on writing, reading, literature or books.

This category will be judged by Angela Meyer, the author of the blog LiteraryMinded, which has been running for four years and was moved to Crikey's blog network in 2008.

I follow Angela Meyer on Twitter (@LiteraryMinded) and read the Literary Minded blog, so it's cool that she'll be the judge. She's a smart lady. And no, that isn't me sucking up to her for a win – I doubt she reads my blog.

But you guys can vote for me, if you feel so inclined, as there's a People's Choice Award category too.

So have a look, get involved, nominate your blog or one you like and don't forget to vote in the People's Choice Award when it opens. I'll remind you.

.

Battle: Los Angeles – review

Battle: Los Angeles is brought to you by the US Marine Corp Board of Recruitment. Hoo-rah!

At least, it's hard not to think so having watched the film. Battle: Los Angeles is about an alien invasion. Basically, these bizarre meteor showers suddenly appear in Earth's atmosphere and within hours they're crash landing in the ocean near major cities all around the world. Except they're not really crash landing. They're slowing down before impact, they're of uniform size, they're appearance is synchronised – obviously, it's an alien invasion.

The military is mobilised.

We see the story from the point of view of one squad of crack Marines, led by one grizzly Staff Sergeant, two days out from retirement, and a fresh faced Lieutenant, green straight from the academy. As you can see, the whole film is cliché-powered. The Cliché Squad consists of one dude about to get married in three weeks, a guy barely recovered from shellshock, desperate to be cleared for combat duty again, a bitter young chap who's brother died in a mission with the same Grizzled Staff Sergeant who now leads him and so on. Help me, I'm choking on clichés! So anyway, our erstwhile mob is sent into the war zone to rescue five civilians trapped in a police station several clicks inside the battle lines. They have three hours before the Air Force drop bombs to raze the place to rubble.

Wait a minute, what's that screeching noise? Oh, it's last vestige of credibility, spinning off Disbelief Suspension Highway in a cloud of tyre smoke and broken logic. And we're barely ten minutes into the film.

Let me get this straight – aliens have starting smashing major cities all over the world simultaneously. The military has a chance to bomb the intergalactic shit out of them before they can get too far inland as they seem to be ground based only and have no air support (which we'll come to in a minute), yet they're going to wait three hours before said shock and awe campaign? Bollocks are they. Aliens, destroying the world = coastal population: collateral damage. The only reason they would wait three hours to start bombing is to give a fairly ridiculous squad of marines a chance to have a film made about them while they move in to rescue five civilians. FIVE! There are already thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands, dead. Dudes, bomb those fucking aliens back to Alpha Centauri! Quick!

So yeah, it's pretty stupid. Actually, it's really stupid.

They fly Cliché Squad into the war zone – i.e. the area that the aliens have already advanced into from the coast. That's right, they fly them in by chopper. Yet they land them a couple of Ks out from the police station where the civies are. That's because we then get to see the marines do their street by street thing, all cool and efficient. But, of course, that goes wrong. Yet they prevail briefly. When the marines find the civilians, they call in a chopper to get them out. WHAT!? Why didn't they just fly all the way in then? Of course, at this point the aliens air support is mobilised and the chopper is taken out and the marines have to escape again on foot.

Well, of course the aliens have aircraft. THEY CAME FROM OUTER SPACE! Did the US military really think they flew here from another planet, but only had ground troops on board? That's just mental.

So Cliché Squad starts trying to get out again, Young Lieutenant loses it, Grizzly Staff Sergeant pulls him back together, Young Lieutenant does the honourable thing and gives his life to save the squad, Grizzly Staff Sergeant has to lead them, but he's the one that got all his men killed before! "Don't you think I think about those young men every day?" Oh, he's actually pretty cool and he'll lead us well. Hoo-rah, let's fight those alien scum! Wait, all these flying things are unmanned drones, that means they have a mother of a command and control centre (because that's how we humans would do it). If we can only take that C & C centre out, we could have a chance in this godforsaken war! Wait, what's that? A large area with the power out? That must be where the C & C is, sucking up all the power. (Wait a minute, this entire city is being destroyed by an alien invasion force, wouldn't pretty much everywhere have the power out by now? Quiet, you – you're spoiling the tenuous plot. Well, I say plot…) Look at us go, Cliché Squad to the rescue! Hoo-rah! Yay, we've taken out the C & C, now we're showing those alien scumbags who they're messing with! Look at all the drones falling out of the sky. The aliens are retreating, we're so super cool! But the war's not over yet. No, we don't need a rest Captain, we just need to refill our ammo and get back out there. HOO-RAH!

And that's only a fraction of the stupidity. I haven't even mentioned the bit where they capture an alien and repeatedly stab it everywhere looking for "the vital organ" so they know where to shoot. Or the fact that an entire alien invasion seems to consist of disparate groups of half a dozen or so alien infantry scattered here and there throughout LA. Or the seemingly indestructible Marine laser targeting device. Or the clearly structured nature of events identical to the increasing difficulty levels of a computer game. And… and… I can't go on. The shooting barely stops, yet the plot holes still outnumbered the bullet holes.

To make matters worse, the whole thing is shot in the worst handicam style. It makes the Blair Witch camera work seems Oscar-worthy. It's as if the whole thing is being filmed by an embedded journalist that's lost his camera so he's running around trying to capture it all on his phone. I know it's a device to make us feel like we're in the action, but it even happens right at the start with two dudes having a conversation in an office. It's like the cameraman is on one of those 60s weight loss machines where you stand on a platform with a bigger rubber belt around your arse and it vibrates the flab away.

And worst of all, this film once again employs that most annoying of alien invasion conceits – the aliens underestimate the tenacity of the human race; they have no idea who they're messing with. You know, this is an alien race that's spanned the galaxy. They've got here and they're taking over the planet. It's quite possible that they're some pretty fucking tenacious creatures themselves. I bet they've got squads of warriors every bit as tough, determined and brave as the humans. We like to think we're awesome, but an invading alien army would probably be pretty awesome too. And far better equipped. They came here through space, after all.

Really, this film is utter shite. It has no redeeming features. It would be an impressive visual display of effects if the cameraman wasn't having an epileptic fit throughout the movie. It's just action and mayhem and American hoo-rahism, wrapped up in a complete lack of plot and a thoroughly implausible premise. For two hours when you can switch your brain to neutral and see if you can avoid your own epileptic fit while watching, give it a go. Otherwise do something more constructive with your time, like sit in the garden and eat grass.

.

Honourable Mentions for Blade Red Press authors

You may remember that I was pleased recently to see that Dark Pages, the anthology I published through my small publishing venture, Blade Red Press, scored a nomination for an Australian Shadows Award.

I'm further chuffed to see now that no less than six of the stories in that book have scored an Honourable Mention on Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year list. You can find the full lists here and here.

The stories included are:

Lucien E.G. Spelman – "The Stain of the Psychopomp King"
Naomi Bell – "Dust"
Joel L Murr – "The Franchise"
Aaron Polson – "Cargo"
Derek Rutherford – "Yellow Water Pike"
Robert Neilson – "Nightwork"

Also mentioned on the list is:

Bill Congreve's "The Traps of Tumut", which originally appeared in Aurealis 43. That story is reprinted in Bill's collection, Souls Along The Meridian, another Blade Red Press book.

I'm so pleased to see these things included in such a well-respected list.

Not only that, but a lot of my friends have also scored mentions, far too many people to list here. Congratulations to everyone – you deserve it. Maybe next year I might even see myself on that list with something I've written. It would be an honour to join the likes of those listed before.

I know I'm biased, but I'm very proud to have published the Dark Pages anthology and Bill's collection. While I'm first and foremost a writer, being able to make these books available gives me enormous pleasure. Hopefully I'll be able to release more books through Blade Red Press in the future. In the meantime, if you haven't read Dark Pages or Souls Along The Meridian, I highly recommend that you do. You can get them in print or ebook. Details for Dark Pages here and Souls Along The Meridian here.

.

Real Life Superheroes – the saga continues to continue

I'm sure you all remember the bizarre RLSH – Real Life Super Hero – thing that blew up here back at the end of 2008. If not, refresh your memory with this post (that I had to close after more than 150 comments, many from "super heroes" themselves). That saga continued with this post. Now, I'm happy to report, the saga continues to continue.

You know when you read something and you think those time honoured words, Only in America! Well, now we can't apply that to the RLSH thing any more as Britain and Australia are getting involved. That's right. We have our very own Real Life Super Hero. He's called Captain Australia and this is him:

(Picture from www.bleedingcool.com)

Now seriously, how can that guy not strike fear into the hearts of villains everywhere? Although, by his costume, I think he's actually Captain At. He probably deflects evildoers with his super belly. He patrols for crime around the Brisbane area apparently.

According to Captain At, "During one patrol, I stopped two sexual predators from taking advantage of a very drunk woman at a taxi rank. Unfortunately, I was unsure of my ability to conduct a citizen's arrest and the two predators ran away before the police arrived. But I was able to prevent a near-certain sexual assault."

You'd think a super hero would have some idea of the law regarding citizen's arrests. You'd also think he'd just kick their arses, vigilante-style, but regardless he did do a good deed. So more power to Captain At!

Britain's caped crusader is no less… well, less. Called The Statesman, but dubbed the Phan-Tum by the The Sun newspaper (that unquestionable paragon of quality news), he fights crime in Birmingham. Seriously, between Captain At and The Statesman, I'd take the Captain's beat any day. The Statesman is one of at least 16 amateur crime fighters in Britain, according to researcher Tea Krulos, who is writing a book on the subject. Here's The Statesman:

(Picture from www.bleedingcool.com)

The News of the World lists The Statesman's crime fighting CV as "He helped three other superheores and Police Community Support Officers capture a drug dealer and managed to scare off burglars breaking into builder's merchant."

Along with people like Vague, Swift, Black Arrow, Lionheart and Terrorvision, The Statesman is keeping the streets of Britain clean. (Incidentally, what kind of super hero name is Vague? It's a little… vague, isn't it?)

When Krulos was told of the British heroes he said, "In America we have many, but they tend to seek publicity.

"In Britain it is a very secretive underground society. They do all they can to avoid publicity and communicate online. Whole forums are set up and often they operate in groups. I have spoken extensively to The Statesman, and he takes what he does very seriously." (Source)

According to Krulos, "These are normal people wanting adventure and to improve communities. They achieve more than you'd think."

I have to admit, I bloody love this whole thing. I just can't leave it alone – it's like picking at a scab. There's a part of me that wants to laugh my arse off at these overweight comic book lovers running around the streets at night in costume. Then again, another part of me has a lot of respect for people that would run around the streets at night and put themselves in danger for the good of others, silly costumes or not. I love reading super hero comic books. I've been a regular Batman reader for decades. I've dreamed of what it would be like to fight crime, vigilante-style. But I've never followed through and done it.

I most certainly have stepped in on a few occasions when I've seen injustice done. I've got into fights before by getting involved when someone else was getting a beating, I've interrupted people that were clearly trying to break into a car and some other stuff like that. I'm also a career martial artist, so I'm probably less vulnerable than most in situations like these. But those were events I happened to stumble across. Going out and deliberately seeking this stuff is another matter entirely. And, let's be honest, walking around the streets dressed like Captain At or The Stateman is the kind of thing that's likely to attract a beating on its own.

I really hope these guys can stop a bit of crime and help some people. I hope they have adventure and a sense of fulfillment doing it. I really hope that more people will stand up for the oppressed when they see injustice instead of just walking by, and maybe one day we won't need the super heroes that we don't really have anyway. I just hope I don't read about one of these guys eating a bullet or a blade in the meantime. We've all seen the movie Kick Ass. If you haven't, you really should.

What do you think? Ever wanted to be a super hero? Do you think these guys are heroes or total fucking nutcases?

.

Murky Depths #16, featuring me

I'm a big fan of Murky Depths magazine. It's a classy publication and won the British Fantasy Awards – Best Magazine/Periodical 2010, so other people think it's cool too. I was really pleased when they bought my story, Mirrorwalk, for publication. It comes out in Issue 16, which is due in April and is available for pre-order now. Man, I love to see my name on the cover of a magazine or book I really dig. I can't see that ever getting old.

You can get all the details here.

There's a lot that makes Murky Depths a great mag. There's the obvious high quality fiction that it's based around, but there's also original art commissioned to accompany each story. Apparently my story is being illustrated by Rick Fairlamb, so I can't wait to see what he's come up with. Check out his site and you'll see why I'm so excited about that – his artwork is superb. On top of that there are interviews, articles and book and movie reviews.

In issue 16 you'll find:

Dead Girls – Act 2 Richard Calder [Art: Leonardo M Giron]
Valeria Ian R Faulkner [Ed Norden]
Mirrorwalk Alan Baxter [Rick Fairlamb]
Momentum Kevin Anderson [Lahlahlou]
Blood Not Boiling Andrew Roberts [Ciaran Collins]
All Smiles Mercurio D Rivera [Russell Morgan]
The Audition JS Watts [Anna Robertson]
Teamwork Jonathan Pinnock [Caroline Parkinson]
Mowing them Down Michael J DeLuca [David Migman]
I Dream Of Ants (1) Lavie Tidhar [Neil Struthers]
From The Back Of The Wardrobe Kevin Tucker
Interview with Neil Roberts
Spotlight Lahlahlou
Book & DVD Reviews by IE Lester

So pre-order your copy now, or better yet get yourself a subscription. I'm really proud of Mirrorwalk, so would love to hear your thoughts once you've had a chance to read it.

.

Midnight Echo 5 available now

I'm a very proud member of the Australian Horror Writers Association and a big fan of the Association's magazine, Midnight Echo. I'm really hoping that they'll buy one of my stories one day. In the meantime, I always enjoy reading it. Issue 5, edited by AHWA President, Leigh Blackmore, is available now.

Midnight Echo 5 is jam-packed with dark fiction, poetry and art. It includes the winners of the AHWA's 2010 Short Story competition and Flash Fiction Competition (stories by Christopher Green and Jason Fischer), with brand new stories by Terry Dowling, Chandler Kaiden, E. Albert Banstrom, Blair Kelly, Bryce J. Stevens, Mollie Burleson, Christopher Sequeira, Aaron Polson, Felicity Dowker, Rick Kennett, Juliet Bathory, George Ivanoff, Damien Giles, Robert Mammone and John Goodrich.

The issue includes horrific and weird verse by such poets as Kyla Ward, Richard L. Tierney, Fred Phillips, Charles Lovecraft, Michael Fantina, Rosa Christian, Ann K. Schwader, Phillip A. Ellis, Margi Curtis, Joyce Frohn, Mike Berger, Guy Belleranti, Adrienne J. Odasso, John Grey, Ron T. Wilkins and Terrie Leigh Relf.

Dark art by international artists include works by Carl Schaller, Martin Blanco (cover), Shane Ryan, Gaston Locanto, Wayne Palesado, and Tony Karnes.

As an added bonus, this issue features an eight-page graphic story by Mark Farrugia and Greg Chapman.

It's a seriously beautiful magazine – I've got my copy already and it looks fantastic. You can get the PDF edition for $3 or the print edition for $11. AHWA members get the PDF for free. Get your copy here right now!

.

Night-Mantled, an ebook briefly free

I mentioned a little while ago that Night-Mantled: The Best of Wily Writers (Volume 1) was available now. As part of Read An Ebook Week, the publisher has made the ebook edition free. After March 12th the price goes back up to $9.99, so this is a chance to score a great book for nothing. Not only is there a story by me, but there's also the following:

* Alan Baxter: "Stand Off"
* Jennifer Brozek: "Honoring the Dead"
* SatyrPhil Brucato: "I Feel Lucky"
* Nathan Crowder: "Ink Calls to Ink"
* Richard E. Dansky: "Small Cold Thing"
* Seanan McGuire: "Julie Broise and the Devil"
* Lisa Morton:"Sane Reaction"
* Ripley Patton: "A Speck in the Universe"
* Grant Stone: "The Salt Line"
* Joel A. Sutherland: "The Death of Captain Eugene Bloodcake and the Fall of the Horrid Whore"
* Bruce Taylor: "The Prey"
* Mark W. Worthen: "The Minimart, the Ruger, and the Girl"

To get the book for free at Smashwords, add it to your cart and then use the code RE100 at checkout.

.

The Game has a cover

My short story Running Wild With The Hunt will be published in The Game anthology from Seven Realms Publishing, due in the northern hemisphere summer. All the stories in the book are inspired by the classic Richard Connell story, The Most Dangerous Game. Most of the contributing writers are putting characters from their longer works into these short stories, so mine features Isiah from RealmShift and MageSign.

Seven Realms has released the cover of the book and I think it looks fantastic. Not least due to my fortunately alphabetical name. That's a pretty solid list of names on there, so this should be a great book. I'll let you all know when it's available.

.

Great fiction at The Red Penny Papers

I want to periodically post about places that publish quality speculative fiction that you may not have heard about. It's fair to assume that any spec fic fans out there know all about the big names like Clarkesworld and Asimov's and Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine and so on. Although we all know what they say about assumptions, I'm going with it anyway. I want to point out some less well known places that are still worth your attention. Today that recommendation is the Red Penny Papers.

From their About page:

One rainy afternoon, I found my dear sister-in-law alone in the sitting room. To my shock and potential mortification, she had my collection of sensational literature out of its (obviously inadequate) hiding spot behind the leather-bound editions of Thackeray. She looked up from an eight-part adventure of Black Bess to say, "My dear Maggie! What is this rubbish?"

"Clara, my love, they're adventures."

"They're those– those red pennies!"

"You mean penny bloods, my dear? Or perhaps penny dreadfuls?"

"Oh, yes. Perhaps I do."

She looked from the lurid literature in her lap to me, and then back again several times. And then she finally said, "Have you any more?"

And so were born the Red Penny Papers

The Red Penny Papers publishes "Sensationalist and Fantastical Fiction" – novellas on a regular serial basis and short fiction quarterly. Issue 3 has just been released.

I have a novella to be published there at the start of next year, but don't wait till then to have a look. They've been putting out some great stuff and are well worth your time.

.