| February 09, 2010 | |
| February 08, 2010 |
The last season of LOST is upon us…Stephen King once wrote, “Memo to Abrams and staff writers: Your responsibilities include knowing when to write The End.” |
| February 07, 2010 |
The preliminary Stoker Award ballotThe HWA released their preliminary Stoker Award ballot. This is the final culling before the HWA announces the nominees. Two Apex titles made the list! Sunday Giveaway: and Falling, fly by Skyler WhiteToday’s free book giveaway is and Falling, fly by Skyler White. |
| February 06, 2010 |
Saturday LinksHere are five interesting bits of reading to start your weekend: |
| February 05, 2010 |
The Collectors’ NarrativeI’ve played approximately two days worth of EVE On-line. I had played it a little of it in the past, but it has been a while, and I wanted to get it back under my fingers before writing about it here. Have you ever killed someone over a dull, gray rock? Ever smash your car into someone’s car just to get at the bags of groceries in their trunk? That’s Eve, in a nutshell. |
| February 04, 2010 |
Apex Kindle books only $2 in FebruaryUntil the end of February, all Apex Book Company titles available on the Kindle are priced at $2.00! Feel the LoveIn fashion, trend is hugely important. In fact, there is an entire industry known as trend forecasting that tells designers and stores what colors, textures, trims, and clothing styles are going to be popular in an upcoming season. |
| February 03, 2010 |
SLUSH LESSONS: “Try, Try Again” by Maggie JamisonEveryone’s heard the age-old adage: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” It seemed to me that after the last SLUSH LESSON about knowing your market, it might be nice to look into how much the market knows you as an author. |
| February 02, 2010 |
Apex Magazine February 2010 issue postedAs always its free (though we do accept Apex army members!) and as always the latest issue can be found at www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-online. The Writing Community and its CricketsDuring the first six months of Lobo Luna’s existence as a writing community, the activity was constant. New members were joining and introducing themselves. I was busy finding moderators that would support my goals for the community. I worked on new content for members to discuss. Members talked about what they wanted from the community and what they felt they could offer. |
| January 31, 2010 |
Sunday GiveawayToday’s giveaway is a book from another genre I don’t frequent: paranormal romance. I’ve tried it…just wasn’t my cup of tea. |
| January 30, 2010 |
Saturday LinksHere are five things to read about over the weekend: |
| January 29, 2010 |
R.Thomas Riley blogBeing a writer one of the first things you’re probably going to be asked when someone finds out you write is where you get your ideas. I’ve been writing seriously for publication for about eight years now, had some success here and there, and I’ve been asked this question more times than I care to count. Me? I get my ideas from weird news stories or from the interactions with my fellow humans. Sometimes it’s a combination of those. Once that hurdle is overcome, the next question is usually why do you write what you do? Why write about such dark, violent things? Horror is my first love, to put it simply. I’m not sure why, really, but it is what it is. |
| January 28, 2010 |
Annihilating History: The Creative Engine of SFI think a lot about the imaginative and conceptual elements that make SF (in the sense of broad speculative fiction in all of its forms) distinctive and fascinating. As a fan and a writer I am always trying to take ideas and tropes apart, to figure out what makes this array of genres so compelling and curious. There are a lot of literary/cinematic devices, visionary aspects, and plot components that comprise the literary toolbox of SF, but there is one that is rarely considered: the annihilation of history. Why is it that works of science fiction and horror (and sometimes fantasy) have to pulverize or deconstruct history? Why is it so effective, and why is it so appealing? |
| January 27, 2010 |
Dark Faith: Last Rites chapbook coverby Jason Sizemore
In case you’re wondering…Dark Faith: Last Rites is the special edition chapbook that accompanies the first 500 pre-orders from the Apex Book Store. Crossing GenresWhy do we pigeonhole our stories into genres? |
| January 26, 2010 |
Apex Magazine story wins Aurealis AwardWe’re proud to share the news that Peter M. Ball’s Apex Magazine (May, 2009) story “Clockwork, Patchwork and Ravens” has won the Aurealis Award for best science fiction story of the year! My God, What a Stupid Looking CoverThere are some just awful, awful book covers on the market. There, I said it out loud. |
| January 25, 2010 |
Confessions of a Book Junkie #19: Collecting SteampunkI’ve been trying to think if I have a decent steampunk collection or not. I’m still not sure. The first and obvious thing I’m missing is K.W. Jeter’s Infernal Devices. I don’t even think I have it in paperback. And my James Blaylock collection–Homunculus, Lord Kelvin’s Machine, the wonderful The Digging Leviathan (not to mention books like The Paper Grail and The Last Coin) I only have in paperback. Even worse, I did have the first edition hardcover of Paul di Filippo’s The Steampunk Trilogy (collecting the novellas Victoria, Hottentots and Walt and Emily) but I don’t think I have it any more. Which leaves… what? |
