New Features
I’ve decided to add some new features to this blog and discuss a couple things you may have noticed.First, on the right there you’ll see some contributors. Those folks are people who have been most generous in offering their talents for blogging while I’m away in a couple weeks. I appreciate their help. If you’re interested in guest blogging for WISB, just let me know. Send me an email (you can find my email on the left there in the My Links section). As for new features: I’m going to occasionally put up a random link to a website I’ve found that might be of interest. There are two coming up. This will likely be irregular. If you have a neat site you’d like me to blog about, send me an email and I’ll check it out. Doesn’t have to be specfic related, it just has to be really interesting. No guarantees I’ll blog about your site, but it’s worth a shot.I’m also going to start doing something similar that I’ve been doing, but hasn’t been named anything yet. The website one is called “Website Found”, obviously, so the video one will now be called “Video Found”. Perhaps you have a good video you’d like me to see? Well, email me. So that’s that. Enjoy what’s coming up (there may be other things that I can’t think of, but for now that’s it). And I mean it, if you want to guest blog, email me.
Science Fiction Meme
This meme apparently was on SF Signal at some point, but I found it here. Consider yourself tagged! Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror?Science fiction and fantasy, rarely horror. It’s hard for me to choose. I love science fiction very much, but I also happen to enjoy fantasy quite a bit too. I’ve read some amazing fantasy novels in my life and I did start with fantasy when I started reading more, mostly because science fiction seems so difficult to me for a long while. Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?Mass market, but only because they’re smaller and I feel like I’ve accomplished more reading each sitting. Heinlein or Asimov?I’ve read little Heinlein, though I plan to read more. So, Asimov. Amazon or Brick and Mortar?Brick and Mortar. Amazon doesn’t give the same browsing experience. Barnes & Noble or Borders?Borders. They have a FREE rewards card, and there isn’t a B&N here. B&N tends to be more organized and has more discount books (and a better selection for discount stuff too), but their rewards card sucks. Hitchhiker or Discworld?Hitchhiker. Bookmark or Dogear?Bookmark. Dogearing books should be illegal. How would you like it if I dogeared our arm when I wanted to pause while examining you? Exactly. Magazine: Asimov’s Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction?F&SF, because I’ve never read Asimov’s. Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random?Depends. On my “to read” shelf it’s random, but everything else is supposed to be alphabetical (it’s out of order right now, though). Keep, Throw Away or Sell?Keep if I like it enough that I’ll re-read it, or sell it if I don’t. Year’s Best Science Fiction series (edited by Gardner Dozois) or Years Best SF series (edited by David G. Hartwell)?No preference, to be honest. Keep dustjacket or toss it?It came with the book. It stays. Read with dustjacket or remove it?Leave it on most of the time (unless it’s easy to tear, in which case it is removed). Short story or novel?Both. I like shorts a little better because they are short, but novels tend to be deeper. Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?Harry Potter. Never read Snicket and don’t really want to. The movie did nothing for me. Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?Depends. Either or. “It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?Once upon at time…both are horribly cliche, though. Buy or Borrow?Buy. I’ll borrow sometimes, but rarely. Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?A combination of all of them. I buy more books via browsing though. I rarely buy or ead anything that is shoved down my throat, though. So if you want me to read something, stop pestering me about it. Lewis or Tolkien?I like Lewis’ writing style better, but Tolkien does have the advantage of a thoroughly fascinating world. Hard SF or Space Opera?Both, and even more so when they are combined. I love merged genres. Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)?Both. Hugo or Nebula?Doesn’t really matter. I buy a book because it sounds interesting, not because it won an award. Golden Age SF or New Wave SF?Both, duh. Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?Absolutely no cliffhangers unless there is a book that follows immediately after. Tidy endings can be a little annoying if they’re too tidy. Leave a couple things unanswered with certainty. Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?I read whenever I have a moment to spare for reading. Standalone or Series?Both are great, although superb standalones beat a series any day. Urban fantasy or high fantasy?High fantasy unless the urban fantasy is something not involving vampires or werewolves. New or used?Both. Sometimes you have no choice but to get used. Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?The Steam Magnate by Dana Copithorne. It’s good. Read it. Now. Or else. Top X favorite genre books read last year? (Where X is 5 or less)In no particular order:The Steam Magnate by Dana CopithorneCrystal Rain by Tobias S. BuckellRagamuffin by Tobias S. BuckellSpin State by Chris MoriartyLeven Thumps and the Whispered Secret by Obert Skye Top X favorite genre books of all time? (Where X is 5 or less)I’ll be honest, these five are just going to be “top 5 favorites that I can think of right now”. My top 5 changes quote a lot, to be honest. A top five list for me is really rather pointless. This should be a top 100 or something.Peeps by Scott Westerfeld1984 by George OrwellSly Mongoose by Tobias S. BuckellEon by Greg BearOld Man’s War by John Scalzi X favorite genre series? (Where X is 5 or less)Tobias S. Buckell’s scifi series (not sure what you call it, but they’re all good)Karen Miller’s Innocent Mage/Awakened Mage series.Leven Thumps by Obert SkyeDiane Duane’s Young Wizards (So You Want to Be a Wizard, etc.)Susan Beth Pfeffer’s series (Life As We Knew It and the dead & the gone) Top X favorite genre short stories? (Where X is 5 or less)“Call Me Joe” by Poul Anderson“Sandkings” by George R. R. MartinWork by Paul Melko and Zoran Zivkovic“The People’s Republic of the Edelwiess Village Putt-Putt Golf Course” by M. K. Hobson Currently Reading?Honeycomb by Israel Del Rio
New Fiction Markets
Two new SF fiction markets, which look like they’re going to be awesome. First we have Federations from John Joseph Adams: Genres: Science Fiction only. Original fiction only, no reprints.Payment: 5 cents per word ($250 max), plus a pro-rata share of the anthology’s earnings and 1 contributor copy.Word limit: 5000 words. (Stories may exceed 5000 words, but $250 is the maximum payment per story, and stories 5000 words or less are strongly preferred.)Rights: First world English rights, non-exclusive world anthology rights, and non-exclusive audio anthology rights. See my boilerplate author-anthologist contract, which spells out the rights in detail.Reading Period: November 1-January 1, 2009Response Time: Most rejections will be sent out quickly, but stories that I like may be held until January 31 before a final decision is made.Publication date: May 2009Publisher: Prime BooksSubmission Instructions: Email your story in rich-text format (RTF) to John Joseph Adams at federations.anthology@gmail.com. Include the title of the story and your byline in the subject line of the email. I’ll be writing something for this one once I can think of a story interesting. Looks like something right up my alley though. Then there is Footprints from Jay Lake. I’ll try thinking up something for this, but no guarantees. Right now all I have are humorous ideas, which might work. Can’t copy and paste for some reason, so you’ll just have to click the link. Ther you go!