A Long List of Writing/Blogging Projects I Want to Do
As you may recall, I mentioned that I had started to reconsider the future of this blog and my various blogging/podcasting/writing projects. The conversation preceding and surrounding that post have led me here: a post about the things I would like to do. Obviously, I cannot do all of these things, but I know these are projects I want to complete or pursue at some point in my life. Your opinions on anything listed here is greatly appreciated. If anything leaps out at you as something you’d really be interested in, let me know in the comments. You’re also welcome to suggest things, as it’s possible I’ve forgotten something. Blogging Projects: Write more commentary on WISB — less so on controversies than on genre Create a steady, repeatably schedule of specific things for WISB Star Wars Extended Universe Re-read — reading, discussing, and reviewing the entire extended universe. The ENTIRE EU. In chronological order. I feel inclined towards this because the EU is, well, gone, and I think that is a travesty. SFF Film Odyssey — a broader take on the lackluster feature I’ve been running. Taking a play out of Jay Garmon’s suggestion, this would involve looking at sf/f films 10/20/30/40/50+ years in the past in some kind of order I’ve yet to determine. Perhaps by week (10 years ago this week…). Reviews and discussions of significant sf/f films (housed, I suspect, at Totally Pretentious). Director Explorations — reviewing every feature-length film released by a single director, old and new. I’ve talked about doing this already; I think it could be a lot of fun to do at Totally Pretentious. Space Opera Read Along (for the Fall) — I’m teaching a space opera course in the fall. Since I don’t often discuss older books on this blog, I thought that might be a cool thing to do in the fall. More book reviews — in combination with new and old. I do so much “new” reading for Skiffy and Fanty that I feel I’m missing out on a lot of older stuff, and I suspect some of you might actually care what I think about books 20 or so years removed. International SF/F Fan Survey — to get input from non-US fandom about the Hugo Award (perception, etc.); this isn’t specific to the SP/RP thing, though a question would be directed to that. I plan to get general feelings versus specific responses to contemporary controversies; the intent is to understand what folks outside of the States think about the award. Podcasting: Monetize The Skiffy and Fanty Show (yeah, I want to consider this now) Expand Totally Pretentious (and monetize so we can do more stuff) — David and I are talking about adding a second feature (Gap Fillers — where we alternate selecting a movie we think the other should see that they haven’t) and possibly adding more stuff in the future. Some of that would be solved by increasing the subscriber base, but the others would require funding it, I think. Start a writing podcast Start a semi-academic sf/f podcast called Opera Fantastika. Start a podcast about my grandmother’s crazy life (seriously, her life was full of weirdness and laughter and crazy) Note: to be clear — I don’t mean “monetize” in the sense of “I want to make money for myself.” For Skiffy and Fanty, monetizing wouldn’t be profitable for me anyway because I share the show with a lot of other people. But bringing in revenue for that show could mean we can get better recording equipment, attend more conventions, etc. Fiction: The Histories (blog novel) — a fictional history book detailing the real identity of Mike Underwood via an in-depth analysis of anthropological, photographic, and historical evidence. YA Space Opera Craziness — the novel I’ve been working on for a while, which I’ve tentatively described as two siblings — a tech-savvy genius and her wheelchair-using combat expert — go on a grand adventure through the universe, with wheelchair mecha, crazy technology, religious fanatics, mayhem, and wicked cool stunts. Camden in Nightface — “gritty” space opera which follows the leader of a revolutionary force who witnesses the total destruction of his homeworld and wages a terrorist campaign against a federation of Earth-aligned worlds. The MC is literally a terrorist, so it’s a bit of a challenge. Full Magic Jacket — urban fantasy about a guy who bonks his head after a drunken stupor one evening and awakes to find that not only can he see the supernatural, but also his cat can talk to him…and turns out to be the reincarnated soul of an Egyptian pharaoh. Editing Projects: The Evil Anthology of Evil SFF — a collection of subversive science fiction and fantasy addressing evil in all its complicated machinations (at least two authors expressed interest in this, by the way, so I think it’s likely something like this could happen) The Secret Cabal — a collection of equally subversive sf/f on bigotry in its overt and subconscious forms House Cleaning: Finally move WISB to its own website. Finally figure out what WISB will become… And that’s it…for now.
In the Duke’s Sights: Danielewski, Carroll, Butcher, and Helgadóttir
In the Duke’s Sights is a regular column where I talk about the various books and movies that grabbed my interest in the last week. Destroying the Novel So Your TV Will Make Sense! I won’t pretend to fully understand all of Danielewski’s work, but I own all of it and find his refusal to participate in normal novel writing fascinating. His latest novel, The Familiar Vol. 1, is apparently a deconstruction of the television series. io9 has some great shots of the weird formats in the book, which are, as Danielewski is known for, just plain weird. The book doesn’t come out until next month, so you’ll have plenty of time to pre-order. Bigfoot is Probably Real (or in a Book) Subterranean Press recently sent me an ARC of an upcoming collection of three Harry Dresden novellas. Since I’ve never actually read any of Butcher’s books, for which I will probably be summarily hung, I figure it’s about time I give his work a shot. This seems like a nice entry point: short and to the point! Granted, I actually really liked the Dresden Files TV series, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy the written work, too. This particularly set of stories has Harry working for, well, Bigfoot. That’s sufficiently goofy for me to want to read it. Really Weird Covers Creep Me Out! The cover for Jonathan Carroll’s upcoming novella from Subterranean Press reminds me of Aphex Twin’s music video for “Come to Daddy.” Go on. Watch it. You know I’m right: In any case, Teaching the Dog to Read looks like more of Carroll’s brilliant weirdness wrapped in a single 96-page book. The description says it all: Since the appearance of his first novel, The Land of Laughs, in 1980, Jonathan Carroll has been one of the most compelling, consistently versatile storytellers in modern imaginative literature. His extraordinary new novella, Teaching the Dog to Read, is quintessential Carroll: surprising, funny, and filled with unexpected moments and astonishing revelations. The story opens when mid-level office drone Tony Areal receives an extravagant gift: the Lichtenberg wristwatch he has always coveted. Shortly afterward, he receives an even grander gift: the luxurious—and expensive—Porsche Cayman that has always been the car of his dreams. Accompanying the car is the mysterious Alice, who knows more about Tony’s dreams and desires than Tony himself. This encounter opens the door to a rich and unexpected universe: the world behind the world. Teaching the Dog to Read is set at the intersection of the mundane and the miraculous, a place where reality itself shifts and shimmers with disconcerting suddenness. It begins in the realm of recognizable things and ends in a room where a bizarre—and invisible—reunion takes place. Along the way, it offers both grand entertainment and a visionary meditation on the complex connections between our dreaming and waking selves. The result is a master class in the art of narrative and a permanent addition to Jonathan Carroll’s remarkable body of work. The Stars, the Moon, the Inner Journey, the Outer Journey… Fox Spirit Books recently sent me several books from the far off mystical land of England. Among them was Margrét Helgadóttir’s The Stars Seem So Far Away, a tale about the Earth in its last days. Though the premise sounds familiar, the blurbs on the back of the book certainly enticed me, as they included high praise from Damien Walter of The Guardian and Adam Roberts, the celebrated academic and author. Both praised Helgadóttir’s prose, so it’s likely I’ll find something to love in this particular book. Thus, it goes to the big fat To Be Read pile! —————— And there you have it. Those are the things that grabbed my attention this week. What about you?