Fundraising for Nice People: Adam Callaway’s “Financial Times Bingo” Fundraiser
My good friend, Adam Callaway, has fallen on some pretty rough times this year. He lost his job and due to a number of factors (the recession hit right as he was graduating from school, he’s young, he doesn’t make $289,000 a year, etc.), he and his wife don’t have much saved up to help them survive the next few months. In other words, he could really use some help. I’ve known Adam for years now. He’s not one to ask for money often, and I know for a fact that he’s already applied to at least a dozen jobs since he was let go by his previous employer. He doesn’t want to be where he is (who does?). But because he’s there, he’s hoping folks will offer a little financial help. His goal is to have enough saved to survive through March, assuming he can’t get a job before then. That’s about $2,000. I think we all can help him get there — no problem. The good news is that Adam is offering all kinds of perks for donations, including: For a $3 donation:My short-short story collection #TWITFIC in any format (mobi, epub, pdf).For a $5 donation:Everything above plus a copy of the very first Lacuna story, a novella called The City of Missing Letters. If you ever wondered about the origins of the city, this is the story to have. Available in any format (mobi, epub, pdf).For a $10 donation:Everything above plus a copy of my mosaic novel The Inked Man, comprised of previously-published Lacuna stories as well as stories entirely new to the collection in any format (mobi, epub, pdf). There may be a slight delay in receiving this as I’m finalizing the cover and layout.For $25:Everything above as well as my young adult science fiction novel Junkyard Kings. Readers have described it as “Harry Potter with giant fighting robots.” This also comes in any format (mobi, epub, pdf).For $35:Everything above and a personalized Filament webcomic attached to a blog post detailing how awesome you are as a person.For $50:Everything above, plus I’ll ship you a random rare or antique book from my own collection. Most of the books are signed genre works and I will email you a list to choose from if you reach this level. (This one is confined to the continental 48 only. Sorry Hawaii, Alaska, and the rest of the world).For $100:Everything above, plus a permanent link or thank you on Sensawunda, seen by hundreds of visitors each day.For $250:I will write for you a personalized story of between 1000-2500 words with nearly all parameters chosen by you. And a second rare book.For $500:Everything above, and I’ll write you your own, 2500-5000 short story. Any genre, idea, or circumstance. And it’ll be damn good too. And I’ll send you a third book.For $1000:Everything above, except I’ll write you a novella of at least 10,000 words. I’ll send you a fourth rare book. And if I ever get the pleasure of meeting you in person, I’ll give you a bear hug, bake you butterscotch cookies, and declare you Supreme Being. He’s also offering to release panels from his comic, Filament, for every $10 submitted. That means 200 comics if we make it to $2,000! And what fiction he will release to folks, you better believe it will be great stuff. His Lacuna stories are wonderful and weird. So if you think you can spare $1, $10, or whatever, please head over to Adam’s site and click the donate button on the right. Alternatively, you can directly donate through Paypal using adam.r.callaway[at]gmail[dot]com (just leave a little note or email him so he knows that’s what it’s for). Any little bit helps! Please spread the word!
New Year’s Resolutions
Well, it’s that time of year again. You know, when we look back at all the resolutions we made last year and slap ourselves for failing so miserably? Yeah. Not that I can remember what my 2012 resolutions were… But since it’s officially 2013, and I feel like setting some goals for myself, I am going to make a few resolutions. Here goes: Writing and Reading –Write (finish) a novel OR 25 short stories. My output during 2012 was pretty pathetic, in part because of a lack of motivation, but mostly because I worked insanely hard to create a financial buffer for 2013. This year is going to be a writing year. –Read at least 100 books (or the equivalent in some other written medium). This should be easy enough, since there are 40 books on my PhD. reading list and 24 interview slots for The Skiffy and Fanty Show. That leaves about 36 books I have to squeeze into the gaps. –Write more reviews. Health –Lose 30 lbs. Period. –Eat healthier and consume more vegetarian meals. Woo! Financial –Spend less money and save more for summer. –Pay my taxes as early as possible and like it. I think that’s a good enough list, no?
The Best of 2012: What were your favorite books, movies, etc.?
The 2013 WISB Awards are fast approaching, but I want to know what your favorite reads, views, and so on were this year. So this post is for you, dear readers. Let me know what you loved reading, watching, listening to, and so on and so forth. Go on, leave a comment!
Published: “In the Shadows of the Empire of Coal” in Stupefying Stories 1.11!
Guess what? My coalpunk short story, “In the Shadows of the Empire of Coal,” was recently published in Issue 1.11 of Bruce Bethke’s Stupefying Stories! I’m super excited about it (duh) and how you’ll all snatch up a copy ($1.99 on Kindle or Nook — iTunes links pending still). If you really love me, you’ll buy a copy and write a review. Excuse me while I go squee in the corner!
Support Triumph Over Tragedy: An Anthology for Storm Sandy Survivors!
I just donated, and you should too. Need I say more? Fine. I will. Triumph Over Tragedy is an SF/F anthology containing short stories from Elizabeth Bear, Robert Silverberg, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Tobias Buckell, Alex Bledsoe, Timothy Zahn, Philip Athans, and about two-dozen other folks. In other words, there is a lot of freaking stuff in this book from a lot of freaking great folks. The best part is that all the proceeds go to the Red Cross to help victims of Sandy. R. T. Kaelin (the editor) is trying to raise $10,000. They’re at $1,234, with 27 days to go (that number will probably change by tomorrow). So go donate. December is the month of giving. Some folks need $50 more than I do.
Where Have I Been?
Readers of this blog, or folks randomly appearing on the home page, will notice that my last post was on Oct. 8th. That’s a long time not to post so much as an update. Surely I must have a good reason, right? Actually, I do. The last month has been one of the heaviest work periods of the semester, in part because October is the month of midterms. Since I am a teacher, that means I’ve been grading papers for the past three weeks. My grading pile only recently dropped below 100 papers (excepting in-class writing, which doesn’t take as much time as essays and response papers). But that’s not all I’ve been up to. This semester is also the last time I will ever take a graduate-level course, which means I made the conscious choice to ask for the one course I knew would load me with a lot of reading and writing work (this professor happens to be on my committee). Throw in podcasting duties, personal life nonsense, the paper on the film adaptation of Cloud Atlas I have been working on, and other miscellaneous stuff like voting, etc. and you’ll have a good idea why blogging has taken a side track for the time being. In all honesty, I am probably working close to 80 hours a week, on average, which includes prepping for seminar, prepping lectures for five classes, grading papers for five classes, and so on and so forth. Let it never be said that we teacher people don’t work our asses off. That said, I am not quitting. Quite the contrary. November is a considerably lighter month, since there are numerous holidays and the like here in the States. I just wanted everyone to know that I didn’t disappear into the night. On that note, how is everyone doing?