Just thought you all should know that I’m in episode 2.3 of Tech For Writers. I have a short little segment where I talk about some software I use for writing and world building. Check it out! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
After getting some advice from several people I have made a decision on what to do about taking that grad course: I’m going to do it. I appreciate everyone who was kind enough to offer me their opinions (all of it was done off-site, but so be it). I’m taking the course and we’ll see what happens! Other interesting things regarding school is that I am applying for a research grant that is given to undergraduate students here at UCSC. I’m going to do it on a science fiction subject, I just don’t know what yet (still working on the ideas). So, that’s that. Thanks! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
My short story “Nobody Gives a Crap About Compsagnathus” is an honorable mention in the 3rd quarter of the Writers of the Future Contest. This is my second honorable mention and I’m totally ecstatic right now. I’ve already submitted a piece for the last quarter of the year. We’ll see how it turns out. I am excited! *dances* Anywho! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
I thought it might be nice for some of my readers to know about some giveaways that are out there. Free books are always good, right? There are three giveaways over at Blood of the Muse, a new blog I just discovered that looks beautiful. They are: Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact by Karen Traviss (signed). Quantico by Greg Bear (signed). No Humans Involved by Kelly Armstrong Then there is a giveaway at Walker of Worlds: Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton. Also, check out Fantasy Book Critic, as there are always a bunch of giveaways there, plus over at F&SF Lovin’ Book Reviews there is usually something going on. That is all! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Recently Jason Sanford has opened up a contest to celebrate the publication of one his stories in Interzone. Basically: help spread the word about his story and Interzone and you could win a free one year subscription to the magazine. Sweet deal, right? Well, that’s what I’m doing. If you want to participate, go here and read the “rules”. One of the things that is cool about this contest is that you get a free copy of Sanford’s new story–“The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain”. While I haven’t gotten a chance to read it just yet, I’m looking forward to it. I spent a week in England in March of this year and one of the things I had hoped to find while there was an issue of Interzone and some other British magazines. I came back home empty handed, unfortunately, but I still want to read Interzone. The problem has always been that in comparison to magazines printed in the states, Interzone is extremely expensive–for obvious reasons. I still want to get a subscription to it, but it’s a little pricey for me, unfortunately–I’ve asked for it as a Christmas gift though. If you want to know more about Interzone’s history, check their about page. They’ve published a lot of amazing authors like Elizabeth Bear, Brian Aldiss, and Iain M. Banks. The about page has a whole list of great authors they’ve published. Interzone is to England what Analog, F&SF, and Asimov’s are to the United States. So you can see why I jumped on this opportunity. I’ll read Mr. Sanford’s story pretty soon and post again when I’m finished with a review. But this is it for now. Good luck to anyone else who decides to enter! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Grasping For the Wind has put up yet another of the Ask the Bloggers questions, which, of course, I answered. You can find out more about it here. The question this time was: What kind of book cover attracts your attention? What attributes of the cover make you more or less likely to take it off the shelf? Does the spine of the book have any effect on your choices? Yeah, so what about you? (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
