Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Visit to the Jack Williamson Lectureship

So last Friday, April 6, I decided to ~~play hookey~~ take a personal day from work and attend the Jack Williamson Lectureship in Portales, NM. This was the 42nd annual Lectureship. Jack Williamson was a Professor of English at Eastern New Mexico University. The Lectureship was established in 1977, when he retired.

I had always wanted to go, especially since I moved out to this part of Texas. Portales is just under two hours from my house. I needed the break, so I went.

Boy, am I glad I did. I didn’t realize until i got there just how badly I needed the getaway. It was like visiting a home I hadn’t realized existed and being united with family I never knew I had. I will be returning next year. By the time I left for home, the Williamson Lectureship became second only to Howard Days on my calendar. (Those who know me will understand the significance of that statement.)

I’d like to thank Betty Williamson, Jack’s niece, for her hospitality and generosity during my visit. Betty oversees the Lectureship and has done a remarkable job of keeping Jack Williamson’s legacy alive. Jack was one of the most original and innovative science fiction writers of all time, and much of his work is sadly unavailable these days outside of second hand bookstores. Continue reading →

How to Make Peace

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Making Peace
Adam Lane Smith
paperback $12.99
ebook $2.99

The next time some dimwit tries to tell you that indie published books are not as good as those you get from the Big Five, tell him/her/it that you agree. They aren’t as good; they’re better. Then give that person a copy of Making Peace by Adam Lane Smith to prove your case.

In the interest of full disclosure, I want to state that I purchased this book with my own money; I was not provided a review copy.

Now, let prove my thesis, stated in the first paragraph. I though Making Peace was as good or better than what I’m seeing come out of the big imprints these days. It’s not just the world building, the background, or the characters. It’s what Mr. Smith does with them. Continue reading →

The 2018 Longlist for the Gemmell Awards is Live

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Adventures Fantastic would like to congratulate all the nominees. The official Press Release follows:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Longlist Voting Opens for the David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy 2018

The David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy enters its tenth year in 2018, reaching a notable anniversary and once again honouring and celebrating the very finest in epic fantasy. Named after one of the most popular and acclaimed writers in the field, awards will be presented in the categories of best fantasy novel, best fantasy debut and best fantasy cover art.

The awards are decided entirely by public vote, and the longlists are now open for the public to have their say on what were the leading fantasy titles of the last year. In making your voice heard, you’ll give titles the chance to reach the shortlist and have the opportunity to claim one of these prestigious prizes, with the ceremony taking place at the Edge-Lit 7 event at QUAD, Derby on the 14th July.

Voting for the longlist will be open until the 30th March, with the shortlisted titles announced on the 20th April in preparation for the final vote on who will win the Legend Award, the Morningstar Award and the Ravenheart Award.

This year’s longlist features a host of previous Gemmell Awards winners, as well an exciting array of new talent, with the Morningstar longlist for best fantasy debut being one of the longest in the history of the awards.

Awards Chair Stan Nicholls said: “How fitting that the awards’ tenth anniversary should be graced with three longlists containing such a wealth of literary and creative talent. We’re particularly pleased to have so many nominations in the Morningstar category which, given David Gemmell’s support for new voices, we’re sure he’d be delighted about.”

For more information, or to cast your vote for each of the three categories of the Gemmell Awards, visit http://www.gemmellawards.com/

ENDS

The David Gemmell Awards For Fantasy were launched in 2009, in tribute to bestselling fantasy author David Gemmell, who passed away in 2006, and to honour the best fiction and artwork in the heroic fantasy field. Recipients of the awards include authors Andrzei Sapkowski, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Brent Weeks, John Gwynne, Mark Lawrence, Brian McClellan and Peter Newman; and artists including Didier Graffet, Raymond Swanland, Jason Chan and Sam Green. The awards’ website page can be found at www.gemmellawards.com and its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/gemmellawards/

Edge-Lit is Derby’s annual fantasy, horror and science-fiction event taking place in July each year. In 2018 it runs for the seventh time and will once again draw together an array of writing talent for a day of panels, workshops, book launches and much more. For more information, visit https://www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/edge-lit-7.aspx

Happy Valentine’s Day

Quick Writing Question

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Serious question. I’ve been tracking my daily word count for the last week. I’ve keeping a cumulative track in a spreadsheet as well as a daily count on a calendar. It’s new words, so I just add that day’s count to the total every day.

I’m almost done with the current WIP. I think the next thing will be a revision and expansion of something I didn’t get right the first time but think I know how to fix.

My question is how do I do word count when I’ll be editing and deleting as well as writing. Some scenes will be modified, cut, expanded, that sort of thing. Is there an easy way to keep track of what you’ve done that day?

Blogging Jirel of Joiry: “The Dark Land”

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“The Dark Land” was the fourth of the Jirel of Joiry stories. It was originally published in the January 1936 issue of Weird Tales.

Of all the Jirel stories I’ve looked at so far, I found this to be the weakest. The story opens with Jirel lying unconscious and near death from a pike wound to the side. As the priest shows up to give her last rites, she disappears.

She finds herself on a platform facing a giant statue of a man. Around his head is a crown of flames. It isn’t long before the subject of the statue shows up. He appears in a swirl of light whose description sounds a lot like the transporter effects from Star Trek TOS.

The man informs her his name is Pav. He’s brought her to his kingdom of Romne. He intends for Jirel to be his queen. It’s her fiery fighting nature that’s drawn his attention. Continue reading →

Announcing Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Writers, Vol. 2

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I’ve been sitting on this for a while. The official announcement has been made, so I think I can talk about it now.

I’ve got a story in the forthcoming Road Kill Vol. 2. You may have remembered I reviewed the first volume last year.

The launch date is October 21. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be able to make the launch party. It’s on the opposite side of the state. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Texas, you can drive all day and never leave the state.

Anyway, I’m very pleased and honored to have been included in this book. I’ll post more details when I have them, such as how to get a copy for your very own.

A Look at Dark Screams, Volume 7

Kelly Freas at 95

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Frank Kelly Freas was born today, August 27, in 1922. He passed away in 2005. Freas’s artwork graced the covers of magazines and books. His style was unmistakeable. Some of his covers, such as “Martians Go Home”, are classics. One of my most prized possessions is a signed print of Skylab that appeared as the cover of the June 1973 issue of Analog.

I never had the pleasure of meeting him. There was a calendar of his art in the 1990s. I still have it. Unfortunately, there haven’t been any others that I know of.

Rather than write about him, here are some of the covers he did. These are all from my library that I could put my hands on quickly. I’d post images without the writing, but I don’t want to violate copyrights.

On Hymns and Pearls

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The Hymn of the Pearl
Brian Niemeier
ebook $2.99

So my plans for the weekend have gone completely off the rails, but in a good way. My son has spent the last week with my parents. I drove over Friday evening to pick him up, and since it’s 3.5 hr drive, I planned on spending the night and returning home yesterday morning. I hadn’t been here five minutes when my wife called and asked what I knew about my brother who lives out of state posting on Faceplant that they were coming to see my folks for the weekend. Uhh…nothing.

Anyway, I’ve stayed over since I don’t often see this brother and his family. What does that have to do with a book? I purchased The Hymn of the Pearl yesterday morning and decided to read it while we were waiting for my brother to arrive. Normally, it would go into the queue to be read when I got around to it. I decided not to wait.

Good decision. Continue reading →