Yog's Notebook, blog edition
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Author Interview: Mathew Russell
Mathew Russell wrote "Electric Judas", about an android's attempt to understand his creator.
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: Dreams mostly, and also the ways in which the past effects the future.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: The bogeyman. He's trapped beneath the rubbish I have under there and keeps yelling for someone to help him out.
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: History, Art, Technology, Music and sleeping in.
That's the last of our summer authors. We've really enjoyed the stories in this issue, and hope you will too.
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: Dreams mostly, and also the ways in which the past effects the future.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: The bogeyman. He's trapped beneath the rubbish I have under there and keeps yelling for someone to help him out.
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: History, Art, Technology, Music and sleeping in.
That's the last of our summer authors. We've really enjoyed the stories in this issue, and hope you will too.
Labels: interview, science fiction, sf
Friday, August 10, 2007
Author Interview: Stephen Couch
Stephen wrote "Foo Boxen", a story about putting Schroedinger's Cat to the test, which appears in our summer issue.
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: Graveyard People: The Collected Cedar Hill Stories
Vol. 1, by Gary A. Braunbeck: A crust of speculative fiction wrapped around a mantle of bleak, lightless despair, wrapped around a near-Pyrrhic core of hope and redemption, from one of the modern masters of the short form.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: I can't switch off the part of my brain that constantly asks, "What if...?" I think it's inextricably linked to the part of my brain that craves the Macaroni & Cheese Pizza at Cici's, because I can't seem to turn that off, either...
Q: What do you hope the future will be like?
A: I genuinely hope we can evolve out of our current cultural tendency to encourage and reward sociopathic behavior. We can be, both as a species and as individuals, so much more than just apologists and enablers for the sociologically toxic among us.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: Almost always an ankle-clawing cat.
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: I run an award-winning audio drama production company, Strange Interludes; I also sing in a cover band from time to time.
Q: Do you have a website you'd like our readers to see?
A: www.stephencouch.com
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: Graveyard People: The Collected Cedar Hill Stories
Vol. 1, by Gary A. Braunbeck: A crust of speculative fiction wrapped around a mantle of bleak, lightless despair, wrapped around a near-Pyrrhic core of hope and redemption, from one of the modern masters of the short form.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: I can't switch off the part of my brain that constantly asks, "What if...?" I think it's inextricably linked to the part of my brain that craves the Macaroni & Cheese Pizza at Cici's, because I can't seem to turn that off, either...
Q: What do you hope the future will be like?
A: I genuinely hope we can evolve out of our current cultural tendency to encourage and reward sociopathic behavior. We can be, both as a species and as individuals, so much more than just apologists and enablers for the sociologically toxic among us.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: Almost always an ankle-clawing cat.
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: I run an award-winning audio drama production company, Strange Interludes; I also sing in a cover band from time to time.
Q: Do you have a website you'd like our readers to see?
A: www.stephencouch.com
Labels: interview, science fiction, sf
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Author Interview: Glynn Barrass
Glynn wrote "The Necronomicon Cookbook" for the summer issue, a poem about some very curious cooking experiments.
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: Sphere by Michael Crichton - one of the the most sinister novels regarding
contact with alien life forms I've read.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: I sorely need to get what's in my head onto paper otherwise I'm sure it'll
explode.
Q: What do you hope the future will be like? Or is there something that was
predicted to happen that you wish really had? (jet cars, food pills, or...?)
A: Invasion and subjugation by evil alien overlords.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: Way too much un-vacuumed dust!
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: Does sleeping count as a hobby?
Q: Do you have a website you'd like our readers to see?
A: Not yet, but I'm working on it.
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: Sphere by Michael Crichton - one of the the most sinister novels regarding
contact with alien life forms I've read.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: I sorely need to get what's in my head onto paper otherwise I'm sure it'll
explode.
Q: What do you hope the future will be like? Or is there something that was
predicted to happen that you wish really had? (jet cars, food pills, or...?)
A: Invasion and subjugation by evil alien overlords.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: Way too much un-vacuumed dust!
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: Does sleeping count as a hobby?
Q: Do you have a website you'd like our readers to see?
A: Not yet, but I'm working on it.
Labels: interview, science fiction, sf
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Author Interview: Kaylea Hascall Champion
Kaylea's contribution to the summer issue is a story about first contact and hubris called "KuiperGate".
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: I really enjoyed Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende; it changed the way I look at colonial history.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: I am fundamentally motivated by ideas—speculative fiction in all its forms provides a terrific opportunity to explore and to question.
Q: What do you hope the future will be like?
A: I could get preachy or sappy about it all, but it comes down to this: I hope that the future is messy, but with clean public bathrooms.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: Four half-finished novels....and they're getting hungry!
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: Most weekends will find me obsessively doing one of the following: playing computer games, digging in my chaotic garden, entertaining my dogs, or sewing fabulous new clothes for myself and others.
Q: Do you have a website you'd like our readers to see?
A: Sure, folks can go to http://www.kaylea.net.
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: I really enjoyed Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende; it changed the way I look at colonial history.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: I am fundamentally motivated by ideas—speculative fiction in all its forms provides a terrific opportunity to explore and to question.
Q: What do you hope the future will be like?
A: I could get preachy or sappy about it all, but it comes down to this: I hope that the future is messy, but with clean public bathrooms.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: Four half-finished novels....and they're getting hungry!
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: Most weekends will find me obsessively doing one of the following: playing computer games, digging in my chaotic garden, entertaining my dogs, or sewing fabulous new clothes for myself and others.
Q: Do you have a website you'd like our readers to see?
A: Sure, folks can go to http://www.kaylea.net.
Labels: interview, science fiction, sf
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Author Interview: Simon Petrie
Simon wrote "Three-Horned Dilemma", a story about a man with a triceratops problem. It appears in our summer issue.
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: My left brain reckons Nova Swing by M. John Harrison, but my right brain would go for Simon Haynes' Hal Spacejock.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: Long lists of other things I really should be doing.
Q: What do you hope the future will be like?
A: Inhabited, but some days I wonder ...
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: From the looks of it, a dust bunny stud farm.
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: I'm interested in (and have done research in) "astrochemistry", which sounds like sf but is probably even stranger. I also have an unhealthy interest in obscure Sixties rock groups.
Q: Do you have a website you'd like our readers to see?
A: Not a proper 'Simon Petrie' website, no. I'm a member of the Andromeda Spaceways publishing co-op, which is at http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/.
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: My left brain reckons Nova Swing by M. John Harrison, but my right brain would go for Simon Haynes' Hal Spacejock.
Q: What motivates you to write science fiction or horror?
A: Long lists of other things I really should be doing.
Q: What do you hope the future will be like?
A: Inhabited, but some days I wonder ...
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: From the looks of it, a dust bunny stud farm.
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: I'm interested in (and have done research in) "astrochemistry", which sounds like sf but is probably even stranger. I also have an unhealthy interest in obscure Sixties rock groups.
Q: Do you have a website you'd like our readers to see?
A: Not a proper 'Simon Petrie' website, no. I'm a member of the Andromeda Spaceways publishing co-op, which is at http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/.
Labels: interview, science fiction, sf, writer
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Author Interview: Jessica E. Kaiser
For our summer issue, we asked each contributor a few questions about their writing and interests. Partial answers appeared on the contributors page, but I thought it would be fun to share their full responses. Check back over the next week (give or take a few days) to see all of the interviews.
Here's what Ms. Kaiser, author of "Back to the Classifieds", had to say:
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: The Atrocity Archives, by Charles Stross, was probably the most recent book I’ve read that I would unreservedly recommend. But I bet that’ll have changed to something else by the time this is published.
Q: What do you hope the future will be like? Or is there something that was predicted to happen that you wish really had? (jet cars, food pills, or...?)
A: The running joke between my friends and me is “Where’s my flying car?” from all the science fiction of the Golden Age that promised us flying cars by the early nineties (and all we got was this lousy gas crisis), but what I’m really excited about is all the news stories about Mars lately. I mean, water on Mars! Giant cave systems! Every time I read something about it, I feel like I really am living in The Future.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: There is absolutely nothing lurking under my bed. I know this because I check on a regular basis to make sure. As a kid, I used to worry that there were zombies hiding out under there, waiting to grab my ankle with a skeletal hand the second I dangled my foot over the edge of the bed too long. Every night, I took a flying leap into my bed to make sure the zombies couldn’t get me.
Now, as an adult, I realize that’s ridiculous, because, as everyone knows, the monsters are hiding in closets. This is why I cannot sleep unless all closet doors are firmly closed. Leaving them open is just asking for trouble (“trouble” in this case being a euphemism for “being disemboweled”).
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: I don’t have as many hobbies as I should, because… well… there are so many books. I have a very low resistance to books calling my name. But I rollerblade, make chain mail jewelry, and belly dance. Additionally, I make fantastic bread. It’s a short list, but as I said, you can blame all the publishers who keep putting more books on the shelves for me to buy.
Here's what Ms. Kaiser, author of "Back to the Classifieds", had to say:
Q: What's the best thing you've read recently?
A: The Atrocity Archives, by Charles Stross, was probably the most recent book I’ve read that I would unreservedly recommend. But I bet that’ll have changed to something else by the time this is published.
Q: What do you hope the future will be like? Or is there something that was predicted to happen that you wish really had? (jet cars, food pills, or...?)
A: The running joke between my friends and me is “Where’s my flying car?” from all the science fiction of the Golden Age that promised us flying cars by the early nineties (and all we got was this lousy gas crisis), but what I’m really excited about is all the news stories about Mars lately. I mean, water on Mars! Giant cave systems! Every time I read something about it, I feel like I really am living in The Future.
Q: What's lurking under your bed?
A: There is absolutely nothing lurking under my bed. I know this because I check on a regular basis to make sure. As a kid, I used to worry that there were zombies hiding out under there, waiting to grab my ankle with a skeletal hand the second I dangled my foot over the edge of the bed too long. Every night, I took a flying leap into my bed to make sure the zombies couldn’t get me.
Now, as an adult, I realize that’s ridiculous, because, as everyone knows, the monsters are hiding in closets. This is why I cannot sleep unless all closet doors are firmly closed. Leaving them open is just asking for trouble (“trouble” in this case being a euphemism for “being disemboweled”).
Q: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of writing and sf/horror?
A: I don’t have as many hobbies as I should, because… well… there are so many books. I have a very low resistance to books calling my name. But I rollerblade, make chain mail jewelry, and belly dance. Additionally, I make fantastic bread. It’s a short list, but as I said, you can blame all the publishers who keep putting more books on the shelves for me to buy.
Labels: interview, science fiction, sf, writer
Monday, June 25, 2007
A review and another updates
We received a short review in the June Locus Magazine (thanks Tina for pointing this out!).
The summer issue is almost ready to send to the printers. With any luck, we'll have it for sale within the next couple of weeks. We have some really fun stories this time: demons, dinosaurs, aliens... plus another short comic, reviews, and a contest.
Also, in spring issue author news, Bill Kte'pi has decided to post the entirety of The Saint of Daybreak for free on LiveJournal. Donations are still appreciated, but the whole story will be available either way. The first three chapters are already up at saintofdaybreak.livejournal.com.
The summer issue is almost ready to send to the printers. With any luck, we'll have it for sale within the next couple of weeks. We have some really fun stories this time: demons, dinosaurs, aliens... plus another short comic, reviews, and a contest.
Also, in spring issue author news, Bill Kte'pi has decided to post the entirety of The Saint of Daybreak for free on LiveJournal. Donations are still appreciated, but the whole story will be available either way. The first three chapters are already up at saintofdaybreak.livejournal.com.
Labels: news, science fiction, sf
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Things I don't want to read (and a few things I do)
I just caught up on all of the stories we've received through the end of April. We'll be sending out responses as soon as I can get Lucas to review the things he hasn't read yet. We tend to do rejections first (some stories pretty clearly won't work for us), and then start evaluating which of the stories that pass the first round will actually make it into the magazine.
Every time I read a batch of new submissions, I notice certain patterns in stories that are really an automatic no for me. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to send us their work, but some things aren't going to make the cut. Here's a few elements to avoid:
* Completely gratuitous violence. I want a balance of science fiction and horror, but we receive a lot of things that are gross without being scary or thought-provoking. Especially when the story is about raping or torturing women. Sorry, no.
* Stories that have more sex than plot. I'm not saying no sex at all (Bill Kte'pi's story "Everything Life Carries on Without" certainly includes it), but if the whole point of the story is the sex, there are other publications that would be better choices for your work.
* All action, no plot. Tell me about zombies, monsters, aliens from another galaxy. Go ahead and blow things up. This is great. But ultimately we want stories about people, not GI Joe adventures.
That said, here's what I wish we'd receive more of:
* Stories about strange technology and its implications. The Singularity. Nanotech. Read the "Lobsters" story in Charles Stross' Accelerando for a great example.
* Space exploration. I'd even go for retro Moon colonies if it had a good setting and characters. Get out into the unknown.
* Humor. Being funny can be hard, but you can develop a sense for what works and what doesn't over time. Have a friend read it if you're not sure.
In general, the thing that would most help the stories we reject is having someone else to review it before it's submitted. An outside reader can help spot problems while you still have a chance to fix it. Ultimately, Lucas and I want to select stories that readers of Yog's Notebook will be excited to see, and the best thing you can do to get your work there is to have other people read through it, and tell you what they think.
Every time I read a batch of new submissions, I notice certain patterns in stories that are really an automatic no for me. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to send us their work, but some things aren't going to make the cut. Here's a few elements to avoid:
* Completely gratuitous violence. I want a balance of science fiction and horror, but we receive a lot of things that are gross without being scary or thought-provoking. Especially when the story is about raping or torturing women. Sorry, no.
* Stories that have more sex than plot. I'm not saying no sex at all (Bill Kte'pi's story "Everything Life Carries on Without" certainly includes it), but if the whole point of the story is the sex, there are other publications that would be better choices for your work.
* All action, no plot. Tell me about zombies, monsters, aliens from another galaxy. Go ahead and blow things up. This is great. But ultimately we want stories about people, not GI Joe adventures.
That said, here's what I wish we'd receive more of:
* Stories about strange technology and its implications. The Singularity. Nanotech. Read the "Lobsters" story in Charles Stross' Accelerando for a great example.
* Space exploration. I'd even go for retro Moon colonies if it had a good setting and characters. Get out into the unknown.
* Humor. Being funny can be hard, but you can develop a sense for what works and what doesn't over time. Have a friend read it if you're not sure.
In general, the thing that would most help the stories we reject is having someone else to review it before it's submitted. An outside reader can help spot problems while you still have a chance to fix it. Ultimately, Lucas and I want to select stories that readers of Yog's Notebook will be excited to see, and the best thing you can do to get your work there is to have other people read through it, and tell you what they think.
Labels: reading, science fiction, sf, stories, things to avoid, things to do
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Read science fiction for free online
This week's post is a roundup of links to some fine sf offerings available for free online. They generally fall into two categories: works that authors have decided to release under a Creative Commons (or similar) license, and works that are in the public domain due to their age. Most people will be comfortable reading a short story or two on their computer, but for longer book-length works, you might prefer to use a PDA or video iPod. This is also a way to sample several chapters of a book before buying a print copy.
A good starting point is manybooks.net. Their science fiction section contains 274 modern and historical works. These can be downloaded pre-formatted for a variety of ebook readers, or as a PDF. The collection includes Accelerando, winner of the 2006 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and Blindsight, nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
There are also several e-zines that publish a rotating selection of stories, available for free on the web. Strange Horizons, one of the longest-running and most recognized publications in this category, updates weekly. Subterranean Press recently switched their quarterly magazine from print to the web. The spring issue features stories and essays by Elizabeth Bear, Charles Stross, Mike Resnick, and Bruce Sterling. Ideomancer and Coyote Wild are also worth checking out.
Finally, authors also maintain collections of their work available online. Cory Doctrow shares his work primarily through a podcast, but text versions of several of his stories and novels also exist. John Scalzi has a novel and several stories linked from his site. And members of the Science Fiction Writers Association (SFWA) recently declared an "International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day", wherein science fiction writers who have published work for pay each offered their work online for free. The roundup of contributions is on Jo Walton's blog.
I've found these resources to be a great way to discover new authors. There are several writers whose books I purchased specifically because I liked the work they had online. I hope this helps other people find new and interesting things to read too.
A good starting point is manybooks.net. Their science fiction section contains 274 modern and historical works. These can be downloaded pre-formatted for a variety of ebook readers, or as a PDF. The collection includes Accelerando, winner of the 2006 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and Blindsight, nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
There are also several e-zines that publish a rotating selection of stories, available for free on the web. Strange Horizons, one of the longest-running and most recognized publications in this category, updates weekly. Subterranean Press recently switched their quarterly magazine from print to the web. The spring issue features stories and essays by Elizabeth Bear, Charles Stross, Mike Resnick, and Bruce Sterling. Ideomancer and Coyote Wild are also worth checking out.
Finally, authors also maintain collections of their work available online. Cory Doctrow shares his work primarily through a podcast, but text versions of several of his stories and novels also exist. John Scalzi has a novel and several stories linked from his site. And members of the Science Fiction Writers Association (SFWA) recently declared an "International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day", wherein science fiction writers who have published work for pay each offered their work online for free. The roundup of contributions is on Jo Walton's blog.
I've found these resources to be a great way to discover new authors. There are several writers whose books I purchased specifically because I liked the work they had online. I hope this helps other people find new and interesting things to read too.
Labels: books, ebooks, free, science fiction, sf
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