SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Note: issues with our server, browser or modem (or some maddening combination) are preventing us from loading images effectively. So news comes to you today with few images.
Our release of the David Gerrold authored comic – A Doctor for the Enterprise – that took place this past week was a huge success. By latest estimate we’ve sold about half of our remaining copies (we started with 500).
One big surprise was the huge boost to our traffic, quadrupling, then tripling and then doubling our average (and it looks like the doubling is here to stay as we also picked up a really decent number of new members). For the additional traffic, we’ve got several people/websites to thank:
John Scalzi’s Whatever included our release info in a roundup post of things he ought to tell everyone about; Cory Doctorw at Boing Boing devoted a whole post to it; and the Star Trek devoted websites TrekToday, UFStarFleet, the Star Trek Gallery and Starbase 49 gave some good write ups, as did DoctorWhoWatch. File770 jumped in as well and SF Signal linked to our “Making of…” post.
Thanks everyone. It can now be revealed: the secret to increasing your internet traffic is: promote a well-known name, associated with multiple well-known franchises. (Now all I need to do is bring out a parody comic based on Battlestar Galactica and SG-1, written by Heinlein and drawn by Frazetta and we’re GOLDEN!
Copies of the comic are still available, so don’t hesitate to order.
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March 10th, 2015, marks the end of the Hugo Awards nomination process. If you have not done so already, please fill out and send in your ballots.
You can no longer sign up to nominate, but you can still join Sasquan (and vote on the final ballot later this year).
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NEWSLETTERS & PRESS RELEASES (full text below).
Phoenix Pick Monthly Newsletter; Industrial Toys
SOCIAL
She Shouldn’t Have Fought Back (sigh) (possible trigger warnings)
Stu Hellinger Takes NY Daily News To Task Over Shatner Diss
A Zombie Apocalypse is OK; Two Guys Kissing Is NOT
Skiffy & Fanty on Vitriolic Sniping (via SF Signal)
Speaking of GG: How many Gamergaters Does It Take To….
Nerd Culture Needs to Look in the Mirror
ENTERTAINMENT
Star Trek Cast Tributes to Leonard Nimoy
Looking Back: High Tech Hotels Had Alarm Clocks “in every room!” (via Mike Walsh)
Harvey Keitel As Star Knight (1985)
Discworld “Definitive” List (starts with caveats as to why some things weren’t included)
The ULTIMATE MARVEL MARATHON! (Theater chains to air ALL Avenger’s films in sequence)
Nimoy Reads Bradbury (via SF Signal)
International Women’s Day Special
INDUSTRY
Langford’s The Complete Critical Assembly Collection of Reviews is Now Available
Le Guin Continues to Champion the Cause of Genre
SFWA Opens Members to New Qualifying Indies March 1st
Add Your Genre Faves to this Reddit List
MUSA Publishing Closes Doors (via SF Site)
TOR To Publish Pathfinder Stories
Masterclass in SF Criticism (Does not Mean Saying “You Suck!” or “So’s Your Mother!”
41st Annual Saturn Award Nominations
Neil ‘Clarkesworld’ Clarke Tapped for Best of the Year Anthology
1st Bibliographic Presentation of SF in Portugal
If you missed it you missed it – but this was a COOL idea: A Comiccon broadcast to Comics Stores
Kickstarter for Worldcon Anthology (via SF Signal)
Helsinki & Dublin Worldcon Bids
Is there a Renaissance in SF on Television and Film?
SCIENCE
AWESOME 3D View of DEEEEEEEP Space
Oh Man! That Spine is to Kill For! (Evolution confers male preference for women who can forage while pregnant) (I’ll be in my bunk.)
So Long Vesta! Hey Ceres! How’s It Going? and More
Search for Water on Ceres Begins
Martian Ocean (See!? Burroughs WAS Right! Oh, that’s just planetary romance with no real science in it. HA!)
New Evidence Supports Ice Age Human in Florida (makes sense!)
Light Photographed as a Wave AND a Particle for the First Time Evah!
I Don’t Think David Brin Wants A Pair Of These
Ho-Hum. Yet ANOTHER Ancient Lost City Discovered in the Rain Forest
Superintelligent AIs May Get Bored Quickly (will then begin to torture Harlan Ellison for eternity)
Gods Not Necessary for Complex Civilizations to Evolve
Alcohol: BAD; Psychedelics: GOOD
NEWSLETTERS & PRESS RELEASES
Dear Readers,
Greetings and Felicitations,
The March issue of Galaxy’s Edge is now live, and quite a few readers have already commented that it’s the coolest cover they’ve seen for the magazine so far!
| To go along with this really cool cover, we have some really cool stories. For your reading pleasure, we’ve got both old and new fiction from a slew of top-notch authors (some old veterans, some brand new).
Best of all, the wholeissue is free for online viewing! We also offer a downloadable version for your favorite reading device at a very reasonable price. If you prefer a more permanent version, the paper edition is on sale as well. You may also buy a downloadable version (EPub, MOBI orPDF) or a paper version of the magazine from from the magazine’s home page. Don’t want to miss out on any of our great fiction and articles? Be sure to subscribe to the magazine! |
| Galaxy’s Edge Magazine Making History?
Issue 14 of the magazine (to be released May 1, 2015) will have something absolutely unique for the twenty first century…a previously “unpublished” work by Robert A. Heinlein. Well, technically its been published once before (hence the quotation marks)—in the exclusive Virginia Edition of Heinlein’s complete works, which retails for $1,500 and is limited to 2,000 sets. Outside of that, this will be the only other publication (to date) of this extremely amusing little work that provides a delightful look into the often mischievous and extremely humorous mind of this Grand Master. |
| And for Heinlein fans we also offer the first ever digital edition of his extensive collection (each piece personally selected by Heinlein himself, and nearly all with individual forewords)
“The single most important and valuable Heinlein book ever published.” “The book I’ve always wanted from Heinlein.”—John Bruni (GoodReads) This is a must-have for any fans of Robert Heinlein (or even speculative fiction in general) and the closest (via all the forewords and the occasional afterword) that that this extremely private man ever came to writing an autobiography, or even explaining his stories. Click here to buy the Amazon Kindle digital version (Amazon-Kindle) |
EBOOK OF THE MONTH
| Ebook of the Month—March 2015
Dark Water’s Embrace by Stephen Leigh Our book of the month for March is Stephen Leigh’s Dark Water’s Embrace. This was previously offered as a free book in 2010. Dark Water’s Embrace is a superb example of great science fiction dealing with issues of sexuality and gender. It won the Spectrum award on publication and was on the Locus recommended reading list and was short listed for the Triptree award as well. DESCRIPTION: “Often compared to Ursula K. Le Guin’s ground-breaking The Left Hand of Darkness, Dark Water’s Embrace is a fascinating look at issues of human (and alien) sexuality. Stephen Leigh creates a rich world with elaborate care and uses this alien backdrop to delve into issues of survival, sexuality and the meaning of life itself. On the planet Mictlan, a small colony of stranded humans struggles to survive despite a diminishing birthrate and a high incidence of physical abnormalities. The cultural conflict engendered by the discovery of the mummified corpse of Mictlan’s now extinct former inhabitants forces the human community to reshape its moral principles to accommodate a bold & troubling solution to their problems.” |
The book will be available on a pay-what-you-want basis from March 2 to March 31. Other books by the author will also be offered in related bundles.
A link will be provided from our online catalog page [ https://www.PPickings.com ] or you may go directly to the download page: [ https://www.PhoenixPick.com/botm/Leigh.htm ]
We released Larry Niven’s Stellar Guild entry Red Tide a few months ago. The book is broken down into four separate sections. Larry wrote two of those. Matthew J. Harrington, and the Nebula and Campbell nominee Brad R. Torgersen each wrote one.. The book currently has 4/5 stars on Amazon and we are attaching a PDF with the starting few pages for your perusal. If you like “thinking” stories about subjects like teleportation, you are sure to enjoy this title.
Paperback $14.99
Amazon Kindle $6.99
https://www.PPickings.com
If you are considering joining Hugo- and Nebula-winning New York Times bestselling authors for our third sailing for The Sail to Success writers’ workshop, you may want to sign up now. Prices go up April 1.
If you are a serious writer of speculative fiction you need to check this out [link].
Plus, you’ll get to interact with past students and faculty members even before you make your first payment, so you can get all the inside stories from those who’ve sailed with us before.
Highlights include:
‡ A guaranteed purchase of one story from the pool of students by Galaxy’s Edge magazine, an SFWA-approved venue
‡ A one-on-one meal with a faculty member of your choice (schedule based on enrollment date) to discuss your career and work.
‡ An inside look into writer-agent relationships by one of the top New York-based literary agents for the genre.
‡ A walk-through of the intricacies of writing for the 1632 universe, directly from its creator.
‡ An intense critique of a portion of your manuscript by the head of a major publishing house and a multiple award-winning New York Times bestselling author.
Check out more details of this incredible workshop!
www.SailSuccess.com
Till next month then.
Thank You and Good Day,
Shahid
Arc Manor/Phoenix Pick
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