Popular Posts 6/1-6/8 2013
Have Literary Luddites Taken Over SFF Fandom?! Sexism and the SFWA Girl, You’re In the Army Now Crossroads: The Difficulty of Police Procedural Speculative Fiction No. 18 – C.J. Cherryh, The Faded Sun, and a […]
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Publishing is not a Lottery
If I had a $1 for every time I read online about how publishing is like the lottery, I wouldn’t have to write books any more. I’m not sure where this notion got started, but […]
No. 19 – James Benjamin Blish, Cities in Flight, and Technical Exposition.
No. 19 – 2013 June – James Benjamin Blish, Cities in Flight, and Technical Exposition. James Benjamin Blish may not be as widely known as he ought to be, not when you consider the number […]
Marooned off Vesta by Isaac Asimov
Marooned off Vesta was Asimov’s first published story, appearing in the March 1939 issue of Amazing Stories. The story, and the story behind the story, is an example of man’s will and determination to to never give up.
Anime roundup 6/9/2013: Meeting the Enemy
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet #9 – Now Ledo knows what, or rather who, he’s been fighting… almost. The descendants of the human/squid symbionts went to space, copied the wormhole technology, put on some better […]
Ray guns don’t kill people, peop … — oh wait, yes they do!
Be careful. Be careful, they got ray guns. – Loomis in the Carpenter Street episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, 11/26/2003 In Ray Bradbury’s epic The Martian Chronicles, published in 1950, the author presented his futuristic […]
MCM Expo (Comic-Con) Part Deux
I was recently in London – less than a week ago to be exact – and had the great pleasure of once again attending another MCM Expo at the Excel Centre in east London. It […]
The Artful Collector: Collecting Ahead of the Curve
When we started framing F/SF calendar pages to hang on our walls in the 1960s (the days before commercial prints or posters were available) original Victorian “fairy paintings” by the likes of Fitzgerald, Cruikshank, Doyle […]
My top 10 SF and fantasy picks for the big-screen treatment
Science fiction and fantasy are taking over the realm of the Hollywood summer blockbuster, no question about it. Marvel Studios is gearing up to launch the Avengers franchise into space with the forthcoming Guardians of […]
Site Updates – June 2013
Amazing Stories will be undergoing a few changes and additions over the next couple of weeks: The first change is more of an addition. Following the well received Spanish language posts by Tanya Tynjala, Amazing […]
Bieber to go to Space! Who should be Next?
I was struck by two news items this week. The first was that Justin Bieber has signed up for a trip into space. He’d like to do a concert from there. Whether or not you […]
Flash Gordon Trilogy on DVD
Howdy friends and neighbors. How’s it going? Been kinda wrapped up with writing projects to post much here. But also since this is a blog that comments on subjects far and wide, it’s been hard […]
Sexism and the SFWA
So there’s a brouhaha brewing around the Science Fiction Writers of America and accusations of blatant sexism within that organization. (Actually it’s more like a raging storm in some corners). The controversy surrounds the 200th issue of […]
ASM Blog Horde Interview with Felicity Savage
Welcome to the Amazing Stories BLOG HORDE INTERVIEWS! The ASM Blog Horde is a diverse and wonderful species. I have the privilege of talking with all of them, and I get to share those chats with […]
Review: Come Late to the Love of Birds
Come Late to the Love of Birds, by Sandra Kasturi Tightrope Books, 2012 ISBN 9781926639512 Sandra Kasturi is a poet, writer, and editor, as well as co-creator of a kid’s animated TV series. She […]
The Joy of Reading Star Trek
I must have been in my very early teens when it happened. My mum was working with a lady who happened to be a big Star Trek fan and, for whatever reason she wanted to […]
Have Literary Luddites Taken Over SFF Fandom?!
For the past year, I’ve been doing the indie thing- writing and self-publishing my own novels on Amazon, B&N, etc. During that time I’ve learned quite a lot and have come to the conclusion that […]
Review: Allies and Aliens
Allies and Aliens Roger Macbride Allen Baen I find it hard to remember, looking back over twenty years, which book served as my first proper introduction to Baen Books. One possible candidate was On Basilisk […]
The Peacock Cloak by Chris Beckett
Chris Beckett has been publishing short stories since 1990. His debut novel was The Holy Machine, followed by Marcher, and last year, Dark Eden, which won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for the Best SF […]
Crossroads: The Difficulty of Police Procedural Speculative Fiction
Police procedurals are a complicated genre to explore because they intersect so fluidly with so many other genres. On the one hand, they solidly rest within the mystery tradition: there is a crime that needs […]
Girl, You’re In the Army Now
Why do authors write equal opportunities for women into fantasy worlds with pre-modern technologies and societies? Unless they are Terry Pratchett, they’re only making themselves look silly.
Who Will Be The Next Doctor?
So the news this weekend that Matt Smith will leave Doctor Who at the end of 2013 means that the rumour mill will soon start for the casting of the next Doctor. David Tennant was […]
A Tale of ConQuesT, Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem Part 2
At last the day arrived, and I broke the seal on my compression chamber, releasing an exotic blend of oxygen and nitrogen with a bold taste of helium into the atmosphere. I confess to feeling […]
Characters: Spike Spiegel
Ask someone to name the most important SF anime of all time, and chances are they’ll say Cowboy Bebop. It’s hard to argue. The sometimes-drama-sometimes-comedy about spacefaring bounty hunters had most of what you could […]
Writing Oddly
I’ve been thinking about what makes me write, and what makes writing interesting. I find a lot of gray goo out there. You know what I mean, writing that you can’t remember five minutes after […]
Game of Thrones and the Curse of the Ninth Episode
Traditionally, episode 9 of Game of Thrones has been The Big One. Something HUGE happens which has been building up for an entire season and so it is looked forward to by all with glee, […]
So You Want to Write a Sequel to Your Novel…
Congratulations, you published the next great SF novel and it is a whopping success. Now you are wondering whether you should write a sequel. Before you do that, check out this list of common issues […]
How to Hook Your Reader and Deliver
A great story opening arouses, delays and rewards. Constructing a compelling beginning—often called a hook—is a common challenge for even established writers, and one of the most important parts of a story. The opening should […]
Follow-Up and Follow Through
Writing a blog about writing has led me to a lot of cool websites and other writing blogs. I’ve found more tools than I’ve ever had to help me get my stories written. As I’ve […]
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