Justine Graykin’s Fantastic Voyage

Pirate issue contributor Justine Graykin (a/k/a Mel Graykin) has a write up of the World Fantasy Convention for her local paper. Shimmer and pirates are mentioned several times, and includes mention of zombies, which is always a plus.

My other gig was the biggie, the long-awaited Shimmer magazine Pirate Party to celebrate the release of their Pirate Issue. The guest editor for the issue was none other than John Joseph Adams of Fantasy and Science Fiction (shown here with a pirate wench). Mary Kowl, the Art Director for Shimmer, served up a hearty pirate grog, which had in it rum of course, and orange juice to prevent scurvy. Beth Wodzinski, editor-in-chief, sported an elegant pirate hat and hoisted the Jolly Roger over the buffet table. There were five of us there to read excerpts of our work as featured in the magazine: Rajan Khanna, whose story “Furies” is a brilliant blow to the male cannon (ahem); J. Kathleen Cheney , with a chilling tale of heartless piracy, Marissa K. Lingen, who gave us an 8-year-old’s perspective on pirates, and Jill Snider Lum, who reveals to us the true and most appropriate fate of Edward Teach, the notorious Blackbeard. And of course, yours truly, with my tale of the “Perfect Hook”. (The Deerfield Public Library has a copy available to be checked out—you can read all these marvelous stories and more. Or better yet, go to Shimmer and subscribe, and be assured of a steady supply of extraordinary tales.)

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F&SF November 2007 Acquisitions

F&SF’s November acquisitions include:

  • Planetesimal Dawn by Tim Sullivan (11,000 words)
  • I Needs Must Part the Policeman Said by Richard Bowes  (11,000 words)
  • Sleepless Years by Steven Utley (4,800 words)
  • Enfant Terrible by Scott Dalrymple (2,500 words)
  • Childrun by Marc Laidlaw (10,500 words)
  • Going Back in Time by Laurel Winter (600 words)
  • Shadows on the Wall of the Cave by Kate Wilhelm (5600 words)

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Ticketmaster, oh, you know me so well…

I’m going to a great concert on Friday–Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Soilwork, and DevilDriver. I’m a huge fan of all four of these bands and this is pretty much the best multi-band bill I’ve seen.

I got the tickets from Ticketmaster, and after checkout they send me a coupon code for a free song from iTunes, which I thought was pretty cool. They also gave me access to a free multi-song sampler of "hand-picked" music. By "hand-picked" I thought that they meant the selections were chosen based on the concert ticket I bought. And so I thought, "Wow, that’s pretty cool, and a great way to cross-merchandise bands." However, this is the artist list of the sampler they gave me:

  • Motion City Soundtrack
  • Matt Nathanson
  • Mandy Moore
  • Galactic & Juvenile & Soul Rebels Brass Band
  • Bloc Party
  • Finger Eleven
  • Noisettes
  • Kaiser Chiefs
  • Ryan Shaw
  • Manic Street Preachers

 

Mandy Moore? WTF? In their defense, however, it was an email from Ticketmaster that notified me about the concert in the first place, so for that at least (and for the free iTunes song) I’m grateful.

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Any Gmail/Windows Mobile users out there?

Does anyone know of a third-party application for Windows Mobile that will allow me to read HTML messages from my Gmail account? I’ve got my Pocket PC phone’s default email manager setup to interface with my Gmail account, and it works, except that it won’t display HTML messages. It receives them, but when you open them, they’re just blank. So it’s still useful as a notifier, but I’d much rather, you know, be able to read messages with it. I’ve looked this problem up online, and it seems it’s a problem with all Gmail/Windows Mobile users, so it’s not just me. I’m thinking there must be some other program I could use, but I haven’t been able to find anything.

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links for 2007-11-29

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Books Received 11/28/07

0765318210Voices From the Street
Author: Philip K. Dick

Book Description: Stuart Hadley is a radio electronics salesman in early 1950s Oakland, California. He has what many would consider the ideal life; a nice house, a pretty wife, a decent job with prospects for advancement, but he still feels unfulfilled. Something is missing from his life. Hadley is a restless young man-an artist, a dreamer, a screw-up. He reacts to the love of his wife and the kindness of his employer with anxiety and fear. He tries to fill his void first with drinking, and then with an affair, and finally with religious fanaticism, but nothing seems to be working, and it is driving him crazy.Voices from the Street is the story of Hadley’s descent into depression and madness, and his emergence out the other side.

 

0765319233Chronicles of the Black Company
Author: Glen Cook

Book Description: Darkness wars with darkness as the hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must. They bury their doubts with their dead. Then comes the prophecy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more…. This omnibus edition comprises The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose.

 

0670060593The Starry Rift
Editor: Jonathan Strahan

Book Description: Truly successful science fiction does two things: it gives credible glimpses into the future while entertaining the reader. With this in mind, noted anthologist Jonathan Strahan—who is also the reviews editor of Locus magazine—asked sixteen of today’s most inventive, compelling writers to look past the horizon of the present day. Neil Gaiman (Anansi Boys), Kelly Link (Magic for Beginners), Garth Nix (the Abhorsen Trilogy), Scott Westerfeld (Uglies; Pretties; Specials) and their colleagues have crafted a dazzling range of stories. Whether on spaceships, in suburbia, or in simulated gaming worlds, whether about cloning, battle tactics, or corporate politics, the stories of The Starry Rift will give every reader something to consider. This original anthology is crucial reading for those who want to see where the future—and the future of science fiction—is headed.

 

1595141847Tim, Defender of the Earth!
Author: Sam Enthoven

Book Description: Tim, Defender of the Earth, is a rock’em, sock‘em thriller filled with smoke, spectacle, and big-time adventure. Big Ben will fall! Westminster Abbey will crumble! London will never be the same!

TIM, aka Tyrannosaurus: Improved Model, is the product of a top-secret government military experiment, and he couldn’t be more loveable. Sure, he’s an enormous monster to most, but at heart he’s just a big, awkward, thirteen-yearold who realizes he could be all that stands between the earth and total destruction. (Take that, Godzilla.)

Now TIM must form an unlikely alliance with fifteen-year-olds Chris and Anna in order to save humanity from the greatest threat it has ever known: Anna’s father, the brilliant and demented Professor Mallahide, and his growing tide of vicious, all-consuming nanobots. Will TIM prevail and save the British Isles and the world from evil? We’ll all have to hold hands, read, and believe—in TIM, Defender of the Earth!

 

0525479554Gods of Manhattan
Author: Scott Mebus

Book Description
Look. What do you see? Sidewalks, skyscrapers, pigeons? But there’s more. More that only twelve-year-old Rory Hennessey can see. More that only Rory can reveal to others.

So, look again. What do you see? Layered on our own New York is a spirit city inhabited by warrior cockroaches, malevolent subway trains, kung fu rodents, hungry gargoyles, and children made entirely of papier-mache. Built by history and legend, it’s ruled by the Gods of Manhattan, lions of New York like Peter Stuyvesant and Babe Ruth.

Now everyone is racing to find Rory—the boy who can see. The boy who can change the destiny of New York.

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Small Beer Press sale

Small Beer Press is having a sale!

It’s Yet Another Sale! Happens Once a Year. Ends December 24!

No, wait. Say someone gives you $$$ for Xmas or whatever and you (sensibly) want to Buy These Books! Ok. Now this sale runs until December 31st, 2007 and no later.

We Are Meeting Everyone Else’s Prices! Except Those People Who Live in the Middle of Nowhere and List Books for 1 penny. How Can They Do That? Anyway, There Are Tons of Deals! We Are Pretending We Are Crazy Used-Car Salesmen Shouting About Crazy Low Prices. (Our throats are getting sore.)

All Books Come with Meaningless 100,000-Mile Invisible Warranty! All Books Printed on Paper! Guaranteed to Be Printed with Ink! Guaranteed to Be Books!

Go buy some stuff. Lots of great things to choose from.

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