Dead Wasp Fiction

Bay City, Where Shadows Lie

2011-06-14T05:44:00.000-07:00

I just finished Bay City, Where Shadows Lie by my good friend J.E. Cammon. Now let me first say I had the chance to read the first half or so over a year ago as J and I were in a writing group together. It is good to see all of the key elements I enjoyed then are still intact after publication, as well it was great to finally get to finish it.
This book marks the beginning of a saga in which a werewolf, a vampire, and a magician of sorts are compelled to work together by circumstance as well as commonality. At its core the book gives a depth of character that one can easily immerse themselves in. Cammon doesn't shy away from getting inside the mind of the darker complex characters any more than the younger naive ones. By its end you will find yourself rooting for both. Well paced fun times as well a satisfying ending are all easy to come by in this read. There is just enough to have you ready for more of the saga.
Get it now through Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com or through Cammon's blog.

Combining fiction, film, and fingers.

2010-12-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

Over the past few years, the video game industry has surpassed the film making industry in dollars made. So what does this mean for writers? I don’t think it took these resent statistics to cause anyone to think a writer has a better chance at writing for a video game company than a having the book made into a movie. However, with the success of recent games such as Halo Reach and the multi-platform Call of duty Black Ops. It should be easy for anyone to see the chance at a writer’s chance to be involved with successful franchises.

Award winning fantasy writer, Naomi Novik, is a founding board member of a site called Organization for Transformative Works, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the fair-use rights of fan creators. The site has a section dedicated to video games with thousands of fan-written stories for titles ranging from Assassin’s Creed to Zero: Tsukihami no Kamen Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. And although fan fiction has a reputation for being, less than marketable, in some cases, there is a market for it. Author and good friend, J.E. Cammon, recently post a story on Fictionaut. It is a fiction story about a kid who suffers seizures and plays a video game comparable to Eve online (A MMORPG, with over 300,000 active players reported in March of 2010.) The story is called Forerunner, enjoy.

Meanwhile, as you’re writing, think of your game on the small screen with a controller in your hand, instead of the big screen with popcorn in your mouth. That is unless you have a really big screen. If you do…, you’re probably the guy who keeps shooting me in the back on Black Ops, and I hate you.

Dragon*con killers

2010-09-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome sci fi fans to the event of the south! And as Chris Burns twitted; "What the hell happened? I had like two drinks...and Dragoncon is over."

The convention is over and it flashed by at light speed. The highlight for me was meeting an author of one of my recently reviewed and favorite books I Am Not A Serial Killer, Dan Wells. He is by far the nicest guy that I know who might possibly be thinking about how to kill you. So check out his book or I might help him kill you. Again the event has come and gone and hopefully you don't have too many blisters on your feet and didn't blow all your cash in the vendors' room or on drinks. Check back here because we'll be doing some polls and asking for feedback on what you think could be different for the convention in the future. Again, or we might kill you.

Just kidding, I am planning to order a shirt like that right now. Plus this was my favorite costume of the entire event, so I couldn't be a serial killer... right?

Time to get Wallo'ed

2010-09-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

Doctor Wallo is up and has three chapters for you to enjoy. Check it out and tell your friends.

Dragon*Con

2010-08-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

The time nears again. The four day Sci Fi event of the south starts September 3rd. Here's the info.

Dragon*Con

How Stuff Works: Dragon*Con

I am not a serial killer - Wells

2010-04-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading I am not a serial killer by Dan wells. Some books get good a hundred pages in, this one went from great to awesome a hundred pages in. I'm not the type for gore (on screen or in print) but I couldn't put it down. The book has just enough of the gruesome to support the story of a sociopath and his battle with demons. I highly recommend it!

Dan Well is a co-host on the Writing Excuses podcast. This is his first novel.

Rework

2010-04-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hmm, fitting to have gotten into a book called Rework just as I'm working on edits.
Great book with tons of new ideas and strategies. Very useful for writers too! I got the audible version.

God Engines - Scalzi

2010-02-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

On the recent news of the Nebula awards final ballots for 2009 I picked up The God Engines by John Scalzi (Subterranean Press, Dec09). The lead character, Captain Tephe, is correct in his thought that there is a need for power and grace and Scalzi constructs a balance of both in less than a hundred and forty pages. The book scoops you up and consumes you with a fast paced yet thoughtful tale. As well, the story is such a blend of fantasy and science fiction you will be left thinking they have always belonged together.

Get it quick if you can find it. It's hot.

Boneshaker - Priest

2010-02-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

Just picked up another recommendation from Liz Gorinsky, Cherie Priest's latest, Boneshaker.

The quote on the cover by Scott Westerfeld reads,"A steampunk-zombie-airship adventure of rollicking pace and sweeping proportions, full of wonderfully gnarly details. This book is made of irresistible."

What else do you need?

Check it out and check out her blog. The link is on the blog roll.

And i'm sorry but the cover rules. We need more stories about goggle wearing people. ;)

Everybody google goggles.

Side note: The first recomendatoin from Liz was Spaceman Blues.

Get it and Slattery's second book, Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America.

Both are amazing.

Wow that is a long side note. Thanks Brian, geeze.

Equanimity: The next Issue is out!

2010-02-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

The next Issue of Equanimty is out and should be hitting the shelves at your local Barnes and Noble starting Febuary 9th.

I have two articles in this issue. One on positive thinking and one on the future of education.

The first datapad discovered. It's a mac.

2010-01-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

The "datapad" science fiction writers have been talking about for decades has finally been discovered. And you guessed it . It's a mac. This one costs $499.

Writers of the Future

2010-01-15T06:06:00.000-08:00

Check out this list of Honorable Mentions!
See if you see anyone you know.
Out of thousands of entries in an international contest, eight finalist and 9 semi-finalist along with a hundred Honorable Mentions were chosen by professional and well-known science fiction authors.

Writers of the Future

2010-01-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

Even Han thought that was a bit much for the Falcon.

Got Kindle? Get Animus.

2009-12-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

The first full episode of Animus Maze is now available for your Kindle on Amazon.

Chapter two is currently posted on

Animus Maze

Please enjoy and read responsibly.

Excerpt, No cover, ID required.

2009-12-14T08:51:00.000-08:00

Rufus Wheemes is a character in the Yellow 5 series I'm working on. This is an excerpt from the beginning of a side story featuring him as lead. Please enjoy.

Rufus sat at his stool the same as every other Thursday he wasn’t working. Music thumped, people danced and perfume mingled with cologne and the vapors of alcoholic beverages and breaths. Outfits were revealing and attitudes were forward. Rufus sat. His own drink was potent and it was his fifth.

The place was only a block from his hanger. Originally, he hated it, a sore thumb in his otherwise empty neighborhood of old warehouses and vacant lots. The patrons did nothing but clutter the streets with their shitty attempts at parking and nightly wrecks into fences and each other.

Now however, Rufus was tanked and soaking up every bit of the place. Of course, his way of enjoying it was a little different than the others. Rufus sat, watching, listening and studying. Others danced, drank, yelled at one another over the deafening music and then drank more. Only after his third drink would Rufus admit to himself the women were the real reason he came. Some wore next to nothing and others had moves like nothing he had seen. Most were beyond embarrassingly younger than he was. He never talked to them. He only sat drinking and letting his head empty of everything else. He had the weekend to prepare for his next job so he could chalk tonight up to amusement.

Tonight was sure to be another late night that would find him on the floor of his hanger around noon tomorrow. At least that’s what Rufus thought until dipshit sat next to him.

Jeff's reading

2009-12-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

Here is video of Jeff Vandermeer's reading at Manual's Tavern on Dec 11. The reading was an excerpt from Finch. As the readings began with Joe McDermott, so did the band in the next room at the moustache party... yeah, the moustache party. So eventually we decided to fortify ourselves in the storage room so we could enjoy the readings. Below is the video of Jeff's reading. Please fogive my camera work. Will Hindmarch also gave a daring reading from the ladder.

Warbreaker

2009-11-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

I got to catch up with Brandon Sanderson again at a signing on his tour for The Gathering Storm and Warbreaker. It almost looks like I'm saying something important.

2009-09-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

The next chapter of Animus Maze has begun.

Read the beginning of Chapter 2 now, and get ready for the upcoming Robot Wars.