Author: Joe Vasicek

Joe Vasicek is the author of more than twenty science fiction books, including the Star Wanderers and Sons of the Starfarers series. As a young man, he studied Arabic and traveled across the Middle East and the Caucasus. He claims Utah as his home.

ABNA reviews of Genesis Earth

Today I checked up on my entry for the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, and saw that it garnered a couple of very encouraging reviews! Here’s the first one: ABNA Expert Reviewer What is the strongest aspect of this excerpt? I enjoyed the background of this excerpt immensely. The futuristic technology like images projected… Continue reading ABNA reviews of Genesis Earth

Memoirs of a Snowflake available on Amazon

I just released my first short story on the Kindle. “Memoirs of a Snowflake,” a whimsical short story about the life and times of a December snowflake, is available for $.99 on Amazon. The publishing process was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.  Because this is a short story, I didn’t… Continue reading Memoirs of a Snowflake available on Amazon

Spinning out

Just a quick post before I go to bed…and I really should, because it’s freaking late. I feel like I’ve been getting more and more busy, yet less and less productive.  It’s @%$! frustrating.  In the last two weeks, I’ve had numerous job applications and interviews (though not as many interviews as I’d like), tons… Continue reading Spinning out

Quarter Finalist? AAAHHHH!!!

Holy crap, Genesis Earth made the quarter finals for the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest! That means that it’s one of 250 other entries that will go on to the next round of voting.  The grand prize is a publishing contract with Penguin for a $15k advance. I’m happy to see I’m not the… Continue reading Quarter Finalist? AAAHHHH!!!

A Fascinating Moral Dilemma

For FHE* tonight, we had an interesting discussion about ethical dilemmas and moral absolutes.  It started with the following question: If you were a prisoner of war, would you consent to have sex with the prison warden if it would set you free? The overwhelming answer, predictably enough (at least from a bunch of Mormons),… Continue reading A Fascinating Moral Dilemma

A few additional thoughts

So, after the last post on my ebook venture, I have a few thoughts: I haven’t yet decided to go all out indie, so don’t think that I am.  All I’m doing right now is putting out a couple of my short stories, mostly so I can learn hands-on how the epublishing process works (and… Continue reading A few additional thoughts

Business Plan for an ebook venture

Alright, after watching the market and giving it some considerable thought, I’ve decided to venture into indie publishing, if only to test the waters.  I’ll release a couple of short stories first, mostly to learn how to format and release an ebook, and from there I’ll move on to other work. I spent this afternoon… Continue reading Business Plan for an ebook venture

A Hidden Place by Robert Charles Wilson

Travis Fisher is an outsider in most places, but nowhere more than the small midwestern town of Haute Montagne.  But when his mother dies, leaving him parentless and jobless in the midst of the Great Depression, his stern aunt and uncle are the only ones who will take him in. When Travis falls in love… Continue reading A Hidden Place by Robert Charles Wilson

Story Notebook #5 (part 1)

Alright, time to revisit my old story notebooks and run through some of the ideas there.  This one starts in fall of 2009, my last semester at BYU,  and ends shortly after my hasty exodus from a miserable internship in Washington DC. And now, without further ado, here goes: A super-celibate society that holds that… Continue reading Story Notebook #5 (part 1)