We need such men, lad, men who can look to the beyond, to ever strive for something out there beyond the stars. It is man’s destiny, I think, to go forward, ever forward. Louis L’Amour, The Warrior’s Path
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.
Why my pronouns are His Majesty / His Majesty’s
I am 90% certain that the views I am about to share are the reason that I was disinvited as a panelist from LTUE, Utah Valley’s local science fiction convention/symposium. LTUE used to be a fantastic convention, and I still have a lot of friends who are regulars there. But sadly, the convention has become… Continue reading Why my pronouns are His Majesty / His Majesty’s
“The injustices of the world…”
Who needs tomes and volumes of history? Children are dying. The injustices of the world hide in those three words. Steven Erikson, Deadhouse Gates
How I keep my reading journal
I am amazed at how many books I’ve read so far this year. Looking just at my resolution to read all of the Hugo and Nebula winning novels, I started with only 32 out of 110 read, and now I’m nearly at 100. Granted, for a lot of those I only read the first and… Continue reading How I keep my reading journal
Reading Resolution Update: May
My 2022 reading resolution: Read or DNF every novel that has won a Hugo or a Nebula award, and acquire all the good ones. When I first got the idea for this new year’s resolution six months ago, I was reading maybe 30-60 pages every other day, with no real goal or direction. My wife… Continue reading Reading Resolution Update: May
“A land needs people to nurse its flesh…”
How lonely were those silent hills! How reaching out for the sounds of men, for I believe a land needs people to nurse its flesh and bring from it the goodness of crops.” Louis L’Amour, The Warrior’s Path.
Spring Shorts 2022 #4: The Freedom of Second Chances
I’m really happy with how this short story turned out. It pushes the edge in a lot of interesting ways, with the main character having to choose between duty and honor and doing what is right, and a forced abortion situation that puts the lie to the “women’s right to choose” insanity. It will probably… Continue reading Spring Shorts 2022 #4: The Freedom of Second Chances
“Belief in the lie…”
Belief in the lie is the life of the lie. Ursula K. Le Guin, Powers.
Refining my short story strategy
I’ve blogged several times about my short story strategy. To restate it briefly, I’ve found that it works best to self-publish all of my short story singles for free, and to take them down when I have enough of them (+40k words, usually about 10 stories) to bundle into a collection. I earn more this… Continue reading Refining my short story strategy
Spring Shorts Story #3: Christopher Columbus, Wildcatter
Wow, has it really been almost three weeks since I finished another short story? I really need to get back into the game. Still, this was a fun one, and I’m really looking forward to turning it into something great. As with the two previous stories, I used the Mythulu cards to come up with… Continue reading Spring Shorts Story #3: Christopher Columbus, Wildcatter