Tag: LTUE

Mid-July Update

The heat of the summer is upon us, and our air conditioning is… struggling. Hopefully we get it fixed soon, because my wife really can’t stand the heat, and if she can’t sleep, neither can I.

Not much happening around here. We’re just plugging away, me at my writing, Piper at her thesis. She just finished her user study, so all she needs to do is write up the thesis itself and defend it. That’s currently the top priority in the household, so I’m doing my best to write around it.

I’ll be at Writers Cantina later this month, where I’ll be on a panel about AI and writing, and moderating a couple of other panels, including one with Larry Correia. That one should be fun. Writers Cantina is a fantastic little convention, started by a bunch of us local writers who occasionally get together at the IHOP up in American Fork. We started after Life, the Universe, and Everything went a little crazy in 2020, mandating vaccines at the very last minute and pulling all sorts of other woke shenanigans. Writers Cantina isn’t explicitly anti-woke, but it’s definitely not woke either. It is a lot of fun, though! Kind of like what LTUE was back in the 00’s, except without a dealer’s room, and the hallway is the main attraction. Oh, and lots of great snacks.

Other than that, there’s not much going on around here. We’re going up to Canada right after Writers Cantina, and as soon as we get back, we’re moving back to Orem. I am both looking forward and really not looking forward to that. Hopefully we can get everything moved over with a minimum of chaos (especially since my wife is starting her new job at the same time). And then we’re having a baby. Yay!

Are vaccine-related deaths decimating the SF field?

This is an extremely polarizing and contentious issue right now, so I’m going to try to make this post as fact-based and non-sensational as possible.

Full disclosure: I never got the covid shot. My wife and I both had covid before the “vaccines” became available, and decided that our natural immunity provided enough protection for us. We were also trying to become pregnant, and even in January 2021, we had heard rumors that the shots were affecting both men’s and women’s fertility, as well as women’s menstrual cycles, and didn’t feel that the risk was worth it, in spite of the tremendous social pressure to get “vaccinated.”

At the end of the day, we simply did not trust that the “vaccines” were safe (and I put “vaccine” in quotes, because we now know that these shots do not provide lasting immunity, nor do they prevent transmission. The health establishment literally had to change the definition of “vaccine” for that word to apply to these treatments). We were wary of the fact that the emergency use provisions absolved the manufacturers of any liability, and that the long-term effects of these shots was unknown. In our family’s calculation, the potential risks outweighed the potential benefits, especially since we already had natural immunity and were unlikely to contract covid again.

In the past year, some very disturbing things about the “vaccines” have come to light. A recent poll by Rasmussen shows that more than 1 in 4 Americans believe they know someone who has died of the covid “vaccines”—not from covid itself, but from the vaccines. Interestingly, more Democrats (about 1 in 3) than Republicans (about 1 in 4) claim that they know someone, which is interesting, because the political left was much more taken with the “vaccine” mania than the political right. Remember that super cringey vaccine song on Colbert’s show?

The last two years have been crazy, for sure. But how has it affected the science fiction and fantasy world? The January issue of Locus Magazine made me curious about this, since Greg Bear recently passed away “after complications from heart surgery,” and the obituary section mentioned two other people under the age of 60, one of whom “died unexpectedly.”

So I went through all of the back issues of Locus from January 2021 to the present, and made a comprehensive list of every person mentioned in the obituaries, with their age and cause of death. If they died of a stroke or an accute heart-related issue, I bolded their name, since the mechanism for death appears to be related to blood clots caused by the spike protein that the mRNA “vaccine” is designed to generate. Also, I bolded the name of anyone 70 or younger who died without the cause of death listed. The global average life expectancy is just north of 70, which is lower than the US, but I decided to take the lower of those numbers. I also bolded any names where the cause was listed as covid, since many people who died in the first couple of weeks after getting the shot were automatically listed as covid, especially in the initial rollout.

Here is the list:

JAN 2021

  • Ben Bova (88): “contracting COVID-19, developing Pneumonia, and suffering a stroke.”
  • Phyllis Eisensetein (74): “suffered a stroke in January 2020 and entered hospice care not long after.”
  • Richard Corben (80): “died December 2, 2020 after heart surgery.”
  • Dean Ing (89): cause not listed (died July 21, 2020).

FEB 2021

  • James Gunn (97): cause not listed.
  • Storm Constantine (64): “following a long illness.”
  • Anton Strout (50): “died unexpectedly.”
  • Jael (83): cause not listed.
  • Alison Lurie (94): “in hospice.”
  • Richard West (76): “of COVID-19.”
  • Joseph Altairac (63): cause not listed.

MAR 2021

  • Kathleen Ann Goonan (68): cause not listed.
  • Rowena Morrill (76): “following years of poor health.”
  • Jean-Claude Carrière (89): “of natural causes.”

APR 2021

  • Norton Juster (91): “complications following a stroke.”
  • Dean Morrissey (69): cause not listed.
  • Michael G. Adkisson (65): cause not listed.

MAY 2021

  • John C. Pelan (63): “of an apparent heart attack.”
  • Wanda June Alexander (69): “diagnosed with lung cancer last year, and though she underwent successful treatment, her lungs were severely damaged, and she entered hospice care in January 2021.”

JUN 2021

  • Marvin Kaye (83): “in hospice care.”
  • Don Sakers (62): “of a heart attack.”
  • Jan Stirling (71): cause not listed.
  • Jim Rittenhouse (64): “in hospice care.”
  • Anish Deb (69): “of COVID-19.”

JUL 2021

  • Bob Brown (78): “after a valiant battle with esophageal cancer.”

AUG 2021

  • William F. Nolan (93): “of complications from an infection.”
  • Stephen Hickman (72): “of natural causes.”
  • Joe McKinney (52): “in his sleep.”
  • Paul Alexander (83): cause not listed.
  • John Longendorfer (90): cause not listed.

SEP 2021

  • Elizabeth Anne Hull (84): cause not listed.
  • Patricia Kennealy-Morrison (75): cause not listed.
  • C. Dean Andersson (75): “in his sleep… after a long illness.”
  • J.W. Rinzler (58): “of pancreatic cancer.”
  • Ron Weighell (70): “a few weeks after suffering a stroke.”
  • Lorna Toolis (68): cause not listed.
  • Judi B. Castro (58): “following a brief illness.”

OCT 2021

  • Erle Korshak (97): cause not listed.
  • L. Neil Smith (75): “after a lengthy battle with heart and kidney disease.”
  • Carol Carr (82): “of lung cancer.”
  • Genevieve DiModica (73): “of natural causes.”

NOV 2021

  • Mary Kay Kare (69): “of a blood infection.”
  • Gary Paulsen (82): “of cardiac arrest.”
  • Lou Antonelli (64): cause not listed.
  • Douglas Barbour (81): “of lung cancer.”
  • Otacilio Costa D’Assuncao Barros (67): “was found dead in his apartment… after two days without contact by neighbors. The cause of death has not been disclosed.”

DEC 2021

  • Petra Mayer (46): “died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism.”
  • Robert Thurston (84): cause not listed.
  • Jim Fiscus (76): “died suddenly.”
  • Catherine M. Morrison (52): “after a brief illness.”

JAN 2022

  • Anne Rice (80): “of complications from a stroke.”
  • Diana G. Gallagher (75): “of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.”
  • William G. Contento (74): “after a long struggle with prostate cancer.”
  • Jeremy G. Byrn (57): “after a long illness.”
  • Chris Achilleos (74): cause not listed.
  • Jose Luis Benicio da Fonseca (84): cause not listed.

FEB 2022

  • Willie Siros (69): cause not listed.
  • Dave Wolverton (64): “after suffering a severe head injury falling down the stairs the previous day.”
  • Ron Goulart (89): cause not listed.
  • John Jos. Miller (67): cause not listed.
  • J. Brian Clark (93): cause not listed.
  • Sally Gwylan (67): “in a traffic accident.”
  • Jane E. Hawkins (70): “was a cancer survivor, but she received a terminal diagnosis and went into hospice.”
  • Elizabeth Miller (82): cause not listed.
  • Bill Wright (84): “fallen at home and ‘thought he had broken his back.’”
  • Chuck Verrill (unknown): “after a long illness.”
  • Athos Eichler Cardoso (87): cause not listed.

MAR 2022

  • Angelica Gorodischer (93): cause not listed.
  • Tom Dupree (72): “of cardio-respiratory arrest.”
  • Harold R. Johnson (68): “of lung cancer.”

APR 2022

  • Andy Remic (50): “of cancer.”
  • Faren Miller (71): “after being hospitalized with serious respiratory problems.”
  • Shirley Hughes (94): cause not listed.
  • Melissa Mead (62): cause not listed.
  • Priscilla Tolkien (92): “after a brief illness.”
  • Aiki Flinthart (unknown): “after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.”

MAY 2022

  • Robert C. Cornett (69): cause not listed.
  • Bill Johnson (65): cause not listed.
  • Valerio Evangelisti (69): cause not listed.
  • Joel Houssin (68): “after a long battle with MS.”
  • Carlos Emilio C. Lima (65): “from an infection following surgery.”
  • Lygia Fagundes Telles (98-103): cause not listed.

JUN 2022

  • Patricia A. McKillip (74): cause not listed.
  • Sergey Dyachenko (77): cause not listed.

JUL 2022

  • Ken Kelly (76): cause not listed.

AUG 2022

  • Eric Flint (75): cause not listed.
  • Geoffrey H. Goodwin (50): “of heart failure.”
  • Dorothy J. Heydt (80): cause not listed.
  • Barbara Haldeman (Barbara Delaplace) (69): cause not listed.
  • Jonathan Lyons (52): “succumbed to injuries after being mugged.”

SEP 2022

  • Nichelle Nichols (89): “of heart failure.”
  • Alexei Panshin (82): cause not listed.
  • Robert “Bob” Self (55): “as the result of an accident.”
  • Wayn McCalla (53): “following a long illness.”
  • Roland J. Green (76): cause not listed.

OCT 2022

  • Peter Straub (79): “after a long illness.”
  • Bruce Taylor (75): “after a brief hospital stay. He had a heart condition and was in poor health recently.”
  • Maureen Kincaid Speller (63): “she had cancer.”
  • J.G. “Huck” Huckenpohler (81): cause not listed.

NOV 2022

  • Robert A. Madle (102): “died peacefully in his sleep.”
  • Albert E. Cowdrey (88): cause not listed.
  • Hilary Mantel (70): cause not listed.
  • Matthew Mather (52): “died suddenly.”
  • Lani Forbes (35): “of neuroendocrine cancer.”

DEC 2022

  • Tom Maddox (77): “of a stroke.”
  • Martin Morse Wooster (64): “the victim of a hit-and-run.”
  • Jill Pinkwater (81): cause not listed.
  • Sue Strong Hassler (84): “of complications from back surgery and COVID.”
  • Anne Fakhouri (48): “following a long illness.”
  • Justin E.A. Busch (63): cause not listed.
  • Ned Dameron (79): “of ALS.”

JAN 2023

  • Greg Bear (71): “after complications from heart surgery.”
  • Anne Harris (58): “after suffering a stroke.”
  • Marcus Sedgwick (54): “died unexpectedly.”

To be clear, there may be benign explanations for many or even most of the people whose names are bolded. Strokes and heart attacks have been killing people long before the covid “vaccines” existed, and continue to kill people without any help from the “vaccines.” Also, many people who died under 70 may simply have been in poor health—after all, it’s not like the SF field is known for robust physical fitness. However, there may also be people on this list who did die of vaccine-related issues, whose names I did not bold because they were over 70 and the cause wasn’t listed. So it cuts both ways.

My purpose is not to compile a comprehensive list of vaccine-related deaths in the SF field, but to point out some deaths that appear to be suspect. And of the 114 people listed, more of them “died unexpectedly” or “died suddenly” than died of covid, which is worth noting.

If you haven’t seen the documentary Died Suddenly, it’s worth watching, even though it does have some flaws. Most notably, toward the end it recycles some disturbing footage of people who either did not die, or who died before the pandemic, implying that they all died of the vaccines. You can find a much more in-depth and non-sensational treatment of vaccine-related deaths and injuries on Chris Martenson’s channel, especially in this video where he interviews several morticians about the clotting issue:

Vaccine safety is a very serious issue, and every day, it seems that we are learning new things about the covid “vaccines” that call into question all of our assumptions and beliefs. The science fiction field has always leaned to the political left, especially on the traditional publishing side. For the past two years, many of our conventions and other events have pushed mask mandates, or required proof of vaccination, including our own LTUE here in Utah.

Has this lockstep, unquestioning, and at times almost militant advocacy of the establishment narrative led to the tragic loss of several writers and artists before their time? Has it decimated—indeed, is it continuing to decimate—the talented creators in our field? How many wonderful stories will never be written because of this? How many voices will no longer be heard?

I hope that we can come to a place where we can honestly start asking these questions. Because if we can’t, then the science fiction and fantasy field has lost much more than those who have died, and the gifts they would have shared with us.

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 increasingly woke in the past few years, and now appears to be entering the “go broke” phase of that process. It didn’t help that just a few weeks before the 2022 convention, they decided to require proof of vaccination from all attendees, and refused to offer refunds on memberships that had already been purchased.

I recognize that I probably wouldn’t have been disinvited from the convention if I’d just passively gone along with the preferred pronouns thing, staying in my lane and not making waves. But here’s the thing: because of my personal views on the issue, that would have been moral cowardice. And moral cowardice is, I believe, the root cause of much of the insanity happening in the world today. It’s the reason why those 19 kids in Uvalde, Texas are dead: because of the moral cowardice of the police who refused to do their damned jobs and stop the mass shooter. It’s the same moral cowardice that allows evil people in high places to silence their underlings, for fear of losing their pensions, or positions, or jobs, or whatever. It’s the same moral cowardice that allows groomers and radical ideologues to use social media to dominate the culture war, because good and reasonable people are afraid that if they say what they honestly believe, they will incur the wrath of an online mob and be canceled. I don’t agree 100% with Tim Pool on how to put this principle into practice, but I do agree that arguing “I have kids, I can’t afford to be canceled and lose my job” isn’t enough to absolve you of your moral cowardice. The only way to reverse the madness that our world is currently passing through is for a critical mass of us to stand up, be brave, and reject the moral cowardice that has gotten us into this mess in the first place. After all, it’s not like the nature of evil has changed in the last few years.

So I hope you’ll excuse the rant, but the things I’m about to say are things that would qualify me as a moral coward if I refused to say them. I believe them that firmly. And before anyone accuses me of “violence” (as we see so often from those who wrongly conflate speech for violence and violence for speech), I want you to know that there is no hatred or malice in my heart that is driving me to say these things: only a firm and unyielding conviction of the truth, as I understand it.

In the last few years, it has become fashionable for people to post their “preferred pronouns” on their online profiles, or to give their “preferred pronouns” when introducing themselves. The underlying idea is that it is wrong to assume a person’s gender, and that if someone considers themselves to be queer or transgender, we should all affirm their delusions. Indeed, calling transgenderism a delusion is enough to incur the wrath of the online hate mobs and get you canceled for being a “transphobe.” But here’s the thing:

I will not respect your pronouns.

I will never respect your pronouns.

“Preferred pronouns” are a form of controlled speech, and controlling people’s speech is how you control their minds. But I don’t want my mind to be controlled, especially not by people who I believe to be deluded at best, and malicious at worst. People who would like to see my views silenced and my person canceled.

You see, I reject the idea that gender and biological sex are separable. I believe that gender is innate, immutable, and biologically essential. Yes, I recognize that there are nuances to the biology of sex, like people who are born with XXY chromosomes or other intersex conditions. It doesn’t change my personal view that gender and biological sex are inseparably connected.

My views are rooted in my personal faith. In fact, my church’s teachings are very clear about the role of gender in our lives:

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

So for me, the question of gender is not a small issue. It is central to my faith, which makes it a hill that I am absolutely willing to die on.

But here’s the thing: if you don’t share my religious views, I totally understand. I’m not trying to preach to you, or convert you, or force you to accept my views on this issue. We can agree to disagree and still get along just fine with each other, even if you believe in transgenderism and preferred pronouns.

I just want you to return the favor.

When you try to control my speech by insisting that I use your “preferred pronouns”–especially when you get all worked up about it–what I hear is “fuck your religion, fuck your faith, fuck your God, and fuck you. Bend the knee, you transphobic white supremacist, or I will put a target on your back and destroy you.”

No, thank you.

I’m not going to deny a central tenet of my faith. I’m not going to be cowed into affirming something that I believe to be wrong. I hold no malice toward those who disagree with me, but I refuse to live by lies or to bend the knee to the false gods of the woke regime.

And because of how important this issue is to me, I’m not going to be passive about it, either. That is why my “preferred pronouns” are His Majesty / His Majesty’s. I am 100% serious about that. And don’t forget the capitalization, you bigot.

“But Joe! How can you insist that people use your preferred pronouns when you refuse to use theirs? Doesn’t that make you a hypocrite?”

You need to familiarize yourself with Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, my friend. Rule 4: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” Also, rule 5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. There is no defense. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage.”

When I started doing this, it was just a harmless joke. Intuitively, though, it just didn’t seem right to answer “what are your preferred pronouns?” with the blandly normal (and thus obviously discouraged) “he/him.” I didn’t go out of my way to make that joke, but in instances where I couldn’t avoid it, such as when the submission guidelines (or convention questionaires) required that I give my preferred pronouns, that was the answer I always gave.

And I sincerely believe that it is the right answer. I didn’t choose this ridiculous regime, but if you’re going to force me to live under it, then I’m going to make you live by your own rules, dammit. That’s what you get for trying to control my mind by controlling my speech. And if you’re going to blacklist me, or disinvite me, or call me a “transphobe,” or otherwise excommunicate me from your society, so be it. I will not bend the knee.

A man is an adult male human. Pronouns: he/him.

A woman is an adult female human. Pronouns: she/her.

They/them is typically used to indicate plural, but can be used in some circumstances to refer to an individual when it is not possible to determine their gender. However, no one’s gender is inherently such that “they/them” pronouns are requisite in all cases.

If that offends you, get over yourself. I say that with all of the love in my icy cold heart. Seriously, you will be happier, healthier, and more fulfilled if you change your life to conform to reality, rather than trying to change reality to conform with yourself.

But I’m not going to force your speech. If you want to post your “preferred pronouns” on your profile, or introduce yourself with them, I’m not going to be offended or try to stop you. I just won’t use them.

As for my “preferred pronouns,” how you respond to those tells me everything I need to know about you.

#GiveThanks Day Four

(45) I’m grateful for Jordan Peterson and his courage to speak the truth as he sees it, even in the face of incredible opposition.

(46) I’m grateful for the “intellectual dark web” and how they show that there are still intelligent people who can discuss important issues with those with whom they disagree.

(47) I’m grateful for the voices in the alternative media that push back against the gaslighting of the mainstream media.

(48) On a less political note, I’m grateful for Mike Duncan and his History of Rome podcast, which taught me far more about the Romans and their impact on our world than my college education ever did.

(49) I’m also grateful for Mike Duncan’s Revolutions podcast, which has done the same thing for the history of our modern era.

(50) I’m grateful for Dan Carlin and his numerous podcasts, especially Hardcore History.

(51) I’m grateful for the Writing Excuses podcast, which was very influential in how I developed my writing craft back when I was just getting started.

(52) I’m grateful for the Six Figure Authors podcast and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing podcast, and the excellent marketing and publishing ideas that they give me.

(53) I’m grateful for the Sell More Books Show and how it helps me to stay up to date with what’s happening in indie publishing.

(54) I’m grateful for the Mythulu cards that my wife got me for my birthday, and how they’ve helped me this nanowrimo to come up with some great story ideas.

(55) I’m grateful for Kris Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith, and the influence they were in helping me to decide to self publish back in 2011.

(56) I’m grateful for Life, the Universe, and Everything, and how that conference was and continues to be critical in shaping my writing career.

(57) I’m grateful for the writing group that I was fortunate enough to marry into, and the good advice and feedback that I receive from it.

(58) I’m grateful for Quark, BYU’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Club, and for how it provided me with a community of like-minded geeks and aspiring writers in college.

(59) I’m grateful for Leading Edge and the opportunity that I had to read for their slushpile, back when I was still learning my craft.

(60) I’m grateful for all of the other science fiction conventions I’ve been able to attend over the years, including Worldcon, World Fantasy, FanX, CONduit, and others.

2020-02-15 Newsletter Author’s Note

This author’s note originally appeared in the February 15th edition of my newsletter. To sign up for my author newsletter, click here.

I’m writing this author’s note on Friday evening, after a long and wonderful day at Life, the Universe, and Everything (LTUE). Of all the science fiction conventions that I attend, I think LTUE is my favorite. It’s local to Utah Valley, so a lot of the regulars have become longtime friends of both mine and Mrs. Vasicek’s.

But the biggest reason I love LTUE is because it has such a strong writing track. Where FanX Salt Lake (the big local media con) is all about fandom and geek culture, LTUE is all about helping creatives to develop their craft, learn the business, and connect with the people who love the things that they create. It started as an academic symposium for aspiring science fiction writers, but in recent years it has branched out to other creative fields like art, film, gaming, etc, all with an emphasis on science fiction and fantasy.

There have been a lot of really great panels in the last couple of days. One of my favorites was on the future of Fantasy, where Peter Orullian, James A. Owen, Rafael Hohmann, and Charlie Pulsipher (who does a fantastic Velociraptor impression) discussed the rise and fall of Grimdark, the dawning of Noblebright, the push from the industry for the #ownvoices movement, and the indie explosion of LitRPG. Lots of really fascinating trends to keep an eye on!

I forget which panel it was on, but M. Todd Gallowglass gave some really prescient advice for aspiring writers: “You don’t make a writing career by being read; you make a career by being reread.” He was also on a great panel about whether or not it’s worth it to pursue a master’s degree, and he shared some very interesting points that run counter to what I’ve heard from everybody else: namely, that for a career writer it generally isn’t worth it. M. Todd Gallowglass is one of my newest favorite people at LTUE, and he’s always a blast to talk and hang out with.

The good folks from World Fantasy Convention are here at LTUE as well, and they gave a panel talking about all the wonderful things we can expect from attending World Fantasy 2020 in Salt Lake this year. It’s so close by, why wouldn’t we want to attend? I’m really torn on this: it’s a convention that caters more to the traditional side of the business, which isn’t the path that I’m pursuing, but I attended World Fantasy in 2009 and 2010, and it is a really great convention… also, it’s so close this year, practically in our own backyard… I don’t know. But even if I decide not to go, I will almost certainly attend the barcon.

The LTUE benefit anthology launch party was also a lot of fun! Lots of great stories from old-timers and regulars. I look forward to reading it! I also look forward to collecting as many signatures from everyone as I can. For last year’s anthology, Trace the Stars, I’ve gotten all but four of the author signatures. Also, I’m happy to report that next year’s LTUE benefit anthology will include a story of my own!

Brandon Sanderson wasn’t here on Thursday or Friday, but I expect we’ll be seeing him tomorrow. Kevin J. Anderson is here, as well as David Farland, Eric James Stone, and Tony Daniels, senior editor at Baen. Tony Daniels was also on a panel today with Mrs. Vasicek, where they discussed near future SF. Lots of fascinating things to think about, both from a technological angle and a social angle. I really liked Mrs. Vasicek’s “left field” near-future prediction: that AIs will eventually replace professors and every college student will have a personally tailored AI!

Speaking of Mrs. Vasicek, she gave a really fantastic presentation today called “Rage Against the Algorithm,” where she offered some insight into the Amazon hive mind, gleaned from their recent research papers. It appears that book covers are about to matter a whole lot more in the Amazon algorithm, and that they are putting a lot more emphasis on search and on the review system (which they are working to fix). Also, book categorization may start to become dependent at least partially on reviews. If you’re one of my author-fans and all of this sounds intriguing, let me know and I’ll email you a copy of her powerpoint.

On Friday morning, I moderated a panel on unconventional outlining techniques with Mackenzie Kincaid, Michael F. Haspil, and Els Curtis. That was a lot of fun. Mackenzie had some really great advice for productivity apps and hacking your own personal habits, and Michael and Els had lots of great insight into their own personal outling methods as well. Some really great questions from the audience really got the panel rolling, and I think it turned out quite well.

Friday night was the big mass booksigning, and it was a lot of fun! Definitely my most successful signing even so far. Caught up with a bunch of my old fans, and met a lot of new people as well, several of whom went on to buy a book or two. Also got into some really great conversations with other fellow creatives, including Emily Martha Sorenson, whom Mrs. Vasicek and I chatted with until almost everyone else was gone. It was really fantastic to talk with so many great people who share the same passion for geek culture and speculative fiction! Mrs. Vasicek and I both had a blast.

By the time this newsletter reaches your inbox, we will probably be on our way to the last day of LTUE. Mrs. Vasicek has a panel on computer hacking that looks really interesting, and I’m on a writing/publishing panel about how to avoid rookie mistakes—basically, how to learn from all of the many, many mistakes I’ve made over the years! Should be a lot of fun. If you’re there, be sure to come up and say hi! If not, maybe next year.

That’s my LTUE report for this year. It’s definitely shaping up to be one of the more memorable ones. Each year, it seems to get even better—may that continue for many more years to come!

Trace the Stars edited by Joe Monson and Jaleta Clegg

I picked up my paperback copy of this anthology at LTUE this year, and immediately set about collecting all of the signatures from the authors that I could find. I’ve currently got everyone except for Nancy Fulda, Wulf Moon, Beth Buck, and Julia H. West. Once I have acquired these last four signatures, it will transform at last into a mighty book of power!

So I only gave this anthology three-stars on Goodreads, but that’s not because it’s a bad book. Rather, it’s because my Goodreads rating philosophy is different from my Amazon rating philosophy. A three-star on Goodreads is more like a four-star on Amazon: not terrible, but not super great either. I reserve my five-stars on Goodreads for the best of the best, the truly life-changing books that will forever leave their imprint upon me.

Anyways. Overall, I’d say that the anthology was pretty even-keel. There weren’t any amazing stories in it, but there weren’t any stinkers either. My favorite was “The Road Not Taken” by Sandra Tayler, about a starliner passenger who was subject to a freak anomaly that created a duplicate of the ship. One of them got the husband and the family, while the other got the career, and they meet up once a year to see how the other is doing. No matter what they say, you really can’t have it all.

I also really liked “Angles of Incidence” by Nancy Fulda. The aliens were really fascinating. Deep sea lava vent dwellers with knobby shells, but the really interesting part was the development of their language and how that factored into the story. Also, a slumbering god-queen who devours anyone who dares to wake her. Fun times.

Brad Torgerson’s and Kevin J. Anderson’s stories appealed to my inner twelve year-old, as did David Farland’s (though it had a rather slow start). “Cycle 335” by Beth Buck had a twist that I really enjoyed. The ending of “Neo Nihon” by Paul Genesse was also very satisfying, though wow—what a dark story!

Those were the ones that really stuck with me. The others weren’t bad—like I said, there weren’t any real stinkers. For a benefit anthology, it was pretty good. I’m looking forward to picking up the next one at LTUE 2020, as well as collecting the last four signatures and turning this into a book of power! Bwahahahaha!

My LTUE 2016 schedule

LTUEIt’s February, and that means it’s time for Life, the Universe, and Everything! From Thursday to Saturday this week, I’ll be at LTUE in Provo, Utah, my hometown sci-fi convention. If you get a chance to come and attend some panels, here is my schedule:

Thursday

Flashbacks: Yea or Nay?

An in-depth discussion about how to write an effective flashback, and when you should avoid flashbacks entirely.

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Know Your Publishing Options

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

A discussion on how current publishing strategies differ from more conventional strategies, and how to decide which is best for you.

Friday

A Leisure Society

A look at what becomes of people when computers and robots are doing all the work.

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Saturday

Slower Than Light Space Travel

The limits of and possibilities for life in space without faster than light travel.

11:00 pm – 12:00 pm

 

LTUE 2013

Man, LTUE 2013 was this weekend, and it was AWESOME.  One of the best conventions I’ve ever attended.  I spoke on my first panel, attended my first book signing event as an author, and got to meet up with some old friends, as well as some amazing new people.

Since I live tweeted most of the panels I attended, I thought it might be interesting to repost a few of those here, with some additional thoughts.  So…here goes!

THURSDAY

I believe this was Scott Parkin from the “What Do You Write?” panel. Good advice. Megan Whalen Turner also had some very interesting things to say on the subject of genre, which I have since forgotten. But I recorded it, and the recording will eventually be made publicly available in the LTUE conference archives, or so I’ve been told.

This one was from the “What Is ‘Punk’ Literature and Its Many Genres?” panel. David Butler and Larry Correia were HILARIOUS. Nearly got into a wrestling match right in front of us.

And when the esteemed Mr. Butler began to describe his book, I swear, a choir of steampunk angel Moronis somewhere began to sing a heavenly chorus. I mean, he had me with Edgar Allen Poe faking his death to become a secret agent, but Orson Pratt’s phlogiston guns? Eliza R. Snow as chief counterintelligence officer for the Kingdom of Deseret? I will definitely be checking out this book, City of the Saints (which is apparently a finalist for the 2013 Whitney Award).

David Butler is also a way cool guy. I hung out with him a bit in the dealer’s room, chatting about Mormon history, Lyman Wight (“shoot and be damned!”), Sir Richard Francis Burton’s expedition to Salt Lake City, and all sorts of other crazy zany stuff. And the whole time, he was playing a guitar. So yeah, definitely a way cool guy.

This discovery CHANGED MY LIFE. Also, it helped me to save immensely on lunch money, as well as join in on some way cool conversations with other panelists as they desperately tried to escape their fans. Okay, not really, but the green room was AWESOME.

Howard Taylor’s presentation on teasers was tremendously insightful. In a nutshell, he said that a teaser (aka book description on Amazon / back cover) should have or at least point to the following things:

  1. The inciting incident
  2. Character action
  3. Conflict
  4. Hook

We then went over a few examples, including some good ones that broke these rules, and finished up by doctoring a couple of teasers volunteered from the audience. Howard Taylor admitted to me later that he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the way he presented it, but I get the impression that he’s never entirely satisfied with anything less than perfection. It was a great workshop.

From “Engaging the Reader.” Great panel. Lisa Mangum described the planning / drafting / revising process for each of her first three novels, and they were all wildly different. With seven novels under my belt so far, I can definitely relate. Some, like Genesis Earth and Stars of Blood and Glory, practically write themselves. Others are like having a c-section with a hacksaw. And others…yeah, I’m not going to go there.

FRIDAY

Okay, maybe I said one useful thing: when there’s a language barrier, little things become big obstacles. One of the other panelists, Anna Del C. Dye, also had a bunch of stories about adapting to a foreign language and culture (in her case, the United States).

Overall, the panel was really, really fun! I also had some cards out for Star Wanderers: Outworlder, and a bunch of people came up afterward to get them. Guess I must have said something interesting. I hope you guys enjoy the book!

 

From “Current Trends in SF.” Great panel–it totally wasn’t just another over-hyped discussion about what’s hot right now. I asked how the panelists think the trend cycle will change in the age of self-published ebooks, and they had some very interesting things to say. They all agreed that speed to market, while it may give some advantages, isn’t a make-or-break game changer, or even really a good strategy (unless you really love the trend you’re writing to). Some things change, others remain the same. It will be interesting to give this one a re-listen.

 

 

From “Creators in the Community.” Probably one of the best panels of the entire convention. Tracy Hickman is really on top of the changes in the publishing world, and had a lot of interesting things to say about it in all of his panels. As for the subject of writerly communities, much wisdom and insight was shared by all of the panelists. Definitely look for this one.

Man, I’d forgotten how cool the guys at Dungeon Crawlers Radio are! They interviewed me back in 2011, when I was just getting ready to publish Genesis Earth. This time, we talked about space opera, sci-fi romance, language barriers in marriage and all the crazy things I have to look forward to, and a bunch of other stuff. I also shared some of my thoughts and opinions on self-publishing myths, especially regarding the “tsunami of crap.” We coined a new word, “nerdaissance,” to describe all the awesome new stuff that’s coming out now, thanks to the ease of self-publishing.

So yeah, it was a great interview! I’ll definitely be cross-linking once it goes live.

From “Effective Book Covers.” Great panel with some very good artists and cover designers, including Isaac Stewart who does all the maps for Brandon Sanderson. Although some parts were geared toward illustrators, most of the advice was for writers (especially self-pubbing writers) who are looking to design their own covers. Lots of great and insightful perspectives from the visual arts side of things.

FRIDAY NIGHT BOOK SIGNING

Okay, I’ve got to be honest: when I went into the mass signing with my cardboard box of CreateSpace POD novels, I didn’t expect to sell anything. I figured that was just my ticket to get a seat at a table and hand out cards for Star Wanderers: Outworlder to some of the casual book browsers.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised! An uncle of one of my old mission companions was impressed enough to buy a couple of copies. I think he’s one of these guys who likes to buy things from new authors to help encourage them. It’s great to see people like that. He told me to keep writing, and I told him I definitely would!

Lots of people snagged the card for Outworlder, and I came up with a pretty decent pitch: “it’s about a starship pilot who accidentally marries a girl who doesn’t speak his language.” That raised a lot of eyebrows! A lot of people were really happy to see a science fiction story, especially a space adventure. I get the impression that there’s a craving for this kind of stuff in the market that isn’t currently being satisfied. So yeah, that was very encouraging!

After things wound down a bit, I wandered around the signing checking out some of the other books. Saw a couple that I recognized from the Kindle Boards, which was interesting. Chatted with them, as well as a bunch of geeky guys about chain mail, Halo, Frank Herbert, and all sorts of awesome stuff. Man, the best part about sci-fi/fantasy conventions is the chance to just talk with people! So much interesting stuff. It was great.

SATURDAY

 

 

From “Write For the Market or Write What You Know?” Another great panel. Definitely will be re-listening to that one.

From the main address with Megan Whalen Turner. She talked about book censorship and the need to teach children how to make their own reading choices, rather than keeping them sheltered and making the choice for them. She pointed out how every time a New York Times article comes out bemoaning some YA book for inappropriate content, it’s kind of hypocritical because there are so many other books they miss. The Golden Compass, for example, didn’t even pop up on their radar until the movie came out. Kids don’t magically become mature, well-adjusted adults when they turn 18–we have to teach them to make these choices (and mistakes) for themselves.

From “How Does Your Story Mean?” Great discussion on the writing process. Saw a lot of other good live-tweets during this one.

Okay, I take back what I said about the best panel of the convention. THIS was definitely the best. “The Engines of Exploration,” with Howard Taylor, Megan Whalen Turner, Roger White, James Owen, Kevin Evans, and Charles Stanford–the panel was packed. It basically turned into a round-robin discussion of which commodities are most essential to modern civilization, which ones will be the most valuable in the event of a societal collapse, and which ones will take us to the stars. The eventual consensus on each of these eventually came down to goats. Seriously. GOATS!

 

From “Writing Romance Without Erotica.” Lots of delicious awkwardness, as well as some really interesting thoughts and perspectives on the subject of romance. One of the panelists talked about the importance of “character penetration” without realizing about halfway through the panel how hilarious that phrase sounded in this context. But yeah, there was also a lot of wisdom in there as well. There are a lot of strong opinions about sex and romance floating around in this part of the world, so it was a very spirited and interesting panel.

 

 

The last panel of the convention (technically, symposium, but whatever) was “eBook Publishing” with some highly successful indies like Michaelbrent Collings. As you can tell from the tweets, it was a bit controversial, but very, very interesting. Questions were flying all over the place, on subjects ranging from formatting to building an audience. The biggest shock to me was that none of the panelists (none of them!) are on Smashwords. It’s a wild, wild west out here in indie-land. Makes me wonder, maybe I should publish to iTunes through another venue? Hmmmm…

So yeah, that was pretty much the whole convention/symposium. I finished it out by playing Alhambra with a bunch of friends from Kindal Debenham’s writing group who came down from Seattle and Idaho. Good, good times–it was actually kind of sad to say goodbye. Definitely worth coming 11 time zones to attend.

All I can say is that I am STOKED for Conduit!

“The Class That Wouldn’t Die” is up!

Just a heads up: the latest issue of Mormon Artist magazine is out, and my article about BYU’s “class that wouldn’t die” is in it! What’s more, Orson Scott Card himself commented on it.  Squeeeee!!!

If you’d like to read the full article, you can find it here.  Mormon Artist is published online for free, so be sure to check out the rest of the issue too.

A huge thanks to all the people who helped me out with the research–and an apology to those I should have gotten to, but ran out of time and space to include them.  My goal in writing this was to collect as many oral histories and primary sources as I could find, and put it in a context where the people who were there could tell the story themselves.  I hope I’ve done that without making too many factual errors, but if I have, please let me know.

Also, I would like to personally thank everyone who was a part of Xenobia and the class that wouldn’t die–the people who started LTUE, Leading Edge, and Quark, which have become the bedrock of BYU’s thriving sf&f community.  Thank you so much–all of this stuff has greatly impacted my life, helping me to connect with like-minded friends and to grow tremendously as a writer.  We really do stand on the shoulders of everyone who’s come before, so thank you!

Squeeeeeee!!!!!

Story Notebook #3 (part 1)

I’m not sure whether this notebook is #3 or #2. There’s a lot of notes from English 318, which would put it in the winter, but I don’t know if it’s from ’08 or ’09.

Not that that matters; ideas are ideas.  And here they are!

An empty parking garage with no exit.

Covered this already in a previous post. Strangely, it’s one of the most popular posts on this blog. I constantly get search engine traffic from people googling “empty parking garage” and other such stuff. Who googles “parking garage”? Weird.

Telepathy through instant messaging between microchips interfaced with the brain.

Also covered in the same post.

And they all lived evily ever after.

Bwahahah! I’ve got Jakeson to thank for this line–specifically, from a conversation at LTUE. Good times!

A TV show where the viewers vote between ads what should happen next.

I’m pretty sure I got this idea from an Escape Pod story–one of the Hugo short story nominations from ’06 or ’07, IIRC.

What if the human mind, which we think is so great, is ridiculously broken?

After all, isn’t it true that we only use a tiny fraction of our brain’s capacity during our lifetime? What if the true potential of the human mind far outstrips anything we could possibly imagine?

What if the human brain was manifested as some sort of library / processing building, with short term, easy access, and archival memory sections manifested as bookshelves and long rooms? And there were flies or insects or parasites of some sort that fed on the archives, causing forgetfulness? And you were trapped in there?

I’m pretty sure I was tripping out on the Brain Science podcast at this time, combined with an old Roger Allen McBride novel about time travel and terraforming. Good times.

What would it be like to be God’s intern?

FREAKING HARD.

If perfect, instantaneous communication is possible, doesn’t this blur the individual identities of those speaking, so that they become simply voices in one mind? If so, does this mean that our individuality is based on the ways we misunderstand each other?

At its core, this idea is a take on the whole perfection vs. personality debate: the question of whether our individual personalities disappear as we approach Godlike perfection. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not the case, but that’s a discussion for my other blog (which I have not updated in a ridiculously long time, dangit).

A middle aged mom at a children’s book fair in Utah who has a tattoo partially showing from under her sleeve

I saw this in the Wilk one day, and started wondering about this woman. Who is she? Where did she get the tattoo? Why is she at a Utah Children’s Book Fair, which is about as far removed from tattoos and tattooed society as you can get?

A robot that was made to suffer, as part of an experiment.

It makes you wonder what ‘suffering’ actually is. Do inanimate objects suffer? Do the rocks and clouds and sky and stars suffer? Do they weep for us?

On that trippy note, I’ll cut this short and finish reviewing the notebook in a later post. Until then, stay awesome.