This author’s note originally appeared in the February 20th edition of my newsletter. To sign up for my author newsletter, click here. One of the projects I hope to get to someday is to make a podcast on the history of science fiction. I’m a huge fan of podcasts, and subscribe to almost 100 of… Continue reading 2020-02-20 Newsletter Author’s Note: Thoughts on the History and Future of Science Fiction (Part 1)
Tag: Ursula K. Le Guin
Plans for My Personal Home Library
If everyone has a weird or quirky super power, mine is the ability to acquire books. Even when I was living out of a suitcase in a remote Caucasian village, or traipsing across the Middle East, I was constantly acquiring books. With my marriage to Future Mrs. Vasicek coming up, I’ve decided to put this… Continue reading Plans for My Personal Home Library
Y is for Yesteryear
They say that the golden age of science fiction is about twelve years old. That’s definitely true for me. My first exposure to the genre was Star Wars: A New Hope. I saw it when I was seven, right around the height of my dinosaur phase. Everything about the movie completely blew me away, from… Continue reading Y is for Yesteryear
L is for Lost Colony
As we discussed in I is for Interstellar, space colonization is a major theme of science fiction, especially space opera. Of course, things don’t always go smoothly. Space is a really, really, really big place, and sometimes, due to war or famine or simple bureaucratic mismanagement, colonies get cut off from the rest of galactic… Continue reading L is for Lost Colony
The interior designer’s approach to story
I recently read a fascinating post on John Brown’s blog with an interesting exercise for analyzing the kinds of stories you most like to read. By finding out what really turns you on in a story, you can have a much better idea what to write, and how to make your own stories better. He… Continue reading The interior designer’s approach to story
NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy
In case you didn’t know, NPR just put together a list of the Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy novels of all time. The list had a panel of judges who vetted nominations, but the voting was public and turnout–over 60,000–was pretty high. I usually don’t like top 100 lists, but this one did a… Continue reading NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy
More thoughts on indie publishing
Since my last post on indie publishing, I’ve been thinking a lot about this subject. I haven’t decided to take the plunge into self published ebooks yet, but I have decided to make some changes in my writing and my career strategy, in order to position myself more favorably if/when I choose to do so.… Continue reading More thoughts on indie publishing
Merchanter’s Luck by C. J. Cherryh
He was a down and out merchanter, the captain, crew, and sole proprietor of a run-down bucket of bolts spacecraft. She was a daughter of one of the finest starfaring clans, with seven hundred cousins standing between her and the one thing she wanted more than anything else: command of a starship. They met at… Continue reading Merchanter’s Luck by C. J. Cherryh
Falling back into the groove
Today I surprised myself and wrote nearly 4k words, some of which might actually be good enough to keep. Huzzah! The novel is coming along very nicely, and I’m starting to get really excited with where it’s going. That’s huge, because up to this point, the nagging “this is crap, what are you doing with… Continue reading Falling back into the groove
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
For eons, sandstorms have swept the barren, desolate landscape of the red planet. For centuries, Mars has beckoned to mankind to come and conquer its hostile climate. Now, in the year 2026, a group of one hundred colonists is about to fulfill that destiny. I first picked up this book two and a half years… Continue reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson