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The Hardest Part: Nathan Kotecki on The Suburban Strange
Posted on 2012-11-07 at 22:07 by montsamu
Durham author Nathan Kotecki’s debut novel is a young adult urban fantasy novel The Suburban Strange [Goodreads | IndieBound], and he is as a self-described “classic literature snob” who has never read Twilight or Harry Potter. Cue the contradictions? Maybe not, as you may learn in this week’s “The Hardest Part”. Writing outside the influence of these commercial juggernauts gave Kotecki some freedom to follow his own storytelling urges — and also led to an interesting revision process both with his agent and with his editor.
By Nathan Kotecki:
The Suburban Strange is my first novel, and when I wrote it, I wasn’t considering the idea that it might be published – it was a completely self-indulgent exercise in storytelling that took on a life of its own. I realize now, that’s a rather liberating way to write – no deadlines, no outside considerations, few compromises.
So for me, the hard part came late. I spent some time showing the manuscript to trusted friends before I decided to explore the possibility of finding an agent – the first step in the traditional publishing route. That process could make a fascinating column in and of itself, and I have no complaints about my experience navigating it, particularly because I’ve heard horror stories from other writers. The hardest part of my experience writing The Suburban Strange began with my amazing agent and continued with my fantastic editor, but I am in no way casting aspersions. It was squarely on me, from start to finish. The hardest part was transforming the book I had enjoyed writing into a book others would most enjoy reading.
I have always favored literature as a reader. I am much more inclined to read something by someone who is long dead (and likely European) than new, commercial books. (I have been making amends for that since I have entered the realm of young adult fiction!) Unsurprisingly, some of the choices I made in early drafts of The Suburban Strange were influenced by literary concepts. My agent, and then my editor, had to point out the differences between the conventions that govern literary works and those applicable to commercial ones.
For example, until my agent took the manuscript, nothing supernatural was happening in the first half of the book – I had conscientiously constructed it to operate in two layers – the real world in the first half, followed by the supernatural in the second. I am paraphrasing her, but in our first critique conversation, my agent told me, “You have six pages” – meaning, something supernatural had to happen by the sixth page, or I was never going to keep the attention of the young adult reader we were hoping would read my book. That manuscript revision was probably the most radical one I undertook, but once I understood the reason for it, it made sense, and I will be the first to acknowledge it made the story more engaging, more suspenseful, stronger.
Another example is a scene that comes at the halfway mark in the novel, over winter break between the fall and spring semesters. It’s a lovely scene, still one of my favorites in the book, and it crystalizes a number of characters and relationships. It also provides what I think is a welcome respite for the reader to catch her breath after a somewhat intense fall semester (now I had reworked it) has ended with a number of ominous things looming, and to remember all the lovely things about these characters and their aspirations before diving in to the perils of the spring semester. But the scene does very little to advance the plot, and my editor wanted to cut it.
I fought for that one. Here’s another topic that would make a fascinating column: is it necessary for every scene in a novel to advance the plot? I’m quite sure in literature the answer is no, but such scenes are infrequent in commercial fiction, and so I understand why my editor’s answer was (and continues to be) yes. But she was kind enough to indulge me, and with some reshaping, the scene survived.
A number of people – aspiring writers in particular – have asked me for my perspective on traditional publishing (agent, publishing house, distribution channels) versus nontraditional (self-editing, self-production, self-distribution – each of which can take a number of shapes) and while I don’t have a simple answer, I can say this: finding an agent who made me rewrite The Suburban Strange twice, and then getting a publishing deal with an editor who made me rewrite it twice more, was both the hardest part of my writing process, and also the reason the novel is worth reading. These two brilliant people didn’t ask me to change the story; they just helped me figure out how to tell it better. They coaxed a better novel out of me than I knew I had.
The things that are most worth doing are often the hardest. If I have the impression something (a character, a scene, a revision) is going to be difficult, it’s probably important, and definitely worth my time and effort. I hope I never lose the ability to follow my muse in whatever direction it leads me. And I hope I never shy away from what may always the hardest part for me: figuring out the best path back once my muse has taken me there – the path that makes for the best story.
The Suburban Strange was published October 2nd 2012 by Houghton Mifflin in hardcover and ebook, available wherever books are sold. And, see below, there’s another local reading (Monday, November 12, at The Regulator) after a few earlier events in the area.
[caption id=“attachment_1215” align=“alignnone” width=“242”]
Photo of Kotecki copyright Mr. Gates.[/caption]
RELATED EVENTS:
November 12 (Monday) 7 pm — Durham author Nathan Kotecki visits The Regulator Bookshop for a reading and signing of The Suburban Strange. [Facebook]
Posted in The Hardest Part | Tagged nathan kotecki, the hardest part, the suburban strange
"The Transformation of Democracy"
Posted on 2012-11-06 at 19:57 by montsamu
I had a good time on WUNC’s “The State of Things” as part of a show on “The Transformation of Democracy” with the podcast link already up. After a classics professor and a philosophy professor traced the origins of democracy, and an anthropologist took a look at what’s going on today, I had a chance to talk about democracy and dystopia. Somehow! we didn’t talk about either “Idiocracy” or “WALL-E” along the way, not to mention Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Dispossessed” or “Flashback” by Dan Simmons, or, hey, the Bull Spec-published “Selling Home” short story by Tina Connolly, but for a far-ranging discussion, I thought it went pretty well.
[Hello WUNC listeners! You might be interested in the local and regional author holiday shopping guide, the Teen Writing Contest, and the Local Events Newsletter.]
On another note, something else that wasn’t mentioned: Bull Spec just turned three years old. Founded Nov 6, 2009, we’ve published 7 issues with an 8th on the way and a 9th in the works, dozens of stories, poems, interviews, reviews, illustrations, and tried to get the word out about many dozens of local and regional events and books. Thanks for following along so far!
Posted in Uncategorized
The Negative Zone #005: Taft 2012 by Jason Heller
Posted on 2012-11-02 at 19:04 by Wander Lane
THE NEGATIVE ZONE #005: TAFT 2012 by JASON HELLER
by Andrew Neal
So I had this really great idea where I’d review a political book because Election Day is next week. Who wants to be in charge of stopping me the next time I have a really great idea?
Let’s start with the good. Taft 2012, by Jason Heller, has a really great cover, and is based around an excellent idea for a book: President William Howard Taft mysteriously awakens in the year 2012 and finds himself thrust into the political spotlight. This was a great idea because Taft was a really interesting man and political figure. He was thrust toward the presidency by Theodore Roosevelt and his wife, Nellie, despite the fact that he didn’t want to be president.
I’ve done some reading about Taft, and I’ll confess that I was drawn to him because of his mustache, an awesome photograph where he’s riding a water buffalo, and the fact that he was so obese he got stuck in the white house bathtub. Once I began researching the man, however, I was enthralled by his personality and moral code. Taft was a really interesting dude, but I probably never would have learned about him if I hadn’t been excited to learn about the fat guy in the tub.
So that’s the good, and most of what I have listed in the good category is that Taft was a really interesting character in real life.
Unfortunately the book itself just doesn’t have any meat to it. The author doesn’t go far enough down any of the roads he starts on. Here’s an example: When Taft meets the President of the United States, the President is described as a tall, thin man. The most interesting thing Taft notes is that he isn’t wearing a waistcoat. There’s no mention made of the fact that the President is black. This would have been an excellent opportunity to pit Taft against himself: he was politically progressive for his time, but the experience of meeting an African-American US President could certainly have challenged him. What’s that, you say? Maybe this is an alternate timeline in which the the President in 2012 is not Barack Obama? Well, he’s not named as such, but the folks who held the office before him are named, up through George W. Bush. It feels exceptionally cheap, as though this is maybe too much of an important subject for the author to deal with.
To be fair, the author does try to address this issue later, when Taft meets his great granddaughter’s African-American husband, and feels weird for a whole scene until he meets their bi-racial child and falls in love. This very speedy resolution seemed only to exaggerate the avoidance of the issue in regard to the current US President, as far as I was concerned.
The rest of the book felt the same to me, though there was nothing as egregious as the fact that race of President Obama was completely thrown to the wayside… until the epilogue.
In case you intend to read this book: here comes a spoiler.
The epilogue of Taft 2012 is a quote from William Howard Taft, who is being sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the year 2021 after being appointed by his great granddaughter, President Rachel Taft. I believe this is supposed to make us happy, because this is the position that Taft truly wanted for himself, and here at the end of the book, he finally receives his fondest desire… except that he also achieved it in real life, and it wasn’t through nepotism! The real Taft was appointed to the seat by President Warren G. Harding. Maybe someone with no awareness of the real Taft’s life trajectory could have enjoyed this ending, but to me, it seemed like a less impressive way to get Taft to the same place he got in real life, just presented without the fact that he actually deserved to be there.
Here’s my recommendation: Don’t read Taft 2012. Do pick up some books about the real Taft. His real life was much more strange and fascinating than this fictional analogue.
Andrew Neal sells comics, writes, and draws.
Posted in columns, the negative zone
November newsletter: Granados, NC Comicon, Cherie Priest, and more
Posted on 2012-11-02 at 17:31 by montsamu
Vol 2. No 8. November 2, 2012:
This weekend there are three events kicking off a busy month of November, which brings Cherie Priest back to the Triangle for her new book, another chance to catch Durham author Nathan Kotecki, and features NC Comicon in Durham:
- November 2-8 (Friday to Thursday) -- Carolina Theatre of Durham hosts a Studio Ghibli / Miyazaki animated film screening series, including "Howl's Moving Castle", "Princess Mononoke", and several others: http://www.carolinatheatre.org/films?tid=60
- November 3-4 (Saturday and Sunday) -- Ultimate Comics hosts a 24 hour comic event, in which participants will complete a full 24-page comic in just 24 hours. Stay as long as you like or drop in: http://ultimatecomics.com/2012/09/24-hour-comics-days-november-3-4/
- November 4 (Sunday) 2 pm — Alex Granados reading and signing his debut novel Cemetery Plot at McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village in Pittsboro: http://www.fearrington.com/village/event.asp?id=2304 (and Alex has several more local readings through the first half of November)
- I haven't talked much about goings on at the website, so here's a quick plug for the weekly "Hardest Part" guest author series, in which local, regional, and "Bull Spec alumni" authors write about the hardest part of writing their most recent book: /category/the-hardest-part/
- Also just out is the 2012 edition of Bull Spec's local and regional author holiday book-buying guide: /2012/10/27/2012-local-and-regional-author-holiday-book-buying-guide/
- A pleading reminder that Dec 1 is deadline for the North and South Carolina teen writing contest. We need more entries: /2012/08/31/announcement-second-bull-spec-teen-writing-contest-judged-by-sharyn-november/
- Raleigh author J.L. Hilton's debut sf novel Stellarnet Rebel has just been announced as a finalist for the EPIC award for best electronically-published science fiction novel: http://epicorg.com/competitions/2013-ebook-award-finalists.html
- Speaking of awards, the 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards are open for first round voting, but... sadly none of our local or regional authors are nominees. But! These awards operate in a multi-stage way, and write-ins can help a book make the final list. Whether local or otherwise, pick your favorite reads of the year: http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/391-the-2012-goodreads-choice-awards-now-open-for-voting
- Speaking of voting, Saturday, November 3 (tomorrow) is the last day for early voting in North Carolina, also making it the last day for one-stop register and vote. If you aren't registered and wish to vote, you can do so today and tomorrow: http://www.ncsbe.gov/content.aspx?id=135
PS: As usual, a handout flyer for the November+ highlights, in color and grayscale.
NOVEMBER 2012
3-4 (Saturday to Sunday) — Ultimate Comics hosts a 24 hour comics day event from Nov 3 Sat to Nov 4 Sunday noon to noon; participants will full 24-page comics in 24 hours. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/409522805782118/
4 (Sunday) 2 pm — Alex Granados reading and signing his debut novel Cemetery Plot at McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village in Pittsboro: http://www.fearrington.com/village/event.asp?id=2304
NEW: 5 (Monday) 7 pm: Quail Ridge Books hosts Cinda Chima for a reading and signing of her young adult fantasy novel The Crimson Crown, the fourth and final novel of her Seven Realms series. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/cinda-chima-seven-realms-conclusion-crimson-crown
9 (Friday) — Granados at The Storetellers Bookstore in Wake Forest, during the town’s Art after Hours event.
NEW: 9-12 (Friday to Monday) — The Rocky Horror Show at the Carrboro ArtsCenter, presented by Pauper Players. Tickets: http://www.etix.com/ticket/online/eventSearch.jsp?event_id=570503&cobrand=artscenter
NEW: 10 (Saturday) 11 am — McIntyre’s Books hosts Ilie Ruby for her second novel, The Salt God’s Daughter, “Imbued with a traditional Scottish folktale and hints of Jewish mysticism”. More info: http://www.fearrington.com/village/calendar.asp?month=11&year=2012
NEW: 12 (Monday) 7 pm — Durham author Nathan Kotecki visits The Regulator Bookshop for a reading and signing of The Suburban Strange. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/241877642602182/
12 — Local author new novel: J.L. Hilton’s Stellarnet Prince, sequel to January’s Stellarnet Rebel, to be published by Carina Press.
13 (Tuesday) 7:30 pm — Granados at Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books.
15 (Thursday) 7 pm — Granados at Durham’s The Regulator Bookshop.
NEW-NEW: 16 (Friday) 6:30 pm: (Non-genre event) McIntyre’s Books hosts bestselling Norwegian thriller novelist Jo Nesbo. More info: http://www.fearrington.com/village/event.asp?id=2317
NEW: 17 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Morgan Keyes for a reading and signing of new “ages 10 and up” fantasy novel, Darkbeast. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/morgan-keyes-new-fantasy-darkbeast
NEW-NEW: 17 (Saturday) 8 to 10 pm — Pittsboro’s Davenport and Winkleperry hosts a book release party for “A Steampunk’s Guide to Sex” with local contributors: https://www.facebook.com/events/462488663795324/
17-18 (Saturday and Sunday) — NC Comicon at the Durham Convention Center with a long list of guests: http://nccomicon.com/
NEW: 19 (Monday) 6:30 pm — Local author Mark L. Van Name will host a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) related writing workshop at the Cameron Village Library.
NEW: 28 (Wednesday) 6 pm: Pulitzer Prize-winning author and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee will discuss his non-fiction book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer at Duke University’s Page Auditorium. Admission is free, but tickets are required and will be available through the Duke Box Office starting November 7. Visit tickets.duke.edu for more information: http://blogs.library.duke.edu/blog/2012/10/19/author-and-cancer-physician-siddhartha-mukherjee-to-speak-at-duke-nov-28/
NEW: 30 (Friday) 7 pm — Cherie Priest returns to the Triangle, as Flyleaf Books hosts a reading and signing from her forthcoming Clockwork Century novel, The Inexplicables. More info: http://www.flyleafbooks.com/event/cherie-priest-reads-her-new-steampunk-adventure-inexplicables [Facebook event]
NEW: 30 (Friday) 7 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts Allie Condie for Reached, the conclusion of the #1 NYT bestselling “Matched” trilogy, a YA dystopia. More info: http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/allie-condie-matched-trilogy-conclusion
DECEMBER 2012
NEW-NEW: 1 (Saturday) 5 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a My Little Pony comic book release party. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/111808732312572/
NEW-NEW: 5 (Wednesday) 6:30 pm — Fullsteam Brewery hosts a screening of the locally-produced short horror film, Foodie. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/527784877241249/
NEW-NEW: 9 (Sunday) 2 to 10 pm — The 3rd annual Bull Spec / RTSFS Holiday Party in Durham. (If you can’t see the Facebook event, join the RTSFS mailing list, or Facebook group, or friend Sam on Facebook, or just email me.) For more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/136913919789125/
NEW-NEW: 13 (Thursday) 6 pm — The Orange County Main Library hosts four local authors (Alex Granados, Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Gray Rinehart, and James Maxey) for original “winter tales”. More info: http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=6923&EventID=150465
NEW: 15 (Saturday) 4 to 7 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a Geek Mom book event, with local contributor Natania Barron among other guests.
NEW-NEW: 31 (Monday) 9 pm til late — Davenport and Winkleperry host The Clockwork Ball to ring in the New Year, Steampunk style. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/286024288183189/
JANUARY 2013
11-13 (Friday to Sunday) — illogiCon 2 will be held at the Embassy Suites of Raleigh-Durham/Research Triangle on January 11-13, 2013, with writer guest of honor Tim Powers and webcomic guest of honor Garth Graham, and toastmaster Mark L. Van Name: http://www.illogicon.com/
FEBRUARY 2013
NEW-NEW: 2 (Saturday) 3 pm — Quail Ridge Books hosts NY Times bestselling “True Blood” author and NC native Kim Harrison for Ever After, the latest in her Hollows series.
NEW-NEW: 16 (Saturday) 2 pm — Flyleaf Books hosts Cory Doctorow for Homeland, sequel to Little Brother. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/530598563635194/
NEW-NEW: 20 (Wednesday) TBD pm – Quail Ridge Books again hosts best-selling author Brandon Sanderson, this time for the conclusion of The Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/117403835073651/
JUNE 2013
27-30 (Thursday to Sunday) — ConTemporal 2013 at the North Raleigh Hilton, beginning with the Thursday evening guest of honor dinner and continuing all weekend, as this Steampunk-themed convention is back for a second year. More info: http://contemporal.org/
END
[caption id=“attachment_1193” align=“alignnone” width=“231”]
(See above the calendar for PDF links more suitable for printing.)[/caption]
Posted in events, flyers, newsletter
The Hardest Part: Alex Granados on Cemetery Plot
Posted on 2012-10-31 at 18:15 by montsamu
Out just in time for Halloween, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing has published Cemetery Plot, the debut novel by local writer, North Raleigh News columnist, and WUNC “The State of Things” director Alex Granados. I first met Alex through a pre-interview phone call, and before long he had joined the Bull Spec team as an associate fiction editor, helping me decide on stories, offer some story edits here and there, and contributing an article here and there as well. I’ve been very excited to start reading, and to start reading about, his post-apocalyptic novel of a planet overcrowded with cemeteries.
By Alex Granados: The Hardest Part?
SOME PEOPLE MAY SAY writing, editing or some other part of the creative process. Perhaps just coming up with ideas is a struggle for many. But the hardest part about writing is trying to get someone to pay attention.
I started writing when I was in elementary school. Accolades came easy. When nobody around you is interested in anything much beyond recess or snack time, creating a short story gives you serious teacher credit.
It was Halloween and I wrote some schlock about zombies attacking people holed up in a house or something like that. In any other setting it would have been considered crap. But as a fourth grader in a disinterested elementary school class, it was award-winning stuff. At least as far as the teacher and the other students were concerned.
Same thing in middle school and high school. People are quick to credit your talent when everybody around you is asleep at their desk. But trying to be a writer in the real world — that’s a different thing.
I would say we are “a dime a dozen,” but clichés are bad writing, and besides, I think we’re even more plentiful than that. Just try sending out a short story to five, 10, 50, 100 different websites, magazines, blogs, agents, etc, and prepare yourself for two things: constant rejection or silence. All those venues are inundated with proposals by writers who think, or hope, they are moments away from stardom. You almost have to think that in order to keep plugging away. But we can’t all be right.
Short stories are bad enough, but try writing a novel. Slog away for months, living with wild mood swings, alternately thinking that you are creating either the next “Ulysses” (when you are in a good mood) or the next “insert name of worst novel ever here” (when you feel like giving up). Then, at the end, having used up time better spent with loved ones, watching television or eating cake, send out queries to hundreds of agents. Wait. Silence. More silence. Rejection. More rejection. Maybe every once in a while an agent will say something nice before telling you “no thanks.” More often, you just get a form letter. You don’t even warrant a personalized “get bent.”
My first novel came out October 31st. It’s being put out by a great indie press called Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing. Meanwhile, I have a stack of other novels that I’m shopping around to the void of silence and rejection, hoping that one day, some more acceptance will slip through.
That is the hardest part.
”The Hardest Part” is hardly the first stop on the Granados guest blog tour to launch his book. He’s already had a TBR interview and a Character Interview by Sarah J Carr. So far the book is only available through Amazon, in both paperback and Kindle. But it should be available from other stores and in other formats soon, along with several opportunities to catch Alex at a reading event in November (see below). [Goodreads]
RELATED EVENTS:
NOVEMBER:
4 (Sunday) 2 pm — Alex Granados reading and signing Cemetery Plot at McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village in Pittsboro. (See above for book info.)
9 (Friday) — Granados at The Storetellers Bookstore in Wake Forest, during the town’s Art after Hours event.
13 (Tuesday) 7:30 pm — Granados at Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books.
15 (Thursday) 7 pm — Granados at Durham’s The Regulator Bookshop.
Posted in The Hardest Part | Tagged alex granados, cemetery plot
Video: Flyleaf Books hosts Clay and Susan Griffith for The Kingmakers
Posted on 2012-10-31 at 13:21 by montsamu
From Monday’s reading:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gZZ2R-O-Os
The Kingmakers is book 3 of their Vampire Empire trilogy. The reading here (sorry for sound quality, just iPhone built in mic) is from The Rift Walker, book 2. Book 1, The Greyfriar, along with the rest of the series are out in print and ebook from Pyr. The series is also being released in audio by Buzzy Multimedia, read by James Marsters, with The Greyfriar already out and The Rift Walker in post-production.
Posted in Uncategorized
Double-Feature of Local Author Releases
Posted on 2012-10-31 at 01:49 by montsamu
In non-fiction, Geek Mom: Projects, Tips and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st Century Families is out today, with local author Natania Barron a contributor, and local writer Alex Granados is now a published author as his debut novel, Cemetery Plot, has been published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing.
First up, the non-fiction: “It’s fast becoming a geek world out there, and all moms need to show off their tech smarts and superhero-like skills in order to keep their savvy kids entertained and engaged. Geek Mom: Projects, Tips, and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st-Century Families explores the many fun and interesting ways that digital-age parents and kids can get their geek on together. Imaginative ideas for all ages and budgets include thrifty Halloween costumes, homemade lava lamps, hobbit feasts, and magical role-playing games. There are even projects for moms to try when they have a few precious moments alone. With six sections spanning everything from home-science experiments to superheroes, this comprehensive handbook from the editors of Wired.com’s popular GeekMom blog is packed with ideas guaranteed to inspire a love of learning and discovery. Along the way, parents will also find important tips on topics such as determining safe online communities for children, organizing a home learning center, and encouraging girls to love science. Being geeky is all about exploring the world with endless curiosity. Geek Mom is your invitation to introducing the same sense of wonder and imagination to the next generation.” [Goodreads | IndieBound]
And now the fiction, just in time for Halloween: “Vanessa Hawthorne is a zombie…at least, that was the plan. Miserable with her life, she agreed to participate in a fatal ritual that would transform her into one of the Living Dead. Instead, she wakes up decades later alive, unaged and living in a world overrun with graveyards. But when a real estate tycoon finds out about Vanessa, he will stop at nothing to discover how she cheated death. He hopes that this knowledge will give him the power to resurrect the dead. The money he stands to make is incalculable. And he is willing to do whatever it takes — kidnapping, assault and even murder — to get the job done. Luckily for Vanessa she has Mark Nimocks and his friend Emily to protect her but at what costs? A zombie apocalypse is in the works, and it will take a medium from the future to find a way to undo the end of the world. But can he actually help change the past? Or is the world fated to be destroyed no matter what?” So far the book seems to only be available through Amazon, in both paperback and Kindle. But it should be available from other stores and in other formats soon, along with several opportunities to catch Alex at a reading event in November (see below). [Goodreads]
Congrats to Natania and Alex!
RELATED EVENTS:
NOVEMBER:
4 (Sunday) 2 pm — Alex Granados reading and signing Cemetery Plot at McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village in Pittsboro. (See above for book info.)
9 (Friday) — Granados at The Storetellers Bookstore in Wake Forest, during the town’s Art after Hours event.
13 (Tuesday) 7:30 pm — Granados at Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books.
15 (Thursday) 7 pm — Granados at Durham’s The Regulator Bookshop.
DECEMBER:
15 (Saturday) 4 to 7 pm — Chapel Hill Comics hosts a Geek Mom book event with local contributor Natania Barron.
Posted in local-author-release-day
2012 local and regional author holiday book buying guide
Posted on 2012-10-27 at 17:53 by montsamu
Note: Welcome WPTF listeners! Some other things mentioned on the show: Teen Writing Contest and the Local Events Newsletter.
As was done in 2010 and 2011, here are collected the books and other related things from local and regional authors, artists, and other related creators since the last holiday gift-buying season. Note: as this is a first draft, there will be some additions and further explanations made, along with more links provided to buy the books from your local bookstores.
SEASONAL: (I can’t imaging having this category every year, but this year there is one specifically holiday-themed book.)
- Anthology: A Cosmic Christmas edited by Hank Davis (Baen, Nov 6), which includes stories by Mark L. Van Name ("Lobo, Actually") and the late Manly Wade Wellman ("On the Hills and Everywhere") [IndieBound | Goodreads]
YOUNG READERS:
- The Prince Who Fell from the Sky by John Claude Bemis (Random House, May 22), which is a wonderful story of talking, well-characterized animals (packs of wolves, dens of bears, and delightful, delightful rats) in a future, human-less Earth on which a boy has crash-landed, and of the mother bear who comes to protect him [IndieBound | Goodreads] (8 and up)
- The Death of Yorik Mortwell by Stephen Messer (Random House/Yearling, Sep 11) -- out last year in hardcover, this year an even more affordable paperback edition and still great-looking, Gris Grimly-illustrated story of the ghost of a boy and the manor house he finds himself haunting [IndieBound | Goodreads] (8 and up)
- Darwen Arkwright and the Insidious Bleck by A.J. Hartley (Razorbill, Nov 21) -- book two in bestselling Charlotte author Hartley's first series for young readers, after 2011's Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact which was released in paperback in September -- "Eleven-year-old Darwen Arkwright's life changed forever when he first set foot in Silbrica, the wondrous and magical world beyond the mirror." [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- Enchanted (Woodcutter Series, #1) by Alethea Kontis (Harcourt Children's, May 8) -- "It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true."
- Also: check out some of the GRAPHIC NOVELS and COMICS below, including Princeless, Dragonbreath, and A Wrinkle in Time
YOUNG ADULT:
- Eternally Yours (Immortal Beloved #3) by Cate Tiernan (Hachette/Poppy, Nov 6, 2012) -- hardcover and ebook -- book #2 came out in hardcover and audiobook in January, and a paperback edition was released in October [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- The Suburban Strange by Nathan Kotecki (Houghton Mifflin, Oct 2) -- hardcover -- Durham author's first novel, with another chance on Nov. 12 at The Regulator Bookshop to hear him read and have him sign and personalize a copy -- "A supernatural coming of age novel--the first book in a dynamic and dramatic new series--about the shy Celia Balaustine and a mysterious group of misfits at her new high school, Suburban High" [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- A Million Suns by Beth Revis (Razorbill, January 2012) -- book two in rural NC author Revis' Across the Universe sf series after Across the Universe [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- Invisible Sun (Black Hole Sun, #2) by David Macinnis Gill (Greenwillow, Mar 27) -- book two after 2010's Black Hole Sun in Wilmington-area author Gill's series for teens set on a post-apocalyptic Mars being re-colonized by Earth
- Also: check out The Kingmakers by Clay and Susan Griffith, under FANTASY below
FANTASY:
- Pilgrim of the Sky by Natania Barron (Candlemark & Gleam, Dec 2011) -- "Just when Maddie Angler thinks she's over the death of her longtime boyfriend, Alvin, she discovers that he's not only alive, but he may just be part god. And a killer. Now it's up to her to unite Eight Worlds she didn't even know existed in the first place, before chaos reigns." [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- Greatshadow and Hush by James Maxey (Solaris, Jan and June 2012) -- As much as I focus on telling people how fun these books are -- crazy powers, an elevator pitch of "Pirates of the Caribbean meets X-Men meets Dragonhunter" -- I also have to highlight how much creativity is at work here, along with some good, hard looks at love, death, belief, and truth [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- When We Were Executioners by JM McDermott (Night Shade Books, February 2012) -- book two of McDermott's Dogsland Trilogy after 2011's Never Knew Another [IndieBound] -- paperback
- The Dread by Gail Z. Martin (Orbit, Jan 31) -- Martin's 6th book set in her Winter Kingdoms setting, after the four-book Chronicles of the Necromancer and 2011's The Sworn [IndieBound] -- paperback, ebook, and audiobook
- The Kingmakers by Clay and Susan Griffith (Pyr, Sep 2012) -- concluding book in the Vampire Empire trilogy (The Greyfriar, The Rift Walker) which is a swashbuckling mashup of alternate history, vampires, Steampunk, and fantasy [IndieBound | Goodreads] -- book one, The Greyfriar, this year was released in digital audio download and audio CD by NC-based Buzzy Multimedia, read by James Marsters ("Spike" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- A Wild Epidemic of Magic by Michael Jasper (July 2012) -- book 2 in Wake Forest author Jasper's Contagious Magic series after A Sudden Outbreak of Magic which is itself due out in digital audio download from Audible and iTunes any day now [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- Shadows Before the Sun (Charlie Madigan #4) by Kelly Gay (Pocket, July 31) -- the continuing urban fantasy adventures of Detective Charlie Madigan
- All Spell Breaks Loose (Raine Benares, #6) by Lisa Shearin (Ace, May 29) -- the continuing fantasy adventures of Raine Benares
- Raven Cursed (Jane Yellowrock, #4) , Have Stakes, Will Travel (Jane Yellowrock, #4.5), and Death's Rival (Jane Yellowrock, #5) by Faith Hunter (Roc) -- "Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead…"
- Thieftaker (Thieftaker Chronicles, #1) by D.B. Jackson (Tor, July 3) -- David B. Coe's new pen name for an historical fantasy series set in Boston 1765
- Lost Things: The Order of the Air by Melissa Scott and Jo Graham (Crossroad Press, May) -- "In 1929 archeologists began draining Lake Nemi in search of the mysterious ships that have been glimpsed beneath its waters since the reign of Claudius. What they awakened had been drowned for two thousand years. For a very good reason."
- The Way of the Sword and Gun by Stuart Jaffe (January 11) -- Book 2 of Jaffe's Malja Chronicles, "Xena meets Mad Max in this Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy series."
- Update: Extracted (Book 1 of The Pioneers Saga) by William Stadler (Oct 20) -- Raleigh author Stadler is set to release book two of this series on Dec 12, and book three early next year [Kindle]
SCIENCE FICTION:
- Stellarnet Rebel and Stellarnet Prince by J.L. Hilton (Carina Press, January and November) -- a medium future sf combining elements of video games, blogging, aliens, and indeed well done sex scenes [Goodreads] in ebook and digital audio download from Audible and iTunes
- No Going Back by Mark L. Van Name (Baen, May) -- Van Name's latest in his Jon & Lobo series, with the last two books in particular being quite powerfully written adventure sf and each perfect jumping-in places [IndieBound | Goodreads] hardcover, ebook, and digital audio download (the entire series is now available in digital audio download from Audible and iTunes)
- Guardian of Night by Tony Daniel (Baen, Feb 7) -- local author Daniel returns to sf with a new space opera/adventure, "For alien Commander Arid Ricimer there was no going home. His species was winning the war with Earth, but the civilization he had fought for was gone, destroyed from within by ideologues and bureaucrats. So he does the only thing that makes sense to a person of integrity—he attempts to defect to Earth with his officers and an entire spaceship, a vessel that mounts a superweapon of almost unimaginable power."
- CassaFire by Alex J. Cavanaugh (Dancing Lemur Press, Feb 28) -- book two in this NC author's space adventure series after 2010's CassaStar -- [IndieBound | Goodreads] in paperback and ebook (Kobo, Nook, Kindle)
- Exogene and Chimera by TC McCarthy (Orbit, February and August) -- books two and three in South Carolina author McCarthy's near future military sf Subterrene War series, after 2011's excellent debut Germline, here following first a rogue genetically engineered soldier behind and around enemy lines, and then a US operative whose mission is to hunt down and "retire" such rogue soldiers -- mass market paperback and audiobook
- Into the Hinterlands by David Drake and John Lambshead (Baen) -- out last year in hardcover, here a mass market paperback release of book one of the Drake-plotted, Lambshead-written space adventure which recasts the story of George Washington in an interstellar conflict [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- The Reporter by Scott Sigler and Mur Lafferty (ebook) -- Durham author Lafferty teams with best-selling Sigler on a novella in Sigler's sf football series The All-Pro
- Stargate SG-1: Moebius Squared (SG-1 22) and STARGATE ATLANTIS: The Furies (Stargate Atlantis, #19) and STARGATE ATLANTIS: Secrets (Stargate Atlantis #20) by Jo Graham and Melissa Scott (Fandemonium)
- The Fifth World by Jacob Foxx (Electronic Sound and Print) -- "In the early twenty-second century, the earth is dying, reeling from the effects of a brutal nuclear war. To save humanity, an international alliance called the Consortium seeks to build a new homeland on a distant planet called Gaia. To send the first wave of settlers, the Consortium constructs an enormous starship called the Ark, which will allow them to reach Gaia and begin rebuilding humanity."
COLLECTIONS: (Several short stories by the same author.)
- Disintegration Visions by J.M. McDermott (Apex, March 2012) -- McDermott's fictions are creative, imaginative, and often lush and darkly written mythic fantasy [IndieBound] -- also new this year for McDermott was a digital audio download for Last Dragon, his absolutely amazing debut fantasy novel, read by Cori Samuel for Iambik Audio
- At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories by Kij Johnson (Small Beer Press, August 2012) -- Hugo and Nebula (among other) Award winning author Kij Johnson moved to Kansas to begin teaching after finishing up her MFA at NC State, and this collection, somehow her first, gives readers a delightful smorgasbord of the fantastic to sample [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- Night & Demons by David Drake (Baen, October 2012) -- a wide-ranging collection of Drake's short fiction, including a few not previously collected, with significant new introductions and retrospectives by the author [IndieBound | Goodreads] -- paperback
- Update: The Collected Kessel by John Kessel (Baen, November 15) -- Collecting 42 of Kessel's stories, including Nebula winners "Another Orphan" and "Pride and Prometheus", organized by category with category introductions, and new story notes for every story [Baen] -- ebook
ANTHOLOGIES: (Collections of stories from multiple authors, commonly along a theme or other selection criteria.)
- Digital Rapture: The Singularity Anthology edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel (Tachyon, August 2012) -- long-standing professor of literature and writing at NCSU Kessel has teamed with co-conspirator Kelly on number of anthologies, and here collects stories presenting posthuman futures [IndieBound | Goodreads]
- Durham author Richard Dansky appeared in several new anthologies in 2012, including Don't Read This Book (actually scary stories, also including fellow Durham author Mur Lafferty), The New Hero (Dansky's long-awaited "pirate rabbi" story!), Maelstrom: Tales of Madness and Horror, and Dark Faith: Invocations
- Gimme Shelter (ebook) is an anthology of zombie apocalypse survival, and includes a story by Lafferty
- Shotguns v. Cthulhu (Pelgrane/Stone Skin Press, Nov 1) features, well, shotguns and Cthulhu, with cover art by local game designer Jason Morningstar and a story from Chapel Hill author Natania Barron
- Spells and Swashbucklers includes a story by Greenville author Danny Birt and NC author Stuart Jaffe, among other tales of "Magic, monsters, mayhem...AND PIRATES"
- Update: Stupefying Stories 2.1 is edited by Hillsborough's M. David Blake, with several local and regional contributors. Ebook-only: http://stupefyingstories.blogspot.com/2012/11/stupefying-stories-21-110-released.html
GRAPHIC NOVELS, MANGA, and COMICS:
- Dragonbreath: Revenge of the Horned Bunnies (Dragonbreath, #6) and Dragonbreath #7: When Fairies Go Bad by Ursula Vernon (Dial Press) -- Hugo Award winning graphic novelist Vernon's continued adventures of Danny Dragonbreath (ages 8 and up)
- A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson (FS&G, Oct 2) -- Asheville's own (though indeed she now makes her home in California) Larson adapts L'Engle's beloved book for the graphic novel format (ages 10 and up)
- Princeless Book One: Save Yourself by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin (Action Lab) -- collections issues one through four of this fun, all-ages comic which features a princess who does not simply sit around waiting to be rescued, written by local writer Whitley
- The Order of Dagonet by Jeremy Whitley and Jason Strutz (Firetower, now Action Lab) -- Whitley teams up with local artist Strutz on this quite funny story: "A Different Kind of British Invasion: When the mythological faerie creatures of England return to wreak havoc on modern day England, the call goes out to our only hope: the Knights of England. Unfortunately, it's the Order of Dagonet that answers the call. A special order of knights created just for the entertainers of England, these actors, authors and rockstars must face the faerie invasion to save the world. Heaven help us all." -- just being re-released by Action Lab, for a perfect and inexpensive stocking stuffer
- Update: Shakespeare Shaken edited by Enrica Jang (Red Stylo Media, August) -- includes work by locals Gabriel Dunston, Jeremy Whitley, and Jason Strutz
- Update: The Stars Below by local writer Zack Smith, art by Rich Ellis -- a moving comic without words about a lonely pigeon in NYC [Comixology]
- Geek Mom: Projects, Tips, and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st-Century Families (Potter Craft, Oct 30) -- Wired's GeekMom blog gets a book, with local author Natania Barron a contributor; a book event is set in December at Chapel Hill Comics [IndieBound]
- A Steampunk's Guide to Sex (Combustion Books, Nov 17) -- includes contributions from at least one local writer, with a local launch party Nov 17 at Pittsboro's Davenport & Winkleperry
- Formatting Comics for the Kindle and Nook (should be updated soon for the newest wave of tablets, hopefully in time for XMas): http://michaeljasper.net/2011/03/28/new-ebook-formatting-comics-for-the-kindle-and-nook/
- Formatting and Selling Ebooks: http://michaeljasper.net/2012/09/07/formatting-and-selling-ebooks-2012-version/
OTHER/UNCLASSIFIABLE:
- Pizzula by David Foland, illustrated by Jason Strutz -- how indeed would you classify the illustrated story of a the last bite of pizza turned vampire?
- by Bully Pulpit Games -- "On a remote planet far from civilization, the worst criminal scum from a dozen star systems have been dumped, charged with building new lives under the watchful eye of Authority. Within a brutal hierarchy of savagery and servility, convicts and guards alike must make hard choices. Every colonist has their own code of conduct and their own aspirations—aspirations that invariably come at the expense of others. This dangerous new world is too small for everyone to succeed. In fact, it may well be too small for anyone to succeed. Only the shrewdest, the toughest and the luckiest will get a chance to find out. Will you be among them?
- is the latest game from designer Jason Morningstar, author of the award-winning game
- . It is a fast-paced, low-prep, highly collaborative game designed for 3-5 players and one or more sessions of play and includes a detailed, engaging science fiction setting.
- began as an entry to the
- design competition and was produced with the support of backers in a very successful
- ."
Other/To Be Categorized/etc.:
- John G. Hartness [Goodreads]
- Nancy A. Collins [Goodreads]
- A long list of authors and books I haven't added yet!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Holiday shopping guide
NC speculative fiction holiday guide crowd source begins!
Posted on 2012-10-22 at 13:30 by montsamu
There have been - and are yet to come! - a long list of novels, anthologies, comics, graphic novels, and other related goodies published by or including local authors and artists and other local and regional creators this year. So, like we’ve done in 2010 and 2011, I want to put together a holiday shopping guide for 2012. But! I need your help. So comment here or on Facebook, or reply on Twitter, or just email me. What am I looking for?
- Novels, primarily in print or physical media (for audiobooks) and able to be ordered through IndieBound, but if it's otherwise available in print or available on Kobo, I'll round up those books and links as well -- heck, if it can be gifted (I know that works for Audible and Kindle titles) it can be included
- Anthologies either edited here or including story, art, etc. from local and regional creators (see above for formats)
- RPG manuals
- Graphic novels
- Comics
- Other stuff I should include?
As for “other stuff”, basically for the local/regional awards eligibility roundup post early next year, such as short story publications for example, let’s hold off on those for now and focus on things that people can (or will shortly be able to) buy as holiday gifts this year.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Holiday shopping guide
The Negative Zone #004: King City, Prophet, and Multiple Warheads by Brandon Graham
Posted on 2012-10-19 at 15:51 by Wander Lane
by Andrew Neal
You know who I love? I love Brandon Graham. Well, I love his comics. I don’t know him very well… yet. If you know me from the comic industry, either as my customer or as another comics professional, there’s a really good chance you know how hung up I am on Brandon Graham’s stuff.
But check this out: I’m writing a column for a science fiction magazine now, so it’s chance to preach, not only to a ton of folks who don’t know how much I love Brandon Graham’s comics, but who might not even know who he is! Let’s fix that situation right now.
The story in Prophet is fairly different from the story in King City: Graham has described it as being like Conan in space, and it’s tough to get away from that description, because it’s so apt. This is science fiction, but not hard Arthur C. Clarke stuff. This is Thousands of Years in the Future Pulp Science Fiction. It’s full of monsters and mutants, and John Prophet eats a lot of them. Monster meat has a lot of protein! This series is ongoing now, and the first six issues are collected in a full color paperback for just ten bucks. Another great value.
Wait, there’s one more comic I want to talk about. It’s called Multiple Warheads: Alphabet to Infinity. It’s not out yet, but it will be at the end of October. This one is about an organ smuggler named Sexica with a werewolf boyfriend. Graham is writing and drawing, and this one should be more similar thematically to King City than Prophet. There was actually a Multiple Warheads comic several years back. It is unfortunately out of print now, but you won’t need to have read it to jump into this series.
Right now you may be asking yourself, “Where will I get these fine comics and graphic novels over which Andrew is going completely bonkers?” and that’s when I slap you with some cold hard knowledge: BAM! I have a comic book store in Chapel Hill, and not only that, my comic book store will be hosting a signing for Brandon on October 27, from 5pm until 7pm (That “yet” in the first paragraph wasn’t just hopeful)! We’ll have copies of Prophet, King City, and Multiple Warheads (including an exclusive Multiple Warheads Launch Tour cover) as well as some of Graham’s previous work.
That’s right. I just co-opted my science fiction review column to tell you about a signing at my comic book store. It’s like I’m getting paid to advertise for myself. Is this the finest example of synergy to be found in the annals of Bull Spec, or just an example of how I have absolutely no shame in my game? It’s both, y’all.
But seriously. Even if you don’t live near my store, you should hunt these comics down. I love them, and I bet a lot of you will as well.
Posted in columns, the negative zone | Tagged andrew neal, brandon graham, king city, multiple warheads, prophet, the negative zone
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