We will miss you, Ray Bradbury!

As all of you no doubt know by now, Ray Bradbury died on Tuesday night, June 5th at 91. I would like to share some tributes with you. He was so influential in the world of science fiction and beyond.

Because it's my blog, I'm going to start with one of my own. I wrote him a flash fiction story for his 90th birthday. Read U Minus 90 now.

And here's a statement from another very influential science fiction writer who has the honor of being the only author to be interviewed here twice - Robert Sawyer.

Award-winning author (Hugo and Nebula) Robert J. Sawyer put out this statement about Ray Bradbury's death: "Ray Bradbury firmly introduced America to the notion of extraterrestrial life. That aliens appeared in the pages of THE SATURDAY EVENING POST excited the public's imagination in a way stories relegated to the scifi pulp magazines never could. Without Bradbury, there'd be no public appetite for SETI."

Sawyer will join scientists, writers, artists and sci-fi stars at SETIcon II, hosted by the SETI Institute. The Institute is known for its science-based search for evidence of life on distant worlds in its broad spectrum of astrobiology research. SETIcon will take place June 22 through 24 in the heart of the Silicon Valley at the Hyatt Santa Clara.

For more information about SETIcon go to SETIcon.com

For more information about Sawyer go to: http://seticon.com/2012/hugo-and-nebula-winner-robert-j-sawyer/

Here's the June Phoenix Pix:

Our free book for June 2012 is Paul Cook’s Tintagel.

The coupon code is 9991527 and the will be good from June 2 through June 30. Links for downloading the book (as usual) from our online catalogue at www.PPickings.com

Short Description of the Book:

Music can be many things, but when it is used as a medium to spread a deadly virus that transports listeners to a deadly world of dreams, it threatens the future of humanity itself.

But not everyone is susceptible to the deadly virus and there is a group of 'stalkers' who are immune to its effects.

Francis Lanier is a stalker who can walk through the deadly dream worlds of others. He spends his time rescuing others from their dreams and races to find a final cure for this deadly infection.

Review Blurbs:

"An imaginative thriller."—Publishers Weekly
"Paul Cook's Tintagel is readable and intriguing."—The Reference Library
"(A) mature work...Cook renders the characters with sympathy and psychological depth."—Heavy Metal
"Ends with a marvelous surprise"— N.Y. Daily