The Evolutionary Void, speculative writing and reading, and ET

Busy, busy, busy! So busy that my two emails had more than 3K emails in the inboxes alone. And that doesn't even include the work email. Obviously, it's time to get off some mailing lists. I've had press releases and news tips piling up for Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys as well. I have preserved the best for you.

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If you're a writer, you know how important it is to find the right market for your blood, sweat and tears manuscript. That's where Duotrope comes in. It's an incredibly searchable database. You can set all your search parameters from pay scale to genre to word limits and more. Please slide on over and visit this impressive resource site and see what you can do to help. Without donations, some features may have to be subscription only. Read more on their donations page. Thanks goes to Julie Andrews (writer, not singer) for this heads-up.

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Also from Julie:

Applications are being accepted for the 2011 Clarion workshop in San Diego.

Clarion is an intensive writing boot camp for writers of fantasy and science fiction stories. Last year's writers in residence included John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear and Kij Johnson. Eighteen promising students are selected each year. The workshop lasts six weeks, June 26 - August 6, 2011, and students and teachers stay on the UCSD campus.

Application period: December 1 - March 1.

Applicants must submit two short stories with their application.

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My review of Evolutionary Void by Peter F. Hamilton just posted over on Mostly Fiction. This is THE BEST series I've read for years. I love the Commonwealth universe and still miss it several months later. I interviewed him here after reviewing the second book in the series, The Temporal Void.

Here is an interview he did with MacMillan Books a couple of months ago.

And part two of the same interview:

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Kay Holt of Crossed Genres magazine shares the following:

#1 – Crossed Genres just released "A Festival of Skeletons" by Rachel Astruc. It's a darkly fantastic comedy that still makes me chuckle, even though I've read it several times now. Sure, I'm the editor, but if you like sass and suspense, I think you'll enjoy reading "A Festival of Skeletons".

#2 – Speaking of Crossed Genres, the magazine is currently accepting submissions for the sci-fi and fantasy TRAGEDY issue. The two new editors, Natania Barron and Jaym Gates, are excellent ladies and very Broad-friendly.

#3 – The Science in My Fiction blog is also seeking short story submissions. All stories must be inspired by actual science (please include links to relevant articles).

#4 – if you haven't discovered the Geek Mom blog yet, mosey on over. It's a cool place to be a geek and a gal.

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Latest UFO Sightings is one-stop reading for all that's new on the ET front.

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I have lots more reviews coming soon to SFOO, thanks to my great review team. I still review a few myself. Some books are just to yummy to pass up.

UFOs behind the perception filter, SFOO growing

The National Press Club held a news conference Monday on eyewitness accounts of UFO activity around nuclear missile sites.

My husband sent me a NPC link, which had no links to the conference, so I googled for it. This was the next day, and I found nothing. How weird is that? Admittedly, I was busy and didn't persist for long, but it should have been at the top of the heap. I'm not one for conspiracy theories and I don't spend a lot of time thinking about UFOs or the possibility of intelligent life out there among the stars. Or hovering over our planet. And I'm a sci-fi writer!

Why did the press conference get buried? Why don't we think about UFOs more?

I have a theory. First of all, if all the eye witness testimony is false, if there really are no ETs, well, wouldn't we look stupid for being taken in by another hoax? We hate being duped. On the other hand, if they're real, what then? What can we possibly do about it? What defense could we possibly have that could compete with an intelligent species that has achieved space travel and is able to observe us for so long without interference? If they're hostile, it's just all over. It's just too scary. We don't like feeling vulnerable. It's like the perception filter on Dr. Who. Our eyes slide away. We can't see the evidence in front of us. We don't want to.

If they're not hostile, well, we can try to find them and communicate with them. But who represents our world? What do we say? As Robert Hastings pointed out in the conference, they may not want to interfere. Maybe they have something akin to the prime directive. Maybe we're just being observed by scientists as interesting specimens for study.

The former USAF officers and other professionals delivering testimony in the news conference believe that these extraterrestrials, or perhaps people from another dimension, may be sending us a warning to steer clear of nuclear weapons. That other dimension theory is interesting. What about from another time? Could it be humans from our future in which we have to flee our planet after destroying it with nukes?

SFGate has a lot of links, including a video of the press conference. I highly recommend watching it. You can also check out UFO Digest's report.

In the advances in science column, imagine paralyzed limbs able to move again because of light! Check out Light stimulation could restore movement to paralyzed limbs over at Gizmag. And NASA is working on a new launch system.

My review of Android Karenina is now available at Mostly Fiction.

I wrote a flash memoir (using my way-back machine) for our local YWCA's Changing Hurt to Hope program and will be reading it on one to three Fridays in October. Writing that piece was hard, but healing. It's only three pages, but it felt like thirty. My hope is that it will help someone else still struggling in the cycle of abuse. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys is climbing in ranking all the time. I'm currently interviewing staff bloggers to help me keep the content going. One feature I will be introducing is small press and self-published sf book reviews. We're talking slush pile here. But if I have reviewers wading through the slush, they're bound to find a gem or two. I would also like to have Indie and feature film reviews. Since both hold their screenings and premieres in NY, LA and generally where I'm not, having staff bloggers in those cities can make those reviews happen.

In addition, I'm seeking a SF news blogger who can devote more time to bringing you the best and most current sf news. If any of my readers are interested in helping out or know someone who might be interested, shoot me an email. I can only pay in free books, passes to advanced screenings and exposure. Staff members will have their pic and profile in the blog's right-hand column or possibly on an About Us page.