SIMON451 student contest and paying the bills as a novelist

First my news. I'm the new Santa Rosa TOWNS correspondent for the Press Democrat. I started this PT, contract gig on Monday.  Most published authors still need a day job. Many of us are able to freelance or do some other related job during the week, but unless we're turning out NYTs best sellers constantly, we still need to work. I continue to look for FT employment, but the local job market is flat. Like so many other people who are not finding work, I'm having to make work.

I'm writing resumes and cover letters for a fee, got on board with WriterAccess and have been producing an anthology as a fundraiser for the local YWCA. In addition, I'm putting together a website that will list where all the live music is in the county and teaching beginning dance with my hubby in the hopes that it will support our $70/wk habit (dancing to live music).  I'm also trying to get a grant to create a new book festival here to replace the abandoned Sonoma County Book Festival.

The big question, really, is where do I fit my novel writing in? I'm so busy trying to make a buck and churning out the creative juices toward that end, that the novel is suffering. I have no idea how people keep full-time jobs and write novels. But, then again, they probably don't go out dancing three or four times a week, workout three times a week, and walk or bike ride three times a week. I guess it's all a matter of scheduling and discipline. Toward that end I devised a master schedule and a master time sheet to track all of my various projects. Let's see if I can actually follow it next week.

I'm determined to send the requested synopsis and first chapter for my novel tomorrow. Won't let myself do anything else first. And as I type this, I'm remembering my five-year-old grandson's basketball game at 9 am. See how that happens? Have you ever watched five-year-olds play basketball? It's adorable! Oh, well, after that I'll hunker down and not let myself go dancing unless I get it done. That will light a fire under me for sure!

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Very exciting news for college students from Simon & Schuster's new sci-fi imprint SIMON451:

SIMON451: NOVEL-WRITING CONTEST FOR STUDENTS

New York, N.Y., January 31, 2014 – Simon451, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is pleased to announce a writing contest for students. Submissions must fall in one of the following categories: science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian or dystopian fiction, apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic fiction, or alternate history in literature. We are looking for full-length novels only; novellas and short stories will not be considered.

The contest is open to legal residents of the United States who are at least eighteen years of age and are currently enrolled in college at the undergraduate or graduate level, and who possess a student ID card valid as of February 2014 . The submission period runs from February 1, 2014 – March 15, 2014, during which entrants are asked to provide a 250-word synopsis and the first fifty pages of their novel via the online entry form in accordance with the full contest guidelines.

Complete contest rules and guidelines can be found here. Ten finalists will be chosen and contacted by April 15, 2014, at which time they will be asked to submit their complete novels for consideration. The winner will receive a publishing contract with Simon451 and a trip to ComicCon in New York City to participate in the public launch of the imprint.

Science fiction and fantasy TV - old and new

After nearly a week of the creeping crud (AKA summer cold), I'm starting to return to the land of the living. And I couldn't even catch up on my reading! My head hurt too bad. I hate that. So I watched some science fiction. Would you believe I saw Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie) for the first time? It was great. I love Donald Sutherland. Next time I have that much TV viewing time on my hands, I'm going to watch the series. I AM a Browncoat after all. Joss Whedon rocks.

And the new season of Being Human started Saturday. That was a plus! It's on BBC America and it's must-see TV. And then last week, we had the lovely crossover between Warehouse 13 and Eureka.

Here's a clip from a ComicCon panel with the Warehouse 13 cast.


Allison Scagliotti's character, Claudia Donovan, on Warehouse 13 reminds me of Percy Montana from Starhunter. Any Starhunter diehards out there? I keep looking for Tanya Allen. What happened to her? What did we do before Google? I just looked her up. Apparently, she was on Silent Hill. I would have known this if I'd watched it on Sunday when it came on. And she's in a movie called Magic due out some time this year.

Here's a great look at Percy.



I just begged for a review copy of The Evolutionary Void by Peter F. Hamilton. The literary mash-ups with vampires, werewolves and robots have been fun, but now I need some meat.

I'm revamping my blog lists. So far, I've eliminated "author buddies" (sorry guys). My buddies who write science fiction and have updated blogs will reappear in the new SF Author Blogs list which will happen later this week. My blog seems to be growing out of its bounds. I might even add another page for submission guidelines and author resources. How many people scroll to the bottom of this monstrosity?

Brian Gilmore over at Ranker loves lists as much as I do. Today, he sent me this one: Top 8 Geekiest Things Ever Sent Into Space .



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SFOO makes top 45 SF blog list!

Thanks fans, writers and sf geeks alike. Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys has been awarded the 2010 Top 45 Sci-Fi Book Blogs award from Awarding the Web. See the whole list.

Let the voting begin! Atom.com and Lucasfilm announced the finalists for their ninth annual “Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge”. You can view the finalist fan-made films at starwars.atom.com and vote for your favorite. Voting ends on August 2nd. Some of these are on the long side, so schedule a good time to watch and pop some popcorn and settle in, enjoy and vote.

Comic-con was in the news this year for the protests and counter-protests, and again because of a violent episode on Saturday. Someone got stabbed by a ballpoint pen during a screening.

The protest footage at Comics Alliance is hysterical. One would hope that the protestors from Westboro Baptist Church could find real evil to wage war on instead of facing off over comic book heroes. They do know it's fiction, right?

Finally, how about some great mysteries for you to chew on? I know this is a sf blog, but I'm very tempted to run another flash fiction contest around these two events. I think our incredible imaginations can conjure some great fiction using these as jumping off points. Of course, I may just decide to do a story of my own instead. I love a mystery -- especially a science-fictionalized one. ;)

First up is the Money Pit. The biggest treasure hunt of all time. Treasure hunters know where the treasure is, but do to the magnificently engineered booby traps, none have been able to reach it. They're starting again after their permit was granted on July 15th. The Money Pit, located on Oak Island in Nova Scotia, is conjectured to be a treasure hidden by pirates, the Knights Templar or Francis Bacon. It's all just guesswork at this point. A few artifacts from the higher levels of this incredibly deep pit have been recovered. Men have died trying to reach the bottom. Read all about it at www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk.

In England, a second circular grouping like Stonehenge but made of wood has been discovered near the first. This CNN story has pictures of the second site.

Great grist for the mill. Hey, why not link the two...





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