BayCon and beyond

My back surgery went well. I now have BayCon, a family reunion, and my son's wedding back on my calendar. It would have really been the pits to attend my son's wedding on a gurney. Now I just have post-op pain, which is minor and temporary. It's good to be back (pardon the pun).

One thing I won't be going back to is work. The magazine I worked for couldn't wait for me to have my operation and recover. Monday, May 3rd, was my back operation, my termination date and my 25th wedding anniversary. So what now? I'm going freelance to fill gaps between book sales. I've also monetized the blog. I'm sure you noticed the ads on the right. If you know anyone in need of a writer/editor for a job here or there, send them on over. :)

I received my BayCon schedule this evening. For those living further afield or close by, yet in convention denial or under a rock, BayCon is one of the best science fiction conventions on the west coast. It's in San Jose every Memorial Day weekend. Come by and say hi. My schedule is tentatively as follows:

UPDATE!! This just in. I have Sat. panels now! Woo hoo!
Saturday
10 AM Writing Workshops: Hit or miss with Jon Cory, Morgan Hua and Jay Ridler (M).

8 PM Character I want to _________ with TBA. If you see TBA, let me know. ;)

Sunday
10 AM Self-promotion and publicity for writers. I suggested this so get to moderate it. :) Joining me are A. Kovacs, Emerian Rich, Scott Sigler and Tony Todaro.

noon The new Doctor, again! with Mette Hedin, Bryan Little and Tom Saidak (M).

Monday
10 AM Stop me if you've heard this one with Andrew Clark (M), Valerie Frankel, Kevin Andrew Murphy and Lorrie Wood.


So, yeah we'll have hang out Friday or Saturday, no?

I received Android Karenina in the mail today for review. Shiny! :0) It's a mash-up with Leo Tolstoy (may he still RIP) and Ben H. Winters.

I'm polishing reviews for Coyote Horizon by Allen M. Steele and Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor. Friday, return here to read my interview with Steve Hockensmith and then read my review of Dawn of the Dreadfuls at Mostly Fiction.

And as LOST nears its mindlessly muddy end, here are some fun imaginings of the last 10 seconds.
LOST: The Cast Says Goodnight

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Spoofs | The Last 10 Minutes of Lost

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Laurel Anne Hill, writer and youth mentor

I had the opportunity to interview my fellow writer and club member, Laurel Anne Hill, at RadCon in February. I thoroughly enjoyed our chat. Because of technical difficulties, I created an article rather than a straight interview. I love interviewing people, but hate transcription, so this may be the last of its kind. Enjoy.

Laurel Anne Hill started writing before she could read. "My sister was older than I by four years and I would tell her my stories and she would write them down. And then I'd cut out little pictures from magazines and comic books to illustrate the stories that she had written and so that's when it all began. And I think really she encouraged me because she liked to write, too.

"I got to my teens and I started what I think of as more grown-up writing, essays and stories that weren't quite so cliché and childish. And I started entering them in contests. I had mentors in high school and I kept winning contests."

Laurel paid for four years of college tuition with writing contest winnings. She won a cash prize and a full-sized $600 stereo from a writing contest conducted by a military group out of the Presidio (San Francisco). She won a watch. For one of her essays, she won $500 which covered her tuition for many semesters.

When it comes to entry fees, Laurel advises writers to look at who is sponsoring the contest, what the prizes are, what kind of exposure winners get, etc. She said a small fee is reasonable for covering administrative costs of a contest. She suggested giving yourself a limit of how much you will spend for contests per year.

After college, Laurel stopped writing in lieu of a career and raising children. In 1991, a mysterious illness assailed her, which was never identified. "The muscles in my back went into continual spasm. It lasted almost six weeks. ... After I recovered from that, I looked at life in a different way. You know, they had me on several medications that made me hallucinate. Usually when I hallucinate, I hallucinate spiders; but in this case I could envision the grim reaper. But instead of holding a scythe, he was holding a giant pen." This drove her to get back to writing.

Laurel had recurring dreams that she was going back to college and taking courses in literature. In these dreams, she would sign up for the courses and then be unable to attend because she couldn't find parking, the professor moved the class to another city and other various obstacles.

In another recurring dream, she had to return to high school because her diploma and records had been lost. Once again, the standard dream obstacles. When she started writing and working with youth, those dreams ceased.

Laurel was fascinated with the worlds in the books she had as a child. She cited a favorite story in which a carrousel horse could communicate with children, but only until their legs were long enough to fit into the stirrups of its saddle.

Though her career had been in science, Laurel loves to create her own worlds with her own rules and scientific laws.

Laurel belongs to a number of writing groups and encourages others, including younger writers who are no longer in writing courses to do the same. Her affiliations include Broad Universe, California Writers' Club, Women Writing the Web and Women's National Book Association. She has been in critique groups for 12 or 13 years, one of which she has been in for 8 or 9 years.

Because she believes in giving back, she now sits on the mentor side of the table for writers' workshops at sci-fi conventions, especially BayCon.

When I asked Laurel what themes run through her work, she said, "There are things that are rewarded in life (honor, faith, love). I guess I have a very optimistic viewpoint about life regardless of what I've been through. Which is odd since I grew up in a poor family with an alcoholic father and had a brother that did not turn out well. Yet I continually have this feeling that there's hope for almost all of us."

Read more about Laurel and her writing at www.laurelannehill.com.





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Greg Bear on writing and City at the End of Time

Greg Bear has authored more than 30 books, won many Nebula and Hugo awards and was named “Best working writer of hard science fiction” by The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. I have read and reviewed several of his books. I love character-driven plots and he is a master. I just reviewed City at the End of Time at Mostly Fiction. You'll also find my review of Quantico there.

To read more about Greg Bear, visit his website.


AW: Your writing tends to cross genre lines. Do you think pigeon-holing novels into sub-genres helps or hurts their exposure?

GB: It’s a publishing quirk, designed to reach audiences with allegedly fixed tastes--or at least to avoid confusing them. I think the tastes of younger audiences are much broader than these categories allow, but modern bookstores rarely mix and match--and so we confirm both the conservatism and the prejudices. However, book sales in some formats have declined considerably in the last ten years, showing that many potential readers have been lost to other entertainments and media.


AW: What other genres or mediums would you like to expand into?

GB: I’ve thought about writing all sorts of fiction, and even non-fiction, but I’ll need to build a considerable nest-egg to continue expansion--though Quantico was quite successful, and Mariposa is selling as well. Quantico, and Darwin's Radio before that, caused me entirely unnecessary problems with one of my publishers. Now, however, I seem to have a good audience for suspense thrillers with a sf angle... It’s all about track record, I suppose.


AW: Your Foundation and Chaos was my favorite book in the Foundation sequel trilogy. Can you tell me what it was like writing a Foundation book?

GB: Very interesting and enjoyable. I read Gregory Benford’s first volume, of course, then re-read much of Isaac’s shelf of books, including his autobiographies and essays, and uploaded as much as I could of his amazing personality. Soon enough, I seemed to have Isaac sitting on my shoulder... A very charming presence indeed. I listened closely to his suggestions, and he gave a little on certain things I thought were interesting to explore. David Brin wrapped it all up for us! Janet Asimov was very supportive and helpful, and that made the project much easier for all of us.


AW: How do your ideas for novels begin? With a "what if," a world, a character, or a sociological concept?

GB: All of that at once! It’s difficult now to piece together exactly how a story pops up to be written, but it usually has all of those elements inherent in its premise and set of characters.


AW: In City at the End of Time, did you have drawings, paintings, maps or other visual aids to keep your descriptions consistent across chapters and POVs?

GB: I had a few maps and some quick sketches to work with, nothing extensive. I used to keep a notebook on each novel, but now, I mostly include notes and updates and such in the computer file, to remind me they need to be looked at and integrated. In a way, City at the End of Time arises from one of the first novels I sketched out in my college days, an early effort entitled Shannedar. Very little of that work now remains in the finished product--but the metaphysical implications of a universal library were already fascinating to me.


AW: City at the End of Time is complex with far reaching story lines and numerous POVs. Did you initially write it in sequence?

GB: For the most part, yes. The story expanded and grew more complex with time, and I kept discovering new questions and consequences, so some sections are folded in later, as usually happens with my novels--but the writing was mostly linear.


AW: How much tweaking do you do in rewrites? How many times do you rewrite a novel before you're satisfied with the result?

GB: Every day I look over work from the previous day and rework it. Every few days, I skip around through the manuscript both to correct and to reorient myself to what I’ve done, how characters develop and interact, how plots are moving along.


AW: What are you working on now?

GB: Main project at the moment: the first of three novels describing the origins of the Halo universe. There may also be some media and even “transmedia” projects in the near future that will also take up my full attention. Being three people would be handy!


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Awesome Lavratt app, back surgery, pink slip and possibilities

Just a week after seeing another specialist, I'm having back surgery. It's scheduled for this coming Monday. I'm actually looking forward to it. Or at least looking forward to the relief I'll feel afterward. It's really the pits not being able to sit for more than 3 min. or stand more than 10 without pain. And I'll be able to sleep on either side again. And go places and do things. In short, I'll have my life back.

Unfortunately, I won't have a job to go back to. I work for a small magazine that can't carry on without me for that long (6 weeks recovery). I've already been out since the 30th of March.

So, Monday, May 3rd, which happens to be my 25th wedding anniversary, is the day I have surgery and am effectively unemployed.

I trust that God has everything well in hand, though. This might be just the opportunity I need to have affordable healthcare (subsidized COBRA) while working on my own fiction and freelancing. It will take a while, of course to build my client base, but jobs are not readily available in this economy anyway. Rather than bemoan my lack of employment I can focus on starting my own business and use the time to work on the novels that I've had to backburner while working full time.

Another bit of good news. AWESOME LAVRATT IS AVAILABLE FOR iPHONE!

Now you can read my tongue-in-cheek space opera on the go for only $4.99.

See the description to the right on this blog. You can read the first chapter on my website.

After reading Awesome Lavratt on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, please consider writing a review for the iTunes site. And tell your friends. Even the ones not normally into SF. Awesome Lavratt is soft sci-fi with humor. Here's an article on why science fiction is good for us, "In Defense of Science Fiction," at The Mark, a Canadian online publication. You'll be doing yourself and your friends a favor, not to mention helping a starving writer.

Stay tuned tomorrow for an interview with Greg Bear and a link to my review of City at the End of Time.



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J.A. Pitts on writing and going long

John and I met on Facebook. We met in person at World Fantasy Convention last year, where he agreed to this interview. Subsequently, I attended his Birthday Party/Book Launch at Radcon.



I tried to find the time to interview him there, but it was a pretty full weekend. This interview is another first in that I came up with a compromise between calling him and recording the conversation, then transcribing the interview and the usual email drill. What follows is a cleaned up IM interview conducted with Yahoo Instant Messenger. We both had a ball. I think I'll do more of these. It's more organic, but saves me having to transcribe -- every journalist's most dreaded task.

John's a great writer, nice guy and a good sport (We both got roped into a skit for the opening ceremonies at Radcon).

And because I have a thing for firsts, I snapped a picture while John signed the first copy of his first book.










AW: When did you start writing?

JP: Twelve.

AW: Care to elaborate?

JP: Mainly poetry and tall tales, Jack Tales, adventure stories, WWII, mystery.

AW: Who inspired you to do something with your talent?

JP: I guess it started with my great Aunt. She was very country. She married at thirteen and never learned to drive. She worked her whole adult life at the Woolworths. She handed me Burroughs' Martian Chronicles as soon as I was reading chapter books. She would buy me notebooks and pencils when I came over to visit and encourage me to write my own stories.

When I was in 6th grade, a student-teacher took an interest in my writing aspirations. She made me a notebook filled with poetry and story concepts, a learner's guide, as it were.

AW: Nice. When you started writing for money, did you always have it in your mind that you wanted to be a novelist?

JP: Yes and no. I realized that the only way to make a living was a writer is to write novels. But I also thought it was probably too much for me then, so I stuck with short stories for the longest time. I always struggled with the short form: too many plot lines, too many characters for something little. My wife kept trying to convince me to write something that could contain the ideas I had in my head. It was good advice, even if it took me a long time to really hear it. :)

AW: Was it hard to transition from the short form to novels?

JP: Not at all. Quite the opposite. Once I started writing novels I felt like the shackles had been released for the first time. I suddenly had the breadth and freedom to flesh out the worlds I wanted to visit. It was liberating.

AW: When you wrote the story, "Black Blade Blues," had you already determined to write the novel, Black Blade Blues?

JP: No. I wrote it to spec for an anthology. It wasn't until it was reviewed by the editors, Denise Little and Dean Wesley Smith, that I saw the potential for more. I got both "this is a damn good story" and "I'd like to see the novel this will become." Beats what I usually hear, which is "Nice first chapter."

AW: That sounds really familiar. I'm still trying to make my novel ideas into stories. Will you continue to write short stories now that you have novels under contract?

JP: Yes. I have one short being considered at Tor.com, and I wrote another one just recently. I'll never write shorts with the same consistency and quantity of Jay Lake, but I'll keep writing them. I love the feeling of having written. You get that much sooner with a short story. Quicker satisfaction moments.

AW: Yup. My sentiments exactly! How did you find an agent?

JP: Well, I sold the novel before I got an agent. When Tor called me (and after I told my wife), I called my friends Ken Scholes and Jay Lake. Jay called his agent and asked her if she'd be interested in reading my novel, and told her the situation at hand. She agreed, and I sent her the novel. She emailed me a few days later and said she was sorry, but that she couldn't get behind my characters, so she didn't feel like she'd be the best person to represent me. She offered me three choices in the email.

1. There was an agent in her house that would likely love, love my novel.
   
2. She knew people outside the house who would love it
   
3. Or I could tell her to get bent.
   

I went for 1. She contacted her co-worker, who was out on maternity leave, and we connected by phone. I ended up working with her soon after. I'm very pleased with how it worked out.

AW: So you had subbed it to Tor yourself originally?

JP: Yes. I met Claire Eddy at Radcon several years ago. We talked a bit, exchanged a few emails, and I sent her my first novel, which she rejected (for very good reasons). When I had the second one ready, I emailed her if she was interested in seeing it. She said yes, she liked my writing, so I sent it over. They were looking for Urban Fantasy, and I'd sent them Urban Fantasy. Pretty good coincidence.

AW: What was your most memorable con experience?

JP: Tricky question.

AW: How about funniest and best. Is that easier?

JP: I think stepping into the elevator in Calgary to find Claire Eddy all alone, and having her greet me and ask if I wanted to chat. That was a stellar moment.
The funniest would have to be sitting in the hotel at WorldCon in Montreal.
I was with my friend Keffy Kehrli and we were waiting for our other friend, Brenda Cooper, to come down so we could go to dinner. Keffy knows Neil Gaiman and I'd mention to him how I'd love to ask Neil a question, in a far away world where I could have a real conversation with him. And who walks in, but Neil. He stopped to chat up Keffy, who turned to me and said, "Here's your chance." So, I got to have a fifteen-minute, private conversation with Neil. It was very awesome.

AW: Excellent! I'm jealous, of course. Which of the things you do when you're not writing most influence the content of your writing?

JP: Interacting with people. I think the biggest flaw I find in writing is unrealistic relationships. Not dating or sex, but typical conversations and interactions. I think meeting a diverse set of people, and learning about their lives really helps me write more believable and entertaining stories. And I read...a lot.

AW: What genres do you read?

JP: Mainly sf/f. Honestly. I will read some non-fiction from time to time, especially when I'm trying to learn stuff, but, I'll dabble in other genres from time to time: romance, horror, spy, thrillers and even some westerns. I'll pick up a book that everyone says I should read, occasionally, but I'm usually disappointed. So, I'd say 80 percent genre.

AW: What are you working on now?

JP: I just sent Honeyed Words, the second Sarah Beauhall book, over to Tor last week. I'm working on some short stories to get out before I start book three. I'm also working a lot of hours at the day job, and trying to clear the decks, so I have more time to write. I'm critiquing a novel for a friend of mine, Patrick Swenson, and will be critiquing two more in the next month. I'm tired a lot. :)

AW: What's the day job?

JP: I'm a computer consultant. Lots of brain energy in that job, lots of hours.

AW: Do you like it? Or would you rather not have to have a day job?

JP: Oh, if I could, I'd write full-time. Absolutely. But I love my job. It's challenging, makes me think and, frankly, keeps me on my toes socially and intellectually. Not so much physically, so I try to get to the YMCA to work out, and keep up with my taekwondo.

Visit John at www.japitts.net.



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