Lawrence M. Schoen

Eating Authors: Lawrence M. Schoen

2 comments Written on December 28th, 2015 by Lawrence Schoen
Categories: Plugs
Tags: Eating Authors, Barsk

How very odd to see my own name above this paragraph. After four years of asking other authors about their most memorable meals, it seems appropriate to take a turn myself. So, following the style of past posts, let me formally state that this week’s EATING AUTHORS guest is me, Lawrence M. Schoen, author, small press publisher, research psychologist, hypnotherapist, and Klingonist. You know, same as everyone else.

The occasion for being my own guest hinges on tomorrow’s release of Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard from Tor Books. The fact that you’re reading this blog at all probably implies that you already know all about me, so I’ll keep this introduction short.

Most of what I’m known for among my previous science fiction is the light and humorous adventures of a space-faring stage hypnotist and his alien animal companion. The new book, Barsk, takes a very different tone, exploring issues of prophecy, intolerance, friendship, conspiracy, and loyalty, and redefines the continua between life and death.

Barsk Blog Tour

No Comments » Written on December 27th, 2015 by Lawrence Schoen
Categories: News

And so it begins…

As part of the celebration of the release of my novel, Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, for the last few weeks I’ve been crafting a seemingly endless series of interview and essays for assorted blogs* and other venues throughout the web. Some are insightful, others just silly. Some are serious and others may make you say, “huh?”

In any case, you’ll find the list of them below, because it’s time for

My Tentative 2016 Mysticon Schedule

No Comments » Written on December 26th, 2015 by Lawrence Schoen
Categories: News
Tags: Conventions, Appearance, Traveling, Barsk

February is promising to be busy. Along with a book signing tour into North Carolina and a convention visit to Texas, I’ll be finishing the month off with a trip to Roanoke, Virgina and my first visit to Mysticon. To no one’s surprise — given that the GoH is GRRM — the convention has been sold out for months and promises to be exciting.

Here’s my current best guess regarding my schedule, but as we’re still two months out it could change. If it does, I’ll post a update.

Friday, February 26th
03:00 p.m. (Ballroom D) Anthology Don’ts
There are always rules for submitting in anthologies: length, subject matter, etc. Our panelists discuss the common errors they see (or have been guilty of) in anthology submissions.
With Anita Allenm Alexandra Christian, Tera Fulbright, John G. Hartness, Faith Hunter, and Michael A. Ventrella

Saturday, February 27th
01:30 p.m. (Rm 533) Reading
To absolutely no one’s surprise, I’ll be reading from my shiny new novel, Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, and possibly drop some hints about a new book I’m working on.

02:00 p.m. (Dealers’ Room) Signing
That’s right, I’ll be going straight from my reading to Signing Table A. Meanwhile, somewhere nearby in the convention, the Mysticon GoH, George R. R. Martin will also be signing. Please do not get us confused. Hey, it could happen.
With Baine Kelly

Sunday, February 28th
09:00 a.m. (Ballroom C) Building Your Brand
Done properly, self-promotion is an important part of building a career. Poorly executed, self-promotion can do more harm than good. Our panelists will discuss what works and doesn’t work along with these common questions: Do book-signings really help a small author? Are bookmarks and/or postcards effective at garnering attention? Does a blog help or hurt an author? Does an author have to have a website?
With Alexandra Christian, Faith Hunter, Baine Kelly, Chris Kennedy, Pamela K. Kinney, Jim Lavene, Michael A. Ventrella

10:00 a.m. (Board Room 1) Writing, Up Close and Personal
This panel will cover point-of-view choices and how to “write close” to your point-of-view characters. Do certain points of view only work with certain types of stories? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each form?
With Alexandra Christian, Emmy Jackson, Pamela K. Kinney, Michael A. Ventrella

Please note that some of the people listed on the items above may vanish from a particular panel. I’m posting this schedule on based on what I’ve been told, and it’s all still technically in flux.

See you at Mysticon!

My 2016 Arisia Schedule

No Comments » Written on December 21st, 2015 by Lawrence Schoen
Categories: News
Tags: Conventions, Appearance, Traveling, Barsk

My first convention of 2016, and my first following the release of Barsk, will involve a train trip to New England (assuming the weather cooperates) as I make a long overdue return to Arisia. It’s a four day convention, but most of my programming happens on Saturday so I should have a lot of downtime. Look for me in the Westin’s lobby bar.

Here’s my schedule of what I’ll be doing, where and when:

Saturday, January 16th
10:00 a.m. (Bulfinch) Constructing Languages
Many SF/F worlds have their own languages, Elvish and Klingon being two of the best known. How do you create languages that make sense? From etymology to grammar to culture, there are many aspects to consider. How does a language reflect the identities of its speakers? How do we make our languages and vocabularies believable?
With John Chu, Anne Nydam, and Cecilia Tan

11:30 a.m. (Burroughs) Star Trek at 50!
Fifty years ago, Gene Roddenberry introduced us to the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Since then, the crew has boldly gone where no human had gone before in five live-action TV series, one cartoon, ten movies in the “original” universe, and two movies in rebooted universe (with a third due out this year). Join us as we celebrate one of the most iconic and important science-fiction franchises of all time.
With Glenn Hauman, Woodrow Hill, Cassandra Lease, Liz Salazar, and Ken Schneyer

01:00 p.m. (Marina 2) Shifting the Language of SF
Very few SF authors of the many who set stories in the far future ever speculate what language may sound like in following centuries and distant stars. Some formative works, like Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange and Orwell’s 1984 include this as a theme. Who else? What are the dangers of speculating vernacular? How might the language our descendants speak differ from ours? What works in SF imagine how the kids talk in the far future?
With Heather Albano, John Chu, Debra Doyle, and Greer Gilman

Monday, January 18th
10:00 a.m. (Hale 1) Reading
Arisia does readings a bit differently. Come join me and three other authors as we dazzle you with selections from our fiction. I’ll be reading from my newly released novel, Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard,and you know you don’t want to miss that!
With John Chu, Nalin Ratnayake, and Ken Schneyer

If you have any pull with the weather gods, please put in a good word for me. Not only do I need to arrive in Boston on the 15th, but I have to get back to Philadelphia late on the 18th so I can go to the Day Job the next morning, attend my formal book launch downtown on the 20th, and board a plane the morning of the 21st for a convention and bookstore signings in Michigan. Ah, the life of an author!

See you at Arisia!

Eating Authors: A. M. Dellamonica

No Comments » Written on December 21st, 2015 by Lawrence Schoen
Categories: Plugs
Tags: Eating Authors

Welcome to crazy week. If you have any sense, you’ll steer clear of malls and post offices for the next several days. The internet is your friend this week, and I’m pleased to say that I finished all of my shopping over the weekend and most of it online (though I did have to stand in line Saturday morning to mail one parcel, but I survived to tell the tale).

To ease your weary brow through these trying times of mainstream celebration (both religious and commercial) and visiting relatives (both missed and avoided), I present this week’s EATING AUTHORS guest, A. M. Dellmonica, author, photographer, yoga enthusiast, and a survivor of the glories of Clarion West. And did I mention she’s Canadian?

Alyx has written a slew of short stories, including work that resulted in nominations for the Sidewise and Nebula awards. And she’s the author of four novels which can be grouped into two sets. Indigo Springs (which earned her a Sunburst award) and Blue Magic comprise her Astrid Lethewood series, and Child of a Hidden Sea and A Daughter of No Nation (the latter released just three weeks ago) represent the first two books of her Hidden Sea trilogy. Click the links if you’re in need of a last-minute holiday gift!

Klingons and Elephants and Audiobooks, Oh My!

No Comments » Written on December 14th, 2015 by Lawrence Schoen
Categories: News
Tags: Klingon, Barsk

I’ve been keeping this under wraps for a while, but now the tale can be told: The audiobook version of my novel, Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, will be read by none other than the brilliant actor and director, J. G. Hertzler. That’s right, folks, Martok, the galaxy-renowned one-eyed Klingon General, spent much of last week in the studio, tankard of bloodwine close at hand, to record the tale of prophecy and intolerance, loyalty and conspiracy, friendship and the dead. And when you think about it, who better than the Klingon warrior who survived the Dominion War and emerged to lead his people to glory.

Now, I’m not saying that Barsk should necessarily be seen as a Klingon story, but it surely just took a huge step closer. Hmmm… I wonder if there’ll be songs…

#SFWApro

Eating Authors: Eric James Stone

No Comments » Written on December 14th, 2015 by Lawrence Schoen
Categories: Plugs
Tags: Eating Authors

The upcoming massive Blog Tour for Barsk has taken over much of my life of late, as I respond to Q&A, requests for topical essays, and my thoughts on various aspects of the writing process. Most of these don’t go public for another week or more, but one that has burst on the scene is a piece for the Powell’s newsletter that I think came out rather well and is worth directing you to.

In the midst of all this chaos, it’s been both refreshing and gratifying to prepare this week’s EATING AUTHOR post for Eric James Stone. I’ve known Eric for a very long time, since the earliest days of the online writing community known as Codex. I had the privilege of watching him craft stories for the group’s various contests, and I knew early on I was in the presence of a unique and powerful voice. Which is why I put on my small press publisher hat and in the midst of a worldcon some years back I pitched the idea of producing a collection of his short fiction. The book, Rejiggering the Thingamajig and Other Stories, came out the same weekend that Eric won the Nebula Award for Best Novelette, and seeing Eric climb the podium to accept his prize was one of the happiest moments I’ve had at an awards banquet.

Eric’s been busy having other happy moments. He and his wife just welcomed their first child into the world (I won’t be surprised if some time goes by before either of them manage to surface long enough to see this post on the internet). Almost anti-climactic by comparison — but a significant professional milestone — comes up in just over three weeks, as on January 5th, Eric makes the jump from short story writer to novelist with the release of Unforgettable. A fitting title for a book that’s going to firmly establish his presence on the SF map.

Eating Authors: Cathy Hird

No Comments » Written on December 7th, 2015 by Lawrence Schoen
Categories: Plugs
Tags: Eating Authors

One of the best things about attending a new convention is the likelihood of experiencing new people, and during the handful of days I spent at Chessiecon after Thanksgiving, I did just that. Among them was this week’s EATING AUTHORS guest, Cathy Hird, whom I met during the mass signing. Naturally, I invited her here.

Like so many authors who have shared their meals here, Cathy wears a lot of hats. In addition to her work as both a novelist and writer of short stories, she’s a weaver, minister, and a sheep farmer. I’ll spare you the obvious puns about weaving words as well as wool, or tending to both types of flocks. You can thank me later. For now, let’s move on to her most memorable meal.

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