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Eating Authors: Chris Gerrib

1 Comment » Written on March 19th, 2012 by
Categories: Plugs
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Chris Gerrib

Hello, and welcome. I’ve just returned from a long weekend at Lunacon, so I’m sleeping in this morning. One of the highlights of the convention was hanging out with two other Hadley Rille authors, so it seemed only appropriate that this week’s guest for the Eating Authors segment should be another such writer. Meet Chris Gerrib. Chris is a fanatic when it comes to the planet Mars (or more accurately, going to the planet Mars). And as readers of Conroy’s adventures know, I’m more than a little fond of Barsoom myself.

Chris’s first novel, entitled Pirates of Mars debuted just a couple weeks ago, and as we all know, that first novel glow takes at least a month to wear off. We’ve never met, but considering that he lives in a suburb of Chicago, I suspect we’ll fix that matter this summer at the Worldcon. For now though, let’s take a look at his non-standard response to that classic Monday morning question:

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Lunacon 2012: No, THIS Is My Schedule!

No Comments » Written on March 13th, 2012 by
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As is usually the case, there’s been some movement here and there on the schedule. The important thing is that it looks like everything is bolted down now, and we’re good to go. If you’re looking to find me at Lunacon, the following provides your prime stalking opportunities:

Friday, March 16th:
20:00 – 21:00 | Grand Ballroom ? |Meet the Pros
 Grab a drink, have a nosh, and come say “howdy”

Saturday, March 17th
11:00 – 11:30 | Bartell | Reading
 In honor of the recently released ERB film, I will likely read “A Buffalito Of Mars”

12:00 – 13:00 | William Odelle | Hadley Rille Press: Meet the Authors (M)
 Terri-Lynne DeFino, Karin Rita Gastreich, and I share tales of this midwestern small press

13:00 – 14:00 | Westchester Assembly | Autographing
 w/ Terri-Lynne DeFino, Karin Rita Gastreich

16:00 – 17:00 | Westchester Ballroom A1 | Neuroscience Fiction
 w/ Lawrence Kramer, Linda Zimmermann, Shara Zoll (M)

Sunday, March 18th
12:00 – 13:00 | Elijah Budd | Creating Believable Fantasy Animals
 w/ Karin Rita Gastreich (M), Robert J. Howe, Keira Sokolowski

13:00 – 15:00 | Grand Ballrom North | Charity Book Raffle (MC)
 GoH Howard Tayler and I will vie for privilege of drawing your ticket? (sorry about the pun)

Still no sign of any programming for Barry. In past years, Mr. Shirt has threatened to put him on the schedule. I, in turn, have threatened to leave him sitting on podium in front of an empty room. Nothing good can come of this, I’m sure.

Eating Authors: Ted Kosmatka

No Comments » Written on March 12th, 2012 by
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Ted Kosmatka

Hello, and welcome. You’re just in time for another round of asking authors about their favorite meals. This weekly feature was inspired by my protagonist, the Amazing Conroy, who in addition to being a stage hypnotist is also very much a foodie.

Sitting at the table with us today is Ted Kosmatka who’s first novel, The Games, comes out tomorrow. You probably already know him from his short fiction which has appeared in all the top magazines, as well as being reprinted and translated into Chinese, Czech, Hebrew, Polish, Romanian, and Russian, not to mention landing in several “Year’s Best” anthologies. He’s also been nominated for the Nebula Award. So, whatever other plans you have for tomorrow, I suggest you add picking up a copy of his debut novel.

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Lunacon 2012: My Schedule!

No Comments » Written on March 11th, 2012 by
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Despite rumors (started by me) that my stint last year as GoH had broken Lunacon, the fine folks at Programming have come through with a schedule. No doubt there will be some changes before the actual event (now less than a week away), but for your edification and amusement, here is where I think you can find me, at least as of right now.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you my pre-final schedule for Lunacon 2012:

Friday, March 16th:
20:30 – 21:30 | Grand Ballroom ? |Meet the Pros
 Grab a drink, have a nosh, and come say “howdy”

Saturday, March 17th
12:00 – 13:00 | William Odelle | Hadley Rille Press: Meet the Authors (M)
 Terri-Lynne DeFino, Karin Rita Gastreich, and I share tales of this midwestern small press

13:00 – 14:00 | Westchester Assembly | Autographing
 w/ Terri-Lynne DeFino, Karin Rita Gastreich

16:00 – 17:00 | Westchester Ballroom A1 | Neuroscience Fiction
 w/ Lawrence Kramer, Linda Zimmermann, Shara Zoll (M)

Sunday, March 18th
10:00 – 10:30 | Bartell | Reading
 In honor of the recently released ERB film, I will likely read “A Buffalito Of Mars”

12:00 – 13:00 | Elijah Budd | Creating Believable Fantasy Animals
 w/ Karin Rita Gastreich (M), Robert J. Howe, Keira Sokolowski

13:00 – 15:00 | Grand Ballrom North | Charity Book Raffle (MC)
 Will I draw your ticket? You’ll just have to come by and see

For good or ill, Barry believes he is the convention’s unofficial Plushie GoH (I’ve tried explaining it to him, but he just won’t listen — I doubt they’ll even have a badge for him). If you’d like to humor him, the odds are good that you can find him riding on my shoulder throughout most of the convention (at least when he’s not in the bar, drowning his sorrows in barbecue sauce). I would consider it a kindness if you’d stop and pose for a photograph with him.

Insomnia? Why not nominate for the Hugos?

No Comments » Written on March 10th, 2012 by
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As happens most nights, I woke up at some stupid hour of the dark, and couldn’t fall back to sleep.

Rather than lay in bed and listen to the sounds of my wife and the dogs snoozing, I got up and went into my office (as I usually) do.

Seemed like as good a time as any to finally submit my nominations for this year’s Hugo Awards.

Well… that’s done. Hmmm…

Chicon 7 Hugo Nomination Deadline

No Comments » Written on March 6th, 2012 by
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For any of you who:

* have an attending or supporting Chicon 7 membership, and/or
* had an attending or supporting Renovation membership, and/or
* have an attending or supporting LoneStar 3 membership:

This is to remind you that the deadline for submitting your Nomination Ballot for the Hugos is fast approaching.

Specifically, it’s next Sunday, March 11, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. PDT

To vote online, go to https://chicon.org/hugo/nominate.php. You’ll need your seven digit PIN.

And now that we’ve got that covered, let’s shift from Public Service Announcement to Self-Serving Reminder. I am eligible in the following Hugo Award categories:

BEST NOVEL
Buffalito Contingency by Lawrence M. Schoen

BEST SHORT STORY
“Yesterday’s Taste” by Lawrence M. Schoen

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION (SHORT FORM)
Soft Kitty in Klingon” by Lawrence M. Schoen

BEST FANCAST
DaHjaj Hol: A Daily Klingon Language Podcast by Lawrence M. Schoen

 

The novel and short story are two of the most popular categories. Both my eligible works involve my continuing character the Amazing Conroy. My odds are slim at best, no matter how good the fiction is (and I’m very proud of both works).

The other categories, right or wrong, are likely to receive far few votes. Best Fancast in particular will probably be light, as it’s brand new this year, and is in fact a one-shot. Many people will simply fail to nominate in these categories, or leave one or more of their five nomination slots blank. The two items I have up in these categories are both related to Klingon, and I encourage you to fill in those empty slots with a vote to promote more use of constructed languages spoken by imaginary aliens in a distance part of the galaxy several centuries from now.

If I am fortunate enough to land a nomination, I promise to prepare an acceptance speech in Klingon.

If by some greater blow of serendipity I win, I can think of nothing grander than to stand upon the stage in Chicago, the city of my birth, and utter Klingon expletives of joy while waving a shiny rocketship like it were a bat’leth.

Could you ask for better motivation?

Eating Authors: Sarah A. Hoyt

No Comments » Written on March 5th, 2012 by
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Sarah A. Hoyt

It’s time to check in with another edition of Eating Authors, and our guest this week is Sarah A. Hoyt, whom I’ve known since shortly before her first novel Ill Met by Moonlight came out (I wrote a review in Klingon!), back when we both had stories in the pages of Absolute Magnitude. Since those bygone days, Sarah has exploded across genres and popularity. She’s been a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and last year won the Prometheus Award for her SF novel Darkship Thieves.

Sarah has nearly as many identities as Dr. Elizabeth Penrose. Fans of her work also know her as Elise Hyatt (author of such mysteries as Dipped, Stripped, and Dead), Sarah D’Almeida (author of the popular Musketeer mysteries, beginning with Death of a Musketeer), Laurien Gardner (one of several authors sharing the house name for historical romances, she used it to write Plain Jane), and soon as Sarah Marques (for a new series of Vampire Musketeer novels, beginning with Sword & Blood.

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Book Review: God’s War

No Comments » Written on March 1st, 2012 by
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God's War

I started reading Kameron Hurley’s God’s War out of a sense of obligation to read the titles on this year’s Nebula Award ballot, even though I’m hard pressed to even imagine a better offering than China Mieville’s Embassytown.

And I’m glad I did. Hurley’s novel is a great ride of compelling characters, entertaining worldbuilding, intriguing sociology, and pace-pounding plot threads. Religious elements familiar but different, believable extrapolations/evolutions of today drive much of the book, but the book is not about religion. Nor is it about war, though war pervades every page, every character, every motivation, every outcome. Ultimately, this book is about what every book is about, people. What makes people tick. What drives us to acts of sacrifice and honor, cowardice and despair, love and fear, vengeance and transformation.

And if that’s too heady for you, no need to worry, there’s plenty else in here to keep you delighted, whether it be the all-to-casual beheadings as a way of bounty-hunting, or magicians who have the power to manipulate bugs for defense and healing and long distance communications, or boxing like you’ve never seen it before.

Buy this book. Read this book. Give your copy away to someone else, and go out and buy another.