Plug: Sci-Fi & Fantasy meets Western: Webcomic Peacemaker has it all!

Acclaimed Australian author, Marianne de Pierres, and award-winning comic artist, Brigitte Sutherland, have teamed up to produce a new and exciting online comic. Entitled Peacemaker, the web-comic combines the supernatural, the futuristic, the Wild West and the Australian landscape in an exotic blend of storytelling.

Peacemaker introduces readers to park ranger, Virgin Jackson, and US cowboy, Nate Sixkiller. Dead bodies, missing spiritualists, an imaginary eagle and a wholly psychotic businessman, Joachim Spears, are just some of the things that force the two into an uneasy alliance to save Park Western from being closed. Trapped in the heart of a sprawling Australian super city, Park Western is the only piece of natural landscape left in the entire country, and Virgin will do anything to preserve it.

Marianne de Pierres has won awards for her science fiction and crime novels and had her work adapted for RPG and animation. Peacemaker is the result of Marianne’s long term romance with Westerns, which started many years ago when her father gave her a copy of Light of the Western Stars by Zane Grey. It was only a matter of time before she wrote one herself.

Brigitte Sutherland’s award-winning comic art has featured in numerous anthologies across the world. Brigitte recently released her first creator-owned graphic novel, The Adventures of a Homunculus. Peacemaker allows UK–based Sutherland to share the beauty of the land she grew up in while indulging in high adventures starring a sassy heroine!

Peacemaker is available for download from de Pierres’ website www.mariannedepierres.com/ peacemaker. There are plans for a limited edition soft-cover to follow. It is published under de Pierres’ own branded creative co-op, MDPWeb.

June 29, 2011 Links and Plugs

Interviews

• The Functional Nerds interviews Sandra Wickham (podcast).
• OneMetal interviews Mark Chadbourn.
• Fantasy Magazine (T.J. McIntyre) interviews Jeremiah Tolbert.
• Fantasy Magazine (John Joseph Adams and David Barr Kirtley) interviews Mary Roach.
• The Big Issue interviews Alan Moore.
• Fantasy Magazine (Erin Stocks) author spotlight: Ian McDonald.
• SFWA (Marshall Payne) interviews N.K. Jemisin.
• Omnivoracious (Jeff VanderMeer) interviews Mark Charan Newton.
• The Maui News profiles Linda Nagata.
• Suvudu (Matt Staggs) interviews Alex Irvine.
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Lawrence M. Schoen.
• I Should Be Writing interviews MD Lachlan (podcast).

Advice/Articles

• Janice Hardy (Lucienne Diver) on No (Wo)Man is an Island.
• The Galaxy Express on Parallel Universe: Can there be a Frontline in Space War?
• Amazon 2011 Best Books of the Year So Far: Top 10 by Category.
• Black Gate (Emily Mah) on Estate Your Business Part II: A Writer’s Guide to Organizing a Literary Estate.
• Suvudu (Daryl Gregory) on Sense and Nonsensibility.
• Tor (Ryan Britt) on Genre in the Mainstream: Does SFF Marginalize Characters?

News

• Science Fiction Movie and Book Give Away!
• Sunburst Award short-list announced.
• Apex Publications Signs with Diamond for US/UK Book Distribution.
• Sci-Fi & Fantasy meets Western: Webcomic Peacemaker has it all!
• The Mammoth Book of Steampunk Table of Contents.
• 2011 British Fantasy Award Nominees.
• Ness wins Carnegie Medal.

Heartless by Gail Carriger

June 28, 2011 Links and Plugs

Interviews

• Erin Underwood interviews Ellen Datlow.
• Fantasy Book Critic (Mihir Wanchoo) interviews Cameron Haley.
• Spotlight Report interviews Marianne de Pierres.
• KUSP interviews Daniel H. Wilson and Lisa Goldstein (stream).
• Suvudu Take Five with Daryl Gregory.
• Tor (Matt London) interviews Kenneth Schneyer.
• Speculate! Wellspring Workshop Discussion (podcast).

Advice/Articles

• Chuck Wendig on 25 Things You Should Know About Revising And Rewriting.
• Theodora Goss on Nerd Test.
• The Christian Science Monitor on How foreign writers make it to US bookshelves.
• The Guardian (Kamila Shamsie) on The perils and delights of translation.
• Juliette Wade on Science Fiction Languages vs. Fantasy Languages.
• Janice Hardy on Poor Little Thing: Making Readers Care About Plot-Centric Characters.
• I like a little Science in My Fiction (Paul Schroeer-Hannemann) on Science-fiction and ‘Alternative’ Neurotypes.
• Tor.com (Stubby the Rocket) on Neil Gaiman is Not F**king Kidding: Numerous Geek Personalities Support an Onion Pulitzer.
• Warren Ellis on A Collection Of Rambling On The Subject Of Digital Comics.
• Graham Edwards on Revisiting Cinefex, Issue 5, July 1981.
• Jim C. Hines On Genre Diversity.
• Pimp My Novel on The Vanishing Advance.

News

• Solaris Rising table of contents.
• Call for Submissions Fat Girl in a Strange Land (Anthology).

Martin H. Greenberg Tributes

• Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• Boing Boing
• JS Online
• Tor

Stone Telling #4

June 27, 2011 Links and Plugs

Oh, I just wanna plug Philippine Genre Stories's latest story, "The Confessional," by Cyan Abad-Jugo (who was my former English teacher) (part 1, part 2).

Interviews

• The Shirley Jackson Awards interviews Kate Bernheimer, Al Sarrantonio, Lou Anders and Jonathan Strahan.
• Erin Underwood interviews Will Ludwigsen.
• Jonathan Strahan chats with Gary K. Wolfe, Terry Bisson, and Greg Bear (podcast).
• MTV interviews Neil Gaiman.

Advice/Articles

• Nicola Morgan on Acquisitions Meetings.
• Janice Hardy on Real Life Diagnostics: Voice, Tone, and a Little Bit of Scary.
• Matthew Cheney on A Stranger Comes to Town....
• Inkpunks (Jaym Gates) on That Trusty Ol’ Toolkit.
• Inkpunks (James L. Sutter) on The Benefits of Being a Hack (Or: Why You Don’t Want to Be Ted Chiang).
• Book View Cafe (Laura Anne Gilman) on Practical Meerkat’s 52 Bits of Useful Info for Young (and Old) Writers, week 25.
• Book View Cafe (Sherwood Smith) on Neglected Step-Children Books.

News

• Locus Award Winners.
• RIP Martin H Greenberg.
• Hyperpulp Magazine.
• Win a Nook Simple Touch in the Lightspeed & Fantasy Subscription Drive.
• Time Travel Lecture.
• Stone Telling open to submissions.

Martin H. Greenberg Tributes

• Jay Lake 
• Bill Crider
• SFWA 
• Matt Forbeck

Hyperpulp #1

Plug: If You Lived Here: The Top 30 All Time Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds

Underland Press and Jeff VanderMeer are building a book called If You Lived Here: The Top 30 All Time Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds.


You can help with the book by nominating your favorite secondary-world. The form is here.

June 24, 2011 Links and Plugs

Interviews

• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Erin Hoffman.
• Locus interviews Patricia A. McKillip.
• MG Ellington interviews Elizabeth Bear and Michael Burstein.
• The Shirley Jackson Awards interviews Alden Bell.
• Galactic Suburbia podcast episode 35.
• The Outer Alliance interviews David Levine and Dennis Upkins (podcast).
• CNN profiles Harlan Ellison.
• If You're Just Joining Us interviews Steve Feldberg and Macleod Andrews and Mark Boyette (podcast).
• Omnivoracious (Jeff VanderMeer) interviews A. Lee Martinez.

Advice/Articles

• Sam Sykes on Blargh Ugh Wugh.
• Barnes & Noble (Paul Goat Allen) on Just What the Doctor Ordered: New Anthology Expands the Legend – and Cult – of Thackery T. Lambshead.
• Death Star Pizza on 15 Sci-Fi Spaceships That Rock.
• Jim C. Hines on Goblins vs. Goldfish (Another E-book Update).
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch on The Business Rusch: Short Stories.
• Janice Hardy on What's it About? Better Queries Through Movie Trailers.
• Pimp My Novel on The Long and Short of It.
• The Intern on "come on, baby, let's start new": on getting back together.
• Cracked (Robert Brockway) on How to Become an Author, in 5 Incredibly Difficult Steps.
• Juliette Wade on Watching out for the "Wrong" Emotion (also a Worldbuilding Post).
• Alan Rinzler on Ask the editor: Trusting the reader.

News

• Pottermore revealed.
• Pottermore Web Site to Sell E-Books in October.
• Meme! Women sff writers of the 1970s.

 Supernatural Noir edited by Ellen Datlow

Plug: The Alchemists of Kush by Minister Faust

The Alchemists of Kush by Minister Faust

About the Book:

The Alchemists of Kush is about two Sudanese “lost boys,” both who lost fathers to war and mothers to exile, both who were hunted and forced to become vicious hunters, and both who met mystic mentors who set them on the path of transforming themselves and the world.

One lost boy is Raphael Garang, who lives in a North American inner-city and is known to the streets as the Supreme Raptor. The other is Hru-sa-Usir, who lived 7,000 years ago along the Nile and was later known to the Greeks as Horus, son of Osiris.

 From Minister Faust:

If my novel enters the Amazon Kindle Top 100, I will donate $500 to ship university textbooks to the Doctor John Garang Memorial University in the nascent country of South Sudan. That university’s library has no books. I’ve already contributed to this international book drive by donating around 300 books from my own collection, running a radio and print story on the book drive, and designing a poster for it. South Sudanese university students need our solidarity to build their economy and democracy, and I’m proud to do what I can.

LINKS

Video:

Book trailer

Author interview

Audio:

Paltry Sapien

Jibril Yassin interview: Part 1

Jibril Yassin interview: Part 2

Text:

Amazon.com Omnivoracious

Ambling Along the Aqueduct

Gig City

The Pinocchio Theory

Suvudu

June 23, 2011 Links and Plugs

Interviews

• Nerd Girl Pinups interviews Adrienne Kress (video).
• Rowena Cory Daniells interviews Glenda Larke.
• SFWA (Marshall Payne) interviews Christopher Kastensmidt.
• Angela Slatter interviews Cate Gardner.
• The Writer and the Critic with Catherynne M. Valente (podcast).
• Flickeringmyth.com profiles George Lucas (part three).
• Book Banter interviews James Rollins.
• Locus Roundtable with F. Brett Cox and Andy Duncan (podcast).
• Suvudu (Matt Staggs) interviews Ernest Cline.

Advice/Articles

• Mike Allen on My audio reading of eric james stone's "that leviathan, whom thou hast made" at starshipsofa.
• Rachelle Gardner on Do Publishers Edit Books Anymore?
• Juliette Wade on Heightening Emotional Impact.
• The King of Elfland's Second Cousin reviews Supernatural Noir.
• Business & Heritage Clarksville (Christine Anne Piesyk) on Steampunk’ed: “Old Victorian meets the Industrial Revolution”.
• Jeff VanderMeer on Steampunk in the Classroom: Using the Steampunk Bible as Textbook!
• Richard Parks on Evolve or Die.
• All Book Marketing on Use Ancillary Products to Promote Your Book (and Earn More Money).
• Stroppy Author on How to speak publisher - C is for Case study.
• AMC Filmcritic (John Scalzi) on Dear SF Film Makers: Give These Plot Points a Rest.
• Charlie Stross on Three arguments against the singularity.

News

• Shirley Jackson Awards fundraiser.

Deadline by Mira Grant

June 22, 2011 Links and Plugs

Interviews

• Kelly Link interviews Anna North (scroll down).
• Chuck Palahniuk (Joshua Chaplinsky) interviews Grace Krilanovich.
• Omnivoracious (Jeff VanderMeer) interviews Mira Grant.
• The Fuctional Nerds interviews Jon Sprunk (podcast).
• British Library podcast on Why Science Fiction Speaks to us All and Who Owns the Story of the Future?
• Lightspeed (Robyn Lupo) interviews Grady Hendrix.
• Suvudu (Matt Staggs) interviews Michael A. Stackpole.
• MG Ellington interviews James Gunn.
• Kurt Andersen interviews Neil Gaiman (video).
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: Greg van Eekhout.
• I Should Be Writing interviews Robin Sullivan.

Advice/Articles

• Book View Cafe (Deborah J. Ross) on The Writing Life: Letting Go, Moving On.
• Rachelle Gardner on The Changing Publishing Landscape.
• Juliette Wade on Character Personalities as Story Forces.
• Futurismic (Paul Raven) on Criticism self-selects its audience, or: has spoiler culture changed the way writers write?
• James Owen on The Real, Completely True, Totally Not-Made-Up Copyrighted Secret Origin of Meyer Rowling.
• Omnivoracious on So We Watched the Finale of "Game of Thrones".
• SF Novelists (James Alan Gardner) on The Skill List Project: Avoiding Viewpoint Mistakes.
• Janice Hardy (Elizabeth S. Craig) on The Middle of Our Books.

News

• Tiptree Award seeks website developer.
• Renovation to Highlight Science Fiction and Fantasy Art.
• New Electric Velocipede website.
• Chris Foss Signing at Forbidden Planet.
• Important Changes for Beyond Victoriana & Call for New Contributors.
• NPR Best Science Fiction, Fantasy Books? You Tell Us.
• If You Lived Here nomination form.
• Stoker Award weekend 2011 photos by Ellen Datlow.
• Children of the Sky by Vernon Vinge Excerpt.
• The New York Review of Science Fiction Readings presents A Comics Spectacular!
• Leslie Esdaile Fund.
• ESFS Awards at 33-rd Eurocon in Stockholm, Sweden.

 The Boy at the End of the World by Greg van Eekhout

June 21, 2011 Links and Plugs

Got to interview the awesome Genevieve Valentine here.

Interviews

• Adventures in SciFi Publishing interviews Kristine Kathryn Rusch (podcast).
• Fantasy Magazine (Wendy Wagner) interviews Holly Phillips.
• Abaddon & Solaris Books Podcast interviews David Moore and Pat Kelleher.
• Geekscape interviews Simon Pegg (video).
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show interviews Peter Orullian (podcast).

Advice/Articles

• Book View Cafe (Steven Harper Piziks) on Writing Nowadays–Waking Up to Go Somewhere.
• Rachelle Gardner on Why is Publishing So Slow?
• Stroppy Author on How to speak publisher - C is for Contract.
• Nicola Morgan on Perfect Pitch.
• Chuck Wendig on 25 Things You Should Know About Writing A Novel.
• Making Light on Michael Swanwick’s modest proposal.
• Clarion Blog (Amy Heftzger) on Writer’s Craft #25 – The Love of Words.

News

• New issue of Port Iris magazine.
• Hydra Competition for Brazilian Fantastic Literature.

Happily Ever After edited by John Klima

June 20, 2011 Links and Plugs

Congrats to the Bram Stoker Awards winners and nominees!

Interviews

• The Shirley Jackson Awards interviews Mira Grant.
• Spiegel Online interviews Shaun Tan.
• The Coode St. Podcast chats with Jonathan Strahan, Gary K. Wolfe, Ellen Datlow, and Peter Straub.
• The Skiffy and Fanty Show interviews Jason Sanford, John Ottinger, and Adam Callaway (podcast).
• Erin Underwood interviews Alethea Allarey on YA in Bloom.

Advice/Articles

• Los Angeles Times (Hugh Hart) on Steampunk culture full speed ahead.
• Book View Cafe (Laura Anne Gilman) on Practical Meerkat’s 52 Bits of Useful Info for Young (and Old) Writers, week 24.
• Juliette Wade on Can You Begin With Dialogue?
• The Intern On Finding Beauty Again.
• Inkpunks (Erika Holt) on Podcasting and Promotion: The 21st Century Author.
• T.J. McIntyre on A Manly-Man's Reaction to Joanna Russ's "When It Changed".
• Clint Harris on A Quick Post re: Controversial Things TM.
• Daniel Abraham on A Brief and Profane Statement on the Russ Pledge (NSFW).
• Janice Hardy on Real Life Diagnostics: Opening With the Funny.
• Clarion Blog on Market Insights: Michael Ray, Redstone Science Fiction.

News

• Jeff VanderMeer's reader-supported serial: The Journals of Doctor Mormeck.
• Sidewise Award Nominees.
• Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards Winners.

The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals by Rae Bryant

A Bibliography of Female Filipino Speculative Fiction Writers

One of my biggest frustrations is that it's difficult to track down--or even record--Philippine Speculative Fiction. It's not just the print aspect (where periodicals have print runs of a few hundred and distributed in obscure venues) but even online publications are susceptible--even my old archives are irrelevant now as Geocities has closed down (taking with it a few important sites) as well as various magazines (which have either closed down themselves or transferred webhosts without re-archiving the old material).

Anyway, for the past two weeks, I've been trying to compile the bibliography of female Filipino speculative fiction writers. It's incomplete. Not everyone writer is covered. It's a work in progress and authors can help complete it by emailing me (charlesatan[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject "Bibliography"). (Male authors can also send me their bibliographies for a future archive.)

Publishing it today seems apt considering everything that's happened in the past week and the occasion today. It's not everyday that I manage to promote several agendas. I don't have all the answers but hopefully this is a start (and the bibliography list is awfully short considering the wealth of female writers that we have--please email me your bibliographies).

Again, A Bibliography of Female Speculative Fiction Writers. I do hope readers, writers, editors, and fans check it out (although I am aware of the paradox that for those books or stories without online links, obtaining them outside of the Philippines will be difficult).

June 17, 2011 Links and Plugs

Plugging the Clarion Write-a-Thon.

Interviews

• Omnivoracious (Jeff VanderMeer) interviews Minister Faust.
• io9 (John Klima) interviews Bill Willingham.
• John Scalzi's The Big Idea: James S.A. Corey.
• Geek's Guide to the Galaxy interviews Ken Denmead (podcast).
• MG Ellington interviews Simon Petrie.

Advice/Articles

• Jim C. Hines on Getting Past the Plateau.
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch on The Business Rusch: Bookstore Observations.
• Janice Hardy on A First Class Bad Guy: How X-Men Can Help You Craft a Better Antagonist.
• Clarion Blog (Chris Doty) on Spec Tech: Conlanging 2 – Sounds and Words.
• Library Journal (John Klima) on Steampunk: 13 Titles To Update Your Collections.
• The Portal on Lawful Little Country: The Bulgarian Laws of Robotics.
• Athena Andreadis on Why I Won’t Be Taking the Joanna Russ Pledge.
• Inkpunks (John Remy) on Fail Better.
• SFWA (Monica Valentinelli) on Message to New Writers: It’s Okay to Focus on Your Craft.
• Mary Robinette Kowal on Debut Author Lessons: Frequent Flyer miles.

News

• 2011 Diana Jones Award Shortlist.
• J.K. Rowling Launches New Website Pottermore.com.
• Readings from Supernatural Noir.
• Fantastic Fiction at KGB July 20-Ryman and Vaz.
• KGB June 15, 2011  photos by Ellen Datlow.
• First ever direct English translation of Solaris published.
• Chuck Wendig joins Angry Robot Books.
• Alan Ryan (1943-2011).

Icarus Summer 2011

June 16, 2011 Links and Plugs

Interviews

• Suvudu (Matt Staggs) interviews Kerrie Hughes and Rachel Caine.
• Locus interviews Saladin Ahmed.
• Locus Roundtable with Jeffrey Ford, Elizabeth Hand, and Gary K. Wolfe (podcast).
• Angela Slatter interviews Simon Marshall-Jones.
• Flickeringmyth.com interviews George Lucas.
• Pyr (Rene Sears) June Author Round Table with Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Andrew Mayer, Erin Hoffman, and Jon Sprunk.
• The Shirley Jackson Awards interviews Michael Byers.
• MG Ellington interviews Katherine Sparrow.
• The Agony Column recording of A Panel Discussion with Howard V. Hendrix, Andrea Hairston and Pan Morigan Moderated by Terry Bisson from SF in SF on May 9, 2011 (podcast).
• The Functional Nerds interviews Ken Denmead (podcast).

Advice/Articles

• Stroppy Author on How to speak publisher - C is for Copy.
• Chuck Wending on The Official Terribleminds Writer's Guide to Blogging About Blogging.
• The Barnes & Noble Review (Paul Di Filippo) reviews Fuzzy Nation.
• John Scalzi on How to Have a Writing Career Like Mine.
• Shimmer on Better Fiction Through Pop Music (and alien abduction).
• Nancy Fulda on Kindle Starter Kit: A Mini-Handbook on Independent Publication.
• SFWA (Victoria Strauss) on Book Marketing Methods That Don’t Work.
• NPR (Glen Weldon) on Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Books For A Fantastical Summer.
• Book View Cafe (Shannon Donnelly) on Writing Fears…Puttin’ ‘Em to Good Use.

News

• The SF/F "Homophobia" Anthology Needs a Name.
• Dark Visions: An Evening of Horror.

The Alchemists of Kush by Minister Faust

June 15, 2011 Links and Plugs

Once an Educator on Better reasons for using tablets in Philippine schools.

Also plugging Apex's crowdsourcing.

And a not-so-random shoutout to Twelfth Planet Press.

Interviews

• Omnivoracious (Jeff VanderMeer) interviews John Klima.
• Horror Channel (James Whittington) interviews Kim Newman.
• MG Ellington interviews Caren Gussoff.
• Iain Rowan interviews John Grant.
• Suvudu (Matt Staggs) interviews Victor Hao.

Advice/Articles

• SFWA (Cheryl Morgan) on Checking the Gender Balance.
• Juliette Wade on Considering chapter titles?
• Nicola Morgan on The Courage Not to Publish.
• Chuck Wendig on 25 Things You Should Know About Plot.
• Graham Edwards on Revisiting Cinefex, Issue 3, December 1980.
• Aliette de Bodard on Imaginales Report.
• Janice Hardy (Erin Thomas) on Writing for Reluctant Readers.
• The King of Elfland's Second Cousin on Some Assembly Required: Building Pacing and Emotional Flow with Legos.
• Monte Cook on Writing Spaces.
• Gail Carriger on SF Signal Discussion: Favorite Historical SF/F Novel.
• Ryan Harvey on Writers of the Future: The 24-Hour Story Experiment.
• Tor.com (Dan DOs Santos) on The Cover Art Process for White Trash Zombie.
• The Intern on Having an Agent is Weird.

News

• Doctor Who event at Forbidden Planet.
• L.A. Banks in Hospital.
• John Glasby (1928-2011).

Back in print, now available at Fully Booked from what I hear.

Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 6 edited by Nikki Alfar & Kate Osias