Page 23 of posts by: montsamu

January Newsletter: illogiCon, William Shatner, Carrie Vaughn, Wendy Webb, and more

Posted on 2014-01-02 at 20:34 by montsamu

Vol 4. No 1. January 2, 2014:

Happy New Year! Plenty, plenty to talk about since December's newsletter, so let's get to it. First, though, I can't turn the page on 2013 without another mention of the fourth annual guide to regional science fiction and fantasy which covers 2013 in regional sf/f books. We celebrated a pretty big stack of those at the first annual regional author holiday book expo-- here are some pictures of the authors and a few guests at the event. Big thanks to them, to the folks who

Posted in newsletter | Tagged wendy webb, william shatner carrie vaughn

Release Day: The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin

Posted on 2013-12-31 at 23:31 by montsamu

Happy New Year's Eve, and happy release day to Lisa Shearin, who starts a new "SPI Files" series with The Grendel Affair, out today in original mass market paperback and ebook from Ace.

"We’re Supernatural Protection & Investigations, known as SPI. Things that go bump in the night, the monsters you thought didn’t exist? We battle them and keep you safe. But some supernatural baddies are just too big to contain, even for us…

When I moved to New York to become a world famous journalist, I never imagined

Posted in Release Day | Tagged lisa shearin, spi files, the grendel affair

The Hardest Part: Tina Connolly on Copperhead

Posted on 2013-12-26 at 19:38 by montsamu

For author Tina Connolly, the hardest part of her debut novel, Nebula Award nominee Ironskin, was the muddle in the middle. For the follow-up, Copperhead, there was no time to battle with such a muddle. There wasn't in fact much time for anything other than writing: so that's just what Connolly did.

By Tina Connolly:

So the hardest part of writing Copperhead was that I got busy. I mean insanely busy. The only thing more boring than listening to someone recount their dreams is listening to them drone on

Posted in The Hardest Part | Tagged copperhead, ironskin, tina connolly

(Early) Friday Quick Updates: The Manly Wade Wellman Award; some writing market and other links; and a special last-minute local author holiday bookstore

Posted on 2013-12-19 at 15:35 by montsamu

Thursday, December 19, 2013: The "Friday" quick updates are coming a day early today, ahead of a segment on 2013 in North Carolina science fiction and fantasy on WUNC's The State of Things in the noon hour today. Tune in live on the radio or Internet, or catch the podcast or re-broadcast this evening!

First, the really big news. A couple of years in the making, I'm very happy (and quite a bit nervous and scared and hopeful) to share an announcement from the (also new) North Carolina Speculative Fiction

Posted in Friday Quick Updates

The Odyssey Writing Workshop's Summer Session

Posted on 2013-12-15 at 13:09 by montsamu

Another press release of interest to pass along. The key data bits here:

• The program is held on Saint Anselm College’s beautiful campus in Manchester, NH; This summer's workshop runs from JUNE 9 to JULY 18, 2014.
• The early action application deadline is JANUARY 31, and the regular admission deadline is APRIL 8.
• This year's writer in residence is Melanie Tem; Lecturers for the 2014 workshop include some of the best teachers in the field:  authors Elizabeth Hand, Catherynne M. Valente, Ellen Kushner

Posted in Uncategorized

Clay and Susan Griffith's "Tribute: Nelson Mandela" comic to be released this week

Posted on 2013-12-14 at 15:51 by montsamu

Via local writer Sharon Stogner, a press release of interest to pass along. Note that the writers on the project are Raleigh authors Clay and Susan Griffith:

Bluewater Productions is releasing a new tribute comic book biography on the iconic Nelson Mandela.  Tribute: Nelson Mandela is being released this week digitally and in print.

The 32-page comic book chronicles his life in pictures, one of the late 20-century’s most influential people.  The comic book is  written by Clay & Susan Griffith

Posted in Uncategorized

The Hardest Part: Nick Mamatas on Love is the Law

Posted on 2013-12-11 at 12:00 by montsamu

Nick Mamatas is no stranger to writing whatever he wants, damn the torpedoes. And as Mamatas writes here about his latest novel -- the Trotskyist/Crowley/Long Island noir Love is the Law -- for "The Hardest Part", writing can be the easy part. "If there was any difficulty in writing the novel at all, it was in writing the book so that it could end up in a bookstore somewhere."

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="185"] Love is the Law
by Nick Mamatas
Dark Horse, October 2013[/caption]

THE HARDEST PART: L

Posted in The Hardest Part, Uncategorized | Tagged love is the law, nick mamatas

Pictures: 2013 Local Author Holiday Book Expo

Posted on 2013-12-10 at 19:37 by montsamu

To add to the photos which Calvin Powers posted on Dec 7, here are some of my photos from the 2013 local author holiday book expo at Atomic Empire this past Saturday.

[caption id="attachment_2831" align="alignnone" width="222"] Meagen Voss at the typewriter.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2832" align="alignnone" width="300"] L2R: Zack Smith (seated, looking the other way), Clay and Susan Griffith, Stephen Messer, and (sorry, blurry!) Natania Barron[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2833" align

Posted in Uncategorized

December newsletter: The fourth annual Bull Spec guide to Carolinas science fiction and fantasy, ahead of the first annual regional author holiday book expo this Saturday!

Posted on 2013-12-05 at 17:59 by montsamu

Vol 3. No 12. December 5, 2013:

Finally! It's here! Bull Spec announces the release of the fourth annual guide to regional science fiction and fantasy, covering 2013 in Carolinas (and some friendly neighbors) novels, anthologies, collections, young adult, middle grade, audiobooks, and more. The guide, organized both by format (novel, anthology, audiobook) and genre/age group (fantasy, science fiction, horror, young adult) includes works by Ariel Djanikian, Tony Daniel, David Weber, David Drake, Jay Posey

Posted in newsletter

2013 holiday book buying guide to regional science fiction and fantasy

Posted on 2013-12-04 at 18:51 by montsamu

Whew. Even though I've been updating the 2013 book preview during the course of the year, there were still quite a few things I learned about only recently here in late 2013, and of course plenty I missed ahead of time and during the year. So! Like I've done in 2012, 2011, and 2010..., here is my run-down of 2013 in regional science fiction and fantasy, and as always, let me know of the (likely many) omissions and errors, and! in a first this year, come by the 2013 Bull Spec regional author holiday book

Posted in Uncategorized