Midlist Writer: fandom

Showing posts with label fandom. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 April 2015

Back from Eastercon!

I've been a bit silent of late, and that's because I was up in Oxford for my usual research/relaxation trip over Easter. In addition to seeing friends and burying myself in the Bodleian Library like I always do, I also attended Eastercon.

This is an annual science fiction convention in the UK. There were heaps of events and signings, plus lots of panels. I was on a panel about asymmetric warfare that was well attended, although not as well attended as the Real Ale bar! You can read my con report here.

Anyway, I'm back and excited to be finishing up We Had Flags, book three of my Toxic World series. There will be more posts up here too.

Sunday, 4 May 2014

Andy Robertson, Editor (1955-2014)

In the latest issue of the science fiction newzine Ansible, I was saddened to read of the death of Andy Robertson, a UK editor, author, and publisher. Andy was an assistant editor at Interzone since 1984 and was well-known in UK fan circles.

While I never met Andy, I owe him a great debt. When in 2002 I saw a call for submissions for his first Night Lands anthology for stories based on William Hope Hodgson's classic early sf The Night Land, I wrote a story and submitted it. I was very happy to have it accepted. "To End All Wars" became my first published piece and has since reappeared in my short story collection The Night the Nazis Came to Dinner and other Dark Tales.

Back in 2002 I was just starting my writing career. Fresh out of journalism school, I was getting my feet wet with nonfiction freelance and struggling over my first novel. Getting a well-paid fiction sale did wonders for my confidence, and gave me the determination to move forward through the many rejections and roadblocks to come.

I owe much to Andy, who was enthusiastic about my work and gave me the greatest compliment an editor can give a writer--a light edit. He will be sorely missed in the fan community and by his wife and two young daughters.

His passing is also a sobering reminder that we're all getting older. He was only 14 years older than I am. It's good to remember that while I go through my day-to-day activities. I hope I leave as positive a legacy as Andy did.

Monday, 7 June 2010

Websites for Writers: Fanac.org

Science fiction is a rare bird. I don't know of any genre that has created such a loyal and active fan base. Since Amazing Stories started a letters column back in the early 1920s, sf fans have been corresponding, arguing, publishing fanzines, and organizing meetings and conventions. Fans of other genres do this too, but not with the energy and longevity that sf fans do.

This is why this week's Website for Writers is The Fanac Fan History Project. "Fanac" is fanspeak for "fan activity", and a dictionary of fannish terminology is just one of the many goodies you'll find here. You'll also find various histories of fandom, photos from old gatherings and conventions, and lots of info on Worldcon, the granddaddy of all sf conventions that's been going since 1939.

My favorite section is for fanzines, with many rarities scanned in their entirety. I did a zine of my own back in the Nineties and I've always loved them, so I come back to this section regularly. Some famous names crop up in their pages, but they weren't famous back then!

Dedicated science fiction fans and writers will already know about this website. I'm really suggesting this to writers not in the community, so they can see what's possible. The world of sf fandom is a warm and welcoming place, and other genres need to encourage their own communities. A lot of great writers have risen from the ranks of fandom, and it's always nice to be in a network of folks with the same interests.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

The Case of the Purloined Pyramid

The Last Hotel Room

He came to Tangier to die, but life isn’t done with him yet. Tom Miller has lost his job, his wife, and his dreams. Broke and alone, he ends up in a flophouse in Morocco, ready to end it all. But soon he finds himself tangled in a web of danger and duty as he’s pulled into scamming tourists for a crooked cop while trying to help a Syrian refugee boy survive life on the streets. Can a lifelong loser do something good for a change? A portion of my royalties will go to a charity for Syrian refugees.

Warpath into Sonora

Arizona 1846: Nantan, a young Apache warrior, is building a name for himself by leading raids against Mexican ranches to impress his war chief, and the chief’s lovely daughter. But there is one thing he and all other Apaches fear—a ruthless band of Mexican scalp hunters who slaughter entire villages. Nantan and his friends have sworn to fight back, but they are inexperienced, and led by a war chief driven mad with a thirst for revenge. Can they track their tribe’s worst enemy into unknown territory and defeat them?

Radio Hope

In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . . A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son. A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump. The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command. One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.

Refugees from the Righteous Horde (Toxic World Book 2)

When you only have one shot, you better aim true. In a ravaged world, civilization’s last outpost is reeling after fighting off the fanatical warriors of the Righteous Horde. Sheriff Annette Cruz becomes New City’s long arm of vengeance as she sets off across the wildlands to take out the cult’s leader. All she has is a sniper’s rifle with one bullet and a former cultist with his own agenda. Meanwhile, one of the cult’s escaped slaves makes a discovery that could tear New City apart. . . Refugees from the Righteous Horde continues the Toxic World series started in Radio Hope, an ongoing narrative of humanity’s struggle to rebuild the world it ruined.

The Scavenger

In a world shattered by war, pollution, and disease, a lone scavenger discovers a priceless relic from the Old Times. The problem is, it's stuck in the middle of the worst wasteland he knows--a contaminated city inhabited by insane chem addicts and vengeful villagers. Only his wits, his gun, and an unlikely ally can get him out alive. Set in the Toxic World series introduced in the novel Radio Hope, this 10,000-word story explores more of the dangers and personalities that make up a post-apocalyptic world that's all too possible.

Trench Raiders

September 1914: The British Expeditionary Force has the Germans on the run, or so they think. After a month of bitter fighting, the British are battered, exhausted, and down to half their strength, yet they’ve helped save Paris and are pushing toward Berlin. Then the retreating Germans decide to make a stand. Holding a steep slope beside the River Aisne, the entrenched Germans mow down the advancing British with machine gun fire. Soon the British dig in too, and it looks like the war might grind down into deadly stalemate. Searching through No-Man’s Land in the darkness, Private Timothy Crawford of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry finds a chink in the German armor. But can this lowly private, who spends as much time in the battalion guardhouse as he does on the parade ground, convince his commanding officer to risk everything for a chance to break through?

Pages