Minecraft

Minecraft is an addictive game that's randomly created for each user. The purpose of the game? To survive. This Machinima tutorial by X will explain the game better than I can, as well as show you how to play if you're interested. I will state that it's addictive - I'm not a big video game player and I spent 3 1/2 hours on it last night in multi player. I'll also say that X was lucky to find coal so easily. My introductory single player round found me scrambling to build a tower out of rock to survive the night, as I couldn't light torches.



As there are no rules or objectives, beyond surviving and mining materials, you can spend your time in the world anyway you'd like. You can even build a USS Enterprise like codbug!

The Sevenfold Spell - Book Review

by Tia Nevitt

Pros: great characterization, interesting premise

Cons: short (I would have loved more description), simplistic writing

This is a novel being published by Carina Press. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, it's a new branch of Harlequin Enterprises specializing in digital books (as in, there won't necessarily ever be a print version of the books published by them). The books are sold non-DRM protected, for reasonable prices.

I got a copy of The Sevenfold Spell via Netgalley, for review purposes. The book came out on September 27th for the extremely low price of $2.99 US. The price is less surprising when you take into account the fact that the book is only 97 pages.

The premise was intriguing so I decided to give it a read. The story begins with all spinning wheels in this unnamed country being destroyed. A curse has been laid on the princess that when she turns 16 she will prick her finger on one and die. Another fairy mitigates the curse so that she will simply fall asleep but the royal family is determined that this event never occur. At no point do they consider the hardships this will cause those who have no other means of income than spinning thread.

Enter Talia and her mother, spinsters who find themselves living off of money Talia saved up for her dowry. With her prospects ruined, her only suitor's father has decided to send the boy to a monastery rather than have them wed.

Talia enjoys a few weeks of pleasure with him before he leaves, ruining her reputation and awakening her desires.

The book isn't quite a romance, nor is it erotica (though is has a few quick, explicit scenes), nor is it fantasy (though there are fairies). It's a fairy tale, from the point of view of someone who doesn't have a fairy godmother.

While there's little description in the novel, Talia is a well realized character. Her motivations are sound, even when she makes 'bad' choices. She experiences true growth in the novel, and gives one potential lover, Andrew, some good advice. And, being based on fairy tales, despite how bleak things become, it does have a happy ending.

Ultimately, it's a quick, entertaining read. Talia's a great character and Tia's interpretation of Sleeping Beauty is good.

Carina Press

I stumbled across Carina Press, a subsidiary of Harlequin Enterprises, via NetGalley. It's a new press that focuses on romance, but will accept other genres as well. How does it differ from Harlequin's other imprints? I'll let their site FAQ explain:

1. As Carina Press is a division of Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, how is it different?

   At the very basic level, Harlequin is a traditional print publisher with a robust digital-offering, while Carina Press is a digital-first publisher.

   Both the contract and distribution channels are very different:

   • The Carina Press contract does not include an advance or DRM, and authors are compensated with a higher royalty.
   • Unlike Harlequin there is no guaranteed series distribution (no standing order, no direct mail, no overseas translation markets).
   • Carina Press titles will be sold direct to consumers through the Carina Press website, and we’ll be securing 3rd party distribution with retailers such as Books On Board, Fictionwise and Amazon.

2. Will my manuscript be edited and copy edited?

   Yes. Carina Press goes through the same rigorous acquisition and editorial development processes as traditional print publishers.

3. Will I be charged to publish my book with Carina Press?

   No. Carina Press is not a vanity publisher and the author is not asked to pay for publication, editing, cover art or other services.

In other words, it's an ebook press. Harlequin provides the editorial services and is willing to publish things that don't work in book form, for example they'll accept shorter manuscripts than regular publishers. I read one of their titles, The Sevenfold Spell by Tia Nevitt, and the review will be up tomorrow.

So, if you're a writer and you're considering your publication options, here's another one.

Pages Added

Ok, across the top of my blog, just under the title, are the links to the pages I've set up. They are as follows:
Author Interviews
Reading Lists
Fantasy Book Reviews (including teen)
Science Fiction Book Reviews (including teen)
Other Book Reviews (comprising horror, books on writing & graphic novels/manga)
Movie Reviews

Now, I've alphabetized the book reviews by author and the movie reviews by title, but have kept my interviews and reading lists in the order I posted them. In the interest of making my pages more accessible, would you prefer that I keep them this way or alphabetize them? I've set up a survey on my blog, so please check the one you prefer (and if you're reading this on an RSS feed, please click through and give your feedback).

Debut Authors from May to September 2010

My debut author lists will - if all goes well - become a monthly feature on SF Signal starting next month. In the interests of having those posts all follow the same format, I'm posting the titles I've been collecting since May (when I last posted a debut list). I tried to be complete, but I'm sure I missed some, so if you know an author that fits the following criteria please tell me.

1) published with a press carried in bookstores (sorry, it's too overwhelming to try to find out self-published authors and smaller presses - I do the lists based on what comes into the store, which will be changing...)
2) had their first book published between May and September 2010 in the SF/F/H fields.

Sorry, these lists are short so I'm not bothering to alphabetize them, but I will sort them by genre. And while I try to verify these are debuts, I have been wrong before, so if you notice a mistake please tell me in the comments. And since it's come up before, these are debuts with regards to the Canadian market (publication dates sometimes differ by country). Lastly, this is the second list where I've included Horror. I haven't been watching it as closely so I know I'm missing some books in that category.

Fantasy
Stuff of Legends - Ian Gibson
King's Bastard - Rowena Cory Daniells
The Last Page - Anthony Huso
Shades of Milk & Honey - Mary Robinette Kowal
The Left Hand of Darkness - Paul Hoffman
Shadow's Son - Jon Sprunk
The Spirit Thief - Rachel Aaron

Urban Fantasy
Death Most Definite - Trent Jamieson
Confessions of a Demon - S. L. Wright
A Devil in the Details - K. A. Stewart
Dark Oracle - Alayna Williams
Married With Zombies - Jesse Petersen
Black Blade Blues - J. A. Pitts
Red Hot Fury - Kasey MacKenzie
Mob Rules - Cameron Haley
Afterlife - Marie Destefano
Deadtown - Nancy Holzner (came out in January but I missed it on my previous list)

Science Fiction
The Human Disguise - James O'Neal
Wind Up Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi
Noise - Darin Bradley

Steampunk
The Dream of Perpetual Motion - Dexter Palmer
Native Star - M. K. Hobson
The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack - Mark Hodder

Horror
Blood Oath - Christopher Farnsworth
Zombies of Lake Woebegotten - Harrison Geiller
The Loving Dead - Amelia Beamer
Dust - Joan Frances Turner
The Reapers are the Angels - Alden Bell
Emma and the Vampires - Jane Austen & Wayne Josephson

R. A. Salvatore Booksigning in Toronto

That's right, author R. A. Salvatore, of Forgotten Realms (and other) fame, will be returning to the World's Biggest Bookstore in Toronto on October 7th, 7 pm, for a booksigning to promote his new book, Gauntlgrym. If you missed him last year, he's a great public speaker so head on down to the store and show him some fan love.

Not in Toronto? Check out his tour page to see if he's coming to a city near you.

Jesse Petersen - Author Interview

Novel: MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES

Website: http://jessepetersen.net/

What is MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES about?

It’s a zomedy (a zombie comedy) about a couple on the verge of divorce who have to use their dead therapist’s advice to escape the zombie apocalypse. Someone called it “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” meets “Zombieland”. Which works for me!

What drew you to writing about zombies?

I’ve always been a zombie fan, especially zombie movies with a funny twist. After we went to see “Zombieland” with our friends the idea for MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES came to me. It was outside the genre I usually write, but I was driven to write it, mostly just to entertain myself. But then my agent got ahold of what I had so far and really encouraged me to finish it.

Where do you think the division between humour and horror is?

I think horror serves a purpose because we love to be scared. It’s the thrill of it, I guess. But we also like to deal with scary things or uncomfortable things by laughing at them. Which is why horror mixes with humor so beautifully in so many books and movies.

What made you want to be a writer?

I have always had stories in my head and enjoyed writing them down. In fact, I wanted to be a writer from the time I was a little girl, though I didn’t think that would be possible. But it still comes down to having that voice in my head and wanting to hear where it goes and what it ends up saying.

If you could, would you change places with any of your characters?

From MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES, probably not. Getting chased by the zombie horde is not good. LOL. But I think I am somewhat like Sarah. We share a snarky sense of humor, though I hope I’m a little nicer to my husband.

What was the hardest scene for you to write?

Honestly, this book was a dream for me! It stretched out ahead of me like a movie (which normally doesn’t happen) and was really fun to write! The second book in the series was harder since I started second guessing myself. LOL

If you still have one, what’s your day job? If you don’t, how long did it take before you could support yourself only on your writing?

I don’t have a day job. Actually when I left college my husband really encouraged me to follow my dream and write full time. I couldn’t have supported myself on my income until the last couple of years, but it’s slowly but surely becoming a more lucrative profession for me. You definitely can’t write for the money, the industry is just too unpredictable. And it will break your heart.

What is your university degree in and does it help with your writing?

I actually have a degree in psychology and intended to get a Masters in counseling. So I think in this book it definitely helps, though I’m not sure what it means that my main characters kill the thing I intended to be right off the bat. I’m sure some other psychologist would have something to say about that.

When and where do you write?

I have a home office and I write there mostly (though I do occasionally break out with the laptop if I’m traveling). I write every day, five days a week and try to meet a certain number of pages each day to get to my final goal.

What’s the best/worst thing about writing?

The best thing is being able to share those stories with readers. There’s nothing better than having a reader contact you to say they loved your book or it made them laugh or made them cry. It’s an amazing feeling. The worst part? Well, most of publishing is out of the hands of the authors. You can do everything right and a book just won’t “hit”, which is frustrating. Or someone will just hate the book and lambast it everywhere. All these things, I cannot control.

Do you have any advice for hopeful authors?

Write something you love and your enthusiasm will come through. Also, realize that publishing is a marathon, not a sprint. For most people, a first sale or success doesn’t happen overnight. Write because you love to write.

How do you discipline yourself to write?

I just know I have to do it every day. People are depending on me to deliver a manuscript on a certain date and I know I have to write X pages every day to get to that date. So I do it. I don’t wait for a “muse” or “the mood” to strike me. I sit down and I write. And I know I can edit later and make the words I’ve put down perfect. Or closer to perfect anyway.

How many rejection letters did you get for your first novel or story?

Before I sold my first book, which was in a different genre, I stopped counting rejections after 100. For the zombie books, I was lucky to have an auction for my book, which meant multiple publishers were bidding on the work. There were a few passes, but the publishers were very supportive and excited about the book. So I can’t complain.