Of Awards and Dreams

As I slog toward the end of my current, manuscript, there's been a couple of "yee haas!" to push me toward the goal. Sojourn, the first book of the Time Rovers(TM) series is a finalist for a Foreword Award in the science fiction category. There are fourteen finalists, four of which are from Dragon Moon Press. Awesome.

The other good news is that I've been chosen as one of the winning authors in Aberrant Dreams' Writer's Challenge. This contest was unique. AD readers chose an illustration, wrote a synopsis of a short story and then chose the author who would pen that story. So my work will be included amongst such big-name pros as Ian Watson, S.P. Somtwow, Alastair Reynolds, Howard Hendrix, etc. Wow.

It's been an incredible week. However, next Thursday loometh and there's this hassle I'm having with one of my characters so it's back to the business at hand.

Thanks for sharing the good times with me....

Of Imaginations Run Riot

Some of us do not have much in the way of an imagination. We can barely guess how nice the bathroom would look in mauve wallpaper, let alone design an entire new universe composed from our overactive craziness. I have an abundant imagination which has always gotten me into trouble. I see herds of wildebeest on city streets and wonder what it would be like if everyone woke up and found themselves a fetching shade of green. I often take my imagination out for a stroll and heap praise upon it so it might bless me with even more bizarre plots for my books. Clearly, I'm wired a lot different than most.

But then there those folks who go "What if?" and then take that question into the realms of the truly unbelievable. Such are those who utilize their Imagination Gene on a regular basis. Two gentlemen come to mind, though there are others in the publishing industry that definitely have been given the I-Upgrade. Terry Pratchett and Jasper Fforde are two such amazing fellows. If they had been inclined toward pharmaceutical experiments in their early years, they got the really good dope while some of us got ditch weed.

Messrs. Pratchett and Fforde (both Brits) employ their imaginations in a way that roundly skewers human foibles. Silly politicians, stupid laws, greedy corporations all come in for savaging by their pens (or keyboards) but in a way that makes the stories so very readable.

Pratchett creates a lively Discworld with imp-controlled traffic cameras, swamp dragons, six inch tall Pictsies and a second-class god named Nuggin who despises the color blue (causing his followers to no longer look up at the sky so that they will not offend him). Pratchett's humans are full of flaws. And so are his trolls, etc.

Fforde takes us into the world of Thursday Next, a very likable heroine who battles Minotaurs, megalomaniacs and fake Shakespeares. She has a re-engineered dodo named Pickwick (who makes plock-plock noises), a husband who has been eradicated by the Chrono-Guard but fades in and out like an old radio and she hangs with fictional characters like Cat (formerly known as Cheshire) and Hamlet.

To take a trip into either of these writers' worlds is like great sex. You smile a lot afterward and remind yourself to do that again, sooner rather than later.

It's wonderful to watch Uber Imaginations at work. Hopefully, I'll get another upgrade somewhere down the line. Maybe I'll reach Pratchett's or Fforde's level in the years to come.

Humm... maybe green wildebeests would be a good start....

Enjoy!

Terry Pratchett

Jasper Fforde

Coasting to Seattle

Spent a great few days in Seattle at Left Coast Crime, rubbing elbows with fellow mystery writers and readers. It was a good conference. Lots of very fun people, great food (the salmon was awesome) and informative panels. It was a bit humbling to chat with such mystery greats as S.J. Rozan, Peter May (looks fine in a kilt, mind you) and Meg Chittenden. Meg's been writing for 37 years and she still has a devilish sense of humor. I also joke I want to be Meg when I grow up.

I signed at the Seattle Mystery Bookshop and got to spend time with Tammy, Fran and all the other wonderful folks who work there. The shop was packed on Saturday afternoon, which is a pleasing sight when so many indy bookstores are closing their doors. If you want signed copies of your favorite books, contact them. They can get them for you.

Now that I'm home and getting over my jet lag, the final push on Virtual Evil begins. It's due in just shy of 3 weeks. I really like the story, but I know it can go up a notch or two. It's not at the "keep the reader up all night" stage. Being a fiend, I like to inflict sleeplessness on my readers as my favorite authors do the same to me. It's my idiom, as Monty Python would say. And one never wants to go against one's idiom. It can hurt... a lot.