Sunday, February 26, 2017

The spin rack is STILL coming back


Some of you may recall I have posted in the past about how I like to buy genre mass market paperbacks in Dollar General stores. I started doing this years ago after learning from Tom Doherty that the people who stock the spin racks DO pay attention to what sells.

These discounted paperbacks sell for only one or three dollars - which means the author really isn't getting very much at this point - but I feel they serve as a "gateway" to encourage people to pick up a genre title.

I lived in Mount Pleasant, Texas, from October 2007 until December of last year, and while there I practiced this. By the time I left one of the stores (the city has three Dollar Generals) had s-f and fantasy titles on its own shelf, and used the spin rack for every thing else.

Now that I live in Clarksville, Texas, I am doing the same thing, and I am already seeing the effect. Yesterday I was able to purchase two paperbacks (see photo) because the s-f and fantasy titles seems to be proliferating.

I've bought books I've already read, and books I had no intention of reading, and I've bought some titles more than once (such as the Richard Matheson 2011 collection "Steel and Other Stories") as an encouragement to the stores.

I usually give the books away or donate to the local Friends of the Library fundraiser.

It's my little pet crusade, and for a few bucks I think I'm helping in a very concrete way.

A dilemma

Hmm, I'm conflicted. Should I start on a sequel to "Another Girl, Another Planet" yet? Or keep writing short stories as usual for now?

I like writing short stories, but AGAP seems to be getting a good reception.

To get through writing AGAP, I just pretended in my head it was a very LONG short story (I know, that makes no sense), The original draft had NO chapter breaks.

I wanted to encourage people to read it in one sitting.

I couldn't get that past the editor and publisher, no way

Amazon reviews

So far, the reviews of "Another Girl, Another Planet" at Amazon have been very positive, two four stars and one five star.

Buy this book! It's lots of fun!
Bybrendan f kellyon February 10, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Really fun book. Reminds me a lot of the early Heinlein stories. Part thriller, part mystery, part space opera it was the best read I've had in a long time. The universe it is set in is incredibly compelling (despite a nit pick or two), and it is a TREMENDOUSLY fun read. I was actually late to my doctor appointment because I literally could not put it down. I'm really hopeful there will be a sequel because I really enjoyed it.
I gave it four stars because there are a couple of spots that I found a little unbelievable (in regards to characters not plot). That being said, when Mr. Antonelli is on, he is ON. There are some action sequences that are really great, and some of sad parts are really moving. Well worth the money, definitely a fun, interesting, and compelling read.

Don't be put off by the title. Well worth the read!
ByKen of NJon February 22, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition

So many stories these days are derivative; this one isn't. I don't often give five stars but this novel truly deserves it. It is a unique SciFi mystery with a twist. Well written (a few editing errors but they didn't interfere with immersion), interesting and intriguing, the story presents androids in an interesting light. In tone, the story reminded me of some of the best by Heinlein or Clarke. Give it a try...you won't be sorry.

Different Kind of Cold War
ByRichard C. Kruegeron February 25, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

A nicely done, thoroughly enjoyable alternate history adventure, unfolding from a clever premise. Antonelli does a fine job spinning this well-wrought tale. Rather than focus on "the human predicament," he focuses on the characters' common humanity (or perhaps I should say "personhood") to deliver an emotional payoff with lots of impact. It's definitely fun for fans of space opera, "competent engineer" stories, and Golden Age fans, but I think it has broader appeal as well.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Look what arrived today!


When I came home from work I found the box with my author's copies of "Another Girl, Another Planet" on the porch!

I also got my first five star review for "Another Girl, Another Planet" on Amazon:
-----
Don't be put off by the title. Well worth the read!
February 22, 2017
By Ken of NJ
So many stories these days are derivative; this one isn't. I don't often give five stars but this novel truly deserves it. It is a unique SciFi mystery with a twist. Well written (a few editing errors but they didn't interfere with immersion), interesting and intriguing, the story presents androids in an interesting light. In tone, the story reminded me of some of the best by Heinlein or Clarke. Give it a try...you won't be sorry.

-----

If you want to go buy the book like right this minute, here's a link.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

When the wait is worth it

With as many short stories as I have written, I will submit outside genre fiction, to publications such as The New Yorker, Harper's and - in this case - Tin House.

Now, Tin House is one of the top fiction venues, period, so when I submit a story I am willing to be patient. This week I received a rejection from them for a story I submitted (using Submittable) in Oct. 2015.

You might think waiting 16 months for a reply is unacceptable, but in light of how many submissions they must get and how stiff the competition is, it's completely understandable.

And their reply was very nice:

"Unfortunately, we have decided to pass on this submission.

"Thank you, also, for your patience in waiting to hear back from us. Submittable generally makes managing the many submissions we receive each year much easier, but the staggering number of submissions we received last year means it is still a long process.

"We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future—and responding to it in a more reasonable amount of time."

Two notes here:

First, at least they replied. The New Yorker is so swamped, they simply state if you don't hear from them in six months you can assume you were rejected.

Back when The New Yorker still sent out rejection slips, I received a couple with handwritten notes encouraging me to submit again.

Second, a while back I commented that the number of venues which send me rejections with encouragements to submit again seems to have dropped in the past couple of years.

Referring back to Tin House's comments, the fact remains the top genre venues - folks like Asimov's, Clarkesword, F&SF and such - still drop in those little nuggets of encouragement. They're pros and act professionally.

I got another rejection this week - again, from a Top Tier venue, with the comment - following the mention of what might be considered a spoiler "Points for originality. I'm sorry the story didn't end up working for us."

Any feedback from editors is helpful, even with rejections. At the very least, it lets you know you're on the right track.

Saturday, February 18, 2017

On the road again

My convention schedule for this year - so far - is as follows:

* Ravencon in Williamsburg, Va. April 28-30

* Soonercon in Oklahoma City June 23-25

*Libertycon in Chattanooga June 30-July 2

* Armadillocon in Austin Aug. 4-6

* Dragoncon in Atlanta Sept. 1-4

If you are a friend on Facebook, and we've never met in person, introduce yourself if you are at any of these events!

Friday, February 17, 2017

The Lost Cosmonauts...

I don't know about other writers, but I keep a LOT of books on my shelves for reference. These days, I putter through the oldest of them, looking for nuggets of esoterica and inspiration you can't find on the web - stuff that was written a long time ago and has never been digitized.

According to a story in one of these books, "Strange World" by Frank Edwards, published in 1964, today is the anniversary of a mystery (or cover up) from the Cold War space:

On the morning of February 17, 1961, a giant Soviet booster blasted off from the Russian base at Baikonour near the Aral Sea. A few minutes after take off, tracking stations outside the Soviet Union had detected the launching and were tracking the flight of the lunik capsule.

""This much was routine. Word had leaked out that the next Soviet space effort would be a manned orbit of the moon, and that may well have been the purpose of the shot on February 17, 1961. If it was intended for a moon shot it failed, because it never attained sufficient speed to escape from the earth's gravitational pull. It turned into just another orbital launch—and that in turn developed into a tragedy when the Russians were unable to bring the capsule back from orbit.

"Tracking stations around the globe recorded the voices of a man and a woman who occupied the luckless capsule. For seven days and nights the doomed pair reported at regular intervals to their space bases inside the Soviet Union. Listeners outside Russia were puzzled at this pro-longed flight—and at Russia's strange silence about it. Although it exceeded anything that had been accomplished up to that time, the Soviets never mentioned it.

"Time after time, day and night, the pair in the capsule that was to be their sepulcher radioed down the cryptic message: "Everything satisfactory. We are maintaining the prescribed altitude." The climax to this eerie venture came in the early evening hours of February 24, 1961.

"Tracking stations at Uppsala, Bochum, Turin, and Meudon all recorded the final broadcast from the two ill-starred cosmonauts. After the customary statement that conditions were good and that the capsule was maintaining the prescribed altitude, there was a brief pause. Then the male voice: "We can read the dials. The signals are not clear, however. We see nothing."

"Then followed a silence of about five seconds, after which a woman's voice interjected: "I'll make it and hold tight with my right hand! Only this way can we maintain equilibrium. Look out the peep-hole! Look out the peephole! I have it. . . ."

"A few seconds later the male voice exclaimed: "Here! Here there is something! THERE IS SOMETHING! It's difficult. . . ." After a pause of several seconds, he continued, "If we do not get out, the world will never hear about it. It is difficult. . . ."

"At that point a Soviet transmitter broke in to announce that it was 8 P.M. Moscow time. When the station had ceased transmitting the time, the signals from the Lunik capsule had vanished into the silence of outer space—and they were never resumed."

The Soviet Union never acknowledged this supposed launch. Anyone every hear this story?

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

A possibility regained?


Back in 2014 I had an invite to be a panelist at LonCon 3. I had been a panelist at the WorldCon in San Antonio the previous year (it was nice to have a WorldCon I could drive to) and I was invited back to Worldcon for the following year.

The folks running LonCon were also very good to me with my panels. I had two, right on target with my author interests - Steampunk and Alternate History.

I've never owned a passport, and my wife and I were looking our first trip ever overseas.

Now, one of the guests for LonCon was Billie Piper, who played Dr. Who's companion Rose Tyler in 2005 and 2006.

When Dr. Who restarted in 2005, I did a double-take at that name - Rose Tyler. See, I live in East Texas, whose regional capital is Tyler - famed for its roses. In fact it's known as The Rose Capital of the World.

So I noticed the name, "Rose Tyler". And looking forward to LonCon, I had a thought. I would carefully pack a genuine Tyler Rose and while at the convention present it to "Rose Tyler".

I thought it was a cute idea.

Well, a few months before the convention, the newspaper where I worked was sold to a corporation, I had two weeks of paid vacation, but the cheap corporate assholes said that - since I was a new employee to them, I had no seniority, and no accrued vacation. They just wiped it out.

I could hardly afford to take a two weeks unpaid leave, so LonCon was off. I told the folks running the convention what happened, and we all felt bad.

I was given the heave-ho the following January, and I've worked at my current newspaper just over two years. When I wrote "Another Girl, Another Planet" last year, I modeled the villain on the SOB who fired me, as motivation.

 Last week I received word I was accepted as a visiting pro at Dragoncon. Yesterday the con, as part of updating its list of pros and guest, said Billie Piper would be there this year.

A-hah! So maybe I could still present Piper with one of those Tyler Roses, after all. Three years late, but better than never.


Sunday, February 12, 2017

What I wrote in 2016

I'm making a note here of the short stories I had published in 2016 for those of you who are planning to nominate for the Nebulas, Hugos or any other similar recognition.

My novel "Another Girl, Another Planet" was published after the start of the year, so it's not eligible this year - although, of course, I strongly recommend you buy it!

Here is the rundown of my nine short stories published in 2016:

1. “Captain of the Clouds” – Aurora Wolf, January 2016

The year started out right with the publication of my alternate history "Captain of the Clouds" on January 1st by the ezine Aurora Wolf.

"The Second Confederacy used unremarkable biplanes to patrol the border, but the greater Texas Republic used helium-filled dirigibles on its side of the Mississippi River—and Billy Greer knew each one by sight.

"The airship on patrol that summer along the Mississippi-Louisiana border in 1936 was the Gov. Ferguson. During the summer Billy and his friends would wait every afternoon to see it float past Natchez.  This afternoon, though, Billy was alone.  Some of his friends had been distracted by a report of a dead cat run over on a nearby street.  Billy took advantage of being alone to do something he’d been wanting to do for a long time."

The POD in this alternate history is that the great Spanish Flu epidemic after World War I carried off a third of the U.S. population as opposed to maybe three percent in real life (one-third off all Americans did get sick, so the one-third figure is not unreasonable if the flue had been universally fatal).

As a result of the great death toll the U.S. falls apart into a number of smaller entities, with both the Confederacy as well as the Republic of Texas rising again.

The "trick" in the story is when you realize who the "Captain of the Clouds" is in our timeline.

INSPIRATION: "Captain of the Clouds" was both a patriotic movie and song title from 1942.

You can read the story online here.



2. “Higher Powers” – Sci-Phi Journal, February 2016

He read the label on the wall:

“Warning: Maximum life support duration for escape pod: 72 hours.”

It was now more than 80 hours since he fell into the pod as the ship decompressed.

Reeves looked around.

“Is there anybody out there?” he said softly.

Running into a black string was the only thing that could have caused such a sudden and catastrophic ship failure. The only reason he was alive was that he was adjacent to an escape pod when the alarm sounded.

It was hard to believe, as fast as the ship was destroyed, that any emergency beacons were deployed. There was no sign anyone else escaped. No com chatter, no signs of other pods.

He was all alone with no hope of rescue.

One of my few forays into space-based stories of any sort, "Higher Powers" was published on Leap Day, Feb. 29. In it, I explain how an alien race might regard the human ritual of prayer.

INSPIRATION: The hymn "This World Is Not My Home" - referenced in the story.

You can read it online here

3. “The Milky Way Dance Hall” – Decision Points anthology. May 2016

Light pollution.

We didn’t have any of it back then.  

Heck, we were lucky to have lights.  I was still in junior high school when the REA ran electricity to the farms in Franklin County.


When I was in high school, there really wasn’t anything for teenagers to do there.  Drive-in movies were popular, but we were much too small to have one.  The nearest was one county over, in Mount Pleasant.

There was absolutely nothing in between the two cities. There weren’t even any farms; the power company held the land for the lignite underneath.  So it was completely black, and boy, did the stars shine at night.


There was this one farm-to-market road than ran through that wilderness, between us and Mount Pleasant.  Late at night, after all the adults thought us teenagers were in bed, a bunch of us would sneak out there.  It was the flattest stretch of road anyone had ever seen--smooth as a glass dance floor. And that’s what we used it for.  

Picked up by Bryan Thomas Schmidt for his YA themed anthology "Decision Points", in keeping with the theme, it tells of a fateful night when a teenager on a date must make a painful decision in the wake of an alien encounter.

INSPIRATION: Personal anecdote told to me by Ralph K. Banks, who is credited in the introduction to the story.

You can buy the book here.

4. “Lone Star, Lost Star” – Fiction on the Web, July 31, 2016

I was standing almost smack dab in the middle of State Line Avenue, looking across the street at the Baptist bookstore - where I had parked - with a six pack of Coors in my hand, when Texas disappeared. 

I am quite familiar with what happened, yes. 

If I hadn't had to wait for a car to pass, I would have already been on the Texas side of the street when it happened. I hold the record for the person who was closest to Texas who didn't disappear with it. 

I was so shocked I almost fell into the abyss, but the enormous thunderclap that accompanied its disappearance as the vacuum collapsed knocked me backwards flat on my ass. I clutched the ground face down as the wind rushed in to fill the empty space. The beer went flying and one can rolled towards the car that had just passed me. 

The driver came to a tire-squealing stop. The car was buffeted as the wind rushed past into the space where Texas had been. I lay as flat as I could and clutched the asphalt. 

After what seemed like forever - but was really only a couple of minutes - the wind subsided. The driver looked shocked as he exited the passenger side. He looked over his roof and then looked at me. 

"What the fuck just happened?" he asked. 

People were streaming out of the shopping plaza on the Arkansas side of the street, including the liquor store I had just left, and rushing to the edge of the vast empty space. 

As we found out later, everything that had been Texas was gone down to a depth of 150 feet below sea level. 

This story was written as a submission for an anthology with the theme "No shit, I was there", but wasn't picked up. Instead it was published by the U.K. based ezine Fiction on the Web.

INSPIRATION: Anthology theme.

You can read it online here.

5. “The Yellow Flag” – Sci-Phi Journal, August 2016

Chris looked around into the darkness. “Something is out there.”

“Grab the camera,” said Pete, as he began to wave a hand-held detector around.


When Chris came back to him, Pete pointed. “Whatever it is, it’s that way. Turn on the camera light.”

The paid began to walk across the tall prairie grass. Pete frowned as the signal grew stronger and louder.

“This is like a reading for an electrical power plant,” he said. “You sure there’s nothing out here?”

“The nearest ranch is over 20 miles away,” said Chris. “This is protected federal prairie land. It took me six months just to get the camping permit.”

“What the fuck is that!!!” Pete shouted.

Chris froze and let the camera fall off his shoulder.

Ahead of them, a dull reddish glowing disc-like object rose into the dark sky.

“Run!” Chris shouted.

They turned, but didn’t get far.

This is the story I wrote, submitted and had accepted in four hours, a record which I think will be hard to break. It offers a plausible - and to some people, obvious - answer to the Fermi Paradox.

This was also my 100th published short story since 2003.

INSPIRATION: Fermi's Paradox.

You can read it online here.

6. “And He Threw His Hands Up in the Air” – Siren’s Call, No. 28 August 2016

Modern civilization started in ancient Mesopotamia about 10,000 BC -- you read that in a history book, didn’t you?  That was about the time agriculture was invented, too, wasn’t it?


Allow me to set the record straight for you -- although no one would believe what I’m about to tell you if you repeated it.  Oh, about 10,000 BC, maybe we could say civilization was restarted,  and agriculture was reintroduced.  I should know--I was there when it stopped in the first place.

In fact I was an eyewitness.

Talk about agriculture --our office park sat in a beautiful green valley; from my observation post I could see corn flowers across the highway, and cattle grazing in a nearby field.

The mutated descendants of those cattle were among the few animals that survived the devastation caused by the war.  They grew gnarled and woolly to survive to survive the nuclear winter; it still pains me to see an American bison, even if only on a nickel.

Another one of my secret histories about Atlantis and ancient civilizations, this short tale explains how the image of The Burning Man is embedded in our subconscious.

INSPIRATION: The Burning Man Festival.

You can download a PDF of the issue here.

7. “Time Like a Rope” – Silver Blade magazine, October 2016

Time is like a rope.  –  Ray Bradbury

This is a story about how I traveled along a loop in the rope of time. It starts with what I was told by the little old lady in Pasadena.

Okay, I know you are hearing that Jan and Dean tune in your head. No, it wasn’t that little old lady. Yes, she was a little old lady, but she was English, and I met her in Pasadena, Texas. It’s a suburb of Houston, where I grew up. I was fresh out of the UT journalism school, on my first newspaper job. They didn’t trust me with any hard news stories back then.


The managing editor called me over to his desk. “We have a local hookup with the 70th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic,” he said. “There’s a woman living here now who is a survivor of the sinking.”

“Wow, how old is she?”

“She’s 82. She was saved in a lifeboat with her English family. She later married a petroleum engineer and moved to Texas. She didn’t like to talk about her experience on the Titanic while her husband was alive—she said it bothered him to hear about it—but she’s widowed now and living alone in Pleasant Estates.“

“That’s a real link to history,” I said.

He handed me a slip of paper. “Here’s her address and phone number. Her name is Nancy Atkins.”

The sinking of the Titanic is one of those events we keep going back to. In this case, I composed a tail biter of a story where the narrator realizes by the end he is just one strand in that rope of time.

INSPIRATION: The Ray Bradbury quote that starts the story.

You can read it online here.

8. "Three Twilight Zone Variations on a High School Reunion" - 3rd Spectral Book of Horror Stories, Oct. 31, 2016

He faced the fountain in the center of the atrium.  "It was sitting right over there that Joyce dumped me." 


The retired teacher knitted her brow.  "Joyce Mann?" 

The author grimaced.  "Sho 'nuff, Mrs. Lennon.  That's the reason I went to college in Texas, rather than staying close to home," he said.  “I wanted a change of scenery.”

She looked at him.  “It must have hurt.”

“A lot,” he said.  “It still does.”

He walked briskly across the atrium.  “And I remember how, when we both stood up, we were both so mad, and she took off in one direction, and I went the opposite way, and when I rounded the corner...”

"Stop!" shouted the teacher.  “There’s scaffolding!” 

The author struck his head on a protruding plank, and fell to the ground unconscious.

An uncommon foray for me into the peripheries of horror, this is really very much a Twilight Zone-type ghost story - the ghosts being teenage angst. Joseph Rubas picked this up for his U.K.-based horror anthology.

INSPIRATION: A real visit I made to my old high school in 2013

You can purchase it here.

9. “If You Were a Dinah Shore, My Love” – Gallery of Curiosities podcast, Dec. 26, 2016

Jack was seething.
 

The other nightclub owners always said he was a two-bit.
 

He’d been trying to get some respect from the Dallas mob for 16 years – with no success.
 

“Big Boy” Louie Campari had just dropped in for drink. On the way out, he looked at Jack’s “Teresa Brewer” on the stage.
 

The clone was warbling “A Sweet Old-Fashioned Girl.”
 

Campari sneered.
 

“Couldn’t afford anything better, eh?”
 

Jack watched him walk away, and clutched his fists in barely suppressed anger.
 

The son-of-a-bitch was right. He couldn’t afford someone from the top ranks of entertainment.
 

A Doris Day clone, or a Patti Page clone. Now THAT would be class.
 

He didn’t have the money.

Basically a feghoot played off the title of another spec fic story from a a few years ago that I really got sick of hearing about, I decided to exorcise the original title by writing a flash story to purge it from my brain.

Ironically, it turned out pretty good, and was sold to the Curious Gallery podcast, and so became my first original publication via podcast.

INSPIRATION: Rachel Swirsky's story, "If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love" - obviously.

It was the second story in a double bill; you can listen to it here. My story starts at 19:30.


Random Sunday thought

I recently shot off a message to a Nebula award winning author. I thought I'd share my thoughts with you:

"Hey there, a thought crossed my mind the other day, thinking about you. We're both children of immigrants to America. Has anyone ever done an anthology with the theme of being a newcomer in the land? What's it's like to be a first generation child? I would imagine in the future the same processes will apply to newcomers as we move into space. I think of an anthology because I write mostly short fiction."

Saturday, February 11, 2017

First review of "Another Girl, Another Planet" has arrived at Amazon:

Buy this book! It's lots of fun!

By brendan f kelly on February 10, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Really fun book. Reminds me a lot of the early Heinlein stories. Part thriller, part mystery, part space opera it was the best read I've had in a long time. The universe it is set in is incredibly compelling (despite a nit pick or two), and it is a TREMENDOUSLY fun read. I was actually late to my doctor appointment because I literally could not put it down. I'm really hopeful there will be a sequel because I really enjoyed it.

I gave it four stars because there are a couple of spots that I found a little unbelievable (in regards to characters not plot). That being said, when Mr. Antonelli is on, he is ON. There are some action sequences that are really great, and some of sad parts are really moving. Well worth the money, definitely a fun, interesting, and compelling read.

Thursday, February 09, 2017

"Burning Churchill"

I banged out a story yesterday about a pair of time traveling art collectors who specialize in stepping in and retrieving works of art that were otherwise recorded in history as being destroyed.

They intercede as an infamous portrait of Winston Churchill is about to be tossed in a bonfire on New Year's Eve 1955. (People in the U.K. have probably heard of the Sutherland portrait).

I came up with what I think is one of the best twist endings I've ever done, as the pair return from whence they came and place the Churchill painting next to another retrieved artwork awaiting restoration.

The story is called "Burning Churchill".

Wednesday, February 08, 2017

2016 publications

I'll note again here, for anyone interested in awards for published short fiction in 2016, here are my stories:

1. “Captain of the Clouds” – Aurora Wolf, January. 2016

2. “Higher Powers” – Sci-Phi Journal, February 2016

3. “The Milky Way Dance Hall” – Decision Points anthology. May 2016

4. “Lone Star, Lost Star” – Fiction on the Web, July 31, 2016

5. “The Yellow Flag” – Sci-Phi Journal, August 2016

6. “And He Threw His Hands Up in the Air” – Siren’s Call, No. 28 August 2016

7. “Time Like a Rope” – Silver Blade magazine, October 2016

8. "Three Twilight Zone Variations on a High School Reunion" - 3rd Spectral Book of Horror Stories, Oct. 31, 2016

9. “If You Were a Dinah Shore, My Love” – Gallery of Curiosities podcast, Dec. 26, 2016

Attending Dragoncon

I'm pleased and proud to accept the offer to be an attending professional at Dragoncon this year. This will be my first DragonCon. I've always heard nothing but the most glowing reports, and I know many people who will be there this year. I look forward to it, and I'm more than happy to help.

I have committed to four conventions so far for 2017:

Ravencon in Williamsburg, Va. April 28-30

Soonercon in Oklahoma City June 23-25

Libertycon in Chattanooga June 30-July 2

Dragoncon in Atlanta Sept. 1-4

Thursday, February 02, 2017

Correction

I need to make a correction to a post from Jan. 22. I announced that my original short story "Dry Falls" will be published in a forthcoming Time Travel-themed issue of Scarium, the official online magazine of the Brazilian Science Fiction Readers Club,

Not to get into the details, but the magazine is in fact Somnium, which is the official magazine of the Brazilian Science Fiction Society, the CLFC - Clube de Leitores de Ficção Científica.

This will be my second foreign language translation, the first in Portuguese. It will be translated by Flávio Medeiros Jr.

I'm looking forward to it.

Wednesday, February 01, 2017

WORDFIRE PRESS PUBLISHES LOU ANTONELLI ALTERNATE HISTORY NOVEL

[FEB. 1, 2017} - WordFire Press is pleased to announce the release of Lou Antonell’s debut novel, “Another Girl, Another Planet”.

WordFire Press Publisher Kevin J. Anderson said “We were captivated by the premise of Lou’s first novel, and we’re very proud to be his publisher. I think people will find the book fascinating.”

WordFire Press Acquisitions Editor Dave Butler said “We’re excited about this book, which lets a well-known short story writer show his strengths at novel length. He describes "Another Girl, Another Planet" as a "Heinleinian Cold War Punk story of politics, espionage, and murder on the Red Planet.”

Renowned author and Science Fiction Writers of American (SFWA) Grandmaster Larry Niven endorsed “Another Girl, Another Planet”, saying “I loved it. Brilliant idea well-told.”

An accomplished short story author with 104 publications and three collections, Antonelli was a finalist for the Sidewise Award in alternate history in 2013. The Texas-based author describes “Another Girl, Another Planet” as a “retro-futurist alternate history.”

WordFire Press is a mid-sized Colorado-based publisher featuring the works of many bestselling and award-winning authors, including Frank Herbert, Allen Drury, Jody Lynn Nye, Alan Dean Foster, Mike Resnick, Brian Herbert, Tracy Hickman, David Farland, and others.

Whatever happened to that old Sunbelt?

By LOU ANTONELLI Managing Editor It’s rained almost daily for the past four months. The ground is saturated; walking across grass is lik...