On the Shoals of IRL (aka ... sigh)

Update: May 26. 2023: The book has been removed -- as is appropriate -- from online booksellers' websites. I'll post when the book is rescheduled - and imminent.

So. Way back in October, I announced in this space the release date for my novel On The Shoals of Space-Time. That date: May 23rd. 

Well. May 23rd approaches and ... Things Are Delayed. The delay is out of my hands and the reasons for it would be of little interest to the general reader. Alas, several venues, including Amazon, continue to show that imminent date -- and some shoppers (your interest is appreciated!) have already preordered.

It will happen, but I don't have a revised release date. News in this space as it happens.

Buy-A-Book Saturday ... redux

Times flies. (Like an arrow, though that's an irrelevant obscurity for today's post.) Meaning Buy-a-Book Saturday is once more almost upon us. 

Regularly since 2010, shortly before Thanksgiving, I've posted about Buy-a-Book Saturday. That's my personal variation on Small Business Saturday: the day (specifically, the second day after Thanksgiving, and one day after retail's infamous Black Friday) on which holiday shoppers are especially encouraged to patronize small businesses. The big-box stores and Internet giants will do fine this holiday season. But will neighborhood stores, non-chain shops, and boutiques?

What with the supply-chain problems -- and Black Friday somehow having begun days ago at many retailers/etailers -- even to wait till close to that Saturday (falling quite late this year: November 26) might not be the best of strategies.

Rara avis! Is that a book store?

Why do I promote the buy-a-book variant? Because what business is smaller than the author toiling away by him- or herself? Because, as I (and many others) post from time to time, the publishing business keeps getting tougher -- especially for authors. Because more than likely you're a reader, else you wouldn't have stopped by this blog.

Because this year has been harder on small businesses, authors included, than most. Yet again.

So: I'm here to suggest you give serious consideration to books -- whether print or electronic or audio -- for some of your holiday gifting. Friends, relatives, coworkers, your kids' teachers and coaches, the local library you support ... surely there's a book that's right for each of them. And at least one book for yourself, of course ;-)

Suppose you're at a brick-and-mortar bookstore and a book or author you had in mind isn't to be found on the shelf. Not a problem! Almost certainly, the store will be happy to special-order books for you. (Why? Because  they'd much rather do a special order than have you go home and order online for yourself.)

Best Reads of 2022

Once again, I concede that a year's-best posting this early in November might seem, well, early. OTOH: lingering pandemic. Supply-chain woes. Labor shortages. Postal/UPS/FedEx slowdowns. Not to mention the countless stores that had up Christmas displays well before Halloween. Especially if you (or your reading giftees) prefer material in paper and ink, you may want to undertake your holiday shopping early rather than late. In any event, Black Friday and Cyber Monday will soon be upon us. 

If you find none of that convincing? The way 2022 has been, surely anything meriting the label "best" is welcome. Distraction via the books that follow certainly helped me cope with this dreadful year.

 Not to mention that if ever there were a year to support one's favorite authors, 2022 (again! sigh) is it. So: on to the latest installment of this annual feature. 

As always, I read a lot: as research, to keep current with the genre in which I write, and simply for enjoyment. Before the annual holiday shopping onslaught, I've taken to volunteering a few words about the most notable books from my reading (and sometimes re-reading) thus far in the current year. And a (very small) celebratory woohoo: this compilation is my tenth such post in the series. 

When I name a book, you can be certain I really enjoyed it and/or found it very useful. Life's too short to gripe about books I didn't find notable (much less the several I elected not to finish). Presuming that you visit SF and Nonsense because you appreciate my assessment of things, you might find, in what follows, books you (and like-minded friends, relatives, etc.) will also enjoy. Unless otherwise indicated, the dates shown are for original publication. Titles of recommendations are Amazon links, often to newer editions than the original publication (and to Kindle editions, where available).

This year's summary is unusual in one respect: I'm going to name one book of my own. Because, when calling out standout materials, I could hardly fail to at least mention the career-spanning, carefully curated, SF collection published this year that is The Best of Edward M. Lerner.
 
What's impressed me so far this year? Read on ....

A most enjoyable podcast

Writers of the Future recently hosted a podcast aimed at aspiring science-fiction writers: a conversation with old hands Alan Smale (as it happens, a former WOTF winner), Jeffery A. Carver, Edward Willett, and (because two Eds are better than one ... I'll pause while you groan) Edward M. Lerner. John Goodwin as MC ably herded us SFnal cats. 

It was a fun conversation. Here 'tis, if you're inclined to listen. 

Technical difficulties

Updated September 13, 2022

I'm in the process of migrating my authorial website (edwardmlerner.com) to a new hosting service. Till that's complete, and all the details sorted out, my blog is reverted to its actual home (i.e., edward-m-lerner.blogspot.com), rather than its aliased location, blog.edwardmlerner.com.

Lots of embedded links in years-worth of blog posts rely on the edwardmlerner.com domain, and (for now) won't work. Sigh.

Hopefully, I'll have all this fixed soon. Meanwhile, if you found yourself here, it's still me.

Update: Yay! It's fixed (anyway, it seems to be.)

My third and fourth least favorite questions

The recently released The Best of Edward M. Lerner finally offers answers to my least favorite questions numbers one and two. (Those are, “What’s your favorite from among your books?” and “If I want to try one of your books, which should it be?”)

And numbers three and four? Often asked by randomly encountered people (if they discover I'm an author) and interviewers alike: "What's your typical work day? How much time do you put in?" For which the honest answers are, "There are no typical days," and "Yeah, I wonder that, too."

Of course, there are days when all I do is sit at a computer and compose and/or edit text. I suspect many people would be surprised how few days are like that. Because there is so much more to the job ...

Outlining. Plotting. Fleshing out characters and locations. Research directly applicable to a specific book, story, or article project. All manner of interaction with editors and publishers, at every stage of the process. For some projects, interacting with beta readers. Those are, unambiguously, part of the writer's job. But then there all these other activities:

• Long walks pondering story ideas, or how a character might react to a situation, or (me being an SF writer) the rules of some extrapolated tech
• Reading that might -- and might not -- lead to a new book, story, or article
• Reading to stay current in science and technology (again, me being an SF author)
• Reading a sampling of colleagues' new books, to know how the genre is evolving, and to avoid inadvertent similarities
• Maintaining a professional social-networking presence (Facebook, LinkedIn, this blog [and this post?], my authorial website, ...)
• Doing sysadmin duties for that website (software updates, security-log review, backups)
• Doing promotion (interviews, signings, conventions, lectures) -- and travel time for many of those
• Maintaining -- and following up on -- a tickler file (of story submissions, contract expiration or renewal/rollover dates, royalty due dates), because without follow-up, a lot goes astray
• Keeping records of income and expenses for tax purposes 
• And on, and on, and on  ...

Methinks I'll stick with "There are no typical days" and "Yeah, I wonder that, too."

Worldshapers

Updated March 8, 2022 

SF author -- and interviewer extraordinaire -- Edward Willett recently invited me onto his all-about-writing podcast, Worldshapers. Shaping worlds is what writers do -- none more so, of course, than SF authors. What with our common interests (and, as they say, two Eds are better than one), we had a great time. The interview is here. 

Amazon link

It turns out Ed (the other Ed) edits the Shapers of Worlds anthology series whose only theme is authors who have appeared on Worldshapers. I devoured the original volume (cover and link to the left) and look forward to reading volume two. And there's a Kickstarter campaign coming in March for a third volume. Check them out. 

Update: It's March, and here's the Kickstarter link:

  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/edwardwillett/shapers-of-worlds-volume-iii  

Buy-a-Book (maybe even *before*) Saturday: broken-supply-chain edition

 It's that time again. With the added wrinkle this year that most anything physical is in short supply and/or stuck on a ship waiting to offload. Books included ...

Regularly since 2010, shortly before Thanksgiving, I've posted about Buy-a-Book Saturday. That's my personal variation on Small Business Saturday: the day (specifically, the second day after Thanksgiving, and one day after retail's infamous Black Friday) on which holiday shoppers are especially encouraged to patronize small businesses. The big-box stores and Internet giants will do fine this holiday season. But will neighborhood stores, non-chain shops, and boutiques?

What with the supply-chain problems, even to wait till close to that Saturday (falling quite late this year: November 27) might not be the best of strategies.

Rara avis! Is that a book store?

Why do I promote the buy-a-book variant? Because what business is smaller than the author toiling away by him- or herself? Because, as I (and many others) post from time to time, the publishing business keeps getting tougher -- especially for authors. Because more than likely you're a reader, else you wouldn't have stopped by this blog.

Because this year has been harder on small businesses, authors included, than most. Paper for printers is just one thing stuck in supply-chain snarls.

So: I'm here to suggest you give serious consideration to books -- whether print or electronic or audio -- for some of your holiday gifting. Friends, relatives, coworkers, your kids' teachers and coaches, the local library you support ... surely there's a book that's right for each of them. And at least one book for yourself, of course ;-)

Suppose you're at a brick-and-mortar bookstore -- assuming said business survived the pandemic so far and/or venturing out isn't once again an unacceptable risk where you are -- and a book or author you had in mind isn't to be found on the shelf. Not a problem! Almost certainly, the store will be happy to special-order books for you. (Why? Because  they'd much rather do a special order than have you go home and order online for yourself.)

Best Reads of 2021

For a second consecutive year, I must concede that a year's-best posting this early in November might seem, well, early. OTOH, pandemic. Supply-chain woes. Postal/UPS/FedEx slowdowns. Especially if you (or your reading giftees) prefer reading material in paper and ink, you may want to do your holiday shopping early rather than late. In any event, Black Friday and Cyber Monday will soon be upon us. 

If you find none of that convincing? The way 2021 has been, surely anything meriting the label "best" is welcome. Distraction via the books that follow certainly helped me cope with this dreadful, pandemic-ridden year.

 Not to mention that if ever there were a year to support one's favorite authors, this (again!) is it.

So: on to the latest installment of this annual feature. 

As always, I read a lot: as research, to keep current with the genre in which I write, and simply for enjoyment. Before the holiday shopping onslaught, I've taken to volunteering a few words about the most notable books from my reading (and sometimes re-reading) thus far in the current year. And a (very small) celebratory woohoo: this is my tenth such post in the series. 

When I name a book, you can be certain I really enjoyed it and/or found it very useful. Life's too short to gripe about books I didn't find notable (much less the several I elected not to finish). Presuming that you visit SF and Nonsense because you appreciate my assessment of things, you might find, in what follows, books you (and like-minded friends, relatives, etc.) will also enjoy. Unless otherwise indicated, the dates shown are for original publication. Titles are Amazon links, often to newer editions than the original publication (and to Kindle editions, where available).
 
What's impressed me so far this year? Read on ....

A series-ous matter

Today is release day for the umpteenth James Bond movie. I suspect there's hardly an adult or teen living in a First World country who doesn't recognize the name. Franchises continue for a reason -- audience loyalty -- and not only on the big screen. Novel series have likewise been all the rage in recent years.

Marcus Judson Book #1

Many of my books are entirely independent of one another, but I've also been involved in two literary series. The Fleet of Worlds series (with Larry Niven), ultimately of five novels, takes its name from a unique astronomical feature -- the eponymous grouping of flying worlds! -- that figure throughout. The InterstellarNet series, of three novels, is named for the technological glue -- an interstellar comm network -- whose creation, evolution, and consequences underpin, well, everything that happens across a growing number of species, light-years, and decades. I like to believe both series labels pique book-shopper curiosity and sustain reader interest.

Since this past May's release of Déjà Doomed, I've had something of a naming conundrum. Just as James Bond's adventures (setting aside remakes and reboots) are independent apart from some recurring characters, several main characters in Déjà Doomed first appeared in 2012's Energized. Sticking loosely with today's James Bond theme, the lead character in both of these novels, Marcus Judson, has now twice  been -- however reluctantly -- a CIA asset. And, I have to admit, thoughts of inflicting a third adventure on Marcus have been tickling the back of my mind ... 

Marcus Judson Book #2

So: what should I call this latest series? The obvious choice is Marcus Judson, and subtitle books as "A Marcus Judson novel." (Hey, going with the hero's name worked for Ian Fleming. It works, in the SF context, for Jack McDevitt's long-running Alex Benedict series.) I may very well end up going with this choice. 

But I like that my earlier series had IMO catchy names. Hence, a question to those of you who've read Energized and/or Déjà Doomed. Any thoughts about a Marcus Judson series? Any thoughts about an alternative series name? 

CFTAR trifecta

 I was recently invited, in connection with a recent novel's publication, to the author-friendly website Campaign for the American Reader. In fact, host Marshal Zeringue asked if I might contribute to several departments of the CFTAR program. It was my pleasure to oblige.

And so, in the past couple weeks, I've had the following CFTAR appearances:

• My ideas about casting, should Hollywood lightning ever strike, in My Book, The Movie  
• the quirky but entertaining Page 69 Test, and most recently
• an authorial interview, in Q&A with Edward M. Lerner

(Quirky, how? you might ask. The question to be answered is, "If a reader opens a book to the [randomly chosen] page 69, would they get a good sense of it? Why or why not?)

As you might suspect, two of those appearances focused on May's new novel,  Déjà Doomed. The Q&A is more about writing in general.

All, IMO, in good fun.

I meet the press (sort of)

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the House of Mystery,  a program airing on NBC radio stations in several major West Coast markets. Hosts Al Warren and Dave North-Martino made me most welcome, and the conversation was delightful. We talked about some of my favorite things: science, science fiction, the writing process, and -- near and dear to my heart these days -- Déjà Doomed, my latest novel.

Our conversation is now streamable. 

Herewith, thanks to Al and Dave -- and to Mickey Mikkelson of Creative Edge Publicity for making the arrangements.

Stepping (far) outside my comfort zone

The nomination period is underway for this year's prestigious Dragon Awards. And (wouldn't you know it?) my latest novel, Déjà Doomed, released one short week ago, is eligible. 

As awkward as bringing up this info makes me feel ....

Unlike the few other major genre awards, Dragon Con's nomination and voting process has neither membership nor member *fee* requirements. Details, for anyone interested in considering the nomination of any SFnal "books, games, comics, and shows" can find details (like the nomination deadline of July 19, 2021) by just clicking this Dragon Con banner:

(Anyone but me remember the lyrics to "I'm a reluctant dragon?")

“Holy crap, this is a great book.”

(Last updated September 6, 2022)

Okay, that may be my favorite blurb ever. It's about Déjà Doomed, a direct quote from my recent interview on podcast Sci-Fi Saturday Night. 

Surrounding the forthcoming (May 25) release of this novel, lately I've done several interviews -- not all yet posted -- with more to come. Also, formal reviews will start to roll in. So: I decided to maintain a post with links to those reviews and interviews. Here's what's been posted so far:

Interviews

Sci-Fi Saturday Night (audio)

Top Shelf Magazine (written)

Southside Broadcasting / U. of Lincoln (UK) (audio)

Chat with everything-award-winner Robert J. Sawyer (written)

Pen for Hire (video)

Book Lights (audio)

Going North (audio)

Awesome Book Promotion (written)

Writers Showcase (video)

NF Reads (written)

The Author Library (video)

NBC House of Mystery (audio)

Schmidt Talk (audio) (those intermittent whines and bangs are on the interviewer's end!)

Reader's Entertainment (written)

A Campaign for the American Reader trifecta, at My Book, The Movie , the quirky-but-fun Page 69 Test, and Q&A with Edward M. Lerner (all written)

Reading Nook (written)

Literary Lounge (audio); I'm introduced at ~15.5 minutes into the show. While the hosts and I discuss my career in general and several of my books, more than anything (if toward the end), it's Déjà Doomed.  

Author Talk (video [as posted on Facebook]). About my books past and future, snow, cooking, and other sundry.

Worldshapers (audio). All about my writing journey, interviewed by fellow SF author Edward Willett.

Prachesta (written): general, with mentions of Déjà Doomed and forthcoming books.

Writers Corner (video): with my reading from Déjà Doomed (starting at about 19:20 into the recording).

The Protagonist Speaks (written): in which Ekaterina Borisova Komarova -- Katya to her friends -- a non-POV character in Déjà Doomed finally has her say.

Reviews

Publishers Weekly

H. M. Gooden (author of The Rise of the Light series)

National Space Society (spoiler alert)

Stay tuned :-) 

Buy-a-Book Saturday -- pandemic-style

 It's that time again. And yet this time, this year is in a category all its own. Stupid pandemic!

Regularly since 2010, shortly before Thanksgiving, I've posted about Buy-a-Book Saturday. That's my personal variation on Small Business Saturday: the day (specifically, the second day after Thanksgiving, and one day after retail's infamous Black Friday) on which holiday shoppers are especially encouraged to patronize small businesses. The big-box stores and Internet giants will do fine this holiday season. But will your neighborhood, non-chain shops and boutiques?

Rara avis! Is that a book store?

Why do I promote the buy-a-book variant? Because what business is smaller than the author toiling away by him- or herself? Because, as I (and many others) post from time to time, the publishing business is becoming tougher and tougher -- especially for authors. Because more than likely you're a reader, else you wouldn't have stopped by this blog.

Because this year is harder on small businesses, authors included, than ever.

So: I'm here to suggest you give serious consideration to books -- whether print or electronic or audio -- for some of your holiday gifting. Friends, relatives, coworkers, your kids' teachers and coaches, the local library you support ... surely there's a book that's right for each of them. And at least one book for yourself, of course ;-)

Suppose you're at a brick-and-mortar bookstore -- assuming said business survived the pandemic so far and/or venturing out isn't an unacceptable risk where you are -- and a book or author you had in mind isn't to be found on the shelf. Not a problem! Almost certainly, the store will be happy to special-order books for you. (Why? Because  they'd much rather do a special order than have you go home and order online for yourself.)

ROFCON -- come join me :-)

The first virtual Ring of Fire Con runs Thursday October 8 through Sunday October 11. W00t! You can still register online -- and for free -- but there are neat ebook bundles offered if you should choose to make a small donation to help defray costs.

Together with -- as you might imagine -- all matters related to Eric Flint's 1632-verse (aka, Ring of Fire-verse), the con covers much, much more.(*)

I am delighted to be taking part in the con, and I thought I'd share my schedule:

 Friday 10/9 4:30 p.m. CDT -- I'm interviewed about my career and recent and upcoming projects

Saturday 10/10 4:30 p.m. CDT -- I'm on the panel "Working with Editors"

Sunday 10/11 3:00 p.m. CDT -- I'm on the panel "The Challenge of Writing Hard SF"

The full con schedule is here.

 "See" you there.

=====

(*) Why the broader scope? For one reason, The Grantville Gazette, bimonthly ezine of the 1632-verse, has long also had an independent "Universe Annex." That's the TGG department in which it's been my frequent honor to appear. In fact, I have a novelette running in the current, September/October 2020, issue. For another, Ring of Fire Press now publishes both 1632 and non-1632 books. My 2019 novel, The Company Man is in the latter category.

And maybe just because ... why not? SF fans have omnivoracious interests.

It's the End Times ...

of publisher February promotions on a goodly portion -- six of twenty -- Edward M. Lerner books.

This is a (blatantly) commercial post; you have been advised. But if you've been curious about my writing -- or if you are familiar, and might want to read more -- this ebook-only promotion is a fine opportunity. Your choices:

Muses and Musings: A Science Fiction Collection. It's exactly what the subtitle says. And you can name your price.

Technothrillers, Fools' Experiments and Small Miracles, for only $1.99 each. 

Near-future (Energized) and farther-future (Dark Secret) space adventures, likewise for a mere $1.99 each.

But wait! There's more! (And it's way better than a Veg-O-Matic.)

In the nonfiction category, Trope-ing the Light Fantastic: The Science Behind the Fiction is just $2.99.

Not as long as electrons last (but way longer than free neutrons do)! And only on the publisher's website.)

To everything there is a season ...

The new year, traditionally, is a time to take stock. And this being an SFnal blog, a certain Philip K. Dick quote comes to mind. To wit:

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."

What reality should be recognized in this new year? That after more than eleven years and 655 posts, my enthusiasm for blogging has ebbed. That whereas my practice has long been to post more or less weekly, this schedule in recent months has -- being honest with myself -- too often been more of a chore than a joy. (Also, of late, a target increasingly missed.) Which, I'd venture to guess, doesn't always make for the most gripping material when I do post.

I'm not apt to stop altogether. Things I read, see, and think will, from time to time, doubtless inspire me to opine. And -- my most viewed posts, year after year, relating to my books, stories, and articles -- I anticipate that publication-centric news will appear here every now and again.

Bottom-lining it: you can expect SF and Nonsense to become less active than it's traditionally been and that, when I do post, my topic will often be promotional. At shorter lengths, and perhaps more often than here, I'll show up on Facebook (where my authorial page, unsurprisingly, is https://www.facebook.com/EdwardMLerner/); I invite you to follow my FB page. 

And who knows? Perhaps -- as in many a Philip K. Dick story -- reality will shift in unexpected ways, and the urge to blog will return.

Buy-a-Book Saturday

It's that time again.

Regularly since 2010, shortly before Thanksgiving, I've posted about Buy-a-Book Saturday. That's my personal variation on Small Business Saturday: the day (specifically, the second day after Thanksgiving, and one day after retail's infamous Black Friday) on which holiday shoppers are especially encouraged to patronize small businesses. The big-box stores and Internet giants will do fine this holiday season. But will your neighborhood, non-chain shops and boutiques?

Rara avis! Is that a book store?

Why do I promote the buy-a-book variant? Because what business is smaller than the author toiling away by him- or herself? Because, as I (and many others) post from time to time, the publishing business is becoming tougher and tougher -- especially for authors. Because more than likely you're a reader, else you wouldn't have stopped by this blog.

So: I'm here to suggest you give serious consideration to books -- whether print or electronic or audio -- for some of your holiday gifting. Friends, relatives, coworkers, your kids' teachers and coaches, the local library you support ... surely there's a book that's right for each of them. And at least one book for yourself, of course ;-)

Suppose you're at a brick-and-mortar bookstore, and a book or author you had in mind isn't on the shelf. Not a problem! Almost certainly, the store will be happy to special-order books for you. (Why? Because they'd much rather do a special order than have you go home and order online for yourself.)

Does size matter?

At a con a few weeks past ("Back (exhausted!) from Capclave"), one of my panels, Does Size Matter?, dealt with the perennial topic of story lengths. As this is a matter of perennial interest among con-goers and aspiring writers, I decided to make it the subject of a post.

How I write: 

• When the idea comes first -- and for me, usually, it does -- I let the story evolve into whatever length it sees fit.
• Exception: targeting a market with length (or budget) constraints. Then I start by pondering a (hopefully) compatible story idea.
• Exception: fine-tuning a completed story to fit a target market’s length constraints.

Now on to a pair of war stories ....