Grasping for the Wind

Giveaway: 2 Signed ARC’s of Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton

John Ottinger III — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:00:43 +0000

Thanks to Mark Charan Newton, I have two signed advance reader copies of his novel, Nights of Villjamur to give to two lucky winners.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Political intrigue and dark violence converge in a superb new action series of enthralling fantasy. An ice age strikes a chain of islands, and thousands come to seek sanctuary at the gates of Villjamur: a city of ancient spires and bridges, a place where banshees wail the deceased, cultists use forgotten technology for their own gain and where, further out, the dead have been seen walking across the tundra.When the Emperor commits suicide, his elder daughter, Rika, is brought home to lead the Jamur Empire, but the sinister Chancellor plans to get rid of her and claim the throne for himself. Meanwhile a senior investigator in the city inquisition must solve the high-profile and savage murder of a city politician, whilst battling evils within his own life, and a handsome and serial womanizer manipulates his way into the imperial residence with a hidden agenda. When reports are received that tens of thousands of citizens are dying in a bizarre genocide on the northern islands of the Empire, members of the elite Night Guard are sent to investigate. It seems that, in this land under a red sun, the long winter is bringing more than just snow.

READ CHAPTER ONE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Charan Newton was born in 1981 and lives in Nottingham. Nights of Villjamur is the first book in the Legends of the Red Sun series and he is now well into writing the next.

TO WIN:
1. You must be a resident of the United States.
2. You must submit your entry before midnight GMT March 21, 2010.
3. You must email your name and address to editor [AT] graspingforthewind [DOT] com, or through clicking this link with the subject NIGHTS OF VILLJAMUR.

Free Fiction: Black Crusade by Ari Marmell

John Ottinger III — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:44:27 +0000

Interested in reading The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell, but are unsure if you will like the author’s style? Try on a completely free novel in Black Crusade – a part of the Ravenloft series of books from Wizards of the Coast that never saw print but is available as a free PDF download.

Marmell explains why the book never saw print publication at his website:

Black Crusade was originally written to be one of the first of the Ravenloft: Dominion line of novels from Wizards of the Coast. “Ravenloft” is the name of a gothic horror/fantasy setting. Although Ravenloft was created for the Dungeons and Dragons game, the Dominion line was meant to give it a new flavor–specifically, rather than drawing characters and domains from various D&D worlds, it would draw them from various periods of real-world history. In the case of Black Crusade, that period was the First Crusade.

Alas, Black Crusade was pushed back on the schedule for marketing reasons, and thus became a victim when the line was canceled. The novel was done, however, and Wizards decided to make it available in electronic format. It was initially released chapter-by-chapter as a weekly serial, but it’s now available in completed form. While I’m disappointed that it won’t see print, I’m delighted that you folks are able to see it in some form.

(Available in electronic pdf format only.)

New Feature: Disqus Comments

John Ottinger III — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:37:10 +0000

I spent a good part of this morning installing the Wordpress plugin Disqus (pronounced “discuss”) Comments. The idea was to improve the functionality of this blog, allowing you to use Facebook, Twitter, OpenID and other methods to comment. Also, it gives you more control over your subscriptions to comments (by email or RSS) and ultimately is just better for the user, as it gives more control to you, the reader.

Let me know if you have any problems with it and I will correct ASAP.

Book Trailer: The Sable Quean by Brian Jacques

John Ottinger III — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:37:42 +0000

I grew up reading Jacques, in fact, I credit a large part of my interest in fantasy to this man. I still recommend him to middle school students, and have my own limited library of his books. I’m glad to know he plans to keep on writing Redwall novels.

Press Release: The Daily Cabal 3rd Anniversary Contest

John Ottinger III — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:53:28 +0000

The Daily Cabal’s Third Anniversary: Come Up with a Celebration Idea and Be Immortalized

March 26, 2010 will mark the Daily Cabal’s third anniversary of posting brand new, very short, often wildly speculative fiction every single weekday, come Hell or high water, with about 800 stories posted to date. And we’re going to celebrate!

But we have no idea how, so there’s a contest.

THE CHALLENGE: We invite all Daily Cabal readers, supporters, wanderers, stumble-uponers, nay-sayers, and enemies to comment here with ideas for how we Cabalists can best express our elation at having survived another year. Some kind of flash fiction writing would probably be involved, but apart from that it’s all open to whatever you can imagine. Give us a writing challenge, a theme, a restriction, a process, a warning, a command …

THE PRIZE: The person who submits the winning idea will be respectfully Tuckerized (inserted into the story) in multiple Daily Cabal posts according to any personal details that person is willing to divulge, whether those details are true or fanciful, clear or ambiguous.

THE DEADLINE: Put your ideas in the comments to their post by the end of the day Sunday, March 14th.

Find out more here: The Daily Cabal

Video: Lost/Baywatch Mashup

John Ottinger III — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:20:30 +0000

Hee Hee Hee! Ha Ha Ha!

[Via Paul S. Kemp]

Geek Media Round-Up: March 11, 2010

PipeDreamer Grey — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:00:50 +0000

Art

Travis Pitts is selling Sci-Fi Jesus Fish stickers on Etsy.
Unreality has posted A Wicked Gallery of Little Red Riding Hood Re-Imagined.
Virtual Fun Zone has a gallery of Japanese Trains Decorated with Anime. I think that some of these would really spruce up New York subways.

Comics

News: Patton Oswalt to write ‘Firefly’ comic book

Film

Interview: Christopher Nolan teases a “fantastic story” for a Superman reboot.
The Innsmouth Free Press picks 10 Best Epidemic Horror Flicks.
Premiere remembers 10 Movies That Were Better Than The Books.
Wired warns of The Top 10 Movies That Should Never, Ever Be Converted to 3-D.

Internet

According to NG Online, Blogging younger demographics aren’t blogging. Does this mean I’m not “hip” anymore?
FlavorWire is claiming that Conan O’Brien is Secretly Tweeting From 8 Different Accounts. I guess the guy has a lot of free time on his hands.

Literature

Interview: Starship Sofa interviews Gene Wolfe. [Podcast]
In the article “Aliens have taken the place of angels” at the Guardian, Margaret Atwood explains why we need science fiction.
Engadget has an exclusive look Microsoft’s Courier digital journal. Apple seriously needs to strap two iPhones together to make one of these.
io9 wonders Is “Science Fiction Humanism” A Contradiction In Terms?
Jo Walton discusses Fantasy and the need to remake our origin stories.
A new book claims that Robin Hood stole from the rich and lent to the poor as a secret Templar.

Television

News: Sony 3D TVs to arrive in June

Video Games

Cracked explains Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted.

Writing

Charlie Stross explains Why books are the length they are.

Book Review: Between Planets by Robert A. Heinlein

John Ottinger III — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:04:33 +0000

My review of Between Planets by Robert A. Heinlein can now be found online at Sacramento Book Review.

Geek Media Round-Up: March 10, 2010

PipeDreamer Grey — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:49 +0000

Art

ComicsAlliance Takes On Gender-Swapped Comic Fan-Art.
Darren Rawlings is posting Hulk sketches all month. To date, he’s posted Hulk smashing up Iron Man, Reed Richards, and X-Men.

Film

News: Olivia Munn in Iron Man 2?
Four New KICK-ASS Character Posters have been released.
Here’s a shot of James Cameron congratulating Kathryn Bigelow on her Oscar. Awww… I think he’s gonna hug her.
The SciFi Squad has put together a list of 8 Science Fiction Films That Don’t Start As Science Fiction, starting with Predator.

Internet

If Bruce Willis had played a SysAdmin in Die Hard, instead of a cop…
I didn’t think it was possible to dislike xkcd, but, evidently, it is.

Literature

Interview: The Agony Column interviews Joe Hill. [Podcast]
Interview: Revolution SF interviews Peter Straub.
The Book Smugglers kickis off Steampunk Week with a list of great book recommendations: Leviathan, Alchemy of Stone, and more.
Futurismic wonders Do free ebooks actually affect the sales of dead-tree books?
The Huffington Post warns readers Don’t Believe the E-book Skeptics.
Is your reading suffering from multimedia overload? The Guardian thinks so.
PCWorld examines how the iPad Challenges Traditional Publishing Economics.

Science

According to DARPA, With Artificial Photosynthesis, A Bottle of Water Could Produce Enough Energy To Power A House.
Hot damn! It’s about time. Jetpacks are now Commercially Available! I knew I shouldn’t have blown all my money on cars, food, and shelter!

Television

News: Google Teams Up With Dish Network For Android-Powered TV Experiment
News: Felicia Day is coming to SyFy in the new series Red.
SciFi Wire offers the Ultimate sci-fi TV pilot guide, looking at your favorite shows of the future.

Press Release: Pyr Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Essay Writing Contest

John Ottinger III — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:46:13 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2010

Pyr Celebrates 5th Anniversary With Essay Contest
Grand Prize Winner Embarks on a ‘Pyr and Dragons Adventure’

Amherst, NY — To celebrate their 5th anniversary, Pyr, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books, will sponsor a contest that incorporates things they hold dear: creative and powerful writing, a passion for reading genre fiction, and this year’s special number, five.

For their Pyr and Dragons Adventure 5th Anniversary Contest, Pyr invites readers and fans to submit a short essay on the theme: Five reasons why science fiction and fantasy is important to you.

Eligibility requirements follow*. Any essay submissions that do not meet these guidelines will be disqualified:

Entrants must reside in the Continental United States and be at least 21 years of age.
Essays must be no longer than 1500 words.
Essays must be emailed to publicity@prometheusbooks.com as a Word document attachment, with the subject line “Pyr and Dragons Adventure Essay Submission.”
The body of the submission email must clearly identify the entrant’s full name, address (within the Continental United States), phone number and email address.
All submissions must be received between April 1, 2010 and June 1, 2010.

*For complete list of rules and regulations see http://www.pyrsf.com.

All eligible essays will be read and reviewed by publishing staff at Prometheus Books. Not all of these preliminary readers will be science fiction and fantasy fans, so outstanding essays will likely be those that pique their interest in the genre and make them want to read it too. The top twenty-five essays as determined by these industry professionals will be read by Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders, who will select the top three.

The writer of the Third Place essay will win a commemorative Pyr 5th anniversary keepsake and five complimentary books of their choice from the Pyr catalog.

The writer of the Second Place essay will win a complete set of Pyr books as published by the contest end date of June 1, 2010 (one copy of each title, without duplicating those that appear in more than one binding) and a commemorative Pyr 5th anniversary keepsake.

The Grand Prize Winner will embark on a “Pyr and Dragons Adventure” that includes*:

A round-trip flight to Atlanta, GA during Dragon*Con, one of the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the US. Dragon*Con 2010 will be held September 3 – 6, 2010 (Labor Day weekend).
Two nights hotel accommodation in Atlanta, GA, Sept. 3 and 4, 2010.
Dragon*Con membership/entry badge.
Dinner with Special Pyr Author Guests and Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders—details to be announced!

The grand prize winning essay will be posted at the Pyr-o-mania blog, and may be promoted by the publisher by other means, including but not limited to their other blogs, websites, e-newsletters and social networking pages.

Prometheus Books—a provocative, progressive and independent publisher of nonfiction since 1969—launched Pyr in March 2005 to complement its strength in popular science. The imprint rather quickly earned acclaim, awards, and loyal fans, including Pulitzer Prize–winning author Junot Díaz, who called Pyr “the imprint to beat in the science fiction and fantasy fields.”

With an emphasis on quality, Pyr helped to introduce readers to some authors then little-known in the U.S., such as John Meaney, Ian McDonald, Joel Shepherd, Justina Robson, and Joe Abercrombie. Pyr has also published such established authors as Mike Resnick, Robert Silverberg and Michael Moorcock. Pyr Editorial Director Lou Anders has been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Editor Long Form for three consecutive years. In 2009, Prometheus Books and Pyr launched a major e-book initiative, with titles available on Kindle and programs with many different e-reader platforms in the works. In 2010, in addition to celebrating its five-year anniversary, Pyr will publish its 100th title.