The Dragon Page » Cover to Cover Shows

Cover to Cover #366B: More on Copyright and Use

Summer Brooks — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:31:03 +0000

Show Notes: Fan Fiction, Derivatives, Copyrights and More

Voicemail: Anna comments on the “Lifetime Emo Channel” feature books, and the style of story that’s on the Oprah Book Club lists; Trampas weighs in on the reuse of other authors’ work, on both derivative works and fan fiction, which leads to a discussion on some of the tricks people are using to “re-copyright” stories in the public domain, about good ways to “reimagine” existing stories into new and different ones.

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Listener Review: Web Genii brings us a review of Renegade’s Magic by Robin Hobb, the concluding volume of her Soldier Son Trilogy.

Submitting Listener comments: If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know! “Cover to Cover” has it’s own call-in line, 206-350-READ! That’s 206-350-7323, or just email Michael with a comment you’ve recorded yourself!

The Library: New additions: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson; Books 2 and 3 of The Age of Misrule: The Darkest Hour and Always Forever by Mark Chadbourn; Dead Man’s Boots by Mike Carey; Far Arena by Lynda Williams; An Empire Unacquainted with Defeat by Glen Cook; Bone Dance by Emma Bull; The Lees of Laughter’s End by Steven Erikson; By Heresies Distresssed by David Weber.

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is now in the village with Third Life Books, the place for SL versions of Michael A. Stackpole’s writings, and many other goodies, including a Wednesday night writing workshop. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49.

Cover to Cover #366A: On Demand Publishing and More

Summer Brooks — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:15:00 +0000

Show Notes: On Demand Publishing and More

Discussion: Phil in Texas refers to an article that on-demand books outperformed traditionally published books in 2008, and wonders if the guys have checked out Smashwords more in-depth. This leads to a discussion about print on demand and distribution options.

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Discusion: Michael and Michael talk about how to know when your work is truly polished enough to go to print and be released to the consuming public. Mike M talks about his first experience, and admits that he did everything wrong the first time around; Mike S reminds folks to exercise due diligence and do your research into the people and firms offering to help you “get your book in stores”. Remember, reputable agents will always fully disclose their clients and sales. Reputable editors and publishers will not ask you for money up front to get your book published.

Mike S relays the results from a survey of authors websites. The top 3 things that bring traffic and return visitors to author websites are: personal or inside info; games and contests; and freebie bonus or sample content.

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Promo: Technorama

Cover to Cover #365B: Listener Feedback

Summer Brooks — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Show Notes: Listener Feedback

Voicemail: how can someone complete a discontinued series of game material; Robert from NH would like to see an electronic version of The Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans; Arkle tells us that his grandfather will buried with his copy of Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land; Sean from Edwards posted his book to Create Space and it’s available for the Kindle; Darcy’s Dad wants to know how a new writer’s book tour is determined; Sandy is happy that we are too insignificant to be visited by extraterrestrial life; Trampas mulls over the concept of “rebooting” novel series in the same way that many movie franchises are being jumpstarted; Dave reports that Dragon Page was known and mentioned by several folks at ConCarolinas; Trampas relates more info about the fault that runs through Missouri;

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Listener Review: Andryuk brings us a Dramatic Review of Bones of the Dragon by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

The Library: This week’s new additions: Rift in the Sky by Julie E. Czerneda; Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer; Fate of the Jedi: Omen by Christie Golden; The End of the Century by Chris Roberson;

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Promo: Short Cummings: Humor in Six Minutes

Cover to Cover #365A: Marjorie M. Liu

Summer Brooks — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:28:16 +0000

Show Notes: Marjorie M. Liu

Discussion: Sean from Edwards AFB wonders if there’s a difference between editing on a computer and editing on paper, and if that affects readers and writers alike. Is lazy writing — the shortcuts people have become accustomed to taking for text messaging and emails — affecting the way we notice spelling and grammatical errors in print? Are more readers becoming more forgiving or accepting of such typos on the Internet and in print?

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Interview: Michael and Michael chat with Marjorie M. Liu about her urban fantasy series “Hunter Kiss”, and the newest book, Darkness Calls. The inspiration for the heroine, Maxine Kiss, and the world and war she lives in came from the old SciFi Channel promo featuring the tattoos coming to dinner.

Marjorie is also writing comics, and she just finished up “NYX” and is now working on “Dark Wolverine” for Marvel Comics.

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Link: Marjorie M. Liu
Promo: Technorama

Cover to Cover #364B: Intellectual Property and Infringement

Summer Brooks — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:10:49 +0000

Show Notes: Intellectual Property and Infringement

Discussion: Continuing the discussion from Show #364A, on whether or not fan fiction and other derivative works are indeed copyright infringement, and the implied or actual harm done to the owner of the property in question. Mike and Mike dance through various scenarios of what is legal and permissible, and what is copyright infringement and actionable regarding ownership of intellectual properties (books, movies, etc).

Do consumers of the fanfic and the unauthorized works help or hurt the original creators? Is the corporate trend of preventing works from going into the public domain after a reasonable amount of time hurting creators even more? Join the argument!

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Listener Review: A “Cover to Cover” listener review of The Mirrored Heavens by David J. Williams.

The Library: New to the Library this week: Wireless by Charles Stross; Gamer Fantastic edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes; Winter Duty by E. E. Knight; Divisions by Ken MacLeod; Haze by L. E. Modesitt, Jr; Hylozoic by Rudy Rucker.

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Cover to Cover #364A: James Enge

Summer Brooks — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:45:51 +0000

Show Notes: James Enge

Discussion: The particulars in the lawsuit brought by J.D. Salinger to stop publication of an unauthorized sequel bring up several questions on the legalities of parody and satire, and what constitues infringement in those circumstances.

Link: Author at the Center of Salinger Lawsuit Defends Book

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Interview: James Enge joins Michael and Michael this week to discuss his new book, Blood of Ambrose from Pyr. They chat about story outline and structure, intentional and circumstantial comedy and planning out multivolume series.

Chaos enters, hilarity ensues!

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Promo: The Babylon Podcast

Cover to Cover #363B: Starting the Summer Reading Season

Summer Brooks — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:33:18 +0000

Show Notes: The Start of the Summer Reading Season

Listener Review: Web Genii brings us a review of The Last Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko.

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The Library: New additions to the Library this week: WWW:Wake by Robert J. Sawyer; Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson; Green by Jay Lake; Fragment by Warren Fahy

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Promo: Variant Frequencies

Cover to Cover #363A: Becoming New Authors

Summer Brooks — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:48:32 +0000

Show Notes: Becoming New Authors

Discussion: The frequent question from aspiring authors lately has been on how to get published, and making the journey from hopeful to walking the path.

Mike and Mike talk about the changes and challenges facing new writers today than in previous decades, with the added responsibilites of self-marketing and self-promotion and building recognition around the fictional world created for the story.

Will writing be your career or will it be your hobby? That decision lies with each writer.

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Listener Feedback: Darcy’s Dad recounts some of the YA books she was reading towards the end of the school year, and observes that the lit trend seems to be aiming for Emo Kids; Natalie asks about the use of prologue as a fast-forward to show where the story is heading; Anna is dismayed to hear the guys equate lending libraries with book piracy; Tad from Mesa found the podcast because he was searching for what happened to the radio show Dragon Page the he used to listen to (yes) and wants to know if it’ll return to radio (no, not to KYFI, anyway), and no, authors don’t collect royalties from any used book sales; Sean from Edwards wants to know more about the book ads that appear during the show; Trampas adds fodder to the discussion about what makes a book a “classic”.

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Promo: Short Cummings Audio

Cover to Cover #362B: Text to Speech Options

Summer Brooks — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:50:15 +0000

Show Notes: Access to books for the Visually Impaired

Discussion:Web Genii tells us about her experience with text-to-speech software, and thinks publishers might be inadvertently shortchanging readers, which leads to a discussion about options for books for the visually impaired.

Listener Review: Michell Plested from the Get Published Podcast brings us a review of Realm Shift by Alan Baxter.

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The Library: Mike and Mike learn about David Eddings’ passing during the recording if this show, and Mike S remembers how his writing style in The Belgariad affected the way he’s written his stories.

This week’s books: Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittridge; Maelstrom: Destroyer Men by Taylor Anderson; Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg; Burning Skies by David J. Williams; Wings of Wrath by C. S. Friedman; Of Wind and Sand by Sylvie Berard; The Island by Tim Lebbon; A Grey Moon Over China by Thomas A. Day.

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Promo: How To Grow Your Geek

Cover to Cover #362A: Stephen Baxter

Summer Brooks — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:35:50 +0000

Show Notes: Interview with Stephen Baxter

Discussion: The Boys are Back in Town! Well, Stackpole is back, from having been in Belgium last week for a conference called “Science Fiction Across Media: Novelizations and Adaptations” (and Summer would like to know if a book with all these papers will be collected and published).

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Interview: Mike and Mike talk with Stephen Baxter about his newest book Flood, a story which explores how people and society react when the water rises higher and faster than the modern world is currently prepared to deal with.

Flood is the first in a post-apocalyptic duology, and begins with four hostages rescued from a group of religious extremists in Barcelona, who have bonded after five years in captivity, and promised to watch out for one another. The world they return to is not what they expected—it is slowly being transformed as water continues to flow from the earth’s mantle, and entire countries begin to disappear as the water rises.

The discussion ranges from the science of climate change, the limits and extremes to what can and might happen in a radical environmental shift, and exploring how people would adapt to different scenarios, and more.

The conclusion to the series, Ark, is due out in August 2009 in the UK, and likely sometime in 2010 in the US.

Discussion: Playing with the scientific possibilities when writing science fiction: how far is too far, or is there a too far when you’re writing fictional doomsday scenarios?

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Promo: The Babylon Podcast: Get your Giggle On!

Cover to Cover #361B: Listener Feedback

Summer Brooks — Fri, 29 May 2009 23:01:35 +0000

Show Notes: Brian Brings All the Fun!

Listener Feedback: Rory of Borg recommends Robert Asprin’s Dragon’s Luck; Mari from Michigan seeks info on timeline discrepancies in a long series; Sir Nerdco gives a good example on how hard it is to jump into a long-running series when they aren’t labeled properly; Tim seeks opinions on how Amazon.com is performing as a company; Rory of Borg comments on the reader of the Honor Harrington audiobook series, and wonders how bad readers keep getting audio work; Alex wonders if there’s a literary version on “previously on…” to summarize previous books in the series; Zorknot calls seeking guidance for writing a short story in the present tense; Trampas comments on “reimagining” classics with new story elements.

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Listener Review: Web Genii brings us a review of Snake Agent by Liz Williams.

The Library: New entries: Tigerheart by Peter David (trade pb); Living with Ghosts by Kari Sperring; World’s End by Mark Chadbourn; Walking Dead by Greg Rucka; Cemetary Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child; Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie.

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Cover to Cover #361A: Dr Michio Kaku

Summer Brooks — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:05:00 +0000

Show Notes: Interview with Dr Michio Kaku

Discussion: Doc from Des Moines reports his dissatisfaction with a book that he’d purchased, where the advertising did not match the description of the book nor what he’d read in the first chapter. Is that intentionally deceptive advertising, or just the result of bad or poorly misunderstood information about the book?

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Interview: Mike, Brian and Mike talk with Dr Michio Kaku, world-renowned theoretical physicist, about his book Physics of the Impossible, which examines the technologies of science fiction that don’t exist today, and differentiates between which ones can exist today, which ones could exist with large technological and scientific advances, and which ones are truly impossible because they violate known laws of physics.

Want to have fun arguing about the impossible ones? Pick up this book and bring up the topics with your geek friends!

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Promo: The Gmail Podcast: Getting the Most out of your Gmail account

Cover to Cover #360B: Summer Movie Books

Summer Brooks — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:46:58 +0000

Show Notes: Movie Books in the Library

Discussion: Today’s topic comes from Dave, who asks why publishers let titles go out of print instead of just switching them over to print-on-demand, and wants to know why Mike S hasn’t started his own Stormwolf Publishing to make his own out-of-print materials available again.

Listener Review: Jordan from Baltimore gives us a review of Drood by Dan Simmons.

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The Library: New arrivals: Physics of the Impossible by Dr Michio Kaku; The City & The City by China Mieville; War Horse: A History of the Military Horse and Rider by Louis DiMarco; The Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Laird Barron; Flinx Transcendant by Alan Dean Foster; Battlestar Galactica: Downloaded by David Bassom; Night of Knives: A Novel of the Malazan Empire by Ian C. Esslemont; GI Joe: Above and Beyond by Max Allen Collins; Rift in the Sky by Julie E. Czerneda

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Cover to Cover #360A: Devices, Gadgets and Words

Summer Brooks — Tue, 19 May 2009 04:40:51 +0000

Show Notes: Devices, Gadgets and Words

Discussion: Brian Brown finds his way back to the Dragon Page set, and there was much joy!

Amazon announced the release of the Kindle DX, and it’s similarity to the Plastic Logic device and addition of features suggested by the hosts and listeners of “Cover to Cover” over the past few months; the rumors of Apple bringing out a 10″ tablet version of the iPod Touch abound, and many people here are excited about the prospect of that device.

There’s a larger number of apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch for reading books and newspapers than there were around Christmastime, and the trend is only increasing. If you’re an author with out of print stories, have you considered making it available on Amazon in Kindle format yet?

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Discussion, continued: More on features and functionalities for e-books and the reading devices they’re used on (Plastic Logic, Kindle DX, and more).

Ideas abound for exploring electronic publishing, and learning from the growing pains experienced by the newspaper industry, and the question about why it’s taking book publishers so long to adapt and shift to keep from losing too many opportunities for taking full advantage of the technology wave continues to confound our hosts.

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Promo: Upside Down and Halfway to Happyland: Exploring what we love about the Buffyverse

Cover to Cover #359A: Listeners Thoughts

Summer Brooks — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:04:50 +0000

Show Notes: Listener Thoughts

Voicemail: Helen in Michigan wants to let people know about Smashwords, a site for independent authors to create and publish their ebooks, and about interactive storytelling over at Storytron; Tim wonder if fantasy authors have problems reading fantasy or if they have problems refraining from editing others’ books; Trampas revisits the question of executing prologues and flashbacks; Shavon from NJ wants to know if there’s a way to import PDFs she already has into the Kindle App on the iPod Touch (Stackpole suggests Airshare for uploading PDFs); are paid bloggers considered published authors?

Anna comments on electronic textbooks, and how students will take electronic versions of required reading and print them out to make notes on them.

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Listener Review: Redshirt from Iowa brings us a review of Death’s Daughter by Amber Benson.

The Library: New this week: Starfinder by John Marco; Ballistic Babes: The Radioactive Redhead and the Frost-Haired Vixen by John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem; Blood Groove by Alex Bledsoe; Blood of Ambrose by James Enge; Fire Raiser by Melanie Rawn; Corambis by Sarah Monette; The Affinity Bridge by George Mann.

FarPoint Forums: Head on over to the FarPoint Forums and join in the discussions on Dragon Page topics, and for most of your favorite FPM shows!

Second Life Info: FarPoint Media’s Second Life space is in the village around Third Life Books, the place for SL versions of Michael A. Stackpole’s writings, and many other goodies, including a Wednesday night writing workshop. You can find the castle at http://slurl.com/secondlife/beraudes/203/151/49. Come see the new community!

Link: Storytron Interactive Storytelling
Promo: I Should Be Writing