Week Hiatus
WorldCon travel has me behind on everything, so I’ll get you the new EP this coming week, along with the August ebook. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Archive for Blog
Web Series Review: The Booth at the End
The concept of “one person at the center of a spider’s web” isn’t new in fiction — from the mob boss who pulls everyone’s strings to something as simple as the network of interconnections in the film Love Actually, we’ve all seen it done before.
But as the Hulu series The Booth at the End shows, there’s a reason why it’s still being done: because it’s really damn compelling.
Book Review: Ink by Sabrina Vourvoulias
In certain parts of the US, immigration policy and illegal alien rights are forefront. In other parts, they exist only as issues upon which to campaign. Regardless of your opinion on the subject, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that we’re moving in one of two directions: full amnesty or full illegality.
Ink, which will be released on October 15, tells one such story. Or, more precisely, four of them.
WorldCon Meetup
Hey fans, narrators, and authors of Escape Pod! I don’t have a kaffeklatch this year at WorldCon, so I’m just setting up an Escape Pod meetup. I’m going to say we should meet up at 4pm on Saturday at the Big Bar in the Hyatt. If things change, check here or my twitter handle (@mightymur).
I haven’t been to the Big Bar, but it looks like a good meeting place for mid-afternoon. If it doesn’t work out, we can go somewhere else.
Film Review: Griff the Invisible
Fans of True Blood know Ryan Kwanten as Sookie’s buff but not too bright brother, Jason Stackhouse. He plays the role really well, and the writers do a good job with him. But Kwanten isn’t just eye candy. Sometimes, he plays a man with cripplingly-bad social anxiety disorder who just wants to be invisible.
This man is named Griff, and the movie about him is called Griff the Invisible, which I watched last week.
Note from the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
I received this message that Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency is looking for authors! So check them out and see if they might be a good fit for you!
Dear listeners,
We’re writing to introduce you to The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency and to let you know we are actively seeking clients in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. We are a full service agency, representing writers at every stage of their career.
The agency opened in 1984 and has always had an interest in both genres. We’re privileged to represent a number of top talents in science fiction and fantasy such as John Scalzi, Karen Miller, Sharon Shinn, Gail Z. Martin, Ian Douglas/Bill Keith, Kay Kenyon, Mel Odom, and the recently signed James Cambias for whom we just sold his first novel. We are also proud to represent the estate of Gandalf Grand Master Award winning author Andre Norton.
Our success in this area is not confined to the adult market, either. The agency has negotiated publication deals for young adult fantasies by Karen Miller, Mel Odom, Sharon Shinn, and Ed Willet as well.
We are a very active, successful seller of translation rights with agents in all foreign markets and a track record of approximately fifty new licenses per year. We also successfully license film rights, audio-book rights, e-book rights and rights for publication in the United Kingdom.
The ideal submission for us is an introductory letter, synopsis and the first three chapters of manuscript. We welcome electronic submissions to fantasy AT ethanellenberg.com. We also welcome submission by mail with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for response. Please check our website (ethanellenberg.com) and follow the submission guidelines carefully.*
We remain upbeat, active and committed to the highest standards of professional conduct
and representation. We are members in good standing of the Association of Author’s Representatives and consistently receive high marks from all the top professional writers’ organizations. We look forward to your submission.
Sincerely,
Ethan Ellenberg, President
Evan Gregory, Associate Agent
Product Placement: the Next Generation
A few days ago, I came across this article on BoingBoing about author Holly Lisle and the issues she was having with getting iBooks to carry one of her how-to books because in it she mentions Amazon — which is one of the biggest revenue sources for self-published writers.
I think Ms Lisle’s story opens up a much bigger can of worms, and it starts with this: in the novel I’m writing, the main character uses a Kindle. What happens if I want to get my book in the iBookstore? Do I have to have her use an iPad instead? And, more importantly, how will that change the character?
I’m not thinking that Apple’s going to reject my book out-of-hand just for that reason, but it’s certainly conceivable, right? I mean, I might get a little leeway because, in Chapter Four, she does throw the Kindle against the wall in frustration*, but still — it could happen.
Film Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This review contains spoilers for both the filmed and televised versions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
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Twenty years ago today, a film called Buffy the Vampire Slayer opened in theaters to unimpressive reviews (and only a 32% on the Tomatometer). At that point, no one could possibly have expected that Joss Whedon’s story about a California valley girl would morph into a television show that even today is still impacting fans in powerful and meaningful ways.
From the most humble beginnings, eh?
Alphas premiers tonight!
The second season of Syfy’s hit series Alphas returns Monday, July 23 at 10PM ET/PT with a deep roster of guest stars. New this season are Sean Astin, Lauren Holly, and Summer Glau, who was a fan favorite last season playing Skylar Adams, is returning for three episodes.
The new season picks up eight months after last year’s stunning season finale with the stage set for an explosive turn of events at the Binghamton facility (the Guantanamo of the Alpha world) that could have devastating, far-reaching consequences. Dr. Lee Rosen, having exposed the existence of Alphas to the unsuspecting public, finds himself discredited and imprisoned by a government desperate to cover up his stunning revelation. Some of the team have disbanded and without Dr. Rosen’s care and guidance, have regressed to their old, destructive ways.
Web Series Review: “Harry Potter and the Ten Years Later”
The following review contains spoilers for all seven Harry Potter books and the eight films that followed them. There are also minor spoilers for HPplus10, because when you only have a nine-minute episode it’s really hard to write a review without talking about the entire plot.
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The Harry Potter phenomenon has spawned countless fan-created works of written fiction, musical awesomeness, and re-cut music videos. It has inspired thousands of people to be more awesome than they might otherwise have been. And that’s good.
But now it’s over. The last film was released in 2011, and if you don’t subscribe to the EWE school of thought, we know what’s happening 19 years later: Harry and Ginny are married with three children, Ron and Hermione with two, Draco with one, and so on. However, lots of good fan-fiction* has changed the outcome of that epilogue.
Harry Potter and the Ten Years Later is the latest entry in that oeuvre, and, so far, it looks promising.